Have you thought about what makes writers write? Do they have this wealth of knowledge and information that just begs to be let out? Do they have a seven-foot-tall imaginary rabbit standing over them with a club, telling them what to type? Do they sit around in dark rooms pondering what-ifs until something jumps out at them and screams, “Write or Die!”?
Actually, it could happen in any of those ways. I’m not saying Hemingway saw rabbits, but he was deep into the drink. And from the things that Stephen King writes, you wonder if he ever turns the lights on in his house.
I usually find myself lying in bed half asleep, my mind churning up things I’ve heard or seen during the day, and suddenly I have this nugget of a story. Of course, I have to get up and write it down or I’ll forget it by morning… which has happened many, many times. If I had actually used all those awesome story nuggets, I would have a hundred books published by now instead of just fourteen. But that’s on me, not my writing muse, or fairy, or Billy club wielder.
Laziness (or writer’s block, as I like to call it) is certainly a detriment to excelling in anything. Especially writing. Because if you don’t sit down and write, the words are lost forever in the void of sleep, or binge-watching Netflix, or wasting time ogling what other writers are doing and saying on Facebook.
And may I add… no books will be written.
There are creative people who view sleep as a detriment to the creation process. They believe that while they are blissfully resting their minds, nothing is getting accomplished. That’s why extremely creative people, or evil geniuses, rarely sleep. Two or three hours and they are back up drawing, writing, imagining, and creating.
We are not all evil geniuses though. I for one, need a full nine hours of sleep at night or I become quite evil without the genius part. I have written books while staying up through the night and forging on, but while my creative juices might be flowing, often my patience, love, and kindness for the people closest to me, flies right out the door. Single-minded perseverance may get the book done, and it might even be a mystery masterpiece, but if I leave my friends and family in the dust, what am I left with?
Accolades, respect, and glowing reviews from people I’ve never met can be exciting, sometimes heart-warming, and often come at just the right time to bolster my flagging ego enough to go on writing even when sales are in the tank, but it’s not my purpose in writing. My ultimate purpose in life is to glorify God. All else is just dust in the wind. I write for, create for, and am driven to please my Lord and Savior. My ability to write is a gift from his hand.
All this to say, YES, I am working on a new book in the Double Barrel Mysteries!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Barbara
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