Friday, May 18, 2012

The Long Road Back


"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be the blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king."
                                                                                                                      ~JRR Tolkien Lord of the Rings

It's been awhile since I have blogged or wrote anything for that matter. It isn't that I haven't had anything to say or that I didn't want to write. I simply was attacked by a bad case of the shoulds. Many of you know exactly what I'm talking about, I should clean the should, I should work out or at least jump on the treadmill for thirty minutes and most of all I should write or blog today. Like many with "authority issues", I instantly rebel against anything I should do and quickly succumb to another dreaded malady,  the Sparklies, which for those of you don't know, is when you are fascinated but whatever you aren't doing at the time.

Anyway, after a while I fell into the trap of thinking I couldn't write or maybe shouldn't write. I sat back and supported many wonderful authors, celebrated their latest releases and although I truly was happy for them (and still am) I was jealous. It is the plain and simple truth. I just couldn't understand how it was so easy for them. How the stories just seemed to flow from a unseen tap. Little did I understand at the time, that ALL authors struggle. Whether it is with self-doubt, plots, stories ideas, revisions, whatever, they all have their moments. We often don't see the downs or maybe they are there but we don't take them to heart, but they have them all the same. In the end, I had to be honest with myself, I just wasn't devoted to my craft. I had a million excuses/distractions, but the simple fact was I didn't write because I was afraid.

I was afraid I would never be the writer I want to be. I still struggle to capture the story I see in my mind. It wasn't until I had another bad workshop experience that I saw I had actually grown some as a writer over the past year. I won't name names by berating a workshop or  instructor but suffice it to say their instructing technique and my learning style were vastly different. This time instead of being thrown into a "I quit" or "I can't write funk" for weeks (months) I simply shrugged and realized we just didn't click. Now, for those of you that really know me, understand what a big accomplishment this was for me (LoL), but it truly was groundbreaking moment.

So, now I'm back; back to writing, back to being a supportive friend and contributor and hopefully back to entertaining you with my quirky sense of humor and often odd outlook on life. I will be posting ever Friday and hope that we can have some fun and make this adventure to publication an interesting journey. I will be trying on many different genres and posting excerpts for your pleasure and opinion.

Now let's see who read this whole post. I will give away a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky person who leaves a comment. To be entered you must say what your favorite genre is (ie: mysteries, thrillers, chicklit, paranormal, erotica etc) before midnight on Thursday the 24th. The winner will be drawn at random and will be announced on May 25th.




12 comments:

Angie Cox said...

Yeah, I'm so glad you got your groove back.
LOL, I understand what you are going through and have done the same thing, as a matter of fact I am just now pulling my head out of the sand. I read my book again and realized that I enjoyed it as much if not more than before.
Maybe doing this will work for you as well. As for favorite genre, hmm as much as I love to read and venture out for new things often. I always find my way back to paranormal and even more specific. Weres and of course a strong alpha to save everyone.
Love ya

Eva said...

Margie's back in the saddle folks! Time to get ready to ride!!

I don't have a fav genre but enjoy most, at least at one time or another. At present I'm reading some fantasy but have some romance/chick lit on my shelf to follow it as well as some devotionals and a mystery or two.

Glad to see you're back! love ya!

Marguerite Hall said...

Angie, I'm glad you fell back in love with your story! It is a great feeling isn't it? Just please don't give up on your dreams.

Eva, thank you for all your support. You've definitely earned your frequent friendship miles on this journey

Anonymous said...

Hi Margie~
It's me Lynda!
I am so glad you are back I have been so worried about you!!
Always loved everything you wrote, so get going girl!!
I can't say I have a real favorite, but you know paranormal/vamp is one of my favs along with mystery!

Marguerite Hall said...

Hi Lynda, Sorry to have worried you. I was in quite a funk but I am back to writing and hopefully back to a better version of my old self. Thanks for stopping by :)

Brianna said...

Welcome back. In a way its good to know that every author goes through times like that. I'm happy for you this one is ending. About the favorite genre that one is hard for me to pin down. i would have to say i like to read romance, erotica, paranormal. 60% of my books have werewolves in them.

Laura Andlauer said...

Congrats on getting back into your groove. Writing takes discipline and if it isn't working for you a break is always a good thing to get your persepective back.
I love many genres but always enjoy a dramatic mystery with a little paranormal thrown in! Keep up the blog and I will check back each Friday to read it.

Marguerite Hall said...

Thanks Brianna. It's hard to remember everyone has issues and not to let perceived perfection to stand in your way

Cynthia Mclelland said...

Margie, I read and re red and no matter if it is here in a book or on your fb page. I am glad to know you and will be a big huge gigantic fan of yours.

Whether post pics that I yank and reshare or just listening to each others daily lives. You my dear are a beautiful person on the inside and out. Keep up the wonderful work and looking forward to reading more. Much love. Cindy Mac.

Virginia E said...

It's good to see you back.Some of the best authors I know have writing problems and everybody has those moments when life distracts us. Congrats on deciding to get back to your dream.I've still got you on feed, so I've just been waiting.

My reading is all too eclectic,I started in SF & mystery as a kid. I'd have to say that paranormal romance genres are my current favorites, followed by historical romance. Oh, and the last time I liked TOSTL heroines was Victoria Holt.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful that you've figured out how to move past the 'shoulds' I call that side of myself my bratty side LOL Sooooo with you on getting annoyed when I think someone's trying to control me. ;-)

I love paranormal romance. I do read some contemporary romance or mysteries too - depending on the author - but keep expecting someone to sprout fur or fangs.

Peggy

Jeanne Brightcliffe said...

I've been following you on Facebook and love your quirky sense of humor and your outlook on life. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who gets into a writing funk and swears I'm just not good enough to keep going. Discipline is my problem and I'm working hard to get my butt in the chair and just write!

Jeannie B.