It’s Hard to be the Blog
Do you get the reference I’m making with that title? If you do then you are pretty awesome, and you have good taste in musical theatre. If not, well that’s okay.
So, I actually started writing this entry on Nov. 3rd (Yeah, election day). I know this because Squarespace is handy at recording such information. Why then is it coming out on whatever day this actually is? Well, I’ll tell you. But first, some background information! (That’s called a teaser in the industry)
If you’ve read anything else on my little site before, then you probably know at least a bit about why I started it in the first place.
Long, long ago (March of 2020, so around 17 years) I started writing a book. I started it as a passion project as much as anything. A story (with sequels) that had been inspired by (and included characters loosely based on) my daughters. The first draft included LOTS of inside jokes tailored to our family. These included such gems as…
Raging at people who vape (this is actually sort of still in there, just to a much lesser extent)
A very innuendo heavy scene involving a burrito (Technically there is still a burrito in the story, but the scene is COMPLETELY different from the way that it originally appeared)
Several slang or jargon words that various members of our household use frequently, but that just sounded weird in the context of the story
References to food, movies, and all kinds of other everyday mundane stuff that really didn’t need to be in there.
As I type this, I’m actually STILL revising the book which after about 8 drafts is now entering a completely different phase where the story is undergoing changes to make it more engaging, more understandable, and actually more setup to have subsequent books in the same series.
Writing the book had been a goal unto itself. Having completed it, my only intent at the time was to edit it some, get it ready for self publication, and then do just that. A number of things changed that trajectory over time. After feedback and suggestions, I decided to pursue traditional publishing. I’m glad I did! But doing so came with a great deal of added actions that needed to be taken.
Regardless, one thing that either path appeared to require, was a site from which to promote the book and its eventual release. That meant getting a website up and running. The same site you are visiting at this very moment.
But wait! You may have noticed that my book, as of yet, is not published. Nor is it even scheduled to be published at this time. Well, what then would I desire to put on the website until such time as I DO have super nifty exciting news to announce. The easiest and most readily available content to put up would be short stories and blogs. Both of which I started doing.
Many of the short stories that are already on here I had previously written down as the beginnings of a book. This project fell by the wayside in 2019, but luckily for me, I still had them saved. I have now posted all but 2 of those stories.
The blogs however are mostly just off the cuff, what I’m feeling like at that moment type of posts. Some are inspired by the photos I take. Some are inspired by the life that I have lived. While they don’t exactly require tremendous amounts of time, they do require planning, and thought, and the time to sit down and type them out. Time that I don’t always have or care to find.
This has become especially true now that I am revising my book. Edits were hard while I was doing them, and I felt like nothing else about the writing process would ever be as difficult. Except I was very, very wrong. Revising the book, which is basically re-writing entire chapters, is frustrating. You have to question EVERY decision you have made concerning your writing at this point. You have to dissect every character, every plot point, every scene, every motivation. It’s not fun. It’s not exciting. It’s a great way to make you doubt that you should even be allowed to type out a paragraph, let alone an entire novel.
The book that will exist after this process however, will be a FAR superior work. It will be worth it. But it also has pretty much shut down nearly all other writing endeavors I would normally undertake. The short stories, and this blog are by far two such endeavors.
So, I’ve come to the decision that while I may not be up for making as many blog posts, there may be others that would like to do so.
In the coming weeks, and maybe even months, I may be posting some Guest Blogs from some of my favorite people in real life. I may even solicit the great Writing Community of Twitter to see if any of my fellow indie authors would like to share some thoughts or ideas.
It is in fact hard to be a writer, regardless of what those who likely haven’t ever tried it may have told you. And when life gets hard, it might be in the nature of some individuals to give up, or give in. I’m determined not to quit, and I won’t. But I will lean on the support of others to help me along.
Until next we read, take care.