In which slow writing becomes a movement

I've just recently discovered Cathy Yardley's blog - Rock Your Writing: Selling A Lot Without Selling Out. Her latest post was inspiring and convicting - with a little dash of humor.

I've been impatient all my life. The plight of many redblooded human beings is their blatant disregard for time. More specifically, the redeeming of said time.

I am a time waster and not proud to admit it. I procrastinate on all the important things in life, like family and time with God and yes, cleaning my house. When it comes to wanting time to work for me without any sacrifice or compromise on my part, I forget that my clock calls the shots.

I'm never going to get a book published if I don't write it.

Okay, already wrote several manuscripts.

Next.

I'm never going to get an agent to look at it if I don't edit it.

Editing is difficult, impossible, and overwhelming. I did the best I could.

Next.

I'm never going to put the finishing touches on my manuscript if my editor doesn't return it to me with her comments and critique.

Yeah, that half-adzed job I did on the self-editing before I sent it off to my editor? She's trying to actually get it into a working, publishable material. Not a dime store novelists short-lived dream to write the next best erotic fiction.

Next.

I'm moving along in my writing. I really am, though you couldn't tell to look at me. Think about it. I have several working manuscripts and more in progress. That's more than 3/4 of the budding writer population can say they accomplished. I have edited and re-edited even though it takes forever and can honestly be the most tedious job on the planet. (I actually do love hacking and slashing my works. Just not when I want to see it in print and making me a multi-million dollar deal overnight. I dream big - sue me.)

I love writing. I love the feel of the keys beneath my fingers and the endless paper cuts from equally endless note taking. My head is full of stories and my mind (let's call it my somewhat hyperactive, slightly sarcastic muse) rampages at odd hours of the day and night. If I could remember half my dreams enough to write them down the next morning, I could probably make money just on dream interpretation alone. Most of my stories start out as fragmented dreams.

All this to say that I like Cathy's view on the writing process. I'm an artist yes, I'm a businesswoman to a degree, and I love gardening and I have many talents I could use toward a moneymaking venture to meet a need in my community.

However, I am a writer above all. My art is my craft and sometimes it's slower than molasses. But it's going to be good, once it hits the shelves.

Next.