Finding your groove.

Finding the rhythm and flow of writing isn't easy. I think some new writers think that once you finish your first book, or sell a novel, that suddenly writing becomes easy. I know I did. Unfortunately, it never works that way. It has been several months since I finished my first draft of The Sometimes Sword, and yet the last few weeks have been the most difficult for me to find motivation. Now, I don't want to focus on the difficulties; I want to highlight some of the things that will, first, help you realize you aren't that different from the rest of us, and second, maybe find some good advice to help you out.

I don't have much in the way of advice today, but I do want to say this: ask yourself why you are writing. Is it just a hobby? For fun? Are you just bored? Do you want to someday sell a book? Whatever your answer is, be it ambitious or laid-back, that's fine. But, you need to look at what your intentions are, then carefully assess what you've been doing, and how it supports, or doesn't support your dream. If you want to make a living writing novels, then approaching it like a hobby is probably not going to work, etc. Just try to make good decisions, and constantly re-evaluate your priorities.

Now I want to hear from you. What advice can you give other readers about managing their dream, and finding the healthy groove of writing?

New friends, new writers... Good to meet you!

It seems like the interviews are going to be a pretty fun feature, because I got a lot of interest from all of you on Melanie Chasten Fowler's from yesterday (or maybe it was just the fact that it was Melanie). Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment. A special thanks to those of you who added me as followers! I look forward to some good conversations.

As I've said before, the purpose of this blog was originally to give myself a writing outlet while I was in school, and didn't have time to actually write in my own novel much. Since then I've had several people tell me that they had found some worth in something I posted, and it had helped them with their own writing (I don't claim to be any kind of expert in the slightest). So the blog has morphed into something I think might be beneficial to the writing community. The way I plan to accomplish this is to open it up to everyone to contribute. I know many of you have blogs or websites, and I want to be a support for those. If you have an event or contest you'd like to spread around, let me know. If you have an awesome local writer you'd like me to interview (even if it's yourself), also let me know! Feel free to post any questions about writing you might have in my post's comments, or email me.

If you discover a great website or book that has helped you in your own writing, let me know so I can post it. Throw quotes from authors' blogs at me, notify me if you get published or self-publish. Let's pull some of the great writers here in Utah into the spotlight and get some great books out there!

I'm radically less interested in Art than I used to be.

First off, this post is a little disjointed, and I can't be held responsible for bad grammar and spelling. (I wrote it over the course of three days, shoved in between studying.)


Long before I ever thought of being a writer, I was an artist. Before I read books for pleasure I was teaching myself to draw and fumbling around with techniques (with horrible results). I eventually began to develop some skill to go with my talent, and over the years, I produced some pretty good stuff (in my humble opinion). For a very long time I thought visual art would be my calling. Once I got my first computer and copy of Photoshop, I began to teach myself computer animation and graphic design. Later, while performing vocals in my deathcore band, I taught myself to make t-shirt and other merch designs, including two CD covers.


All seemed to point to a computer graphics/animation career, and I hoped to go to college for a degree in it some day. After my band... well, disbanded, I fell out of practice, as show posters and merch designs had been my main source of work. Somewhere along the way in the ensuing years, I also fell out of love with it. This crazy idea of writing a story pushed it from its place at the adult's table then kicked it in the kidneys.


And I'm glad it did.


Right now I'm in college, working on my generals. One of my current classes is Art History 2720, and I hate it. I can't remember an exam I have feared so much as the one I just took. I'm no slob when it comes to retaining information and so on, but the amount of specific detail the professor demanded within an hour class is, quite frankly, insane. All I want to do is write, and anything that takes me away from that is a waste of time (or so I feel). Math I can handle (shockingly enough), as it only requires practice and knowledge of formulas and methods (you can't mess that up). Art History and my (shudder) Philosophy class require a different kind of brain power. And it's not just the frustration of connecting ideas and concepts, or simply memorizing dates, it's doing things the instructor's way, or the highway. It's all about their interpretation, even when it's blatantly wrong or out of context (looking at you Philosophy Professor).


I suppose it's mostly a matter of what I'm willing to place importance in, and while I know deep down that college is important, it just feels like a waste of time. Not just a waste; it is actively taking away from my ability to work on the dream of being a writer. I have no time to practice, no time to edit, and certainly no time to actually write the fiction. The only reason I continue with college is the fact that I can't simply rely on writing to support me. I'm not so egotistical as to imagine that I can "make it" or get published. It's only a dream so far, and dreams don't put food in your mouth. But if I use college as my back up plan, is it really worth it if it wholly prevents me from pursuing my dream?


Why can't I dream of being a doctor?