Writing Wednesday
Emotions
Forgive
me if I have written about this before, but it is very on my mind for the last
week. Yeah, emotions are a significant part of writing.
I
am talking about writing, so your reader feels emotion and the writing business’s
emotional side.
We
all know the old adage, “No tears for the writer, No Tears for the reader.” When
people read my book, I hope they get the same feelings I did when I wrote it. The
best we can do is make sure these parts hit us, and they should hit the reader.
Since
I began writing, there have been different emotions associated with it. Pride,
excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, euphoria, anger, the list goes on.
The
day I was told my edits would be done, I waited all day to receive them. Finally,
there was an email from the edit team but no attachment. So, my excitement
turned to uncertainty, then finally to anger. In the end, it was an accounting
mistake, but they told me I still owed them and they would not release my edits
until I paid.
About
an hour later, the owner called me and told me things were straightened out,
and he found the problem. I had sent them copies of my payments, so I was still
good. We spoke for about an hour, and he told me the edits would be sent over
shortly. Well, it was already 10:00 pm, so I went to bed.
I
woke up at 2:30 or 3:00 am and decided to check my email; YES, my edits were
there. I hopped out of bed and turned on my computer, so I could get going on
them. I read the editor’s notes a couple of times, and my excitement went from the
top of the world to sea level in a matter of seconds. Yeah, I was a little
upset at what she had said. But, I put my ego in check and took her advice. We
shall see if the readers like how I changed things.
That
day was a Thursday, and by the time I clocked in at my day job, I had already
had 5 cups of coffee and nothing to eat. Valerie got me to sneak off with her
for breakfast, and I was soooo tired. I had already been up for like 6 hours. I
had two more cups of coffee too.
My
emotions were all over that day. But, I think the most significant part of that
day was I put my ego away and listened. After my edits were done and the proofread
was finished, the editor told me she was delighted I had listened to her
advice. She said many authors ignore them and go with the flaws. I feel that is
a major problem for some people. They think they have produced the next great
genre-defining work, but they ignore the person who is the expert when they are
told differently.
My
roller coaster ride of emotions during the proofread was crazy. I heard very
little from the editor while she double checked things. I did hear from her at
Christmas, and she said it was going well. So, the whole time I was very
anxious and curious. WTF is going on?
I
read a post from a fellow Romance writer. She was talking about depression and
writing. I can see how this can get to be an awful thing. There can be a good
deal of waiting for your works to be reviewed and returned. Then you have the criticism
of your work.
Don’t
forget there are many of us out here who have gone through it, so talk to us.
Don’t let yourself get troubled.
All
of us, indie authors, are in this together. We can and will get past anything
that bothers us!
Now
back to our readers. Remember to shock them. Make them feel what is happening.
If you can cry, or feel angry, or scared when write, the reader will too.
