Saturday, November 13, 2010

Through the Fog

Oh my gosh, it's been 2 weeks since I've written. Shame on me! Not only that but I've hardly been working on my manuscript. Granted, I'm trying to work through the fog of a head cold right now. And I've been doing research for my novel.
Part of me just wants to work on my manuscript day and night. Forget research, just write the dang thing! And yet, I know that I'll never be in touch with what the people of Salem really went through if I don't. I have to beat back the devils on my shoulder saying, "It's ok if it's mediocre. What is important is that you get it done as fast as possible. Particularly since you don't have much free time, just get'er done."

The book I'm reading is amazing. I am reading The Salem Witch Trials Reader by Frances Hill. It is compromised mostly from the actual documents from the trials and is phenomenal. But it takes time. And it's easy to want to take shortcuts. But there are no true shortcuts in creating a fabulous novel. For those of you who don't know, I am writing a YA novel about a 17 year old witch (yes, an actual witch) who lives during the Salem Witch Trials. And the fact of the matter is, I can't sell myself short. It's frustrating when I can't write a bestselling novel in a week. Dang it all! But there are no shortcuts to greatness.

I just watched a DVD about Switchfoot (love them!) and how they created their latest cd, Hello Hurricane. They cut their manager, producers, music label, everyone, and did it on their own. It took them 2 years to create the one cd. They wrote over 80 songs, knowing that in the end they could only use 12. But they wanted to make sure that it was who they were, what they wanted, and that it would be the best that it could possibly be. Sorry folks, sometimes it takes years to create a masterpiece. It's not a race. There are no shortcuts.

What shortcuts are you sometimes tempted to make?

4 comments:

  1. I agree! I always want to settle for mediocre just to get it done on many things in life! But we just have to work past that temptation! Good job not settling for less!

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  2. There are no shortcuts – especially when it comes to publishing!

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  3. I like to do research before I start writing too. The research helps give me plot ideas and stretches my imagination. Thank you for your comment on my whiny blog post yesterday.

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  4. Right now I'm tempted to throw research to the wind when I'm writing/editing. I even contemplated just omitting an entire scene in my current WIP just so that I wouldn't have to research it. Just horrible, I know. Cool blog - the book you're reading sounds sweet!

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