So, What's the Writer's Life Like?

Everyone knows that a writer's life is an interior one. From the non-writer's point of view, it often looks about as exciting as a bowl of cold oatmeal on a -20 January day. And the truth of the matter is that, quite often, it is just that dull! In fact, writers know they have to endure "cold oatmeal" days in order to achieve success. It's all an unenviable part of the process.

But if my "Cold Oatmeal Theory," is true, then what motivates a writer to keep on writing on a daily basis?

Now, I'm not talking about everyday practice (which is certainly necessary) or some grand goal for a novel (also necessary) to keep you motivated.

These are long-range objectives which can only realized by the grind-it-out routine of getting up in the morning and sitting down to write. Believe me, on a frigid winter's day (or a nice spring one), it's unbelievably tempting to flee the keyboard and go do something more immediately fun or satisfying.

So, why do we do it? I can only answer for myself, of course.

I read with envy about literary writers who get so involved in their characters' lives that they jump into the story and live and sweat and die with those characters. (I've only had that happen once in my writing career.)

Other authors are motivated by the language itself...how to shape it into beautiful and artistic forms so as to satisfy their aesthetic sense. Again, I'm envious of these writers. It's not within me to write gorgeous prose: I don't possess that kind of talent. After 30 years of writing "get to the point" business materials, I'm a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy when it comes to sentences.

Now, here's what does motivate me, and I think it'll actually serve as a boost for you if you're a wannabe writer who also knows that he or she will never reach the heights of Shakespeare, Hemingway, Nabokov or any other legend of the writing world:

When writing, I simply love to put my hero (Col. Fragger Sparks) in a spot he can't get out of - and then, of course, get him out of it! By employing this "trick," I fully engage my attention. I have to come up with a solution or else the plot doesn't advance. I use it time and time again to good effect. It keeps me motivated, plus it's just plain bloody fun!

My friends can always tell when I'm in this mode. On one day, I piss and moan that I'm not getting anywhere with the novel; the next day, I'm laughing and happy and quite insufferably pleased with myself because I've come up with an ingenious (in my opinion) solution.

Here's my point: In terms of writing, it doesn't matter how you get there; it only matters that you do get there! So, don't be discouraged by writers who seem to be better at plot or more versed in characterization. They simply found the writing vehicle that worked best for them. You need to do the same!

How do you find this vehicle? Well, unless you're supremely gifted, the only way is through writing on a daily basis, again and again until a specific literary gift grows out of your efforts. I can't tell you how long this will take. In my unsual case, it took ten years, a surgery for a non-malignant brain tumor, and an anti-depressant!

Fortunately, 99% of writers can find their particular talent in less stressful ways. So, what are you waiting for? Start writing...and keep on writing. It's the only way