IWSG - Own Your Writing Journey

Today marks the one year anniversary of the IWSG website. To celebrate, the IWSG team is putting together an anthology of members, giving encouragement and support. There was a moment, when I thought I wasn't going to be able to participate. Life was butting in and in the worst way possible. So I decided to go with that and here's my words of wisdom about making your writing path yours and why you should never feel guilty about doing it your own way.

Writers write. It’s something we’ve all be told. And when the stars align, the words practically fly from our fingertips. All the while, the real world ceases to exist. Dishes go unwashed, the laundry piles up, and family members whine about dinner needing made. You don't care though. There are paper plates to eat on, wear that shirt again, and order pizza. You are in a fantastic land, battling evil. You don't have time for those menial things.

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But sometimes life isn't menial. Sometimes life happens in ways you can’t ignore. Your characters are clamoring in your head, demanding you tell their story, but the boss at your day job needs you in ASAP on your day off and for the rest of the week, or your child has a fever and needs to see a doctor, or there's a family emergency and you need to drive/fly to your sister and figure things out. You struggling to find the time to write, and often, you feel guilty because you see other writers juggling the more demanding aspects of life and writing with ease. Why can't you do the same as Jane Doe Big Shot Author? She has five kids, a part time job, cooks dinner every night and at a soup kitchen, and cranks out a story a week. Does she even sleep?!

Here's the thing though. Who cares if Jane Doe Big Shot Author does all that? That's HER journey. This is yours. You have to find your own writing path and what works for YOU. If you can write every day, great! If not, that's okay too. The words are what's important. Your best writing will happen when you figure out what gets you in the zone. Don't try to make yourself fit into every box. Push yourself, but if you find something, no matter how hard you try, isn't helping you be productive then ditch it. It's only hindering your story. Never let yourself get bogged down with guilt because the author next to you seems to be doing better. They aren't. They are on this trip the same as you and have figured out their path. Instead, go find your own, own it and make it yours. Only then will your writing truly flourish.

IWSG has permission to reprint this post in their anthology.
About: Patricia Lynne is a YA author of two books, Snapshots and Being Human, has a fondness for dying her the color of the rainbow, and one day would like to have enough pets to resemble a petting zoo.