Wednesday, May 7, 2014

IWSG: Let It Go

Today's IWSG post is about worrying.  Not about being worrisome, which is part of a writer's job around mundanes, because having others be concerned about our sanity just goes with the territory. But no, this is about getting past all the worries that come with this profession.

I'd love to just say "STOP IT!" and end the entry there, but sadly, nothing is that easy.

Here's the thing: the book I'm working on is an interplanar adventure.  I've written interplanar adventures before.  I have three different versions of an interplanar adventure book, all of which failed in different ways.  Believe me when I say how badly I wanted that book to work - I think I have a longer plotting file for the various versions of that book than any other plot document.  But I just couldn't make the story be what I wanted it to be.

The first version also would have run into copyright issues due to one character wielding The Power of Rock and my inclusion of actual song lyrics, but that's different.

Naturally, some of the same worries crept up on me when I was soon to start my current book.  This book is a completely new story, but I couldn't help thinking that it would fail as well.  I've also heard that interplanar adventures don't sell, which is exactly the sort of thing I shouldn't be thinking about before I even start the damn thing.

The solution to this came, of all places, from a Disney song.  (Yes, I'm sure many of you guessed it as soon as you saw this entry's title.)  I actually heard the titular song on the radio the Thursday before I started my writing vacation, and I just kind of sat there in my cube, realizing it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I've blogged before about how important music is to my writing.  I have CDs for plotting and writing and editing each book, and the music helps me get into the right mindset for each project.  But I also have a pre-writing song for each book.  "Let It Go" became that for this book because of one specific verse:

It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through,
No right, no wrong, no rules for me - I'm free.

That, right there, is what I needed.  To approach the new book as an experiment, to see what happens, to just sit down and write it and not worry about anything else.

And seeing as how I'm about to enter Act III after working on the thing for only a week and a half, I can say it's working incredibly well.

Next entry: on writing a wargolem.

16 comments:

  1. Good for you! :D

    IWSG #224 until Alex culls the list again.

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  2. I don't think it matters where good advice comes from as long as it works. :-)

    Anna from Shout with Emaginette

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    1. There's never anything wrong with getting advice from Disney songs. ^_^

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  3. Glad you found your advice. We should write what we want and not worry about what will sell (since that's looking into the future, which none of us can do), but it's hard not to look at the industry and think about it.
    Write and enjoy!

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    1. Indeed! I've seen lots of publishers and agents advise very strongly to not try to follow trends, partly because the business is so slow.

      And as I say that, I'm thinking about the Snow White retelling I've had the first few sparks of an idea for. Eh heh heh.

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  4. Damn Act III after a week and a half?? Sheesh! That's amazing! Ok, I really need to stop writing about the real world and start making worlds up. So much less research... ;)

    You know, I don't care what anyone says - I love that song. The lyrics really do have a beautiful meaning.

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    1. Well, I did spend nine days doing two writing sessions. So I'm technically three weeks in, I just fit eighteen days into nine. ^_^ And yes, making stuff up is a ton easier than working in the real world.

      The song really is something special.

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    2. Fitting 18 days into 9 qualifies as amazing :)

      BTW, I tagged you in a writing process meme this week...

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    3. Cool, thanks! I'll head over soon.

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  5. It's a great song. Unfortunately, I know it in three different languages right now (the hazards of having a 5-y.o.). And I'm glad the words are finding you. Mine are getting lost in translation. or at least, it's all the wrong words for this project, if that makes any sense. (Why do pirates have to be so good at flipping me the finger and attacking another ship?)

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    1. Pirates are like that because they're pirates. :P You don't remember that scene in one of the movies where someone asks Jack Sparrow why he did something and his only response was "Pirate!"?

      I do hope you can get the words in the right places, though. Since you're writing pirates, I suggest a shot of rum before writing. It works well for me. ^_^

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  6. Oh no. I just got this song out of my head... LOL

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  7. This is going to be your best book yet, I just know it. No being discouraged because you are going to totally rock it! I've read so many books that are good, but the ones that grab me the hardest and the ones where the author still totally loves their baby. If the love is there, the book will be awesome. Period. All the little things can be tweaked.

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    1. I appreciate the vote of confidence, I really do. Unfortunately, it turned out pretty much exactly the opposite. Which is what my next blog entry will be about.

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