Time to write

[notsallyrooney]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this board (hi!) but not new to writing. I had some interest from agents in the past with my first novel and some encouraging feedback about my writing in general, but that all ultimately came to nothing. Totally understandable, I wasn't even that into it by the time I sent it out (it took me years.)

I'm currently working on a second draft of my second attempt (again, I've been working on this for a couple of years now). I am really struggling at the moment with justifying taking time to do it, though -- I have a house full of kids (slight exaggeration, 3) and a full time job. I am so determined to finish it and send it out but finding it very hard at the moment to justify shutting myself away "writing my book" when there's a good chance it will come to nothing. I have sent parts of it to other people who have been encouraging, so I might be on the right track, but I think ultimately that remains to be seen because it's the overarching plot that might be my downfall..

Also, feel like a massive tw&t if I say "I am writing a novel", like who do I think I am, anyway?!! Basically really struggling with confidence over it.

Does anyone have any tips for getting over myself? I don't beat myself up about other 'pointless' activities. And whilst I'd love to say "I am just writing because I love to write", I really WOULD like to be published one day and am just feeling a bit down about how unlikely that is and how long it all takes! Help!

[uberalice]

I'm not a writer, but I have a similar pursuit that I'm passionate about and I often struggle with feelings like the ones you've described. What you're doing is not pointless, or even 'pointless'. You are talented and creative and you must keep going. That's what it takes to succeed.

Your kids will grow and eventually demand less of your time, so keep your hand in and be ready to use that time when you get it.

One thing that has helped me is to connect with like-minded people who are on a similar journey. We keep in touch and share what we're working on and support each other. We also remind each other when necessary that we're not massive tw&ts for wanting this.

Wishing you the best of luck.

[StellaOlivetti]

I think it’s perfectly fine and natural to want to be published, if you are a writer. Yes, the odds are not good. But I think it’s better not to focus on these, as it may get in the way of the really important thing- which is writing.
I don’t think you should feel you need to justify writing time with how likely said writing is to one day be published. Carving out time to write when you’re busy is hard. My children are grown now, but when they were younger, and I was working a lot outside the house, I had a word count target of 500 words a day, figuring that I would definitely be able to achieve that. Might that help? It’s not a lot, but you’ll have a first draft in four months!
My first novel was published when I was 54. I hope that doesn’t depress you, that’s not the intention! But although I sincerely hope you’re not as slow as I am, there’s no denying it’s a glacial process. So you simply have to love it for its own sake.
Very good luck 🙂

[Leim]

Keep going! You're doing great!

[waitingforautumn]

Same boat as you, minus the kids. I struggle with putting the necessary time in because I have this crippling fear that everything will amount to nothing - I also am not clued up in the slightest about how publishing etc even works!

I just tell myself: if I died tomorrow, I'd be pretty p-d off if I didn't write that novel.

And worst case? I'll have a story to pass down to any future kids, which I hope will contain some degree of (fictional) wisdom and a window into their mum's creative side. Just a small legacy on this world even if it doesn't hit the bookshelves!

I don't know what you're writing about, I know the journey and reasons for writing are so personal to every writer. But just take it one day at a time, enjoy the process and focus on getting something meaningful down rather than staying focused on the end product.

Not much advice to give but I do want you to hang in there! ❤