ADD: Must clarify. To me, muse = writer/author creativity.
There was a minor kerfluffle on the RT boards and on one of the blogs I lurk at and the readers and even possibly some authors were more than slightly miffed at the fact that an author who was supposed to have had a book out over a year ago still doesn’t have a definite date of release.
Fans who were once nice to this author are now cruel and heartless. But I honestly do not think that the readerly fans understand the extent of writer’s block.
Possible reasons for writer’s block that I can think of off the top of my head would be: writing too much, writing the wrong story at the wrong time, writing for the “market” and sale-ability rather than for yourself and what your heart desires (or rather what your muse desires), writing what you don’t know versus writing what you do know, and life changes and tragedy in your life that takes up all your time and you just don’t have the time to write.
Those are just a few and there are many more out there. But there is one more, the one that stands out first and foremost in my mind, and one I live in fear of developing: the successful first book block. What I mean by that is, a writer writes their first book, it gets published, and sells very, very well and gets raving reviews… a super-successful first book. Then you sit down at the computer to start your second book or continue on with it, and the words won’t come because in their place is doubt, self-doubt, and fear. Of what you might ask?
Fear of failure. Fear of ridicule. Fear that your second book is going to be a flop compared to the first. Fear that your second book won’t measure up and readers and reviewers are going to bash you and make you wish you were an ostrich who could stick their head in the sand. You sit down at the computer day after day hoping the words will come but all that comes is the fear, the self doubt, the insecurities all writers have, but at levels that make your muse go into hiding. Yet you struggle. Each and every word is a chore to write, and at the end of the day as you reread it, you realize it totally blows (whether it does or not, you see no reason at this point), and then you panic. And your muse goes further and further into the abyss and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to coax him or her back to the surface.
This is the one I hope never develops. Ever.
So, you see, writer’s block isn’t just an excuse for when a writer can’t write, it’s an affliction. A detrimental affliction, one that can ruin your career in more ways than one. You try to hide it because you can lose your agent, your contract, and your readership… but in doing so you’re jeopardizing the very same things. So you publicize it. You get ridiculed. You start to get your muse back, and your publisher gives you a release date, then your muse gives you fits, you need to make major revisions, or life gets in the way or your publisher changes that date, so your readership gets annoyed and ridicules you some more. Then, for whatever reason, your release date gets pushed back again, and your readership gets more annoyed.
What can you do? What should you do? Do you update your website or send out an announcement each time the date gets pushed back even though you have no new release date to give to the readers? Or do you stay quiet, try to get your muse into check, finish the book or revisions and get them to your editor?
Me, I’d chose the latter. Why? Because if I have nothing definite, I’m not going to give out false hope for a time frame for release, and if my muse has still only partially returned, I’m not going to be able to explain that, and who knows if he or she is going to go back into hiding… especially if you go public and you get chastised or ridiculed once again. I think my muse would then be gone permanently. So basically, no news is just that–no news.
What’s the point of this post? Well, to an author, their muse is what helps them write a story. And a muse is a fickle thing. If the author gets insecure, feels doubt with regard to their abilities or their talent, or feels the fear of failure, the muse will be the first thing affected, and it can be affected in a very unfavorable way.
So, if you know an author who is experiencing publishing delays for reasons that are known or unknown, be patient with them please. They are doing their very best. They don’t mean to anger you, the reader. They’re just trying their damnedest to get you the story you deserve, one that is worthy of publication versus one that was rushed and doesn’t measure up.
As a reader myself, I’d rather wait for the quality version than get the rushed version one.
Thoughts? Opinions?
February 18th, 2008 at 8:01 am
[...] Talking about writer’s block…when your muse takes a snooze.   Stop by and give me your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you. Marissa @ 9:01 [...]
February 18th, 2008 at 8:11 am
[...] At The Bradford Bunch… about writer’s block…when your muse takes a snooze. Stop by and give me your thoughts. I’d love to hear from [...]
February 18th, 2008 at 8:42 am
I don’t believe in writer’s block, at least not for me. For each person, the process varies, but I don’t subscribe to the “muse” philosophy myself. Sometimes the writing really flows and sometimes it’s like pulling teeth.
For me, the important thing is to keep going. If it sucks, I can fix it later. I don’t think it’s advisable to try to do this full-time while depending on the capricious whims of artful magic. If it’s a job, not a hobby, then the work must be done.
February 18th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Ann- How do you feel in the case of Lisa Valdez? She’s been “blocked” for a while, her dates pushed back and back. Same with Judith McNaught, though I think hers has to do with personal issues. What do you think about such cases as these? Do the readers/fans have a right to do some extreme ridiculing? Or do you, like me, think they should be patient because you never know what is going on in another person’s life?
February 18th, 2008 at 9:03 am
It seems that might be an offshoot of looking at writing as wholly an art and not business as well. If you hang your hope of meeting deadlines on the muse or being inspired, then it becomes a very ephemeral, unreliable process.
Regardless, if a contract has been signed and money has exchanged hands, then the author has an obligation to produce. Once the terms are met and no others are in effect, the author is then free to not write, plant shrubberies, watch television, join the Peace Corp or whatever else he or she wishes.
It seems to me, on the simplest level, you’re saying fans shouldn’t be mean to authors; they should try to be more understanding. I tend to think all people should be kinder to each other across the board, not just fans and authors, but I don’t see it happening just because I said so.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Then you sit down at the computer to start your second book or continue on with it, a
Now see, here’s the thing. I wrote my second novella and my second book before the first one even came out so this doesn’t fly so well with me. I’m with Ann in that folks should just be kinder to one another all the way around–though I do understand that block–I didn’t write for three years after my mom died.
That said, I do write better with a deadline…I’m definitely more motivated and as Ann said, money has changed hands, a contract has been signed (and you have a job to do).
February 18th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Good post and very accurate. I think every author when they sign a contract has every intention of fulfilling that contract. In theory, both sides will fulfill the exact terms of the contract as written at time of signing. That’s theory. Theory is very concise and tied up with a pretty pink bow of supposition.
Then there’s the real world… And that’s a whole other kettle of fish. Lines close, editors leave, release dates change, life happens, shit happens, illness happens.
The bottom line is life is not as neat as theory and any one at any time can find themselves in a position where they can’t deliver to contract terms despite their best efforts. It’s a rare author indeed who can say at the end of their likely 30 year career that they never required an extension. All intent at contract signing aside.
February 18th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I understand the pressure of this game. It’s stressful. what blocked her was worrying over the second book when the first was received with such deep emotion on all sides. I totally get that. It’s emotionally difficult to extend yourself and it’s incredibly hard NOT to second guess yourself based on other people’s responses. That’s so human.
BUT - I have to agree with Ann and Amie here - this is a business. YOu sign a contract you get your act together and you do the job. Aside from the things Sarah mentioned, which are not a factor here - lines closing, editors changing - which actually are NOT block issues but publishing house issues - but real issues like a family member being ill - it’s your responsibility to get your work done.
The real world means we live up to our responsibilities. That’s not supposition, that’s not theory, that’s in fact, the way most people work and live every day.
The real world means you sit your ass down in that chair and shut the critics out because if you write an edgy, envelope pushing book it’s going to cause an uproar. Period.
My intent when I sign a contract is to fulfill it. The thought of being overdue with a book deadline repeatedly literally makes me sick to my stomach. Are there things that could derail my intentions? Sure. I’ve got three kids and a husband and my parents are getting older. It all weighs on me at any given time and I’m sure it does for other people. But barring that, if I had to stay up all night to finish the book or make arrangements in other ways to do it, I would. I have. I work ahead of time as much as I can to make allowances for my life just in case. Because that’s the professional way to deal.
This is long, LOL, but essentially, I feel for Lisa Valdez because she had to deal with a mountain of shit. That can hit you and scar you. But you know what scars do? they thicken your skin. Yes, people need to calm the hell down - what is wrong with someone who’d write a harassing email to an author over a book? But people do. If you push the envelope, people push back sometimes. It hurts. But this is what we do. People love the book too, you soldier on and learn from it.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I’m not a part of the RT board, but I have heard of the drama. I have mixed feelings, but I think what is affecting me is one of the posts - I felt that one was unnecessary. I admit, I’m disappointed when publishing dates are pushed back. (One bad instance was when I ordered school books along with a book that was due out in August (and everything was to ship together). That date rolled around… no books. I waited and waited and waited… and finally that one book got a new publishing date of *three years later.* Maybe I’m flaky, but I was ok with that. I’d rather read a good book that a badly written one.
On the other hand, yes, I understand the contracts, and that the author promised the other books. (Maybe it would have been better if no word of the book had circulated until it was done/near done.) Of course- contracts can be broken - maybe I shouldn’t even mention that - imagine the fall out from *that* result.
Still torn. I’ve been fed up with this sense of entitlement people have. Being a supportive fan is all well and good, but demanding books really has no place. (I know this is slightly different because the book had been promised.) I also realize writing is extremely difficult and being blocked is horrible. Everyone has experienced being blocked in some form or another -and there does come a time to make a decision. Either suck it up and bust it out, or just let it go.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
It’s easy to sit here and say I will never miss a deadline, I will never have writer’s block, I will never… I will never… But the truth of the matter is, no one ever really knows what’s going to happen from one day to the next. What would have happened if my husband had died a year ago when he had a heart attack? Would I be writing? Don’t know. What will happen if he does die in the future from heart-related issues, or even an accident? Don’t know that either. But I feel on a deeper level that my writing, no doubt, will be affected by that. I mean, whose wouldn’t? If you can honestly sit there and say, “Mine wouldn’t,” more power to you, but me, I write with the same emotional intensity that I live.
This post was about so much more than writer’s block and deadlines… Did anyone catch it? From the replies here, I see no one but Sarah coming close. What was my intent… NO ONE IS INFALLIBLE. NO ONE. You can say “It won’t happen to me” and think you’re strong enough to get past anything and be able to do your normal everyday routines every single day, but before you go and say with complete confidence, “NOT ME”… think about “WHAT IF” Because that “WHAT IF” could have a huge impact on the confident “NOT ME” that was iterated at one point or another.
Because no one is infallible, we do the best we can. Sometimes it’s not good enough, other times we achieve much more than we set out to achieve. But don’t condemn those who can’t meet their “goals” to eternal purgatory. You never know the circumstances.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Of course, no one actually said any of those things, Marissa. No one denies writers are human and infallable. But outside of extenuating circumstances, you get the damned job done. If you allow negative feedback to derail you, if you allow those doubts to consume you, the doubters win. Also, you don’t know the circumstances - not anyone who’s responded here.
I don’t have a “pretty bow” on my life. Nor do most people. What you have is your life. You can make it what you want. Sometimes it takes longer than you think, sometimes it has to happen through another method, but reality is reality.
Yes, things can happen. Yes, catastrophic things come up unfortunately. And you deal with that when and if it does. But here and now, you have what you have. So you make it work, or you don’t. That’s reality. That’s not condeming anyone to anything but what they make of their situation. And for the record, I don’t equate a husband’s stroke with bad feedback but I’ve written through a hell of a lot of horrible stuff, because I had responsibilities. That was my choice and I did what I had to. I don’t expect anyone to do it the way I did, but when you asked for feedback, I gave it.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I’m not aware of condemning anyone to anything.
“This post was about so much more than writer’s block and deadlines… Did anyone catch it?”
Yes. I chose not to pursue that because I didn’t want to discuss Lisa Valdez’s business. How she writes is up to her, just like what I do is up to me.
I think using personal problems as a reason for failing to meet professional obligations is tacky. People who work 9-5 jobs don’t get to do that. Why should we?
I like you a great deal, Marissa, and respect your point of view. Thanks for inviting others to share theirs.
February 18th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Marissa,
Without reading any of the other comments above I have to say I love, love your post. Because I really believe what you’ve said goes to the heart of an author and the things they can experience. Unfortunately being an author can sometimes be like celebrity. People like to ridicule Paris Hilton for what she says, what she doesn’t say, what they think she should say, you name it…any type of public persona can be analyzed and criticized to death for not living up to a public’s belief in what that person should be.
Denise A. Agnew
February 18th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I’m just going to add one point. There is a difference in the basic requirements between say an accountants job and an author’s job. Any direct comparison basically compares apples to oranges and determines because they each have a skin, they’re the same exact thing.
While I, again, appreciate the determination many have that external factors will never impact their creative process, and sincerely hope it doesn’t, writers block (and it’s creative relations) is a long researched phenom. It’s largely consider situational and the anxiety associated with it is not one that’s there at first but is learned through experiences absorbed through the process of writing. Because of the nature of the “disorder” and the way in which it develops (actually quite an interesting thing to study. Sort of like an action/adventure book in psychological studies with a new enemy and hero in each case) it is impossible for any author to say with any certainty that it won’t happen to them. That’s why, for those authors that understand the underpinnings of writer’s block, it is the monster lurking in the closet at the fringe of their reality. No one in a creative field is immune. And there’s no sure fire one way to avoid it. The triggers for writers block will be as unique as each individual that suffers it. For some the trigger will be huge moment. For others it will be a series of little somethings they never noticed piling up in one corner of their mind. But once the monster comes out of the closet and grabs hold, it’s there in a big way. Any expectation that the cure lies in just pushing oneself through it is very simplistic and highly unlikely to succeed. As a matter of fact, an author’s expectation that s/he should be able to overcome the block through sheer determination, in all likelihood, would actually worsen the block.
It is one thing to blow off a deadline. That’s a matter of choice. It’ a whole other thing to have developed writers block. A little research would reveal that one of the biggest shocks (and horrors) to those that have suffered writer’s block is the complete lack of choice they have when it comes to the ability to write. I can’t imagine not being able to write, but I’ve been around long enough to know that writer’s block is a demon that could come calling any day.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
*raising hand* Reader here.
If the post is about deadlines, writer’s block, and all sorts of publishing and writing stuff, I bow out because hey, I don’t write. I don’t aspire to write. I know nothing there.
I read.
So, if the post is about readers, and whether they sometimes feel entitled to something (a book, a series, a particular pairing withing a series, pick your poison), I have opinions to share.
From where I sit, writers have to walk a very very fine line when having an online presence. For good or ill, readers will find your little corner of the intrawebs, and pay attention to what you say, and remember it. When you are online under your writing name, you are a public person. You represent your books in the eyes of all those unknown readers. So whatever you, author, say about anything and everything under the sun, is immediately associated with the books you want readers to buy.
Is it fair that writers have to watch how they present themselves in public (online) at all times, be professional and be prepared to explain and defend their point of view in a calm, rational, civilized manner, while readers can be total bitches and eviscerate them? Hell, no it ain’t. But life has never been about fairness. Life is about survival first and enjoyment of being alive second (with all sorts of things after that and as part and parcel of it).
So writers must either develop a thick skin in a hurry, or limit their exposure to the ‘web, IMnotsoHO. Cause it’s not likely than any amount of head shaking will reduce the number of readers who are loudmouthed, unkind, feel entitled, or whatever.
But there IS a good side–as with most everything in life.
Having watched different authors participate in heated conversations on too many different controversial topics to count, I can tell you that I also associate professional demeanor with quality books, and I have sought out books by authors with whom I’ve both agreed and disagreed, simply because of how they present themselves online.
I sincerely doubt I’m the only one.
I don’t know the ins and outs of whatever is going on with Ms Valdés, so perhaps I should keep quiet on it, but from what I’ve gathered, it probably would have been better (way back when the first delay came about) to say something along the lines of, “Guys, I’m sorry, shit has happened and the released date has been postponed indefinitely. I’ll update you when a new date has been set. Thank you” And then, refraining from posting updates until after the book has indeed been turned in to the publisher–however long that took.
Some of her readers would still complain, of course–but then some people complain no matter what–but most readers would have had less of a reason to feel betrayed/deceived, which seems to be the prevalent feeling going around.
that’d be a ha’penny.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Unless you can point out where anyone has said they’d NEVER be affected by something external, I’m wondering why you keep arguing with it - because no one has said it. No one. So you’re arguing with yourself, Sarah.
The original post asked for thoughts and opinions. I gave mine. I gave mine as a person who deals with the business of writing every day. I never said blocks don’t exist. I never said, “oh who cares if your husband gets ill, don’t ask for an extension” I said, you fulfill your contract if at all possible. Not changing subjects, not bringing up stuff that wasn’t said, but actually replying to the post and comments.
February 18th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Well, I don’t claim to speak for everyone in the creative field; nothing strikes me as quite so silly as a blanket statement.
Therefore, I only speak for me. I write my 3K a day until the book is done. I do the job. If people want to call me a machine over that, like Nora Roberts, then I’ll raise a glass over the comparison.
That’s all I said in my original point — if money has changed hands, the book needs to be written. I’m not sure why this has rattled so many trees, but there you are.
And I also agree with Azteclady who offers the not-so-startling truth, “life has never been about fairness.”
February 18th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
The thought of being overdue with a book deadline repeatedly literally makes me sick to my stomach.
Lauren….I hear ya. And Marissa I know better than to say “Not me.”
FWIW my last book WAS late–by five weeks. Why? Because I got sick and they spent four months trying to figure out what was wrong with me *sigh* (I think we actually chatted about it). Anyway, yes, life happens. I was still writing albeit slowly–it’s hard for ME to write when the real world interferes–while I know writers who take comfort in writing when the real world interferes. That’s why I think balance is so important.
That said, I worry more about getting a bad rep for repeatedly turning books in late and blowing deadlines than I worry about being skewered by fans *hehe*
Yes, I’m anal like that.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I don’t have a muse. I wish I did. I wish the words would flow through me and out onto the page and it wouldn’t be like pulling teeth every time I sit down to write. But it’s not.
That’s just me, the way it works. Sometimes the words come, some times they do not.
The thought of missing a deadline also makes me freak. I know things happen. I can absolutely see it happening — if my children or spouse got ill. If I did. If something happened to prevent me from physically sitting down and writing and doing the work, yes, I can see it. I hope it never does, and NOT because of the deadline but because missing a deadline, to me, would mean something else so catastrophic had happened in my life, and I don’t want anything that bad to happen.
But missing it just because the words didn’t come? Hmm. No. And I know fear. I face it every day. I fear I can’t write another book. And yet…I do. I fear the words won’t come and sometimes they are more difficult to release than others, but even when they’re pouring out, I fear the next set won’t be there when I want them. So some days I sit and stare at my computer for hours and other days I write until my fingers are numb.
I feel for anyone who’s blocked. I understand fear. But I don’t understand anyone who lets fear stop them from fulfilling an obligation. If you takes the money, you does the work. If you have to give up tv, or sleep, or reading for pleasure or trips to the zoo, you do it. If you write shite until the words come and go back and fix them, you do it. You sit your butt in the chair and you write the words until you are done, and at the end you might have a good book or a really crappy one, but if you don’t write it, you will never have a book at all.
Crap can be fixed. Nothing can’t.
I’m making no comment on any other author in particular. I don’t know Lisa Valdez’s situation or any of yours. I’m commenting on my own perspective.
I sit and I write and I do it to the deadline I’ve been given; I own the fact I screw off on the internet when I should be writing, and I give up things I love doing in order to work, if that’s what it takes. I won’t miss a deadline because of anything less than situations that physically prevent me from writing and I pray I never encounter one. I fear the words won’t come but I sit there until they do, and I don’t ever, ever take them for granted when they’re there.
My writing is a job. It is work. It is wonderful work, but it’s not a hobby to me, and I count myself one of the luckiest people in the world to do what I love.
M
February 18th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
…oh, I do think people all around should be nicer to each other, too.
M
February 18th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Wow. Ditto everything Megan said. I’ve never had the pleasure to talk to her about this, but she articulated my feelings every step of the way.
I am afraid of lots of things, but the fear only wins if I let it.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Denise A. Agnew
February 18th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Yes we did. Hugs! I’m glad you’re feeling better.
Just one more way we are alike. Hee hee!
February 18th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
So true, Denise! What works for one person doesn’t work for another. There is no “one true way.”
February 18th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi Azteclady. So happy to have you here. A reader’s perspective is always important. Thanks for sharing!
February 18th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Um… so I feel like maybe some of what I said was taken out of context. Or I got caught in the cross fire. Or something - so I’m going to hide behind azteclady as a fellow reader.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:16 am
(((JSL))) Not at all! I value each and every opinion that was posted. Every single one. You better not go and hide on me now, missy. I enjoy your company.
February 19th, 2008 at 6:54 am
JSL,
Nah, don’t hide! Every reader here is valued.
As I mentioned above, every perspective is going to be different based on individual experience. That goes for readers as well. 
I think you touched on many valuable points.
Denise A. Agnew