Writing through the tough times

[LightShadow]

As I struggle with arthritis, my job, my overall health, my wife's health, my wife's schooling, money matters, my son's dilemmas (21 year old prodigal son), my daughter's dilemmas (an almost 16 year old young lady), church, outside schedules, responsibilities in Oregon (as well as here in California), the numerous rejections I receive, and trying to get a toe into the proverbial door of the writing business, it is enough to make me want to scream: ENOUGH!!!!

How can anyone write with such obstacles?

Hemingway wrote through a drug addiction, World Wars, and injuries sustained as a part of an ambulance crew during the First World War.

J.K. Rowling was a single mother of a preschool-aged daughter; an aspiring writer trying to make ends meet, that, at one time, because times had become so hard, was forced to go on public assistance in order to survive.

Stephen King was hit by a van in an accident that nearly killed him in 1999.

Piers Anthony has faced controversy, legal battles, and at one time was even blacklisted by the publishing industry.

Dan Brown, though I am not thrilled by his books, has faced plaigerism charges, and battles from many groups, including Christianity due to his novel "The Da Vinci Code."

Agatha Christie braved seperation from her new husband during World War I, and was convinced that she would not survive the London bombings during World War II.

What am I quiveling about? This is nothing. Many published writers began with years of unnoticed hard work as I have, and hundreds of rejections. Good writers get noticed. Good writers make it. Good writers become published eventually.

[LeftUnsaid]

I thought it was a known fact that the majority of writers have a whole plethora of issues, mental and physical. I think the more problems we face the better our writing. Look at Sylvia Plath, for one small example. I think it's the craziness of the world around us that forces us to retreat inward and find solace through our own words.

[Ardellis]

How can anyone write with such obstacles?

I find that when things are tough in real life, I write more. My WIP is a refuge from the rest of the world. It got me through a period a couple of years ago when we had two family members dying at the same time. I'd have been lost without my writing.

[Siddow]

Just think: if you lived a charmed life with the white picket fence and never faced adversity...what in the heck would you write about? There's a great post at Agent 007's blog (http://agentoo7.blogspot.com/)--it's old, but it's titled "I never..." and it's beautiful.

[AdamH]

Stick to it LightShadow. :)

You're right there are many good writers that take years to get noticed. The difference between published writers and non-published writers is the drive to work through all these oppositions to achieve something you love.

Opposition, hurdles, and life's little surprises (both good and bad) will happen no matter what. It's what you choose to get by these things (to use as fodder for future writing, or simply as focus to move forward) that will determine your outcome.

At least, that's how I look at it.

[Penguin Queen]

The dark-night-of-the-soul moments (or days, weeks, months) rarely appear in the biography, & never on the blurb. I bet JK Rowling had days where she wanted to chuck the MS out the window, & the baby after it.
I think everybody has them. The trick is to battle through the toughest times and keep breathing until things get a bit easier. And then get back to writing, somehow. :)

[kristie911]

I find that when I hit a particularly stressful time, I don't write as well or as often. During those times I try to at least stick to editing. But when the creative juices aren't flowing and my mind is all clogged up with other junk, I just take time off. I know that I should be writing everyday whether it's garbage or not and whether I feel like it or not. But the truth is, I can't do it.

Lately, I haven't been writing much at all, though I've gotten a fair amount of editing done. Just too much else going on for me to be able to concentrate.

[zeprosnepsid]

I'm sick all the time and I find it very hard to write. My brain is not in order nor is my body and it's too hard to type keys or form a sentence. But I just try to relax. 4 frustrated hours in front of the computer won't yield much. But 1 hour in the tub reading manga and listening to something soothing followed by 3 hours of writing is often a lot more productive. Take time to relax and focus and get rid of the world and then writing usually becomes a little easier.

But to be honest, when life gets to be too much - how do I write? Sometimes I don't. But I feel better when I at least try.

But I have no sympathy for JK. Wish I could go on welfare and be free to write my novel....

[Sassenach]

Piers Anthony has faced controversy, legal battles, and at one time was even blacklisted by the publishing industry.
.

How could that happen? There's no industry-wide blacklisting authority.

[preyer]

i seem to remember something about anthony's 'blacklisting,' which would have been, naturally, an unofficial thing. i'm sure to a certain extent mel gibson will be 'blacklisted' for awhile.

while personal experience is great, and i believe wholly it's required for real understanding, at the same time i never believed in the whole 'suffering artist' speil. plenty of writers were never appreciated in their own time. in fact, shakespeare died nearly penniless, did he not?, and wasn't considered a master in his own time? another that springs to mind is e. a. poe. it's not until they're 'rediscovered' long after their deaths were they recognized for their brilliance. that said, in this day in age, i don't think that's likely to be the norm: if you're brilliant, that fact will be out within your lifetime. or just don't ever die and wait and see. (hey, there's a story there i'm sure has been done before, the artist faking their own death so people will appreciate them. i want to say that's an old 'columbo' episode, lol.)

how can people write through such obstacles? obviously it depends on the person. everyone's got their own way about them. i myself can't write directly in the midst of great personal strife. i wish i could, because then i could capture those emotions as they happen instead of relying on my memory to possibly taint things. i would imagine most people can't get a phone call about how their son was just murdered and five minutes later start jotting down story ideas. my gawd, i hope most people can't do this anyway. but by means of eventually coping with tragedy, i can definitely see that.

i think it's a complicated issue. to do it justice this thread would go on for about a thousand pages.

so we've got some work to do. :)

[Sassenach]

As I mentioned in another post, I think many of those mentioned [Van Gogh, Plath, Poe, et al] suffered from untreated mood disorders. If they'd had the advantage of therapy and anti-depressants, it'd be a very different story.

[Dpsi4]

My life is in a pretty stressful financial situation right now. I just decided to stop worrying and put my faith in God.

I got a bite from an agent yesterday.

[Cath]

Put me down as one who finds writing more difficult when I'm going through a bad spell. I prefer to deal with the issues first and use the experiences I gain from them later, when I can face it.

Congrats on the bite DSPI

[bsolah]

But I have no sympathy for JK. Wish I could go on welfare and be free to write my novel....

This statement reeks of ignorance. You have no idea how hard it is to be on welfare. I'm on welfare because I can't find a job. It's not that much money, so you're always worrying about financial stuff, people are always giving you hell, as if it's your choice to be on welfare and not have a job, and the constant stress of it all often hampers my writing considerably.

I admire J.K. Rowling for writing a novel in such an environment, and raising a kid.

[smiley10000]

Shakespeare was extremely popular in his day.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare)
Various documents recording legal affairs and commercial transactions show that Shakespeare grew rich enough during his stay in London to buy a property in Blackfriars, London and own the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place.


I wouldn't worry too much about him - he was the Steven Spielberg of his day.

I find that writing in my journal or free writing helps me when I am down. I also cannot write my WIP at that time but as long as I am writing something...

Just keep on trucking, your day will come in the right time.
:Hug2: 10000

[Jamesaritchie]

But I have no sympathy for JK. Wish I could go on welfare and be free to write my novel....

First, JK worked her butt off. The welfare was a supplement, and a very small one. If you think being on welfare means you're free to laze around and do nothing, especially when you have a child, you've never been there and done that.

[Jamesaritchie]

How could that happen? There's no industry-wide blacklisting authority.

Anthony claims he was blacklisted because at one point an editor rejected one of his Xanth novels, and for a while he couldn't find a publisher. He claims he was doubly blacklisted because he couldn't sell anything that wasn't a Xanth novel. He still can't sell much of his writing outside the Xanth, or Xanth-type novels.

Who knows what really happened, but as an editor I wouldn't take anything he wrote. If another publisher wanted them, fine, but I simply like nothing about his writing, even if some of it has sold pretty well.

[Andre_Laurent]

My life has been nothing but a horror story for the past ten years and it's going to get worse and there's nothing I can do to stop it. You learn to work around it or with it or you cave and let it kill you.

[Jamesaritchie]

Tough times, enough pain and sickness, can slow any writer down. The trick is to not let them stop you.

One writer dictated his last novel by blinking his eyes while lying on his death bed. Another had to type with her toes. Writers have suffered heart attacks, been diagnosed with cancer, lost a child or a spouse, and continued to write.

It make smy excuses look pretty small.

[MidnightMuse]

I like to think if Stephen Hawking can take an hour to blink out one sentence, and gives lectures this way, I can work through those depressions that come and go (with most of us writers).

When my mood is particularly dark-black, and it's due to my writing and my completely deflated ego at the time, then it's best I don't write that day (or maybe week) and just pick up a good book and read instead.

The other life-angst I try to put into the writing and keep plodding along, even if I end up making drastic edits when my mood picks back up.

[victoria.goddard]

I was in the middle of a great productive surge with my WIP this spring when my sister was killed. For well over a month I couldn't bear to work on my WIP. Nor could I bear not to. It didn't help that my story starts off quite dark and gradually lightens, and I'd finally arrived at the point where triumph was supposed to be sounding out, quietly at first but getting louder. I wanted to write, but I couldn't (sadly, a state that has often occurred, though thankfully for rather different reasons). Yet it was forcing myself to think about my story, to imagine my characters, to work on my ideas for my new projects, that helped me in the times when my mind went round and round in circles.

My sister, a soldier in the Canadian army, was overseas in Afghanistan when she was kiled. She was the first Canadian woman soldier ever killed in combat and as such has been hailed as many things. For me, though, she'll always be someone who encouraged me when things were difficult and always made me feel that writing is something I can and should do: something worth doing. I'd told her I was going to have the story done for when she got back, as a way to motivate myself (she was always very supportive of my writing); she was due back at the end of August, and I've made the conscious decision to keep to that deadline. I'm sorry that she won't get to read it, let alone the next story (which is likely to be much more her cup of tea), but nevertheless I'm going to finish it. I can think to myself, well she was always very proud of me, but it would make her even prouder to know that I've finished the novel I've been working on for years, and it's good. At least it's getting there.

Even though I, too, have doubts about the myth of the suffering artist, which strikes me as coming largely out of the Romantic movement, my experiences this summer (and with lesser problems at other times) makes me wonder if there isn't a grain of truth in it. Not because suffering necessarily is beautiful, though it can be; but because suffering and then keeping on going is beautiful. Making beauty out of ugliness, making order out of chaos, making a stand against entropy--now, that is something worth doing.

I salute everyone who does so.

[Andreya]

LightShadow, thanks for pointing out how many famous and successful writers endured stressful times. It's an inspiration!

My Dad immensly improved his health with starting to eat more healthy, the first book he read was this one, on how to cure arthritis:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/202-4623881-8372668?search-alias=stripbooks&field-author=Campbell,%20Giraud%20W
Now he only gets pain in his knee or elbow during Christmas or so, when he eats lots of 'goodies'!!

About children - yes, they need care and attention too, but it is often a relief to grown or almost grown children that their parents have outside interests (and successes!) and do not rely solely on them for their happiness!! (speaking from experience)

When I'm down, I often started a story where I would give the character the same or even worse problems, and eventually laugh it all cause I'd exaggerate so much!! (Still have to finish those stories, but they helped me through a bad time...) Journalling and writing (potentially cheezy) songs about them has helped a lot too.

Victoria - I sympathize with you very much for your sister. Chills went down my spine when I read about her.
But I firmly believe she's looking down from a cloud, smiling, cheering you on; and that she'll know before anyone that you've finished and maybe pull some strings in heaven so your stories will get published sooner!!

[Papa'sLiver]

There was a time when I was dealing with the loss of my beloved Mother in Law (really, she was more a mother to me than my own), my father in law had colon cancer, we were being evicted, I couldn't get a job, and the cr*p was hitting the fan.

Writing is what got me through it all. My writing has ALWAYS gotten me through it. It's mine. Belongs to me, and me alone, and is my life preserver.

That's the way it's been for me. I think sometimes I write better when when my back is against the wall, or I'm buried under the train wreck of life.

[MajorDrums]

I'm sick all the time and I find it very hard to write. My brain is not in order nor is my body and it's too hard to type keys or form a sentence. But I just try to relax. 4 frustrated hours in front of the computer won't yield much. But 1 hour in the tub reading manga and listening to something soothing followed by 3 hours of writing is often a lot more productive. Take time to relax and focus and get rid of the world and then writing usually becomes a little easier.

But to be honest, when life gets to be too much - how do I write? Sometimes I don't. But I feel better when I at least try.

But I have no sympathy for JK. Wish I could go on welfare and be free to write my novel....

i'm sure people who have to use welfare are not exactly living in the lap of luxury.

[roach]

While it may put things into perspective to look at others who are suffering and think, "What am I complaining about, they have it much worse than I do," it doesn't always relieve the situation you are in.

Everyone has a different way of coping, but it seems that most authors find that they just have to work through it, however they can.

Family support can help, so can support from writers' groups (both online and off). Maybe find a buddy who can give you a sympathetic ear and encouragement?

Hang in there!

[zeprosnepsid]

This statement reeks of ignorance. You have no idea how hard it is to be on welfare. I'm on welfare because I can't find a job. It's not that much money, so you're always worrying about financial stuff, people are always giving you hell, as if it's your choice to be on welfare and not have a job, and the constant stress of it all often hampers my writing considerably.

I admire J.K. Rowling for writing a novel in such an environment, and raising a kid.

First, JK worked her butt off. The welfare was a supplement, and a very small one. If you think being on welfare means you're free to laze around and do nothing, especially when you have a child, you've never been there and done that.

i'm sure people who have to use welfare are not exactly living in the lap of luxury.

I think you guys are not taking into account other people's situations. It may be a case of the grass is greener but JK's welfare life doesn't sound that bad to me. First off, medically I can't have children. So no welfare. JK had a child, she's already lucky. Secondly, I am legally disabled. But I cannot go on disability because you have to pay disability for 5 years. I've only been out of college for 3 years so I haven't worked for 5. I cannot work full time because of my disability. I live well well well below the poverty line. Welfare sounds good to me.

I know it's hard to get a job. I've had lots of trouble in the past. But I always find a way. I was handing out pamphlets on the street for a while because I needed to make money. There is always something you can do. It's people used to working in offices who aren't willing to work two jobs at McDonalds...

Sure, welfare isn't easy. But if I could get the government to give me money, I'd be a lot happier. If I could take 5 years to write 250 pages then I'd be a lot happier. If I could have a child I'd be happier.

Also, I was a Classics major like JK. To be honest I'm surprised in 5 years she couldn't find a suitable full time job. But if you are on welfare and able to stay home with your kid every day and write, why would you ever want to get a job? That's a stereotype it's true, but I don't think it's an entirely false sentiment.

In the thread about how much would you have to make to be a writer or whatever, many people admitted they would sacrifice and be able to live on what a welfare salary would be to be able to write. I'm sure I make less now than she got on welfare and I work. I don't feel bad for people who have gotten to live in Paris and Portugal either.

I'm not saying it was easy for her. But I am saying that I think a lot of writers would be happy to go on welfare if they could to be able to have time to write.

But bsolah, I know what it's like to live on less than welfare, I know what it's like to worry about money. Have you ever had to choose between eating or paying for meds so that you can walk?

Clearly this is getting much too personal and perhaps belongs in take it outside the board. But no matter what you people who have been 'lucky enough' to be on welfare say, your never going to convince me that JK didn't have it pretty good by my standards. Anyone who is lucky enough to get government assistance at all is lucky by my standards. It's subjective obviously, but I'm never going to feel bad for her situation and it's not out of ignorance.

(Although I'll gladly feel sympathy for her divorce, that's horrible for anyone, especially with children involved... )

[bsolah]

Of course, it's 'lucky' by your standards. But we never saw that. We only saw your statement that J.K. was lucky to have a kid and live off welfare. From what I've read, she got married and was support by her husband and then they divorced around the time she was pregnant, or after she had the kid, I'm not sure. It's hard to work when you have to look after a kid.

[Scrawler]

Hey...."arthritis, my job, my overall health, my wife's health, my wife's schooling, money matters, my son's dilemmas (21 year old prodigal son), my daughter's dilemmas (an almost 16 year old young lady), church, outside schedules, responsibilities in Oregon (as well as here in California), the numerous rejections I receive, and trying to get a toe into the proverbial door of the writing business" sounds the a pretty good storyline!!!

[Lee_OC]

Re: the original question - there was a really good essay (http://www.storytellersunplugged.com/2006/08/three-oclock-in-morning.html) on Storytellers Unplugged on this subject. Worth a read.

[bsolah]

Thanks Lee, for the link. I'm adding that one to my blogroll as well.

[Jamesaritchie]

I think you guys are not taking into account other people's situations. It may be a case of the grass is greener but JK's welfare life doesn't sound that bad to me. First off, medically I can't have children. So no welfare. JK had a child, she's already lucky. Secondly, I am legally disabled. But I cannot go on disability because you have to pay disability for 5 years. I've only been out of college for 3 years so I haven't worked for 5. I cannot work full time because of my disability. I live well well well below the poverty line. Welfare sounds good to me.

I know it's hard to get a job. I've had lots of trouble in the past. But I always find a way. I was handing out pamphlets on the street for a while because I needed to make money. There is always something you can do. It's people used to working in offices who aren't willing to work two jobs at McDonalds...

Sure, welfare isn't easy. But if I could get the government to give me money, I'd be a lot happier. If I could take 5 years to write 250 pages then I'd be a lot happier. If I could have a child I'd be happier.

Also, I was a Classics major like JK. To be honest I'm surprised in 5 years she couldn't find a suitable full time job. But if you are on welfare and able to stay home with your kid every day and write, why would you ever want to get a job? That's a stereotype it's true, but I don't think it's an entirely false sentiment.

In the thread about how much would you have to make to be a writer or whatever, many people admitted they would sacrifice and be able to live on what a welfare salary would be to be able to write. I'm sure I make less now than she got on welfare and I work. I don't feel bad for people who have gotten to live in Paris and Portugal either.

I'm not saying it was easy for her. But I am saying that I think a lot of writers would be happy to go on welfare if they could to be able to have time to write.

But bsolah, I know what it's like to live on less than welfare, I know what it's like to worry about money. Have you ever had to choose between eating or paying for meds so that you can walk?

Clearly this is getting much too personal and perhaps belongs in take it outside the board. But no matter what you people who have been 'lucky enough' to be on welfare say, your never going to convince me that JK didn't have it pretty good by my standards. Anyone who is lucky enough to get government assistance at all is lucky by my standards. It's subjective obviously, but I'm never going to feel bad for her situation and it's not out of ignorance.

(Although I'll gladly feel sympathy for her divorce, that's horrible for anyone, especially with children involved... )

You really need to read up on Rowling. You don't know much about her, the jobs she held, or anythng else.

Whether you can have children or not doesn't mean you know a thing about trying to raise one while on welfare. There's nothing easy about it, and nothing at all lucky about being a single mother with a baby you're responsible for raising, welfare or not.

And Rowling didn't sit on her butt for five years. She was divorced in '93, finsihed Potter in '95, and in 96 received a large grant that allowed her to keep writing uintil Potter hit it big. Yeah, more luck with the grant, huh? But it's funny how luck seems to follow those who work the hardest.

I don't think anyone would say she had it harder than anyone else in the world, but it's nonsense to say being on welfare while trying to raise a baby is easy, or that drawing welfae under such circumstances is lucky, or that it means you can just sit around and write.

And, really, who cares? No one has it tougher than everyone else, including you, and no matter how bad you have it, others have it much worse, but still manage to do something about it.

J. K. Rowling got off welfare. That's the point. And it only took her three years to go from a divorced, single mother to being very wll off indeed.

I'm legally disabled, too. Big deal. If your brain and your courage work, you aren't disabled, whatever the law says. You find a way. If you can post on a forum, you can write fiction or nonfiction. If your day actually has twenty-four hours in it, you have time to find a way to do something.

The point of looking at others isn't to say this one had it tougher than that one, or this one was lucky but I'm not. The point is to look at others and say, "If they did it, I have no excuse not to do it, as well."

If J. K. Rowling doesn't cut it for you, look at someone else. There are plenty of people out there who've had it a lot tougher than you have, or than I have, and still found a way to succeed.