Cobwebs Of The Mind: Writers And Despair Happy Hour (Part 7)

The saga must continue....

Welcome to Part Seven of the Writing & Despair Happy Hour!

Where We Present

So You Wanted To Be A Writer!
(Being The Second Volume Under This Title)

subtitled:
What Insanity Possessed You?

For the first volume of So You Wanted To Be A Writer! please read:

Writers And Despair Happy Hour (Part 6)

And so you continued to grapple with the characters in your novel. You totally ignored all friends and family. You gave in to that little voice in your head. You wrote like a demon possessed you. You were on a roll. Words poured out one after the other and your fingers could not keep up.

One day you awoke and realized that you were almost done! The first writing of your first novel is almost ready for those coveted words "The End". You looked up and found the sun shining. Your children had grown. Your spouse had lost twenty pounds and looked great. Life was good. It felt great. You were sure you had a bestseller on your hands.

And then you made the first, critical mistake. You began reading your work from the very first chapter. You began to look deep into it. And you cringed. Because there was so much that was not needed. Your characters ran away off the page. Your protagonist started off being a Blond hair blue eyed bombshell of a spy and by Chapter 10 she was a stodgy grandmother who gave advice in cliche after cliche.

You were honest with yourself though. This had to be fixed. It was a problem but not an insurmountable one. It would all work out in the end. The book would flow like butter.

"There are no problems", you told yourself, "only solutions".

Guess what?

And so you went back to work. You fixed all those problems. Edited and edited again. You worked tirelessly and endlessly. You forced every creative fiber in your being to be there for you. Nothing else mattered. This was the book. This was what was killing you inside and now it was on paper. This was the work that would establish your name.

You knew once it was done, once all the spelling mistakes were out and all the long hours of editing and changing and erasing and deleting and adding would be at an end, those people who laughed at you would be jealous of you. Edward down the block would be green with envy. Karen, who always took great pleasure in chiding you in front of your spouse would be speechless. Your children would walk with their heads up high and proudly display you as their parent. No more hiding.

You were going to live up to your potential. You were going to make it. Inside of you potential and reality had finally reached an apex and married each other. You would make it, because didn't your mother always tell you: "Darling you have so much potential!"

And just then - just when you are about to wrap up the manuscript and start with your query letters, right then you spouse sits you down with the intention of a heart-to-heart talk. You listen first to the "I only want what is best for you" line. Then you listen patiently to the litany of complaints. All valid. You have been ignoring the children. You forgot their names. You no longer know what your spouse looks like let alone go out from time to time. Your neighbors are talking. Even your doctor has called to see if you are okay.

You nod and are acquiescent. You really do not want to start a fight. And you really do want to be a great partner and parent. You just had to get this book out.

"It will work", you tell your spouse. "You'll see. Haven't I always been lucky? Have I not always given this family everything and provided for them?" You tell your spouse with a calming voice. "You yourself tell me darling, that I am the luckiest person you know. Luck is here and with my talent and that luck I will get an agent and this book will be on the New York Times bestseller list by this time next year! Don't you worry. Hard work, talent and luck always pay off."

If you believe that line, buddy, your troubles have really only just begun!

So the discussion ends. Your spouse leaves the room shaking their head, but a little calmer. Okay you are not as crazy as they feared. You were delusional. You believed in your luck. You had hope. Hope cannot be that bad, can it? And so your spouse decided the madness could go on just a bit longer. You wanted to see if your wishes would come true and they would not stand in your way. At least not for the next few days.

Now it was time for you to put that manuscript where your mouth is. You had to get those query letters out. You had to see what would happen. You knew that somewhere out there were a few agents who would appreciate your genius. You knew that you would persevere. You knew it would happen. You had made your bed. You were full of positive vibes. You said your prayers to the God that ruled your life. And you were one who believed that wishes could come true. Was not your spouse a wish come true? And were not your children? Yes you affirmed.

Wishes do and will come true. All one has to do is wish hard enough and long enough with the right intention and for all the right reasons and those wishes will come true!