Pep Talk 5: Just For Fun

Two words rule my life. 'School' and 'work'.

I see some knowing nods from my audience! I guess that means I'm not alone.

You'll probably see a gazillion blog posts going on and on about how busy we all are, so I'm not going to get into that.

But seriously, when everything is so 'get-busy-or-get-chaotic', our writing lives start to fade quietly into the background. Our notebooks collect dust on our shelves, and our characters wait patiently in our heads, wondering if this time you've put down your pen for good.

When things are like that, a feeling of pressure comes over me. Pressure as in: 'if I can't write something good, I shouldn't be writing anything'. Because when we're so busy, do we have time to waste on writing for fun?

Long-time writers fall into this trap pretty quickly. They tend to think that everything they write has either accomplish some goal or has to be publishable.

Don't buy that for a second, y'all.

The whole purpose why we write is that it's fun! If we think of it as a chore, then no wonder we can't write anything worth reading. Go back, dig out your characters or make up some new ones, and write. Pick a completely crazy plot (it can even have gaping holes in it!) and go have a party with your characters.

For this, I love writing short stories that have some relation to my long-time projects. Really embellish your writing style and stretch your writing wings, even if what you come up with sounds cheesy.

I command you to have fun when you write.

Yours without wax,

Izori