While I'm away, I'm running a variety of guest posts. Today's post is from Alene Snodgrass of Positively Alene. Welcome, Alene!
The Life of a Writer–Peaceful to Frazzled
It was a beautiful morning. The sun was slowly taking away the night sky and the sunrise colors emerging were shades of pink and orange. It was pure beauty to savor, as I sipped my morning cup of coffee. I was finishing an eBook I had been working on and this setting definitely kicked the creative part of my mind into overflow.
I wrote passionately, with an urgency that had been escaping me for the past few months. I remember thinking, Ah, now this is the life of a writer! Bliss. Perfection. Peace.
I wrote with abandoned joy. I left words of passion and encouragement upon every page of the document I was working on. This felt so right. So inspiring.
Distracted from the task at hand, I clicked over to check-in with twitter when I saw Charlotte had left a tweet asking if anyone would want to guest post for her and describe their day-in-the-life of a writer scene. I had to jump at that because I knew in that moment I was called to write! Bliss. Perfection. Peace.
Still distracted from my writing deadlines of the day, I emailed Charlotte to see about guest posting for her. She quickly responds yes and gives me a deadline. Weeks passed with that deadline lingering on my to-do list when I realized I had to get this post in.
As the day begins, I quickly begin to wonder why in the world I thought I should write about this. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, which totally left me feeling like a failure as a writer. I longed for that peaceful morning where dashes of pink and orange filled the sky. Instead, I was left sitting behind my computer frustrated and frazzled.
This just happened to be the day before the BIG launch of my new eBook “Giving Up Normal.” I was coordinating the link-up of the eBook to my newsletter, websites, blog posts. I was soliciting influencers to help me get the word out and asking for endorsements from others. It was only 8am and my two hours of linking and working on html codes seemed to be going smoothly. Then . . .
I check email.
Note from friend: Alene, the link you gave in your site did not work.
I spent an hour trying to decipher the technical glitch.
I create a specific “tweet this” link and tweet it out.
Direct Message: Do you know your tweet link to your eBook does not work?
Then I receive a Facebook message: I tried to subscribe to your newsletter, but it is not letting me enter my email. Mercy! By this point, I’m fried and frazzled.
Can I just give you the short version of the rest of that day? It consisted of 8 hours of linking, relinking, coding, decoding, emailing, and answering emails about issues I was having.
And this is the day-in-and-day-out-life of a writer – especially this writer.
Knowing that you were called to write one moment and the next doubting why you ever embarked on such an emotional task seems to be the underlying mixed messages of my heart. However, I wouldn’t change the fact that I get to live this crazy life as a writer.
If you’d like to receive a FREE copy of the eBook “Giving Up Normal” that was written under beautiful pink and orange skies, click over HERE.
I’d love to hear what your day of writing looks like. Peaceful? Frazzled?
Oh, please do tell!
About Alene: Alene Snodgrass is a south Texas girl who loves to write, speak, teach, and serve. Basically, she loves living life as herself . . . Positively Alene! You can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.
Photo credit: Alene Snodgrass
J.D.
Yeah, Mirror, I’m looking at you.
Do you ever think you just chose the wrong medium? Maybe you should be a painter or a musician. You think you can never be Van Gogh but you’re not doing very well at imitating Danielle Steele or John Grisham, either. I know you’re frustrated, but you know what: NOBODY CARES! Nobody cares if you have to got to work or clean the bath or mow the grass or cook dinner. That agent in your future doesn’t care about those things. Neither does the publisher or your readers. So you have to make up your mind, Skippy. You can give up this crazy life or deal with it. Deal with it? How? If you’re frustrated, put it on the page. Just plain pissed–put it on the page. Even if you’re writing Mary Poppins, introduce another character; put a Rodney Dangerfield next to Dick Van Dyke. Pour out your emotions over the keyboard. Why should you do this? If your story is just something you have dreamed up and there is none of you in it, it won’t be worth a damn anyway.
Rebecca
I love this guest post and can so relate to it. Add to this technical difficulty with marketing, my own guilt of ignoring my family, that while I promote my writing the family stands at my office door, wanting to know, when dinner will be ready.
Jessica Baverstock
This is so true! It’s possible to go very quickly from peaceful to frazzled in the writer’s life. I find it much harder to go from frazzled to peaceful – especially when there are technical glitches. But, as you say, ‘I wouldn’t change it.’
It sounds like you had a really intense day with your new e-book. Well done for getting it up! :) And thanks for sharing a piece of your writing life with us.
Charlotte Dixon
A powerful comment, J.D., thanks!
Charlotte Dixon
Jessica, you’re so great, thanks for the comment. Hope you’re all settled at home now.
Charlotte Dixon
Rebecca, I think many of us writers can relate, it has happened to all of us at various time in our writing life.
Positively Alene
YES, yes I could have definitely have included the guilt of ignoring family and friends. Hearing your heart.
Positively Alene
Technical glitches always = frazzled to me! And you are so right – much harder to go from frazzled to peaceful. But when you are in that peaceful moment and the words are flowing – that is priceless!