Being a writer is a dream come true for me. I love the writing life and all that it has to offer. There are however, many perks to the job so here are a few of the benefits as I see them. The list is not at all exclusive, but rather just a prologue to the life of a writer.
1. If you find yourself in a bookish community every now and again, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “Book Friends Are The Best Friends”. I can attest that this statement is true. Connecting with another over the enjoyment of a good book is an experience like none other. Some of my best friends are book friends. Some of them are authors, editors, or have other professions in the industry but all of them are readers. They are the reason my tbr pile leans. They inspire me, motivate me, and ground me in my own writing process. We connect on a level of deep thought, humorous happenstance, and the understanding of what it means to take an idea and create a finished product from it. In addition, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have met readers through social media and elsewhere and they too have become part of my book friends community. We love chatting books, characters, covers, and more. They are the glue that holds me together when the manuscript isn’t flowing as I think it should. I love my book community and this is why book friends are the number one perk in my writing life. If you want to check out some of my chats with book friends, pop on over to my YouTube Channel where you can watch Bookish interviews under the Book Banter Playlist. It is always fun to chat with authors about their books and writing processes.
2. Day dreaming is part of my job. Can you believe it? This perk sends me over the moon and into my happy place. Whether it is as a passenger on a long drive, or a Sunday morning sleep in, day dreaming is my favourite part of my writing process. In a day dream, the characters are fully fleshed out and real. The setting glistens and evokes emotion. And above all, the storyline is pristine and runs like a movie through my mind as it all unfolds in my imagination. The day dream is the inspiration for a great story and thus the fuel that pushes the long hours and days of actual writing along. You see, in the day dream, the novel is exactly what I want it to be. It is perfect. and my job as a writer is to aim to get that perfection onto the page so readers can be immersed and captivated so that the rest of their day recedes to the background. Three cheers for the day dream and one gigantic hope that one day, what lives in my imagination will make itself known in all its glory on the written page.
3. I can write from almost anywhere. This wasn’t always the case so this relatively new perk is one I am savouring at the moment. In the beginning, I needed complete silence in order to think through the story as I wrote. I became flummoxed and irritated if any snippet of sound pierced my writing time. Thanks to a global pandemic, I found ways to pivot. I now am able to write with distraction, though I still prefer headphones and a stunning view. I can now take my writing away from my actual writing desk and move about the house. I have taken to using a stand up desk in the afternoons as a way to change up both my physical position and my creative one. The options are endless and once we begin to travel again, I look forward to the many new writing spaces I will find along the way. Oh, and though I don’t typically do this, I could write in my PJ’s if I was truly inclined to do so.
4. As a writer, I am an avid reader. If I’m not deep diving into historical research for my current novel, then I am reading fiction, mostly historical fiction with some suspense, legal drama, and the occasional rom com thrown in. I am fortunate to have many author friends and this means we help each other out by reading early copies of one another’s books. Sometimes it is a beta read where I am reading for clarity, typos, and storyline checks. Other times, it is simply the best book mail ever when a friend’s latest novel arrives in the daily post. There are few months of a year that go by without the opportunity to read a new novel by one of my friends and I am thrilled to be able to do so.
5. Most days, whether I am outlining, writing, thinking, or editing, I am spending time with my imaginary friends over a cup of tea. I sip my tea and talk to them, sometimes in my head and occasionally out loud. Most times they reply with words typed onto the page but every now and again, I hear their voice, clear as day, telling me precisely what they think, want, and demand me to do with their storyline. Fictional characters have a mind all their own and though I may disagree with them from time to time, I never discount what they are desperate to communicate to me. Some friends are in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. This is also true of my fictional friends. Many characters are but a fleeting thought whereas a few hold a special place in my heart…I’m looking at you Pastor Michael. Side note: Pastor Michael was the voice of insight and inspiration in All That Was and he remains with me to this day.
6. Writing a novel is a long and sometimes arduous process. When I reach the last page of a novel, I find myself somewhat in a state of disbelief that I actually made it this far. Self doubt is a reality as a writer so even though the words do not actually show up in any of my novels, I type them out all the same in the novel’s draft, just for myself. The End, is the congratulations I give myself for having stayed the course. It takes months and sometimes years to complete a novel. Many of those days are spent in a process that resembles banging ones head against a wall. The End however, makes it all worth the while. Writing is not for the faint of heart but instead for the one who pushes past the discomfort of not knowing what lies ahead. One of my favourite author quotes comes from William Faulkner who said, “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired every day at nine o’clock.” Writing a novel is essentially delayed gratification at its finest.
My next novel, Welcome To The Hamilton, will release in the Summer of 2022 and is the first book in The Hotel Hamilton Series. In the meantime, feel free to check out my other novels. The Smith Family trilogy consisting of Becoming Mrs. Smith, Stealing Mr. Smith, and A Man Called Smith, is an emotional rollercoaster of a family saga that is sure to have you reaching for the tissues as a dysfunctional family does all that it can to make their way in the world. All That Was is an inspiring story about what it means to let go and move forward in life and in death.
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