Totally related to this. Writing my second novel under contract and alternately hating and loving the process taught me that I'd rather be joyful and slow than productive and have it be a slog. And I remember those days of discovery in my fanfic years too (graphic design actually WAS my passion, lol). Trying to get a little bit of that back.
This was deeply, deeply helpful to read—thank you! Both my best friend and I come from fanfic, and as I’ve been slogging my way through my sophomore novel, this conversation has come up more than once. Thank you for your insight!
Loved this piece, Regina — it really hit home for me. I very much resonate with this: "Nothing used to intimidate me. The only test for whether I could write something was whether I loved it enough." Cheers to tapping back into that mindset, or at least trying to!
As a former LiveJournal fanfiction writer (and blogger! I got so much joy from just writing about my life!), I loved this. My “loves list” I posted about recently was all about joy and remembering writing can be fun — and having fun is why I started writing as a kid in the first place.
Yes! Fun really was the point and while making it a career does add another dimension, it should be the feeling that guides a lot of the decisions we make in this industry.
CAN I FIT THIS ENTIRE NEWSLETTER INTO A POST-IT TO KEEP AT MY DESK?! I don't know but I'm going to try. I love this reframe, too: "Do I love X enough to create my version of it?" I do think it's more "fun" when you're keeping all of this in mind!!
Writing stopped being fun for me for a while. For a lot of different reasons but one of the main ones was trying to write to market and hating it. I did it because everyone kept telling me that it would build my platform, improve my discoverability, yada yada. It killed the joy for me. So now I've gone back to writing as slowly as I need to, writing what I want to write, and being happy.
Good question! I think a lot of writers think writing = money. For me, making money from my writing was a bonus. I just want to write and enjoy what I’m doing.
Exactly! I know we are always told we should want to hit the bestseller's list, but if if means that you hate what you're writing... then what is the point???
"writing to please everyone produces something as generic as bottled water, where only packaging distinguishes yours from the rest" dear GOD Regina can you please give us 24 hours of notice before hitting us with a truth like this <3 <3 <3
If this were fun... This is beautiful! This is such a great way to reimagine your writing path and also infuse Joy into those processes. I think everyone has to think about what their writing life will look like if it were fun.
This was absolutely what I needed to read this morning!
Totally related to this. Writing my second novel under contract and alternately hating and loving the process taught me that I'd rather be joyful and slow than productive and have it be a slog. And I remember those days of discovery in my fanfic years too (graphic design actually WAS my passion, lol). Trying to get a little bit of that back.
I'm so happy it resonated! Book 2 under contract is so hard. And yes, joy is such a better place to write from than obligation or misery.
I loved this so much, it was exactly the right message I needed today as I'm slogging through what I hope is my next book. 💕
I’m so glad it was helpful!
I needed to read this. Thank you for putting this into the world - I know it's not easy to share thoughts like this publically.
This was deeply, deeply helpful to read—thank you! Both my best friend and I come from fanfic, and as I’ve been slogging my way through my sophomore novel, this conversation has come up more than once. Thank you for your insight!
Loved this piece, Regina — it really hit home for me. I very much resonate with this: "Nothing used to intimidate me. The only test for whether I could write something was whether I loved it enough." Cheers to tapping back into that mindset, or at least trying to!
Thank you Emma! It’s a work in progress
As a former LiveJournal fanfiction writer (and blogger! I got so much joy from just writing about my life!), I loved this. My “loves list” I posted about recently was all about joy and remembering writing can be fun — and having fun is why I started writing as a kid in the first place.
Yes! Fun really was the point and while making it a career does add another dimension, it should be the feeling that guides a lot of the decisions we make in this industry.
CAN I FIT THIS ENTIRE NEWSLETTER INTO A POST-IT TO KEEP AT MY DESK?! I don't know but I'm going to try. I love this reframe, too: "Do I love X enough to create my version of it?" I do think it's more "fun" when you're keeping all of this in mind!!
I was so fearless back then! Lately I’ve been asking myself “Am I having fun” when I sit down to do anything writing related.
Accuracy, not marketability!! YES!!!! (Also: the LiveJournal origin story! Those were the days!)
Can we rewind time a little and revive LJ? I think we could all use some of that magic right now
I loved this advice so much! Definitely something I needed to hear and keep in mind as I'm writing book 2!
I’m so happy it resonated! And good luck with book 2!
Love this! I also say the same about book marketing—if it's not fun, I don't wanna do it!
I’ve embrace this thinking this time around and I’m so much happier
Writing stopped being fun for me for a while. For a lot of different reasons but one of the main ones was trying to write to market and hating it. I did it because everyone kept telling me that it would build my platform, improve my discoverability, yada yada. It killed the joy for me. So now I've gone back to writing as slowly as I need to, writing what I want to write, and being happy.
Yes! Why are we doing this if it’s not making us happy? That should be the goal.
Good question! I think a lot of writers think writing = money. For me, making money from my writing was a bonus. I just want to write and enjoy what I’m doing.
Exactly! I know we are always told we should want to hit the bestseller's list, but if if means that you hate what you're writing... then what is the point???
"writing to please everyone produces something as generic as bottled water, where only packaging distinguishes yours from the rest" dear GOD Regina can you please give us 24 hours of notice before hitting us with a truth like this <3 <3 <3
Beautiful. I love this and it’s spot on. It’s so devastatingly easy for the fun to disappear.
SO easy for the fun to evaporate. We really need to protect that feeling
If this were fun... This is beautiful! This is such a great way to reimagine your writing path and also infuse Joy into those processes. I think everyone has to think about what their writing life will look like if it were fun.
This really was a great exercise for me and it’s really impacting how I think about all of this.