Fuck Off, I'm Writing

Have you ever had a really good book, a really awesomely good book, and you're at the climax and just want to read through, but life keeps GETTING IN THE WAY??

It's infuriating. All you can think about is finding out what happens but you're trapped getting milk or picking up the kids or making dinner or going to work or paying attention to your friends. LIFE is so intrusive to the writing process that sometimes I just want to throttle it.

It's bad being in the middle of a climax of a book you're reading, but I find when I'm working on the climax of MY OWN BOOK, it's SO MUCH WORSE OH GOD. Because it takes ten times longer to write a climax than to read one, and life just loves to butt its way in when it's not needed. It's like being stuck in a perpetual state of frustration, where everything is tense and you just DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME, and you want to scream and your relationships become strained at best.

(Friend: Hey, Katie, what's up?

Me: BOOK.

Friend: uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh....

Me: IT'S A BOOK. MADE OF PAPER. NOM NOM PAPER. NOM?

Friend: I'm good.

Me: Nom. *eats paper*

Friend: It was nice seeing you.

Me: IT'S A BOOK. *pedo stare* O_______________O** )

As writers, I think we put up with a lot. Our work is often placed in the background so we can tend to our day jobs or family and friends. And that's a good thing, we don't want to become hermits. We don't want to lose reality for a fantasy.

But sometimes, SOMETIMES, BLOG PEOPLE. sigh. Sometimes I want to shut myself up in my basement, lock my doors and not emerge until I see THE END. Of course, that's not possible, but it's a lovely fantasy, isn't it?

Just because you're not getting paid for it doesn't mean it doesn't have value in your life. Just because writing is a solitary thing that, at some points, may not see a profit doesn't mean it is any less important to those things that do. It's hard to justify taking time out of a day overstuffed with obligations to take an hour or two to write, but we have to. It's what we do. We're writers.

But remember: your writing does matter, whether you're published or searching for an agent. No matter what stage you're at, writers write! It's the only way we improve, and it's the only way we'll get any closer to our goals. And sometimes that means shutting yourself up in an office or a bedroom and ignoring everything else. Yes, ignore. As a writer, if you keep putting your craft in the back of your mind, and you don't take time out every day to work on it, how are you ever going to accomplish being published? Under deadline?

So, I've devised a clever little sign that should help writers everywhere. We need to stand up for ourselves! We need to ignore the rest of the world for once, because sometimes reality needs to come after fantasy. Sometimes we need to GET STUFF DONE.
So I made a sign that will help writers! Print it off, stick it on your door, tape it to the back of your head, leave it on your desk-- whatever. Just block out the world for a few hours and do what you love-- and do it in style!




AND ACT NOW. WE HAVE OUR BRITISH VERSION AVALIABLE AS WELL.




And one for the family lovers among you.




Oh, my paint skillz know no bounds. Spread the love, my lovelies.

I'm going to go write now. ;)

Peace,

-Katie

** I AM CREEPY AND UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN I NEAR THE END OF A PROJECT. NONE OF THIS WILL PROBABLY MAKE ANY SENSE BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE THE BOOK'S ALMOST DONE AND SOON RAINBOW WILL RAIN DOWN FROM THE SKY AND MAKE CHOCOLATE MILK COFFEE.