Ten years ago, I hated writing. Then I discovered how much fun it was to write fiction and I was hooked. Of course, writing was much more fun back when I had no clue what I was doing. Today, I’m wiser about writing, and sometimes (usually while I’m beating my head against the keyboard) I ask myself: If I had known what I was getting into back then, would I have chosen the Red Pill or the Blue Pill?
I tell myself I would have taken the Red Pill and dove head first into writing with the same passion I have now. But after days like yesterday, after brutally beating a chapter into submission and hating every minute of it, I think about the Blue Pill. There’s still so much more for me to learn, so much more for me to do before I’ll be ready to publish my first book that it wears me down. And then I get to start the whole process over again with another book.
Knowing what you know now, would you still have chosen the Red Pill? How often do you fantasize about the Blue Pill?
P.S. If it sounds as though I'm suffering from writing fatigue today, you're correct. I'll feel better tomorrow. I always do.
Website of Ken Rahmoeller -- fantasy author, chemist, and lover of all things Hogwarts (Photo Courtesy of Scarluuk)
Sometimes I wish I'd taken the blue pill, because then I wouldn't feel guilty when I don't actively try to improve my writing, or maybe I'd make more money doing something else. But those wishes usually come on writing fatigue day too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I'd known what I was getting myself into, I would have taken the blue pill. But I'm pretty sure my blue pill life, while easier, would not have been happier.
ReplyDeleteI wish I liked something else, anything else!, just as much or more than writing my own stories. That's the only reason I wouldn't go back and make a different choice. There's just no Plan B for me, or I would have totally walked back to it by now. This career choice is truly the hardest to tolerate.... -_-
ReplyDeleteI think I would've focused on writing more had I known where I would be today. I love my stories, and I'm passionate about them, but I feel guilty that I haven't released anything since last year and it's going on 3 years since I released Thanmir War and book 2 isn't finished yet. Then again, I might have gone the wrong direction with my story if I had done this all back then. :)
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