Do we have any procrastinators here? I can raise my hand on this one, and I know I’m not the only one. I can list a hundred different things that I need to accomplish today, (okay, maybe not that many) and it’s easy to make excuses for pushing writing further down the list.
Today, we have author Mary Schlegel with us for Wisdom Wednesday. Welcome, Mary!
Name: Mary Schlegel
Genre: Fantasy and Science Fiction
Latest Release: The Last Will and Testament of Captain Nemo
Writing Tip:
I don’t remember where I originally heard this or who said it, but I wrote it down and used to have it pinned on my wall: Writers write. Other people make excuses. This has been a really important thing for me because I am so very good at procrastinating, at telling myself I’ll write tomorrow, or next week, or once work isn’t so busy, or once the holidays are over, or whatever. And yet identifying myself to others as “a writer” is something that’s really important to me, so it’s good for me to have this reminder that if I want to use this label I really love for myself, I actually have to do the thing the label describes.
Great quote! I think every writer should print this out and hang above their computer. I don’t know why it’s so easy for writers to make excuses, but we’ve all done it at some point in our writing careers. Writing takes discipline, and it’s something we have to learn.
Advice For New Writers:
It’s okay to read your own writing just for enjoyment. Everybody goes around telling new writers that they should write the story they want to read, but then everyone seems to think that it’s super vain or arrogant of them to then go back and actually read it. That’s silly. You wrote the book you wanted to read because nobody else had. Now go and read the thing and enjoy it!
We should want to re-read our own stories. I know for me, I find things in my first novel that I wish I would have written differently, but that’s part of the process. You will grow and get better each time you write. I love it when readers ask me questions about my series because I love talking about the story world I created. Great advice!
From the tragedy of The Little Mermaid, and the mystery of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, comes the truth that ties them both together: the story of the love that saved a life and started a war, of the quest that became an obsession…of the seaman who, for love of a mermaid, became a legend.
Mary Schlegel is a tea fanatic and four-leaf clover hunter who writes speculative fiction and dabbles in various other forms of creative expression. Mary lives with her husband Aaron in the heart of the Ozark Mountains.
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormaryschlegel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaryschlegel/
Before you go, take a moment and connect with Mary on Facebook and Instagram, and check out her novel, (look at that cover!) The Last Will and Testament of Captain Nemo on Amazon.
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