thank you for being so open and honest! i know it's not easy sharing stories of past failures, but it's so inspiring to hear how you overcame those situations.
Wow! Thank you Sooz. For your wise words of wisdom and sharing your journey. I'm currently re-writing my first draft after going 50,000+ words in the wrong direction and this has given me so much more hope. I'm a fast writer. But I have to work slowly in order to produce content I am proud of. So relate to that process very much. I read a book recently, that might be helpful to you, Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. It looks at the science and behaviour of habits. It helped me to understand that although I admire people who are upholders (can follow through with habits externally and internally... aka people who can write every day, overachievers etc...) I just don't work that way. I'm what's classified as a 'rebel' which means I need to be emotionally connected to what I'm doing & I need freedom / space / to feel like I am making my own choices. Which, as you can imagine, is so difficult. But it was super refreshing to understand how nobody is the same, we all work in different ways. It's like when we were discussing this glorification of being busy. And the disgust at people who are weak. Just because someone (like my partner) is a questioner (if it makes logical sense he will follow through with things) or an upholder, that doesn't mean that a person is lazy because they work differently to them or slowly. And it doesn't mean everybody should be breaking their necks or sabotaging their own mental health, just because others say it is the right thing to do in order to be a 'succesful' person. So take your time, produce content you are super proud of. Or 'go where it feels good.' Because true success is finding happiness and joy in all that you do. A quote I look to daily, that might helps is... 'You have been assigned this mountain, to show that it can be moved.' Thank you for your honesty and inspiring content, as always.
I love this! I have such a profound fear of failure, and the longer I spend writing the worse it gets. I just can’t seem to get out of my own head sometimes! The anxiety gets so bad that it almost feels crippling. I just keep trying, and reworking and restarting. I feel like starting is the hardest. 🤦🏻♀️ Anyway, Thank you for sharing this, and for your honesty! I love your work, and your videos! You’re awesome!
Thank you, Susan!! I know it couldn’t have been easy to share this painful (but worthwhile) experience. I am so glad that Tor gave you that chance and I cannot wait to see what else you publish! So excited for Sightwitc!
Omg thank you so so SO much for your openness and honesty (however painful for you to share) on your writing journey. It's so reassuring and inspiring to hear that published authors struggle too! And it's so awesome to hear that there IS a place for a writing process like yours (and mine!) within the realm of traditional publishing. Great video! I love your advice (and am a proud Misfit/Dreamer) and, though I just started Truthwitch, am loving that too -- I can't wait to see what's next from you! Keep Calm and Write On!
Thank you for sharing this story and as the teens say keeping it real and all 🌟🌟🌟 As someone who’s an aspiring writer and keeps failing with her wip this was more than needed 😭🌟
Sooz, thanks for sharing these stories so openly with us. As a person who struggles with failure and shame (plus an aspiring author), your stories are giving me courage to try things even when I'm scared they won't work. Also, I'm curious--are you familiar with the work of Brene Brown? She has done some wonderful writing about failure and shame that has been revelatory for me. You may like it too.
When you said that you stopped counting how many words you threw out I thought, "Oh my God, it's me." My best estimate is that I've thrown out something like 300k on my first novel. And the bit about there being SO MANY PLOT THREADS. Mood. 😂 I just bought Truthwitch today! I've enjoyed #TheLuminaries thread on Twitter, and when you talked about liking sparse writing, I figured I'd give more of your stuff a try. 💛
Thank you for talking about all of this! I've been a huge fan since your debut (which I found because of advice you were giving in NaNo forums back in 2012ish?). So excited for Sightwitch!
Unrelated, but this video immediately made me feel weird. Your book came out Feb 13th. "Oh, my birthday, cool." You showed us the poster. "Moonraker, seriously?" (my name is Holly IRL, so Holly Goodhead has always had big place in my Ian Fleming loving heart!) So, thanks for making this video JUST FOR ME. That's clearly what all that means, right? /magical_thinking
Also, quick question... do you have any books you would recommend that helped you get through this process? Or to better understand how you work as a writer? :)
susan why don't you put ads on your blog and newsletter as a second stream of income? also get some sponsorship? You work so hard on them, provide us with so much value and we all love reading them!
thank you for being so open and honest! i know it's not easy sharing stories of past failures, but it's so inspiring to hear how you overcame those situations.
Lol I was one of those 123! I always enjoy how completely open you are. Thank you for sharing and I am so excited for Sightwitch! ♥
Wow! Thank you Sooz. For your wise words of wisdom and sharing your journey. I'm currently re-writing my first draft after going 50,000+ words in the wrong direction and this has given me so much more hope. I'm a fast writer. But I have to work slowly in order to produce content I am proud of. So relate to that process very much.
I read a book recently, that might be helpful to you, Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin. It looks at the science and behaviour of habits. It helped me to understand that although I admire people who are upholders (can follow through with habits externally and internally... aka people who can write every day, overachievers etc...) I just don't work that way. I'm what's classified as a 'rebel' which means I need to be emotionally connected to what I'm doing & I need freedom / space / to feel like I am making my own choices. Which, as you can imagine, is so difficult. But it was super refreshing to understand how nobody is the same, we all work in different ways.
It's like when we were discussing this glorification of being busy. And the disgust at people who are weak. Just because someone (like my partner) is a questioner (if it makes logical sense he will follow through with things) or an upholder, that doesn't mean that a person is lazy because they work differently to them or slowly. And it doesn't mean everybody should be breaking their necks or sabotaging their own mental health, just because others say it is the right thing to do in order to be a 'succesful' person. So take your time, produce content you are super proud of. Or 'go where it feels good.' Because true success is finding happiness and joy in all that you do.
A quote I look to daily, that might helps is...
'You have been assigned this mountain, to show that it can be moved.'
Thank you for your honesty and inspiring content, as always.
I love this! I have such a profound fear of failure, and the longer I spend writing the worse it gets. I just can’t seem to get out of my own head sometimes! The anxiety gets so bad that it almost feels crippling.
I just keep trying, and reworking and restarting. I feel like starting is the hardest. 🤦🏻♀️
Anyway, Thank you for sharing this, and for your honesty! I love your work, and your videos! You’re awesome!
Mad props for the Bond poster. Big James Bond fan here. Love your advice, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Susan!! I know it couldn’t have been easy to share this painful (but worthwhile) experience. I am so glad that Tor gave you that chance and I cannot wait to see what else you publish! So excited for Sightwitc!
Omg thank you so so SO much for your openness and honesty (however painful for you to share) on your writing journey. It's so reassuring and inspiring to hear that published authors struggle too! And it's so awesome to hear that there IS a place for a writing process like yours (and mine!) within the realm of traditional publishing. Great video!
I love your advice (and am a proud Misfit/Dreamer) and, though I just started Truthwitch, am loving that too -- I can't wait to see what's next from you! Keep Calm and Write On!
Thank you for sharing this story and as the teens say keeping it real and all
🌟🌟🌟
As someone who’s an aspiring writer and keeps failing with her wip this was more than needed 😭🌟
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Sooz, thanks for sharing these stories so openly with us. As a person who struggles with failure and shame (plus an aspiring author), your stories are giving me courage to try things even when I'm scared they won't work.
Also, I'm curious--are you familiar with the work of Brene Brown? She has done some wonderful writing about failure and shame that has been revelatory for me. You may like it too.
Thank you for sharing this story! Your keepin'-it-real story was refreshing and informative. Enjoying your videos!
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this story!
When you said that you stopped counting how many words you threw out I thought, "Oh my God, it's me." My best estimate is that I've thrown out something like 300k on my first novel.
And the bit about there being SO MANY PLOT THREADS. Mood. 😂
I just bought Truthwitch today! I've enjoyed #TheLuminaries thread on Twitter, and when you talked about liking sparse writing, I figured I'd give more of your stuff a try. 💛
Thank you for talking about all of this! I've been a huge fan since your debut (which I found because of advice you were giving in NaNo forums back in 2012ish?). So excited for Sightwitch!
I love how much your story resonates with me! But also can you sing more in future videos because I looooved that bit. 😅
Unrelated, but this video immediately made me feel weird.
Your book came out Feb 13th. "Oh, my birthday, cool."
You showed us the poster. "Moonraker, seriously?"
(my name is Holly IRL, so Holly Goodhead has always had big place in my Ian Fleming loving heart!)
So, thanks for making this video JUST FOR ME. That's clearly what all that means, right?
/magical_thinking
Omg, love her vids!
Also, quick question... do you have any books you would recommend that helped you get through this process? Or to better understand how you work as a writer? :)
Ty mom
susan why don't you put ads on your blog and newsletter as a second stream of income? also get some sponsorship? You work so hard on them, provide us with so much value and we all love reading them!