“By rejection number 45, I was truly neurotic. It was all I could think about—revising the book, making it better, getting an agent, getting it published.”
Kathryn Stockett, bestselling author of The Help
Do you find yourself looking for examples of writers who hit the big time to justify your writing?
neurosis /neu•ro•sis/ (ndbobr-ro´sis) pl. neuro´ses
1. former name for a category of mental disorders characterized by anxiety and avoidance behavior, with symptoms distressing to the patient, intact reality testing, no violations of gross social norms, and no apparent organic etiology.
2. in psychoanalytic theory, the process that gives rise to these disorders as well as personality disorders and some psychotic disorders, being triggering of unconscious defense mechanisms by unresolved conflicts.
Have you developed a neurosis about your writing?
• Do you despair about querying agents?
• Are you so sure your manuscript will be rejected by agents or publishers that you can barely put a word on the page?
Have you avoided:
• Writing your pitch or summary?
• How many query examples have you read on agent blogs but haven’t written your own?
• Do you claim to have computer problems enabling you to miss a turn in your critique group?
Dissociative identity disorder a disorder characterized by the existence in an individual of two or more distinct personalities, with at least two of the personalities controlling the patient's behavior in turns. The host personality usually is totally unaware of the alternate personalities; alternate personalities may or may not have awareness of the others.
Can you can answer yes to the following questions?
• When testing characters, do you act out the parts you’ve cast them in?
• Have family members overheard you talking “funny” in your office?
• Do you speak character’s dialogue aloud?
• Do you listen to the sound of your words to ensure they flow?
• Do you have pictures of people you don’t know, or strange places you’ve never visited posted around your desk?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is the experience of prolonged, excessive worry about circumstances in one's life. OCD is characterized by distressing repetitive thoughts, impulses or images that are intense, frightening, absurd, or unusual. These thoughts are followed by ritualized actions that are usually bizarre and irrational. These ritual actions, known as compulsions, help reduce anxiety caused by the individual's obsessive thoughts. Often described as the "disease of doubt," the sufferer usually knows the obsessive thoughts and compulsions are irrational but, on another level, fears they may be true.
Do you?
• Constantly use the find and replace function in Word to catch unnecessary usage of “to be?”
• Use find and replace to catch those pesky “ly” words?
• Use find and replace to catch common words, such as “look” and “saw?”
• When replacing words, do you consult a thesaurus to find a synonym?
• Deliberate over the minute differences between “place” and “put?”
• Check that none of your characters did anything other than “said?”
• Double check all of the above after each revision?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, you are a writer. But you’re not alone. Please contribute to the Writer’s Mental Health Fund (WMHF), formerly known as UWMHF, Unpublished Writers’ Mental Health Fund, the acronym for which was redlined by an editor for its length. Help your fellow writers. Your donations fund our treatment team. We provide counter intervention measures when your family decides to have you committed. We negotiate with mental health providers and your family preserving your freedom to write another page. Give now! The writer you save may be YOU!
“And if your friends make fun of you for chasing your dream, remember—just lie.”
Kathryn Stockett, Best-selling author of The Help
All Kathryn Stockett's quotes from (More Online Magazine (http://www.more.com/kathryn-stockett-help-best-seller?page=2
All medical definitions can be found at: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/
My name is Warren and I am a writer. I have been afflicted by this disorder for year and yes, I am a supporter of WMHF. Before WMHF I felt alone and misunderstood. Now I know I am not alone although sill misunderstood. Join me in the struggle against malicious stereotyping. And keep typing away!
ReplyDeleteWriting can make you crazy. You follow all the advice, and then--like the book I'm reading now--a best seller in which the writer used all the "wrong" techniques. You do the same things over and over hoping for a different outcome with the next manuscript.
ReplyDeleteYou lie to yourself and others about your goals, like being superstitious, hoping for the exact opposite of what you profess, but you know the odds are against you.
But a new plot sprouts, its a new day, a new mc and there's a clean page....
I can answer "yes" to most of those questions! It's good to know other people who understand the obsessive need to write despite the odds.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not alone. I wake at three in the morning and tell myself I can continue writing and avoid pain by not submitting. Or maybe I should submit to 10 different places and immerse myself in another WIP. Then I remember what my older brother said, sure I liked your story but it's not true is it? What did he think--I was writing a family history and throwing in a couple of murders to add interest?
ReplyDeleteI think that's why so many writers join groups, Kara. Writing is solitary enough, but battling by ourselves is just too much for anyone to handle alone.
ReplyDeleteOMG--LOL Pauline. Yes, my father and son don't appreciate fiction either. Dad once asked me why I wasted my time reading the stuff. Clearly no appreciation what so ever!
Well, it sure does take one to know one and this post nails it down.
ReplyDeleteLOL Ricky, thanks for stopping by,
ReplyDelete