Hi Kitsune

I’m currently in the process of setting up my own online art/illustration business – I mostly specialise in fantasy/manga type things. I’m currently unemployed, I haven’t had the best success in finding work since I graduated last year so I decided it was time to try and do things for myself.

I’m hoping this will be the much needed kick in the backside I really need – I need to stop procrastinating and I hope that by running my own business it will teach and encourage me to be a bit more responsible with money. It can get frustrating because sometimes I have too many ideas for illustrations and I just don’t know where to begin, or I start comparing myself to other artists which is a vicious trap to fall into – “Oh I will never be as good as this person…”

I guess the only thing that will keep me motivated once I get my stuff together is knowing that this is what I want to do with my life, and if I don’t get anything done then I’m going to get nowhere.

Best of luck with your first novel 😀

J

Hi kitsune, I think this is a great conversation you have started here.
I am at place in my life where I’m really not sure what to pursue. However I have been playing piano and heavily involved in many musical activities for the last 10 years of my life. So since I am unsure of what to do, I have chosen piano performance as my main focus for the moment. I am attempting to put together a concert program for an international competition which takes immense amounts of demanding, monotonous, frustrating practice time.

Creative pursuits are so wonderful. I definitely understand what you mean when you say writing is therapeutic. I think creating allows us to open up the most raw parts of ourselves and make something out of it, all the while evolving personally and intellectually. But of course, like most creatives, productivity is sometimes a big obstacle. I know that there will be times when I am able to learn and emotionally grasp a piece so well, as if the music is literally a part of me. While at other times, I have to spend 6 months of gruelling work just to be able to play one page of a 60 page piece. These are the types of things that make me lose interest and motivation. Then of course I begin to think “There are so many other pianists and musicians in the world, far more talented than I, who could grasp this material in no time. And here I am, barely able to make sense of it.” And so the external comparisons begin. But then I regain perspective after a while and realize that I play music for myself – not to have to prove to people that I am better than them, or because there are people who excel faster than me. Something I find that helps greatly when you’re feeling low is to look back on your past self – 1 month, 1 year, 5 years, however long ago, and observe all of the growth that you have achieved since then. And in the end, I know that however difficult it may be to be an artist, it would hurt so much more not to be one. Regardless of whether or not I actually end up doing an international competition or not, music has taught me so much about patience and battling through hardships. I know that I now have much more endurance when it comes to projects that do not unfold quickly.

As for how I fit in around my life, I have luckily earned enough certification to become a piano teacher. So I teach during the evenings and practice anywhere from 2-7 hours during the day depending on my schedule.

Hi kitsune,

I’m actually working on the same type of creative project as you–except I’m currently editing my 6th novel and writing my 11th. I treat writing as my full-time job because, in my case, it IS. I plan my goals for the year, month, week, and day with a planner. I’m at the desk before 9am daily and I work until I quit around 6pm. Fitting it in around the rest of my life has been easy. I have a supporting husband who basically has forbidden me from doing anything else but pursuing this dream (a girl should be so lucky!) and is willing to run off and play video games or have his “me time” if I have to work weekends. (Luckily, he works 2 Saturdays a month, so I don’t miss that much quality time with him!) Even if I’m not writing (like today, I’m editing), I’m still pushing toward an end goal.

Maintaining the momentum is tough, but I think it all comes down to how you maintain not the momentum but your SANITY. I have to remind myself that not all days will be perfect ones. Example: I got shortlisted for a short story contest a few weeks ago. Yay! There was dancing in the office, cheering, celebratory drinks, lots of shaky phone calls to the husband telling him the good news.

The next day, I realized I was seriously behind on editing due to a glitch in MS Word. Cue frustration, shouting, anger (at the computer), and all of my weekends for the next 2 months GONE.

But I didn’t have time to dwell on that. The same with rejections, falling off schedule (happens rarely, but it does happen), other commitments taking away from “my time”, and illness. Those things take away from what I’m doing–writing and editing. They zap my creative energy. You’ll need to keep it to keep the pace up.

Routine helps too. Just showing up to the same spot every. Single. Day. gets you in the groove. I write in the stream of consciousness style coupled with an outline, so when this wave of “let’s do this!” hits me, I’m prepared to write and I just ride it.

And always look forward to the end project. Writing is easy. Editing is tiring and tedious. Typesetting is no fun (and takes hours). But try to look forward to that day when you can say that you wrote a novel. You. No one else. You told a story no one else could tell. That’s the point in the distance that keeps me putting one word in front of the other. And when you’re done, go back and celebrate your accomplishments and the things you did just GETTING there. I guarantee you, you’ll find some–even if it’s as simple as hitting 50,000 words (or my favorite, 100,000 words, but by that point, I’m usually cringing because I’m like, ‘Ahhh, am I done yet?’ lol)

Good luck on your writing journey! It’s a fun one, if not frustrating in the mechanical bits.

J.C.

P.S. You’ll learn to write by reading. Practice doesn’t make perfect. PERFECT practice makes perfect. Don’t be afraid to get lost in a novel (good, bad, or trashy). And NEVER be afraid to toss out your first novel. I tossed out 3 “first novels” and have no regrets. In fact, I cringe so hard when I go back and read them that I give myself migraines.