The Writers' Blues

Let's be clear, this is NOT writer's block. From my own experience, this is having something to write, in fact having many things to write or work on but not really knowing where to start. Some days you just find yourself lacking the energy to actually sit down and put those fingers to the keys on the keyboard. Then there are days when you take stock of where you're actually going in your writing career and wonder, "Is all this effort really worth it? Will my work actually go anywhere?"
                 But then that little voice of optimism pops up in the back of your mind and becomes your cheerleader, constantly reminding you, "There's only one way to find out" or "if you don't write it, then nobody can read it." Sometimes it would be great to have a crystal ball where you can stare into it and see where you'll be in say, five years time and will that be your name on the bestseller's list? Or will your writing have made any impact at all in the literary world?
                 One thing's for sure, however, when those doubts are lurking in your mind and threaten to batter your confidence some more, just sit down, (even if you are feeling lethargic), and thrash out that story that's been banging around in your brain for the last while. Even if you only manage to write three sentences in the whole day, it's three more than if you had listened to the negative, taunting voice that writers often hear in their minds.
                 So go on, write that article and short story or begin that novel you've been meaning to work on for a long time now. Just write something, ANYTHING and most importantly, don't give in to negative thoughts. Trust me, they'll get you nowhere.    

The Writing Life

Authors have a tough time than most artistic people. Painters can express themselves more easily on a canvas and bring a scene to life through beautiful and vibrant colours. Comic book artists also have it easy as they can draw an already well-established character or one of their own creations and be noticed. Now that's not to say that these people didn't train or work hard at their trades to get where they are and be recognised for their talents. But let's face it, they don't have to work nearly as hard as writers to be noticed.

              In today's market, writers face extremely tough competition and have to strive to be better than the rest. Of course there's a lot of rubbish being published at the moment both through mainstream publishing and also self-publishing but the ones with real talent are being lost amongst the crowd. Before these writers used to shine like a diamond in the rough but nowadays literary agents only seem interested in stories about celebrities who won reality TV shows and/or women (and dare I say it even men) who slept with famous footballers or footballing icons who bedded prostitutes old enough to be their grannies. 

             So, my question to you is, what do writers have to do today to stand out and be that something extra special that nabs them a literary agent or publisher? Do we really need to have thousands of Twitter followers and 2000 friends on Facebook to be published? Is having a unique, interesting plot, well developed characters and excellent prose not enough any more? Leave your thoughts below.

Have a great weekend, guys!