Romance Shmromance

DAY 47

Word Count: 30,040

Sentence of the Day: God should so bless everyone with a visit to the dead house.

Sniff, sniff. Smell that? Yeah...love is in the air. Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so today I'm talkin' romance. Not the tender endearments whispered into the ear of your soul mate kind, unless, of couse, that's what inspires you to write your next scene. Actually, I'm thinking more like anti-romance because:

The idea of story is so much more romantic

than actually writing the dang thing down.

Who doesn't have a great idea for a bestseller lurking in the corners of their mind? Pretty much everyone has a tale to tell, one that's heart-wrenching, epic in scope, and sure to connect with readers in 'To Kill A Mockingbird' fashion.

So why doesn't everyone have a WIP?

Because writing is hard work. Yes, you can quote me on that.

Capturing the images in your brain and the accompanying emotions rarely turns out how you want it to. It's more than frustrating to try to bring a reader into the land of your mind. There just aren't enough words, and even if there were, putting them in the correct order takes a whole lot of brain power.

It is romantic to think of an author as sitting down to write each morning in a sunny nook, cutesie coffee cup steaming to one side of the computer, a golden retriever lying serenely on the hooked rug at her feet. Reality is, that author has dog hair on her sweater, her cup is cracked and coffee cold, and that sunny nook? Huh. It's a corner of the dining room table that isn't stacked with dishes or leftover mail.

So go ahead, indulge your fantasy of penning an Oprah Book Club winner, then sit your little fanny down. Start plugging away like the rest of us one word at a time, and though your dream might not be romantic anymore, at least it will be a reality.