Writing Woe-Is-Me
Nothing like gulping down some of your own advice, right?
How many times have readers written me with troubled tales of this writing life- stories of personal hurdles, 3 a.m. writing marathons, cranky clients, cranky spouses and missed deadlines? (answer: a lot). You know what I tell them? Usually some variation of "keep on keeping on."
Well, it's time to take my own advice.
Let me tell you about my day. My family is currently in travel status. We are actually in travel status much of the summer, due to my spouse's job. I continue to work, generally without hiccups. Today, though...oh, today...
Today I was late interviewing a subject for a magazine article. Yeah, you really shouldn't do that, anyway, but high-powered execs seem to hate lateness even more. Busy people and all...
In the middle of said interview, I come to find out that my recording device does not seem to be working. That's ok, I can improvise, right? Well, problem is that this woman spoke really fast, and had a lot of great things to say. I know I didn't get it all.
Oh, and did I mention that I have another interview stored on that device? Well, I didn't pack the USB cable, so I simply won't know until Monday if I've lost both interviews.
So I keep rolling, open my email, and find one of my favorite and best contracts is not exactly happy with me. While writing them back, I get an email from another client who insisted their deadline was Thursday, whereas my calendar says next Thursday.
In the middle of all of this, I am having mommy guilt over all the fun things my family is doing without me right now.
So, yes, please excuse me while I go to the corner and cry.
But, trust me, I'll be back. Meanwhile, you can read about how important it is for a writer to have tenacity.
I know I'm not the only one who has "those days," but if you'd like to make me feel better, you can tell me your woe-is-me tale in the comments.
Comments
After writing this entry, I thought of deleting it. I know it’s a bit whiny, but I am leaving it as is because I want other writers, especially newbies, to see some of the potential challenges.
A couple of years ago, I was on vacation. Before leaving, I had submitted a couple of bids for freelance projects on a bid-for-work site, but I hadn’t gotten any responses. Then I got an emergency appendectomy and was in the hospital for a few days.
When I got out of the hospital again, I found that one of my bids, for a big project, had been accepted, and because it had a short deadline to begin with, it was now due in two days.
I couldn’t even pick my laptop up, due to the pain from the surgery, and I was on heavy painkillers, but I still managed to get the project done on time and to the client’s satisfaction. It definitely wasn’t my best day as a writer, however!
Nice to know that Woe-is-me is universal.Got my first gig writing for a regional. Set up the interview and yes, I was 15 minutes late, the recorder quit in the middle and the gent talked fast! I took copious notes, not sure if I can translate my own writing, though! I did ask if I can email with questions for clarification purposes and he graciously agreed. I am getting a new recorder this week. Loved every moment of it though!
thanks for the stories, guys. It does feel good to know you’re not attracting ALL the craziness in the universe by yourself.