Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Writers and the In Between

"We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow." - Fulton Oursler

It occurred to me that writers are perpetually in a state of In Between. Where are you on this list?
  • Between the brilliant idea and the first draft
  • Between the first draft and the 20th draft
  • Between the polish and the query
  • Between the query and agent representation
  • Between representation and an editor's "yes"
  • Between the "yes" and the boxful of books shipped to your doorstep
  • Between the boxful of books and the sale of book #2 (or 3 or...)
With this writing life we've chosen, there are many In Betweens. Sometimes it's terrifying to close our eyes, build up the necessary faith & confidence, and leap from one side to the other. Landing on the opposite curb requires the courage to exit the In Between.

Remember this: "You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however." - Richard Bach

Is there an In Between you'd like to add to the list? What In Between stage are you in, and was it difficult to arrive at this phase of your writing journey?

58 comments:

  1. This is so true! I'm definitely in an "in between". Mine is between querying book 1 of a series and either plotting book 2 or the first of another series. (What's the word for being in between three things?...the rock, the hard place, and a concrete sidewalk?)

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  2. OMG I LOVE THAT QUOTE!!! Sorry for shouting. I just love quotes and that one is awesome! :D

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  3. That is a terrific quote. I always seem to be between the brilliant idea and the first draft. Actually, I always seem to be searching for the brilliant idea. The rest is secondary.

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  4. I do feel like I'm constantly In-Between moments of momentousness! Maybe I should shut up and enjoy the In-Between a little more? ;)

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  5. I think I'm officially in between several of those - that state of ambiguity is so hard to take. But you're right, it's almost a constant for writers. Good thing we have a lot of joy to go with it. :)

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  6. I think we've all had to learn to accept our in-between status. . . like a writing purgatory LOL. Im in that great in-between phase that consists of "hurry up and wait". I hate that phase. Great post Julie:)

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  7. I think I'm between final draft, polish and query now. Well, I hope I am. LOL.

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  8. So true. We always are in the middle of the way. However, I don't see that as a bad thing; it's just the nature of life.

    Richard Bach... has been years since I last heard of him.

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  9. In between wanting to be a writer and knowing you ARE a writer. :)

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  10. Yup, I think your list is spot on. I would add that writers often jump between projects -- especially if you work on freelance pieces as well as fiction/book work. All the leaping back and forth, and changing of "writerly hats" can be difficult.

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  11. Between the brilliant idea and the first draft of the fifth book! Arghhhh!

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  12. Thank you so much for this inspiration! I love Bach's quote. I am in the first one with a new novel idea and the fourth one with my last. So true, we are always in between!

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  13. Great post. I am always between one step.

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  14. Terrifying? No. Annoying? Yes. Frustrating? Definitely.

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  15. Between the first draft and the 20th draft... that is me to a T.

    Yes it was hard and getting harder.

    I’ll add: Between motivated and discouraged… I’m often between that one.

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  16. Lovely post.

    I'm querying now, so I'm in between a whisky and a red wine...

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  17. Geez. I'm in-between starting and finishing, in the middle part of the book. I haven't gotten bogged down, but I have to constantly quiet that inner critic who wants to delete and burn the work I've already completed.

    For me, most in-betweens mean not going back and destroying what I already created!

    And having confidence in my work.

    - Eric

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  18. This is such a wonderful post! It reminds me that everyone is somewhere in their journey. I feel less alone today. Thanks!!

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  19. Love that Bach quote! Copying and pasting! :)

    "Between the first draft and the 20th draft"? That would be me. Ha!

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  20. Great post -- sometimes for me the hardest thing, keeping me from moving forward, is figuring out what things I'm between... sometimes it's not such a clear path for me.

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  21. Between reality and the fictional worlds of our own making. (Some might call it day dreaming). I often fantasize (or create) about my books while doing dishes, showering, tucking in my kids at night, "listening" to my husband tell me about work, etc. It's a joke in my home that just because Mom's looking right at you when you're talking is no guarantee that she's listening. I'm usually off in another realm somewhere.

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  22. Yes, all sorts of waiting! But we can celebrate the steps of getting there--like you getting an agent (and me too, as of yesterday, woo!). It's a fun journey. :)

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  23. I'm simultaneously between idea to research and copyedits to first pass pages. There are so many in betweens to juggle at once, it helps to keep us balanced and sane.

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  24. So true! I think it's all about perspective. Life can be all about regret, fear, or relishing in the accomplishments of the past while planning success for the future.
    On a good day, that is.

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  25. Agreed...even if we get one thing finished, there are always others waiting ;)

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  26. I guess I'm querying now. It is terrifying to admit that! Yes, it takes courage to jump to that curb, especially because, as a writer, you always wonder if you've missed something big. You just eventually have to trust all the work you've put into it and go for it!

    Amy

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  27. YES YES YES!!!! HELL YES!!! It seems I'm always in between something!!

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  28. argh. I'm in between the representation and the editor, and I'm also in between here and there (relocating). So argh. I'm trying to be patient, but it's tough... I hate inbetweens. :p

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  29. I'm between the query and the agent. I now have TWO fulls out (yes, I did press send again), but I'm awaiting commentary on my writing skills. Sigh. I wonder if I can bribe them with Twinkies...hmm...the great Twinkie conspiracy!

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  30. Soooooooo between! The betweenies change week to week, MS to MS. I'm between query and agent on MS 1, and polish drafts on MS 2. Not to mention somewhere between sanity and craziness.

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  31. IN between the state of my mind going crazy with ideas at night;so much that I cannot sleep, and then having no ideas in the day!!!

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  32. Yes! I feel like this a lot, and not just with writing!

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  33. What an awesome post, and I love that Richard Back quote!

    Just yesterday I finished putting the finishing touches on my manuscript. Today I'm taking a breather to catch up on blog business, so tomorrow I can move on to the query stage. Whew!

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  34. I'm always in between something as I'm constantly revising something. I never feel like I'm quite finsihed. I even found a couple typos in my book, but I'll never tell what they are.

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  35. Right now I'm between query and representation for my ms, Stealing Breath, but between brilliant idea and first draft on the sequel, Saving Breath.

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  36. That quote is going on my wall of awesome. Because it's the truest thing I've read in a very long time.

    There is always one more In Between. Always.

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  37. Great insight Julie. I think you left out the 'in-between going insane and insane' from edits/revisions. :-)

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  38. Great post Julie! I'm glad I have consistent editing to do to keep me from procrastinating all my in-between issues. Genre-hopping is great for sitting on a decision for a while.

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  39. Thought-provoking post, Julie. Hadn't thought of the many stages we writers get stuck in. I fit right into a few of them - between 1st and 20th draft and between promo on the first book and the second, plus all the other projects on the back burner that are in different stages. :O

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  40. Love that quote! And yes, I'm always in-between in one way or the other, which explains why I kept nodding while reading your list. ; )

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  41. Oh my gosh, you nailed it! Love the quotes too!

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  42. I LOVE THIS. I found you via Julie Musil's blog and I like the way you think. I'm in this state of limbo: "Between representation and an editor's "yes" and, yes, it sucks...but I know I'm fortunate to have a really good agent. (Even though I've been seeking publication, on and off, since 1994.) If it were easy, everyone would do it!

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  43. I don't think of myself of being between things. I consider writing a journey with many twists and turns.
    Love the Richard Bach quote. ;-)

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  44. Love that Bach quote!! :)

    Is there such a thing as being between the ??th draft & insanity? :)

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  45. I also love the Bach quote! I'm in between the idea and the first draft. It's true that you're always between something. I can't wait to be between the finished draft and the next thing! ;)

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  46. I'm in several of those places, too. I've got fulls out for one ms, nearing the end of revisions for another (before I send the WIP to my beta readers (my CPs are dealing with it right now)), and I've been polishing the query for the WIP. :D

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  47. In between the first and 20th draft, and finding it difficult to keep track of all the changes.

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  48. I fall in a couple of those places. In between a first draft and revisions. In between queries and finding an agent who "loves" my work. I quote love cuz that's always the rejection I get. They didn't "love" my work. SO I guess that means I'm also in between making those old stories sparkle and shine from their final revisions. :)

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  49. My DH and I often quote from one of Stephen Lawhead's books- The Time In-Between Times. It can be tricky!

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  50. That's a great quote! :)

    Right now I'm in between the 1st draft and the 20th (well, at this stage, I think 50th might be more accurate) draft.

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  51. Every step has felt like an in between! It's the nature of the thing. They say writers are the most stubborn and optimistic of people. If you want to make money, there are much easier ways to do it. If you want a lot of readers, well, a newsletter or a blog is much easier than trying to get a book published! Now we can self-publish, but even then if we want readers it isn't easy.

    Right now I'm in between the final edits and the books arriving in a box. But even then it's just a moment and it will be back to life. I think I read somewhere recently that what we must do is get on with the next writing project, and savor each moment of each day. I'm going to keep chanting this to myself in the coming weeks.

    Sorry I couldn't do that "project," but let's keep in touch.
    Ann Best, Memoir Author

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  52. Beautifully stated. And so true. I needed this post today. Thanks :)

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  53. Great quote and post, Julie!! I'm in several inbetween spots right now.

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  54. So true. We are always in between! I guess that's why to make it as a writer, you really have to love the process of it as much as you do the final goal of publishing. :)

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  55. Interesting question. I guess I'm at a different "in between" on each of my projects.

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  56. I love that quote! Great post Julie, I like your In Between points. I'm still in the brilliant idea and the first draft, but almost to the next "between" :)

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  57. This is so true! We are always "in between," which is why we need to just focus on the doing, the journey and not waiting for the joy to come whenever we reach "that place" that we think we are supposed to reach.

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