Comments on: That book wouldn’t let me write it yet

By: robin

robin — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:19:04 +0000

Glad you all liked this idea! (Sorry, Pam.) I’m really chewing on it myself right now. Let’s keep each other posted on whether we’ve gone back to some old work, and if we’ve decided to try it again.

By: adrienne

adrienne — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:38:26 +0000

RAH, Robin! Now I’m going to have to go home and write something, probably not a novel, but still.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:58:41 +0000

I like that: “The climb wouldn’t let me climb it yet.” Sometimes the universe just isn’t ready for something to happen, no matter how hard you worked. Not that it will never happen, just that it will not happen YET.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:35:10 +0000

You are indeed incredibly inspiring, Robin. And all because you have chosen to reveal your weaknesses and be honest about the sweat that goes into every success you’ve achieved. I’ve been quiet for a few days because it’s been a WEEK. But right now, my husband and sister are off shopping in preparation for my 30th birthday party tomorrow night. I have no idea what to expect, but it sounds like it’s gonna be big. I’m excited and glad the week is closing with so much fun.

Anyway, thanks for being who you are and for sharing your writing road. The mountain metaphor is both comforting and challenging. And so is the stuff you have to do once your book gets accepted. Decisions, decisions.

By: MotherReader

MotherReader — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 22:56:04 +0000

could you stop being so inspiring for a while? it’s hurting my brain. ;^)

By: Dylan

Dylan — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:35:12 +0000

Great advice Robin! I’ve actually been having a lot of trouble writing latly, having so many doubts, thinking it just isn’t for me because I just can’t seem to get the words out I can picture it just not write it out for some reason! O_O SO I actually just came out of it a little bit last night, but was still a little confused, and doubtful but this makes perfect sense! I’m still young I don’t have to figure every thing out right now, and I do love the charicters int he other books i’ve written so i really should just let them site and we can both mature and it time we might be ready to work together again! I think I get attaced to the charicters but lots of times I just can’t think what might happen and it buggs me but I think i’m feeling better now! Thanks again Robin, your the best!

By: Liz Garton Scanlon

Liz Garton Scanlon — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:30:21 +0000

OK — Sara and I have been talking about the physicality of writing and using athletic metaphors to see through all the ups and downs and does this fit, or what??!?!! This just makes me want to go back to all my earlier work with my binoculars and see if the clouds have cleared…

By: Sara

Sara — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 17:01:56 +0000

This week I went back to a picture book idea that I’d written many years ago and completely re-wrote it. That first draft was nothing more than pylons stuck in the snow. Yeah, the story got from A to B, but in a very predictable, so what? way.

This second ascent walked the same route, but now I have so many more techniques in my pack that I didn’t even feel like the same climber/writer as I retraced my steps. But I think I would not even have remembered that mountain was there if I hadn’t kept the map of the first time.

Fab post, Robin. I loved it.

By: Laura Fitzgerald

Laura Fitzgerald — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:13:01 +0000

Ha! Not sure about joining the 14 in 18 club, but I agree completely with your view of early books — I know with a couple of my novels, the story is far better than the writer who wrote it, and at some point, I’ll be a good enough writer to know how to do the story justice. In fact, I JUST think I figured out what I can do with my first novel (the one that got me writing), and now that I’ve got this idea, I can’t wait to get going on it.