Written by Monica Sanz
The past few weeks have been a bit of a chaotic, beautiful storm. My book, Seventh Born came out on September 4th and my draft for book 2 was due a few days later. Having my book published was a dream come true, but I also had to work twice as hard to follow-up the first book with a spectacular second one, while writing on deadline which was new for me. The pressure was on, and at times I doubted myself and my writing. When this happened, I took a step back and reminded myself of my top three writing mottos—staples that make me feel stable and motivate me to keep going.
Just Write
It’s easier said than done, I know. Sometimes putting words down on paper seems impossible, especially when life happens. But one word and another word equals two words you didn’t have before. It’s the building of words upon words that make a book, not the building of words upon words in one day. Writing a book takes time. Some writers can knock out 5k words a session. Sometimes I’m lucky if I get 100. That’s okay.
Writing cycles vary by person and what works for one person may not work for another. Sometimes our wells of inspiration run empty and sometimes we’re tired. Sometimes our emotions are being spent elsewhere and getting words down is an insuperable task. That’s fine and it’s normal. If all you can get down is a few words, congratulations, that’s a few words you didn’t have before. A few words make a sentence. And many sentences will eventually make a book. Focus on that.
Let It Rest. Seriously.
After finishing my first draft, I was convinced it was the most terrible thing ever written and whoever read it would, I don’t know, turn to ash or something. I wanted to immediately start revisions, but thankfully I had to send it off to my editor so I couldn’t dive in just yet. After a few days, I took a peek at it and to my surprise, it wasn’t as horrible as I remembered. This is often the case when writing which is why one tip you’ll often hear is to step away from your manuscript for a good chunk of time so that when you revisit it to work on edits, it’ll be with fresh eyes.
When we’re too close to our work, we can’t read it objectively and end up missing a lot of mistakes while also maybe obsessing over things that aren’t so terrible. Deadlines sometimes makes letting a work rest impossible, but if you can give yourself even a day to not look at it or think of it, it will help immensely.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect
Something that kept me super grounded while drafting book two was, “This is the first draft. It’s not supposed to be perfect.” When is a first draft ever perfect? It’s supposed to suck because it’s not meant to be the end of the road. If it was, it’d be called final draft.
The first draft is the dating stage, where you’re in love with the story and mostly everything is butterflies and rainbows and whatnot. But then, when you’re ready to settle in for the long haul, that’s when you revise and start working through the ugliness and messiness of a draft, shaping and polishing it into something beautiful. So, don’t beat yourself up if your first draft is a hot mess. You can fix a hot mess, but you can’t fix something that hasn’t been written.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope these mottos help keep you motivated with your own writing and offer you some peace of mind, too.
Seventh Born is now available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. You can find out more about Seventh Born on Entangled Publishing.
What are some of your favourite writing mottos? Tell us in the comments below.
Synopsis | Goodreads
Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.
Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.
The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.
