Work Through the Pain

When I thought about what I consider the best advice I’ve received throughout my career, as it relates specifically to writing, I couldn’t come up with just one thing I would classify as the best. Then it hit me, as sort of a no brainer, that my father provided invaluable advice on life that I've applied to writing.

Looking back, Dad mainly led by example with this lesson, but one particular day sticks out in my mind more than any other. It was when I was around ten and he had his wisdom teeth removed. I remember Dad not wanting to take the painkillers the oral surgeon prescribed for him. When I inquired why he felt it necessary to skip the pills, he said, "There are times in your life when you will feel excruciating pain, but with each passing day, the pain gets a little more bearable. Then one day you'll wake up and the pain will be gone."

Kinda funny that my dad provided such words of wisdom right after his "wisdom" teeth had been removed. Oh, and his advice got me through labor pains with both my sons better than any advice my mother ever gave me.

There are days I’m so emotionally wrapped up in a scene or the characters that I'd rather have a tooth extracted than write and edit. Then there are the days of suffering through self doubt, rejection and critical reviews. When these things happens, I think of Dad’s advice and work through the pain. I might only get through a page that day, and sure it hurts like hell, but the next day is a little easier, and I’ll get through a couple of pages. Then, eureka, another day later I’m back on track.

Gosh, I just realized how therapeutic this week's topic has been for me. I’ve been sick a lot this year, and progress had significantly slowed on The Courier in January and February. But thanks to Dad, I can look back and know that I still worked through the pain. Excuse me while I wipe tears from my eyes and blow my nose...

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If you’re interested in more advice on writing, I publish a weekly Writer Wednesday Blog Tour in my own personal blog for writers and reader. There's a section dedicated to the best advice I read in other writers' blogs. I included one post all us wicked writers particularly enjoyed this week over at A Newbie's Guide to Publishing by Joe Konrath. In his post, Whoa There, Ebook Writer, Joe really provides some valuable insight into self publishing eBooks and the changing industry.

Speaking of industry changes, we've better organized our links in the sidebar and added a section for articles about the changes in the publishing industry. As a writer, it's both exciting and scary to watch this transition. If you happen upon something interesting we don't have, email us a link so we can share it with other readers. Or, you can reply to us on Twitter @WickedWriterz so we can also retweet it.