Comments on: The Mystery of the Mask

By: DevinHarnois.com | Resolutions and Frustration

DevinHarnois.com | Resolutions and Frustration — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:27:23 +0000

[...] Saintcrow has a great post on her blog: The Mystery of the Mask where she talks about acting like what you want to become. If I want to be published, I should act [...]

By: Jess

Jess — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:16:12 +0000

Happy New Year, Lili!!! I’m glad you’re starting 2010 off in a better place than you were in the past few months. You are such an inspiration and encouragement! Thank you for all the effort you put into not just your own work but paying it forward.

By: mpe

mpe — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:09:01 +0000

In terms of novel-writing, I started at that “last wicket” and have been stuck there for seven years. There’s no “oddly” about why people eventually quit. Working hard for zero progress gets boring after a while.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:28:41 +0000

I think I am going to print your list out and tack it to my wall.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:02:55 +0000

I’ve been stuck in that “last wicket” for a few years now, partly because I didn’t make fiction writing my priority (I’m a copywriter, which has helped improve my fiction writing but also distracted me from it) – but I agree with you and this is something I’ve decided to take with me into the New Year.

And finding inspiration in the strangest places – my boyfriend and I are both huge Bon Jovi fans, and a couple of months ago my boyfriend was telling me how Jon Bon Jovi wrote hundreds and hundreds of songs and sent them out constantly, week after week, trying to get his first big break. And now his band has been phenomenally popular for decades… but first, he created and created and never gave up. Saying you want to be a writer or a rock star won’t get you there; putting your nose to the grindstone every single day just might. I don’t know if my boyfriend brought this up in response to how I’d been bitching about never getting an acceptance, but it really opened my eyes to how I’ve been slacking off.

So now I’ve resolved to complete at least one short story a month from now on, though I’ve been distracted by two longer projects too. I’m proud to say that since the start of November I’ve written about 120,000 words of fiction, which seems like an awful lot to me. At least half of that will never be publishable, but it keeps me from stopping and stagnating, and it brings me a step closer to what I want to be when I grow up.

In short: I agree with you, and reading what you have to say about writing is always, always inspiring. Thank you so much.

(And congrats to Nene, and I hope to be joining you someday soon!)

By: Nene

Nene — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:42:20 +0000

Hi! I’ve been reading your blog on livejournal for a few years now and this year I’ll be published for the first time (so I guess that makes us colleagues?). I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your take on the writing profession. I subscribe to your view that writing every day will make you a better writer and I take the time to do the work.
I have a writing group but I’m the only one that do this, the other ones are binge writers ‘when it feels right’.
It’s always a relief to know that you agree with me, that it works for others as well.
So, thank you. I’ll be reading your posts the coming year as well, and I’m greatful.

Good luck with all your personal stuff and I whish you a wonderful 2010!

By: Pat Esden

Pat Esden — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 01:13:07 +0000

Thank you for yet another great post. The very last sentence [2]was particularly meaningful for me.