Always Know Yourself Before...

During my trip to New York, I saw a lot of interesting sites, and had a great conference experience at Book Expo America.

Before visiting the city, I had a chance to go to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, where the likes of Bob Dylan and other folk musicians have performed. That night, it was a unique blend of blues--sliding guitar, tuba, and trombone. But most fascinating was what I encountered in the bathroom:

"Always know yourself before making a decision that may change your life"

While the walls were covered in inspirational quotes, I picked this one above the others because it's so deceptively simple: "Always know yourself before making a decision that may change your life." Because better decisions are made when you have your own best interests in mind. And knowing what those interests are is key in determining whether a decision is a good fit.

As with anything, this can be applied to writing at all levels:

Crafting stage: When you are still in the process of editing your work, and getting it critiqued by others, make sure feedback resonates with the story you want to write. Don't assume that someone knows more than you, or that negative feedback means you have to change the story entirely.

How to Know Yourself: Think, reflect, and figure out which feedback resonates with you most. Be with it for awhile to see what sticks and what doesn't. That way, you can save having to revert to a previous draft when someone else's recommendations aren't working (though this isn't unheard of--I've had to do it myself).

Agented/publishing/selling stage: From what I understand, this can be a perilous stage because it involves a lot of waiting. And waiting can inevitably morph into unnecessarily questioning yourself. Or settling for a deal that might not be right for you in the long run in order to relieve immediate stress.

How to Know Yourself: Be sure of the direction you want your career to go. Make the decisions that honor that, even if it means waiting to see yourself in print. Because settling for something lesser means possibly having to undo it later on--and that isn't always an option.

What about you? In what ways do you know yourself? And how do these inform your decisions going forward? 

Reading Versus Writing

The other day I was discussing some fantasy trilogies I recently read (Lynn Flewelling's Tamir Triad, starting with The Bone Doll's Twin and Juliet Marillier's original Sevenwaters trilogy), and my friend asked me where I found time to read so much. I told her I've been outlining a fantasy, and before I write, I feel as if I need to read everything important in the genre first. And that's impossible, so then I never actually have to write!

The twist is that my friend is currently weighing agent offers for HER fantasy, which she wrote while I was reading all those other books. I think she spent her time more productively -- especially since now I get to read the product. Instead I use reading and research as a clever procrastination method so I feel like I'm accomplishing something even when I'm not (but it sure it fun).

This reminded me of a few recent discussion among English teachers who believe that the best way to teach is output instead of input -- writing instead of reading. And then I recalled a casual survey among writers about which they could more readily give up, writing or reading.

I was surprised that many answered reading -- something I could never relinquish willingly, although I have stopped writing for periods of months and years. But reading is my PASSION -- it's how I learn, soothe myself, escape troubles, and entertain my mind. It's my oldest and most dependable friend, and a life without books would seem bleak indeed.

Still, I currently have three or four partly researched, partly outlined novels that I never feel up to writing, but sometimes you must just WRITE.

Which would you give up if you HAD to choose -- reading or writing?