Tuesday, March 12, 2013

When I Have Nothing To Say

Hard to imagine, isn't it?

Words come easily for me.  I don't draft my blog posts days in advance and toil over them until it's time to post.  I simply...write them.

At my sister's wedding, I didn't have a speech prepared on nifty little note cards (though I tried valiantly to do that).  I stood up, took the microphone, and winged it.  And had the audience laughing almost immediately.

Chatting with the guy at the register at Whole Foods, whipping up an email to voice my complaint about a faulty product, keeping a lively conversation going with my neighborhood-whom-I-see-maybe-five-times-a-year--I can do it all with aplomb.

So when I find myself at a loss for words, it's because either a) I'm so angry/stunned/hurt that words fail me, or b) I'm burned out.

Hello, letter B.

Contests are easy--they run themselves.  (Well, mostly.)  Success stories are easy--someone else writes them.  And Friday Fricassee has a feel all its own.  Sometimes I get stuck on it, but usually it flows just fine.

It's weeks like this -- fallow weeks between contests -- that put the pressure on me to be lively and entertaining and informative.  Usually I'm up for the challenge!  But sometimes...ugh.

I'll be fair to myself.  I've just finished a challenging revision (hooray!) while keeping my WIP moving forward (woot! woot!).  Words have been leaking from my fingers while I sleep.  So, yeah.  Word overload.

And I don't take lightly what I choose to say here.  You're important to me.  A sort of "tribe", if you will.  I care about the integrity of the blog for your sake.  I want to foster the sense of community here every time I set my hands to the keyboard.  I root for you, I talk about you, I pray for you.

Yes, I do.

You've given so much to this place, and so much to me.  You've been the safety net I never expected--the cheering, low and steady, that has kept me, sometimes, from utter despair.  All this for running a blog for writers?  I am truly blessed.

So I have this incredible sense of I-don't-want-to-let-you-down.  Yes, that's part of my personality.  (Authoress, the gal-who-doesn't-ever-want-to-make-a-mistake.)  But it's also a responsibility thing.  I'm here as a resource, and that's an important role.  I take it seriously.

The good news is that I don't take myself seriously.  And I'm learning, more and more each year, how to give myself grace.  That's been hard.

Well.  Look at that.  I've written a blog post!  And all I had to do was to focus on how valuable you are, not only as readers, but as fellow wordsmiths and human beings.

Thank you for being an inspiration!

16 comments:

  1. You are awesome! See the words come even when you don't think they will.

    Thanks for all that you do.

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  2. While the contests and critique opportunities are valuable assets to me professionally as a writer, it's posts like this that keep me coming back to this blog, this community. You are the heart and soul of this group. Your compassion and professionalism, your desire to reach out and truly help other writers improve their craft shines through in moments like these.

    Thank you for all you do for the writing community.

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  3. Thank you for coming to us even when you're so busy with your revisions. We appreciaite everything you do on this blog.

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  4. dude, i don't think you could let us down even if you tried. For reals and all that. You are awesome. Don't worry about us, we'll still be here even if you just post a gif or something

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  5. Exactly what Sarah said. You are Awesome. We're here, you're here, you couldn't let us down if you tried.

    We love the contests, but your blog is much more than that. Thank you for making your blog such a great place for the writer community to hang out.

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  6. As a writer who hasn't participated in any of your contests (yet!), I echo what everyone else says: your blog's so much more: a sounding board, a place for writers to "hang out" and get informed, a font of feedback, and sometimes it's an escape from the (too frequently) solitary life of being a writer. So, yes, you and your blog are awesomely awesome. And thanks!

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  7. Well, look at that! You did have something to say! Thank you for keeping this supportive community going and caring so much about it!

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  8. I've been following you for years now. I remember when it was easy to get a spot in one of your contests! However, I come for all the content, not just the contents. You're my home base for writing.

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  9. I know how you feel. Writing up blog posts has become harder and harder - and I only blog twice a week!

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  10. Thank YOU, Authoress, for everything you do! :)

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  11. Grace is good. Give yourself a hug from your tribe.

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  12. No, thank you! I've only dipped my toes in what this blog has to offer, but it's been an inspirationand a support to me already.

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  13. Everybody gets in a slump sometimes. You're wonderful, but you're human like the rest of us. Cut yourself some slack. We love you no matter what! :-)

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  14. We appreciate everything you do for the writing community :)

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  15. I just wanted to say - I don't normally comment, I don't really enter any of the critiques or contests (I've entered 2 critiques in the years I've been lurking here)

    BUT

    I love seeing Miss Snark pop up in my e-mail. I eagerly read all of the posts. My life is crazy busy, but I love knowing that this blog is here and that you are here and that all these other wonderful writer people are here whenever I do want to join in. <3 from a mostly silent lurker

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