Postcard For Reader

Guest Post: Rachel Hawkins

The amazing Rachel Hakwins, author of Hex Hall, has stopped by - for a guest post!

"What's the meaning of my books, what's my inspiraaaaa-tiooooon..."

That song will be stuck in your head for the next two weeks. You're welcome, blog readers!

Inspiration or "muse" is a hot topic amongst writers, so I thought I'd talk a little but about mine today! I think sometimes people think that in over to write, you have to be inspired all the time, i.e., the fire of writing must burn brightly within you at all times. But guys? That's not always the case. I'm going to let you in on a little writing secret: Writing Is Hard.

I just blew your mind, right? I mean, NO ONE has ever suggested writing was anything but flowers and sausages!

Sarcasm aside, what I mean is that, while I knew writers had to treat writing like a job, I still thought they always loved the writing, that they always felt inspired that they always knew they had a great story. Therefore, I thought, when the writing felt super sucky and really hard and not like fun at all, it meant there was something wrong with the book (or, at the worst moments, me.)

There were so many times I nearly gave up on HEX HALL because I really felt like the story was too big, that there was too much of a "mytharc" to build. I mean, I'd never written a whole book! What was I doing trying to write an epic trilogy?

Then there were good days, great days even. Days when I was so deep into the story that I felt like my typing couldn't keep up with my brain. It's just that those days seemed pretty rare. Most of my writing days were just sitting down, doing the work until I'd done somewhere around 2,000 words. And occasionally, I had the "Oh my God, I suck so hard!" days.

But somehow, through a combination of those 3 types of days, HEX HALL got written. And I would guess that that's how pretty much all books get written. Sure, some authors do write in a frenzy of inspiration (Stephenie Meyer wrote the gargantuan Twilight over a summer. That's 3 months, people! And she has, like, a bazillion little kids!)but for the rest of us, I'd guess it's more like a really long road trip. Most of the time you're just driving, focusing on your destination. Sometimes, you get frustrated and you're just ready to be there already, dammit, and your butt falls asleep, and you have to pee, and you can't remember why you even wanted to take a road trip. And then there are the moments when you see something truly amazing, like a really beautiful sunset, or a awesome roadside stand selling something you just have to have, and the whole trip, butt fatigue and all, feels totally worth it.

So any aspiring writers, if you're about thirty pages into your novel and feeling a total lack of inspiration, power through it! If I only wrote when I was inspired, I'd write a book every five years, or something. And that would mean eating A LOT of ramen noodles. ;-)

~ Rachel Hawkins

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for Hex Hall here!