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| Cartoon by C3LTICFURY |
A demon is trying to convince me to give up writing. His name is DORONTOTHOR, demonic leader of paralysing uncertainty and creator of the doubting whispers.
I prefer to call him Dennis. It seems to take the wind out of his sails.
Dennis usually appears when I'm feeling tired, hungry, premenstrual, or when I've run out of matching socks and there's no food in the fridge, or when the only tea bag left in the house is a herbal one (ie. smells nice, but tastes of cardboard).
Dennis pretends to be my friend at first, pretends to be interested in my welfare...
Demon: So, how's The Temp selling?
Me: *shrugs* can't say yet.
Demon: Well, what's its amazon ranking? Wow... 250,000? Not exactly Harry Potter then!
Me: It's not the winning but the participation that counts.
Demon: If you say so. How long did it take you to write again?
Me: I think it's best not to dwell on the past.
Demon: How's the publicity going?
Me: Well, my grandma gave out some of my promotional postcards to a few people in church yesterday!
Demon: Those postcards that cost you £65?
Me: Yup.
Demon: Those postcards you bought for a talk which paid you less that £65?
Me: I needed something physical! With an ebook it feels like you're promoting thin air sometimes.
Demon: But you didn't even leave the cards out on the book stand at the talk, did you?
Me: It was awkward... The book stand was run by a bookshop owner and they don't like ebooks, do they?
Dennis can really ware me down sometimes. The other day, I lay awake in bed and I thought, alright what would I do if I didn't write?
1. Clean Oven
2. Clean Fridge
3. Clean Washing Machine
4. Clean Underneath Oven, Fridge and Washing Machine
5. Consider decorating flat
6. Decide not to decorate flat since it's only rented and we might move
7. Become a social butterfly
8. Get another job to fund social butterfly activities
9. Think about how much I miss writing while doing new job I had to get to earn money to fund social butterflies activities
I'm going to show Dennis the list when I see him next.
Demon: Blablabla...
In other news, my blog is a candidate in the UK Blog Awards 2015 and the public voting has now opened! If you've ever enjoyed my blog, it only take a moment to vote, and every vote makes a huge difference...
Demon: You're being too pushy.
Me: You want to see pushy?
*pushes Dennis off cliff*
Me: That's better... now where we? Oh yes, please vote!
6 comments:
Voted for you!The demon thing must strike a chord with all writers. The first professional to read my draft novel said, 'Don't listen to that little voice that says, "you've got no talent, you're making a fool of yourself" but never ignore the one that says, "chapter 2 needs more work".
Tell Dennis, no-one needs matching socks and tell him to go away. You can use stronger language if you deem it necessary.
I'm waiting for the paperback version of The Temp so there's another sale!
Thank you @CreakyDoor Writer, sounds like good advice. Deep down I think we know which is the practical voice and which is the mean one! Thanks for taking the time to read, comment and vote!
Thanks Lindsay! I don't need matching socks? This is fantastic news! :) I've emailed to find out when I'll get some physical copies and then I can organise a launch party!
I've voted Emily. Good luck! xxx
Thanks so much Pippa for all the support! :)
I too am waiting for the paper version. Looking forward to the launch party. Don't listen to Dennis, listen to your readers, I'm voting for you xx
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