Last Saturday, Twilight came out on DVD. By the end of the day, news outlets reported that the movie had sold a phenomenal 3 million units. In an article published in The New Yorker earlier this month, Joan Acocella reported that “Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ novels…have sold forty-two million copies worldwide since 2005”. I’m no mathematician, but if books were around $15 apiece, and her agent/agency is taking in 15 percent, even the author’s representation is making lots of money. The stats not only demand my respect, but my little heart is about as green as the Wicked Witch of the West right now.
As a person who wants to be a writer for a living, completing a task like a novel can be difficult. I read books about structure, finding an agent, and waiting for a publisher, and the veins in my head begin popping like popcorn in the microwave. At first, I thought it was anxiety, but as I am reading books about writing, I have discovered that part of completing any large task is fear.
You may find that preposterous. Why would a woman fear writing? Simple. Your left brain tells you that you should be doing laundry, cleaning the house, grading papers, looking for a better job, and other adult things – not writing a novel. You fear that people will think you’re wasting your time, you’ll never finish, or once you do finish, people will think your novel is toilet paper-worthy. You fear you will spend hours of your life, and all you will get in return is letters apologizing to you, nicely stating that you shouldn’t quit your day job.
You may not be a writer, but no matter what your big task is – cleaning out your house (or burning it all down and starting over), going back to college, or changing careers – it takes work and bravery. In every interview she gives, Stephenie Meyer claims that the idea for the series Twilight, came to her in a dream. You may be thinking she’s lucky, but dreams don’t write themselves down. She had to work at it, and some tasks take longer for some than others. She, luckily, had the time, endurance and perseverance to pop out five books since 2005.
Treat your big task in a similar way.
Write an affirmation. Tell yourself, in the present tense, that what you want is already reality. For example: I am a talented writer who sets aside at least 20 minutes per day to work on my craft.
Just do it. Page After Page, a book by Heather Sellers, says that writers should just sit down and write. Who cares if the pages that come out aren’t Mark Twain-ish. You have to get through the rough stuff in order to get what’s good and get to where it feels good (just like exercise, she says). You could apply the same thing to your life. As always, dream on, and tell that left brain to be quiet while you’re in the Stephenie Meyer zone.
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