Escaping

By Keith N Fisher

First, the contest and the quote: I was hoping for more comments last week, but yes, Kurt Kammeyer it was, Chevy Chase in the movie, Funny Farm. I made reference to it in my post a while back. The film was adapted from a 1985 comedic novel of the same name by Jay Cronley.

It’s about a sportswriter who buys a house in the country to write the book he’s been given an advance for. As you might imagine with all Chevy Chase movies, It’s hilarious.

Kurt, and Heather Justesen will be entered into the drawing.

And this is our quote for today:

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
This quote from a book was also used in a Star Trek movie. That ought to be enough of a hint that anyone can figure it out.


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Have you ever been discouraged? I’m not talking about normal setbacks. Some people suffer through calamity. How does a person keep going through all that? I used to write.

I actually began in the nineteen-seventies, using the medium to explore my imagination. In the nineties, I used it as a stress reliever, a way to escape discouragement. I didn’t get serious about it until my first rejection, which happened to coincide with getting fired from my job of fifteen years.

To be honest, when I considered the future and what I should do for a living, I felt I should finish the rewrites. Perhaps that was a way of escaping my obligations, but it was something I needed to do. That was, eight books ago. I now have nineteen project files, including one for many other new ideas.

Writing was for me, more recreational than occupational. Now, I can’t put it down, but I want that publishing credit to my name. I used writing before, to escape discouragement, now it’s a major part of my life. What should I do with discouragement about writing? What do you do?

Many writers have wondered why they ever got involved in this crazy occupation. It’s normal. Between family obligations and starvation prevention, it seems like there’s always something getting in the way. Watching people launch ebook careers, and reading about, yet another, publisher calling it quits, doesn’t help. How do you keep going?

Reading this blog, and others like it, can help. Seeking the company of other writers is also a good way. Flooding the market with ebooks of your own is another way. Escaping to a remote location will help give you clarity. It does for me. Taking my laptop into the mountains to write helps me remember why I started writing.

How did you decide to write? Good Luck with your writing—see you next week.