The Spin Cycle

Do you remember the movie SHE DEVIL? It had Meryl Streep and Rosanne Barr in it and Meryl is a romance author.

She hits a very low point in her career and writes LOVE IN THE SPIN CYCLE well while I love to do laundry I have to say that writing is a lot like this chore or is it labor of love?

There are days when my writing makes me feel like I'm spinning around and around just like a dryer does or the spin cycle of the washer.

There is something to be said for consistancy and repeating the same thing daily. For authors and writers it's called a routine or a writing schedule. Applying butt to chair is the only way to accomplish your goal of finishing the book.

Again I used laundry as a comparision because the thing I hate about doing the laundry is putting the clothes away. Yet this must happen just like you MUST rewrite, revise and send the book out however just like throwing out your favorite old T-Shirt this can be painful because once it's out there for the world to see then your secret is also out and everyone knows you've written a book. Like the flawed T-Shirt then it is no longer your dirty secret and alas that is why there is stain remover and even bleach. What I mean by this is someone along the road to success in publishing your book is going to want changes and those clever quips you thought were great when you wrote them last year or nine months ago are going to be rubbed out.

In closing what I am saying is that IF you can do laundry then you can write but the writing will not remain the same book that you started writing and thank goodness we can buy new clothes to replace the old ones and by this I mean that once the book is out the door in perfect condition or flawed we can begin again and repeat the cycle. New clothes, new beginning and new ideas, plots and a fresh clean white blank computer screen or blank white paper.

I often think of 'Writer's Block' as having to try many different things to get that particularly hard stain out in my case it seems to be blood stains but you get the the idea....

So the next time you're faced with the task of doing the laundry just think about rubbing someone out and don't you feel better about the postman who brings you a rejection letter with the mail? Maybe it's that particularly annoying character you didn't know what to do with either way the spin cycle must happen in order wring out the manuscript!

Hugs,

Pamela (Who is sure this should have been revised as I never write anything right the first time)