This week the Rockville 8 welcomes back Michelle Monkou,
one of the founding members of our critique group! We can't have her back for
good, she has too many deadlines hanging over her head, but we've got her this
week for a guest blog and we'll take her any way we can get her!
Look for her newest
release, Carnival Temptress (The
Revelers Series), on Kindle and Nook now for just 99 cents.
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I recently talked to a friend who shared three things
(people, ideas, concepts) that make her unconditionally happy. I gave myself
the task of discovering my three things. When I came to the unconditional part,
I’d back away and head for another item. Almost 24 hours later, I realized one
of those things never left the picture – WRITING.
Writing is the condition that has been in my blood since
early days of childhood where I started with my avid love for books. Reading
stories led to writing stories. Once bitten by the bug (but, I truly believe that
it’s part of my DNA), writing flowed through my entire body, energizing and
adding its own nutrients.
There are occasional viral attacks, like envy, jealousy, and
wrath, which threaten to destroy the writing condition. Regardless of the
vices, resulting Writer’s angst can eat away at the good cells and take over
with zombie-like effect. Who wants to live life as an empty shell of a writer?
Writing is expression, communication, living.
It is freedom.
There is a big difference between choosing to put aside
writing and someone or something preventing or stripping away one’s ability to
write. If the latter is the case, then the writer needs to fight like hell to
be the sole decision maker about their calling.
Writing, for me, is a deep-seated desire. It’s a need to write with no guarantee of the
outcome. It’s an experience that heads me off to unfamiliar, uncharted waters.
Although the ground under my feet may rumble and shake with uncertainty and
insecurity, there is pure simple joy in writing.
What is your unconditional joy? Share your happiness with me
and a lucky commenter will receive a copy of my book, Racing Hearts (Harlequin Kimani).
–Michelle Monkou
Michelle! Always so awesome to bask in your wisdom and insight.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get bummed about my writing, I end up asking myself, "well, what you do if you didn't write?" Funny thing is, I never have an answer to that. Reading would take up some time, sleeping. The day job. But...not be a writer? Unthinkable!
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ReplyDeleteMichelle, great post. Thanks for visiting the R8 this week in the midst of your marathon deadlines. ;0)
ReplyDeleteI don't know about happiness, but I find the one thing I can't not do is write . . . or at least for long. This kind of mental restlessness takes over, prodding and goading me. It won't let me go until I have another story idea I'm puzzling out in my mind and on paper.
Does it make me happy? Honestly? No. Not always. There are days, weeks, and even years when I doubt that I should even continue to write or I ask myself how much time I should continue to steal from my family--in another few years, my boys will all be out of the house--for a career that has not shown a lot of payoff yet. Sigh. And yet I persist. Some days it feels like a pursuit of insanity.
Yet it's good to know I'm not alone in the journey. There are others who face the same struggle. Many in my own critique group and in WRW and RWA. And while writing doesn't yet bring me the "happiness" I desire, I've come to realize that hapiness is an internal state of being that takes time to develop . . . just like my storytelling craft. So, maybe, just maybe, they'll develop simultaneously as I continue to grow as a writer, persevere, and continue to put stories to paper. ;0)
Thanks for your words of wisdom! Love the look of the new Revelers series! Exciting & fun.
Thanks, Keely and Candy. Sometimes I do wish that I wasn't so addicted to writing LOL. But once I remove all the expectations of being published, earning money, blah blah blah, I truly enjoy writing my stories.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on you latest release, Michelle, and welcome back to the R8!
ReplyDelete"Unconditional," when it comes to anything, can be a stumbling block for lots of folks. It sounds so permanent! I love how you pointed out writing makes you happy no matter what. It's a part of you no matter what.
That's an important thing to remember about unconditional anything. It is what it is and we have no reason to fear it. Fearing or avoiding it won't change matters. And thank goodness for that! After all, how many things can we rely on? It's awesome you know you writing will be there for you regardless. We all need that in our lives.