Published Authors Speak Out on Why They Don’t Write
Yesterday, Wayne Scott shared candidly about why he isn’t writing, even though he knows he should. Authors not writing is more prevalent than you think. Published authors NOT writing! Even award winning authors. But after having publishing success, why don’t they write? What keeps a published author from avoiding the chair? And are they susceptible to the same distractions and fears like the rest of us?
“Other than the obvious reason that sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day, sometimes writers don’t write because of what author Stephen Pressfield calls resistance in his brilliant book The War of Art. Resistance to allow our own creativity to take hold, resistance to go beyond what we know to learn something about ourselves through our writing, or perhaps just resistance to do the next thing we’re called to do. Those are just a few reasons. Sometimes we don’t write because it’s just so much easier not to.”
RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is the author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books with more than one million copies of her books in print. Her historical novel, THE INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE OF CHARLOTTE BECK (Waterbrook) released in June 2011, and in 2012 she debuts a contemporary Texas beach series for Love Inspired.
“There are lots of reasons why I don’t write. It’s hard to get motivated to write when plotting comes somewhere in between a root canal and a colonoscopy.
Richard Mabryis a retired physician, now writing full-time.He serves on the board of ACFW as Vice President. His first two novels of medical suspense, Code Blue and Medical Error, have received critical acclaim. His next novel, Diagnosis Death, will be published in the spring by Abingdon Press.
“As a newly-contracted author, my answer to Gina’s question can be summed up in three words: Second Book Syndrome. If I were to narrow my answer down to one word, it would be fear. Though I didn’t invite them, the voices in my head were busy asking questions of their own that were versions of this one: “Do you really think you can write another book a publisher will like?” Talk about pressure. My solution is to keep writing despite the doubts. They will be there no matter what, and I can’t let them win.”
Keli Gwyn writes stories that transport readers to the 1800s, where she brings historic towns to life, peoples them with colorful characters, and adds a hint of humor. A California native, she lives in a Gold Rush-era town in the Sierra Foothills with her husband and two skitty kitties.
“Writers don’t write because they choose not to. It’s a daily discipline, a choice. Even when my brain is mush and I don’t feel like writing, I write. I’m sure there are doctors out there who don’t feel like treating patients, but that is their job, so they do it.”
Mary DeMuth loves to write and speak about the redemptive hand of God in impossible situations. Her books include Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God (Harvest House, 2005), Building the Christian Family You Never Had (WaterBrook, 2006), Watching the Tree Limbs, and Wishing on Dandelions (NavPress, 2006). Wife to Patrick and mother of three, Mary makes her home in Texas.
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Why don’t YOU write?
