Calling upon the wisdom of MYA

[A Writer]

My dear,

You wrote: Get on with the writing and put it out of mind until something concrete happens.

I know it's hard to do that, but in this business you HAVE to learn it.

Excellent advice! And many thanks for writing it.

Now, this may sound lame, indeed, but -- how does one go about "learning" this? I'm trying my darnedest, truly I am. I'm WAY in the early stages of all this querying business, but I find that I can BARELY WRITE AT ALL because of the energy -- actual and nervous -- that is going into the querying process. It's beyond ridiculous.

I have every intention of working on my second novel, and I find that I can't. I start obsessively searching for new agents in my genre, or going over things, or....well, you get the idea.

Do you have any concrete suggestions for how one can train one's mind in a more productive direction??

[Denise .]

I'm not Mya, but once you finish the writing, letting go of the huge emotional attachment you have to your novel and viewing it now as a business proposition will help greatly, imo. If you can put everything aside for a few days and start something new, you may find you can get excited about the new project and focus your emotional, nervous energy there instead.

[Mya Bell]

Well, everyone's different, so the solution will be different for each person, but here's what I do when I'm so nervous and anxious with anticipation (and dread) that I can't write…

I have a mental checklist of things that are writing related, but not actually writing, like reading, browsing a book store to read author bios or book flaps, researching agents, going down to a café and listening to people talk (so I can use the ideas in forthcoming books), re-organizing my files, watching a video adaptation of a novel, having a barbecue with other writers—things like that.

Usually, when the anxiety is really bad, I'll choose the ones that involve getting out of the house and moving around. It almost always gives me a breather that encourages the flow of new ideas and them I'm happy to get back to the keyboard.

--- Mya Bell

[Mya Bell]

Denise said: "If you can put everything aside for a few days and start something new, you may find you can get excited about the new project and focus your emotional, nervous energy there instead."

I think this is good advice.

--- Mya Bell

[Harper]

I was out of my mind during the querying process and the more complicated it got, the more insane I felt. There were times when doing something else got it out of my head for a while, but I was pretty much obesessed. Sometimes the monkey mind can't be trained and you just have to go with it. The suggestions Denise and Mya gave are good ones, but I just wanted to chime in and say, it's normal to feel like a maniac while this is going on.

[Trini Cat]

Hey Harper - did you feel the same way when your agent was submitting to publishers? At least during the query-go-round process, if things got too stressful, I could always go submit another query to a different agent. It's only been two days, and *this* wait is driving me crazy...

[Harper]

I didn't! I was calm! But when my agent started to negotiate the sale, my head felt like it was going to explode. I'm amazed that I survived that week.

Good luck with your book.

[Trini Cat]

Thanks Harper.

[Just Me]

I'm not Mya, but I know what it's like when you're so keyed up about something else that you can't write...

Here's the only thing that (mostly) works for me:

I allot a few hours a day to the Other Thing, whatever it is. If I decide I'm going to do it from 12 till 3, say, then I stop at 3 on the dot. Not a minute past. I'm trying to train myself to keep the Other Thing in its box.

Then I go for a looooong walk. Never underestimate what a walk (or a swim) can do to dissipate nervous energy. No thinking about the Other Thing allowed.

Then I can settle down to writing.

[A Writer]

Thank you all so much. And yes, Mya -- getting out of the house makes a huge difference (mostly because I can't check my email every 20 minutes). I spent this morning running errands with my children and it's made a difference!


(((Harper))) Thank you for that HUGE dose of validation. I really needed that.

And Just Me -- you've reminded me that I really do need to actively prioritize my days instead of being so (emotionally) haphazard. I will take your advice to heart!

You're all wonderful to take the time to share your insight.