Stay in your own lane

by RRVirdi | Oct 5, 2015 | Ramblings

Writing isn’t a race, it just isn’t, but most people think it is and are going to treat it like one. Fine. But if that’s what you’re going to treat it like, remember, we all have our own lanes. Stay in yours. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not about coming first, because you can’t. You’re not really racing anyone else, only yourself. That’s the truth. It’s not about number 1, it’s about finishing. Getting there. You got it? You get it? Good.

Your job is to write, produce, the best you can, as you can. Not rushed hurried up whatever. It will always take some measure of time to produce anything. That’s okay. Every author, NYT Best seller, or not, will take time to produce a work. Sure, some will produce faster than others but there’s so much variance going on there. Some type more and faster in a day. Some don’t. *Cough cough* A certain best selling author with a penchant for killing characters. Takes his time. Does it diminish his quality, or career? No. Stephen King hammers out 2k a day consistently. It’s up to you. It will take whatever time it takes, that’s okay. Just finish.

You just have to produce. That’s what matters. Getting your work out for fans and readers to see. Not how much how fast. Got it? You sure? Good!

Work. Write. Read. Live. Enjoy and more.

That’s what you’re supposed to do. Enjoy the writing. If you don’t enjoy it, do you think your readers will? Maybe, in truth, some still will. But that’s the sort of thing that permeates your work, your enthusiasm. Have fun. Write. Don’t spend your time worrying, spend it writing, producing, doing what you can, as you can do it. And if your not the Flash of writing, so what? Get it done. Be a finisher. Finish, produce, get it out there. You’ll do just fine.

It’s like one of the greats once said.

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” ~Ray Bradbury.

^^Listen to one of the greats. Heed his advice.^^

Building Yourself

by RRVirdi | Sep 30, 2015 | Ramblings

Brick by brick word by wordy word, that’s how you do it. Do what? Do you! Not like that you dirty dirty ink monkey. Do your career. Make it, make words, make stories!

That’s how writing is done, by the very act of itself, and the repetition of it. It’s how stories are written, novels completed, careers made. Three words, endless power, infinite potential, your potential. Never give up. So don’t. It’s your choice. Only you can kill your dream. There are going to be days where it feels like others can and will, don’t let them. Don’t give up. There are going to be days where you can’t see it, the how it’s going to happen, the whens, don’t worry. Don’t give up.

Keep writing. Keep making progress. Keep learning and growing. Keep going. Keep writing. Never give up.

Listen, life is going to be like the apple that hit Newton upside the head, and more often than not, it’s not going to leave you with a greater understanding of the laws of physics. It’s going to knock you down, brutally, sorry to be blunt about it. So what? You’re a human being, full of endless potential, snark, gumption and grit. Yes, I said gumption, shut up, I don’t criticize your word choices, do I? You can pick yourself up at any time.

Keep writing.

Setbacks happen. So what? Keep writing. Bad days are going to happen, I had one today, when I’m writing this, not when you’re reading this. Guess what? Here I am—writing something. Write. Keep writing. Never give up. Words have power, you should know this by now. Don’t believe me? Say something truly hateful to someone. Watch what happens? No? Can’t bring yourself to do it? Why? Because it will hurt them? Yes. Words have power. Say something wonderfully kind to someone.

Like how everyone reading this, right now, you, are amazing and wonderful people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for still hanging around, for helping me muddle through my life by reading this and supporting me, my dreams. Thank you for your endless kindness, and so much more. You truly are great, you realize you’re helping me, a nobody indie author, continue pursuing his dreams? For that, you’re amazing.

How’d that make you feel? It’s all true by the way. Words, have, power! So use them, use that power for you, to further your goals and dreams. Keep writing.

Three words. Say them. Never. Give. Up.

Now some questions.

Will you?

I don’t know, but it’s a good question. Answer it. Will you give up? Only you can make that decision.

Should you?

No. But hey, that’s your call, not mine. But I don’t think you should, what about you? Should you give up?

Lastly.

Can you?

Aw heck naw. Cue the z snaps. I can’t let writing go. Can you?

No?

Then keep writing. Never give up. Writing rewards the persistent.

Selling YOU

by RRVirdi | Sep 28, 2015 | Ramblings

No, it’s not like that, no worries. I mean, selling YOU, the brand, the author, your work. Yeah, believe it or not, it’s about more than just the books. Don’t get me wrong, those matter, oh boy, do those matter. But, why do they matter? There are tons of stories out there, nobody reads them all, nobody likes them all. We all have our tastes, and that’s what matters. That’s why you matter. Your voice is unique, it IS going to resonate with, and attract others, it just is. That’s your greatest weapon, and why you have to sell YOU. And you can. It’s the greatest advantage to being you. A selling point.

Write what you love, how you want, whatever you want, and you’ll do fine. I guarantee you, you will have fans. You just will. That’s how this works. I’ve never heard of a book that doesn’t sell at least one copy. But that’s what you have working for you, and you alone, that no other author has, your voice. That’s why we buy certain author’s works, we like their voice, their stories, things only they can craft. Same goes for you. There are stories for the world that only you can put out. It’s not arrogance, it’s true, it just is. Whatever your stories are, only you can tell them, so tell them. It might take time, but that’s okay. You’ve got time, we all do.

But that’s what this is about, not being someone else, and doing things that everyone else is. Write the stories you want and need to tell, because there’s someone out there that needs to hear it. That is the absolute truth. There are endless great stories out there, but for me, The Dresden Files is one of the series I needed to read. So thank you Jim Butcher for that one.

It’s my favorite, my go to series when my depression gets out of hand, when life goes wayward, and more. Your stories WILL have an affect on someone, they will be cherished by someone more than you, just believe me, trust me on these things, huh?

You must trust me author, RR Virdi knows these things. 😉

Keep writing.

What do you love?

by RRVirdi | Sep 23, 2015 | Ramblings

It’s a good question, isn’t it? I mean in our fast paced world, let’s face it, there are lots of questions. But are you asking yourselves the right ones? What do you love? And more importantly, are you doing it? For most people, the first one is harder than it should be, and the second, is far to easy. They don’t know, and no, they’re not doing whatever it is they love.

I can’t answer those questions for you. All I can do is lay myself bare and share my answers with you. Writing, and yes, I am. Easier said than done. There are up days, like today, where I wake up with a bundles of my book sold, new reviews that are five stars. And then there are down days, where I don’t know where I’m going, when, how or if I will ever get there. There being making a living out of this writing gig, which is all I want.

It’s not easy, but if you’re doing what you love, it does help. It really does, believe me. It makes the downs more bearable, and the ups, well they become something magical. I’m not gonna wax philosophy and say it’s easy, or that it’s going to be when following your dreams. But…it does help. It makes other problems easier to bear, I’m not kidding.

I’m an author battling depression, go figure, a struggling, sad artist type, say it ain’t so! But writing helps, I love it, I enjoy getting lost in mythology, magic and lore, and well, you can even forget about the blues.

So ask yourself, what do you love? If you’re an author, what do you love to write? And lastly, are you writing it? No? How about you try that. It helps. Don’t take my word for it, take your owns. Throw some down on paper or screen, see what happens. Sometimes you need to give yourself permission to get lost, to run away. So here you go, here’s your permission. Go, run. Get lost.

Have some fun. Be wild. Do what you love. It’s scary yeah, but scary doesn’t kill. Well, not always. Sometimes what scares us, makes us stronger. It’s challenging, but challenges don’t kill either, they make us stronger. It’s always going out on a limb when doing what you love, but it always seems to be worth it to. Your choice.

Just remember, you have my permission! 😉 Go, write.

Be your own fan

by RRVirdi | Sep 22, 2015 | Ramblings

Every author has fans, but before them all, you have to be a fan of your own work. You have to like it, love it. If you don’t, what’s the point? It’s a cliche, yes, sure, but cliches become cliches because more often than not, they’re right. You have to write what interests you, because guess what, there’s 7 billion people on the planet, so chances are that if interests you, it will interest others. You find and get fans by being authentic. They’re not just buying into your books, but you, the author. That’s how this works.

Be you, be your own fan. Everything, anything you like and love bleeds into your work when you write. That’s a good thing. It add more layers to your stories. Besides, if you don’t enjoy it, what are the odds that you’re going to finish it? Finishing novels and works is kind of important in becoming an author. You can’t sell, share and market work that isn’t complete, now can you.

Being your own fan means you can keep writing for a long time, and that’s important. Writing isn’t a sprint in any regard, manuscript completion or career building, it’s a marathon. If you enjoy your work, you can keep on working, building your books bit by bit. It will take time, sure, but we all have time. Motivation, dedication, those things wane however. You have to enjoy it to want to keep doing it. So enjoy it. Write what you enjoy.

Seriously, it’s not a crime. Have some fun with it. Remember, I’m a broke indie author, and I’m still doing it, writing novels. I love it. Even during the hard bits, the what do I do next, bits, where I’m lost and frustrated. It happens. No biggie. Just keep writing what you like. Enjoy it, enjoy life, everything else will fall into place.

Kill the things we love

by RRVirdi | Sep 18, 2015 | Ramblings

Followers of this blargh, who may or may not be real people…because…I could be totally insane and this is all an illusion…might remember be blarghing about overthinking.

Yes, that thing. It’s a curse. Why? Because, each person kills the thing they love. Or well, they can. How? Great question. I have a knack for asking them. 😉

Our brains are funny things, funny lookin’ too…random squishballs they are. We get excited for things, dreams, ideas, we run off at a zillion miles thinking about everything…EVERYTHING. And woah oh, what happens? We get a bit too carried away with all the possibilities, good, and bad! What can go wrong, what if we’re not good enough, what if we don’t know where we going, or how to get there, or omg…

WOAH!!! Calm down. Breathe out first, a long one, get that out of you now. Breathe in, close your eyes, take it slow people. Calm. Calm…open your eyes to read this…um… PLOT HOLE!

Overthinking kills things, it does. You slow up momentum, or never stop, just because you’re busy entertaining all the possible outcomes. How about you get busy and…write? Believe it or not, the things that help impact an author’s career the most, are writing related. Not social media, which helps, but you know what helps more? Getting your next work out. Building your bibliography. Writers write.

It’s okay to not know every next detail. It happens, so what. Write what you want, what you love. I mean, why are you writing? Ask yourself that. Is it for fun? Then have some, enjoy it! What’s the point of being on this ride if you’re going to worry the whole time. Don’t kill the joy, don’t kill what you love. No critic, or hater can kill your dream.

And remember this…all your critics and haters will one day die. It’s true…just don’t be involved in their deaths…please? I don’t want to have to explain this..awkward. But your works are eternal. Write them, have fun, enjoy them darn it!

If you want to be a career author, remember this, hopefully it’s going to be a long ride. Love it, have fun, worry less and enjoy it. You’ll live longer..and had a blast. And that’s the point!

Worry keeps you from writing, and hey, what are you worrying about? Most of the things like, oh this part sucks…can be fixed in editing. Most of your worries might not happen, and if they do, you can deal with them. So what is the big deal?

Write.

Because, ups and downs happen, they’re part of every ride, so what? Enjoy it, rock it, ride it out. Writing is like that. But don’t let your doubts and worries kill your dreams. Because only you can kill them. No one else can. They can put worry and stuff into your mind, but you have the choice of whether or not to let them stay.

Worry less. Write more.

What does doubt and worry give you? No seriously, what benefit? None. Just stress. So why indulge in that? Write your stories. Trust the process, let it evolve. Just write. Worry and doubts are like investing money in things you know won’t pay off…who does that?!

The only thing that will serve you, will benefit you, is writing more. It will help you improve, put more works out, and get noticed.

Worry less. Write more. Got it? Good.