8 Things No One Told Me About Being a Writer

I feel like there were some things I was fairly well-prepared for when my first book came out four years ago.

I was prepared to spend a lot of time revising. I was prepared for the tough slog of finding an agent and editor. I was prepared that getting a book contract didn’t mean I was going to retire as a lady of leisure. :)

But there were a few things I was less-prepared for. And so, I offer you…

8 Things No One Told Me About Being a Writer

1. That I’d lose control in office supply stores. Yes, just the aroma of an office supply store is enough to turn me into a Post-It note and Sharpie pen-grabbing zombie. I could drop $100 at Office Max without even trying.

2. That I’d talk about my characters as if they were real people—and how crazy that sounds to non-writers. Yes, I’ve actually caught myself saying, “Oh boy. She’s not going to like that…” when I’ve gotten an editorial revision request for my protagonist. When people ask me about my book, I’ll start talking about the protagonist, “Well, Lulu is a strong-minded lady with a great sense of humor…” Sometimes these people will ask me if I’m writing biographies. :)

3. How much I’d talk to myself. Yes, it happens a lot. I used to pretend I was talking to my children or my pets (who usually just keep sleeping in their sunbeam.) But this talking happens even when the kids are at school and no animals are in the room. Sigh.

4. How much more attractive yard work and cleaning bathrooms can be compared to writing a tough scene in my book.

5. How reading books would never be the same again. It’s really, really hard for me not to pick apart a novel that I’m reading for pleasure. Am I the only one who has this problem?

6. How far removed I’d be from that perfect little writing cabin we all dream about. I write at swimming pools, indoor amusement parks, skate rinks, parks, carpool lines, and doctors’ waiting rooms…basically wherever I can grab a few minutes.

7. How I’d take snippets of facial features from one person I know, marry it with the personality traits of a second and third person, and piece together a Frankenstein of a character who is their own person.

8. How much I’d still love writing—despite the deadlines, headaches, and daily grind.

How about y’all? What have you learned about being a writer that you didn’t know going into it?

Elizabeth Craig/Riley Adams
Mystery Writing is Murder
Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen
Twitter: @ElizabethSCraig