Writer Confessions

There’s been a trend going around on social media where writers share confessions or odd things that they do (usually related to their writing process).

It’s a fun way to see whether or not you’re as weird as you think, or if there are actually other people in the writing community who share the same thoughts and quirks.

So for today’s article, I’m going to go ahead and jump on the trend!

Here are ten of my super-top-secret writer confessions.

Confession #1 

I’m afraid of writing a great book.

Why? Because what if it turns out that I can’t write anything better after that? What if that great book is the only great book I’ll ever write?

It’s an irrational fear, but it’s one that I think about a lot.

Confession #2

You can tell whether or not I’m drafting a story—and how close I am to finishing it—by how messy my room is.

The messier my room is, the closer I am to finishing a draft. If it’s clean, it’s probably because I finished the draft and spent the next two days afterward cleaning my room from top to bottom.

Confession #3

I don’t drink nearly as much tea as you think I do.

I know, I know… Considering my collection of over sixty teacups, it’s a shock. But sometimes I actually end up drinking more coconut water (with pulp) than tea while I’m writing.

In fact, I picked up over thirty empty cans of coconut water while cleaning off my table, desk, and night table during my most recent cleaning spree.

Confession #4

I cannot write emotional scenes in public.

Actually, I take that back. Technically I can write emotional scenes in public. The only problem is that my face tends to reflect what I’m writing—which can get very awkward really fast when you’re in the middle of writing a kiss or a death scene and you just happen to look up and meet the gaze of a random stranger from across the room…

Confession #5

I usually have to change the names of at least four characters in every story I write because all the names I originally chose start with the letters A, K, or V… 

Or I have to change them because I accidentally used the name of someone who I know will probably end up reading my story, and I don’t want them to read into the fact that they have the same name as a character—especially if it happens to be an extremely bad character.

Confession #6

I have a much harder time writing in the winter than in the spring.

As someone who experiences SAD (seasonal affective disorder), I usually don’t recognize the fact that I’m dealing with it until I’m not dealing with it, and suddenly the world is a bright, beautiful place filled with sunshine and roses.

I actually stopped dealing with SAD a couple weeks ago, and sure enough, I am far more happy and productive now!

Confession #7

I am an underwriter.

That basically means that if I’m writing a novel, the first draft can be anywhere between 35,000 words and 45,000 words. But during the editing process, I might add anywhere between 30,000 and 50,000 more words to the book.

Confession #8

This might be a more common problem, but my novel drafts rarely turn out the way that I originally imagined they would.

My ideas don’t seem to translate well onto the page most of the time—which is probably the most frustrating aspect of writing for me.

But recently I’ve started getting better at executing the concepts that my mind comes up with, so maybe this problem will go away someday. That would be lovely.

Confession #9

Of all my confessions, this one is actually pretty embarrassing to admit…

The truth is, I never learned how to type properly, and all my attempts to learn have all ended in frustration.

I can type nearly as fast as my mind can think up the words, so it’s not something that keeps me from being able to write as well, but it is kind of embarrassing when someone sees me typing and they ask me if I ever learned how to type… (spoiler alert: the answer is still no)

Confession #10

I don’t enjoy marketing my own books.

When it comes to my friends’ books, or books by other authors, I will shout from the rooftops and rave about their stories (which, on that note, be sure to check out my reviews of The Novel Matrix, by Brad Pauquette, Copper Lies, by Alli Prince, and Scion of the Dragon, by C.K. Slorra).

But when it comes to my own books, it’s a lot harder for me to have the same enthusiasm.

I like The Librarian’s Ruse, and I really like A Traitor’s Vow. It just feels awkward to say it sometimes…

For that reason, I’m really grateful for all the people who have written reviews and did their own shouting from the rooftops and raving about my stories.

It’s far easier to build up the courage to market my books when I know that I’m not the only one who likes reading them.

And on that note, if you’ve read The Librarian’s Ruse or A Traitor’s Vow, could you please leave an honest review on Amazon or GoodReads? 

 If you don’t have an account for either of those but you would like to leave a review, Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media platform works! (Or word of mouth if you’d prefer)

While I don’t usually enjoy marketing, it is a huge part of becoming a successful full-time author, and I’m doing my best to become more comfortable with it.

So thank you so much for your help!

Before You Go…

If you’re also a writer, do we have any of these confessions in common?

Let me know down in the comments!