Today I welcome Sarah Gilman, author of the fabuous Wings of Redepmtion! So read on for a guest post by Sarah, read about the book and a GIVEAWAY!!
How do I find inspiration when writing gets tough?
When I sat down to write this guest post, I did so with the beginnings of a migraine, after a long day out of the house, when I wanted nothing more than to curl up in my blankets and sleep. Well, nothing except for one thing: a successful writing career.
Writing can get tough often, and not just fiction manuscripts. Blogs, emails…sometimes the computer screen is the last thing I want to see. However, I always want to write. Even when my eyes sting. Even when my head pounds. Even when I’m trying to sleep, scenes play out in my head.
When asked how I push through bad days or writer’s block or a difficult scene, I think back to when I was a teenager. At the time, I was a musician, and I had no talent. Zip. Nadda. Zilch. However, playing music,
especially in a group, made me happy. Happy enough that I wanted to continue to playing all my life. The only way I hoped to accomplish the near-impossible task of playing flute professionally was to work, and work hard.
I got up at five in the morning to have time to practice before school. I practiced a total of three hours a day, not counting band and orchestra rehearsal, lessons, music theory classes, or listening to music— which is as important to a musician as reading is to a writer. My hard work paid off—I won competitions. I sounded like I had talent. I went to music school after I graduated from high school.
In the end, I gave up the dream of playing professionally and I got a science degree, but that is a long story for another time. It had less to do with failure and more to do with inevitable change. But chasing that dream as long as I did taught me one thing, and that lesson sank bone-deep: If you want something, you have to work for it.
A writer has to get the writing done. No one has to attain perfection—well, except for flute players— and meet word count goals every single day. Bad days happen. Migraines happen. Some days I can’t write anything I care for, and those days are great to do something else: Read books, watch movies, go for a walk, visit with a friend. All these things help clear my mind and inspire me. When I return to the keyboard, I write my best.
That’s the key. Return to the keyboard. Some people give up. I write because I love it and it’s how I want to spend my time. I take breaks because I need to for a healthy life, and getting stuck on a scene is usually a signal that a break needs to be taken. The trick is to not get discouraged when the writing gets tough. Take a well-deserved break and returned to task refreshed.
What bigger inspiration is there than the chance to do something you love?
Thanks so much for hosting!
Readers, what do you do when you get stuck?
Sarah Gilman started her first novel in third grade. She never finished that story, but never gave up the dream. Her fascination with wings also began at that age, when images of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis captured her imagination and never let go. Now a paranormal romance writer, she employs her love of writing to bring the allure of winged creatures to the pages of her novels. Sarah lives in Vermont with her supportive husband and two spoiled cats.
Connect with Sarah:
Sarah Gilman | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Wings of Redemption by Sarah Gilman
Series: Return to Sanctuary
Genre: paranormal romance
Book Description:
Enemies by birth, lovers by choice…
Humans and archangels don’t mix on the best occasions. When Saffron Morin goes to the gates of the demon colony, Eden, in search of her sister, she meets an archangel who is curious one minute and hostile the next, and she ends up the colony’s “guest” against her will.
Kestrel’s archangel psychic talent tells him the human woman’s life is in danger. Despite her family’s association with poachers who hunt archangels for their valuable feathers, he vows to save her life. Enemies by birth, lovers by choice, they give in to growing attraction as days pass.
Even if he succeeds in saving her life, he must hurt her to protect others of his kind, and he may not be able to live with himself after a betrayal he has no choice but to commit. In order to find redemption, the Collector’s daughter and an archangel must first find each other.
My review of this amazing book is here.
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