Writing in the Fast Lane and staying sane doing it

Note: This is a revised version of the book, The Common Sense Guide for Writers.

Life is magnificent, and it's tough.

For writers and other creative people, sometimes it is worse than tough, particularly when we're writing to sell-that's writing in the fast lane. We can lose our way or ourselves, forget who we are and why we are who we are. Limping down an unclear path riddled with obstacles and landmines gets daunting even for the heartiest of writers. We can get muddled and mired and confused-lost-and not even know it...for a time. But eventually we do realize we're lost, or that we've forgotten the reason we started writing in the first place, and then our basic instincts insist we find someone to blame.

And so we do.

We blame our publisher, our editor or agent; our spouse or kids; our in-laws, parents and/or siblings. We blame a cover artist, a copyeditor, a critique partner, a peer - or, if necessary, a rushed salesclerk, a slow-moving driver or a harried postal worker.

We blame any and everyone except us.

Why do we do this us?

More importantly . . .

How can we not do this to us?

Any writer or creative genius that wants a more fulfilled life can have one by:

1. Thinking and making conscious decisions.

2. Avoiding errors others have made because they got lost in the fast lane.

3. Paying attention to those errors and consciously trying to avoid them constructively to preserve the human being in the writer.

4. Exercising a little common sense and summoning your own inner courage.

You supply the courage.

The rest of the above is offered here, beginning with Guidepost #1 in Writing in the Fast Lane.

The answers are in Writing in the Fast Lane.