Joely Sue Burkhart

Thursday Thirteen (#TT34)

You Know You’re a Compulsive Obsessive Writer When…
1. Every time you read a call for submissions, you immediately come up with the “perfect” idea and MUST WRITE IT.

2. You submit a story via e-mail. And then immediately hit the “check mail” button on your inbox a thousand times like an impatient person punching an elevator button. Why haven’t they responded yet? It’s been.. Five minutes!!

3. You find Dream Agent/Editor’s blog–someone you’ve queried–and become a blog stalker.

4. You wake up in a cold sweat because of a horrendous nightmare about Dream Agent/Editor commenting about the “stupid” writer and “awful” query/story on their blog. Of course, you know immediately it’s YOUR QUERY. Gah! Panic! Ack!

5. So you get up at 3:30 a.m. to check the blog to make sure it really was just a dream.

6. And again at 5:00 a.m. because you can’t sleep anyway and maybe you were still dreaming when you thought you checked the blog last time.

7. You can’t submit a story because the opening sentence/paragraph/page isn’t perfect yet.

8. Or because the ending line isn’t pithy enough.

9. Or because the heroine/hero isn’t heroic enough. Just a little more motivation/backstory/tension/conflict…

10. “Big” submissions imply major stress symptoms, including fever blisters, tension headaches, aching back/shoulders, acidic stomach, or all of the above. Of course, the upset stomach might be blamed on the gallons of coffee you’ve been drinking in order to meet the deadline…

11. You finally mail the submission, and the moment you hit “Send” or drop the package in the mail, you feel ill: racing heart, tight face, hot and cold shivers, trembling hands. Panic attack, anyone?

12. You can immerse yourself so deeply into Story that you stay up all night, lost in the writing.

13. You begin to talk/dress like your characters. Hello, LKH, anybody??

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Writing, Thursday Thirteen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

39 Responses to “Thursday Thirteen (#TT34)”

Lene Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
Great list!! I am not a writer but I can definitely understand many of those.

Happy TT!
Ann Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 7:23 pm
How about if you dream about your characters? Or you dream your characters are talking to you? (If you’re curious, oddly enough it’s Owen- not Grace *g*- and I think he finds me amusing).
Or how about you haven’t even finished one work in progress and you’ve got two more ideas waiting in line (kind of like an on ramp during rush hour- when there is an accident on the high-rise bridge).
I guess I’m one too. Mine’s not up yet, but I’ll go right it now.
The Crux Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 7:45 pm
I write, though I haven’t tried to get anything published for a while. I do remember that a bit of anxiety came with it. Although, I would never consider an agent or editor dreamy if that person were so unprofessional as to ever refer to a writer as “stupid.”
Susan Helene Gottfried Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 7:49 pm
I’ll agree on the last two, but I guess I’m convinced enough that if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen and I’ve stopped stressing about this sort of stuff.

The flip side of that, though, means that two months will go by and I’ll think, “Whoa. Wonder whatever happened with that person I queried/submitted to last week?”
Shiloh Walker Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 7:54 pm
oh i’ve never done any of those… whistling innocently.
tommiea Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I am not a writer, except for my family friendly little blog…..but this was funny!
Missy Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Hi-larious! I’ve been guilty of not submitting because I felt it wasn’t perfect yet. *sigh*
DK Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 8:42 pm
LOL Fabulous list. I LOVED #2! Every writer I know fits this profile Happy Tting and have a great weekend!
MamaLee Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Great list. Sometimes things have to be JUST right!
Nicole Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Oh, I can SO relate! That was an awesome TT! And yes, I have had dreams just like that.
Lori Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Im not a writer but im a blogger and I can totally relate:) Happy TT.
Cordia Amant Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Well, maybe my compulsiveness is much worse because I haven’t even gotten to the submission stage yet. I’m still at writing obsessively, or obsessing too much that I can’t write, stage. Great list, though.
Lazy Daisy Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Wow, that’s alot of angst!
Lesley Speller Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 11:14 pm
I could have written this list myself!!! hehehe Are you sure you’re not channeling me? I’d like to add to it this one:

You suddenly begin laughing for no apparent reason at the dialog that is taking place in your head only to be looked at by everyone around you as if you were completely off your rocker. Or you actually spout off a bit of that dialog at random moments.

Not that I’ve ever done that… No no no! Never! *throws a blanket over her husband who is bound and gagged in the corner* It’s never happened!
JHS Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:06 am
Sounds like some of the same characteristics that drive litigators. Hhhhmmmm . . . interesting.
Christine d'Abo Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:18 am
Oh yes, that’s me. Where do I sign up for the councilling? Half the time when I’m at my EDJ I’m barely concentrating…too busy writing in my head!
Jess Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 am
LOL So many, so true.

My only comment is LKH doesn’t fit 13 - everybody knows Anita Blake is a wish-fulfillment. Then it would read, “Your characters start to dress/talk like [a kick-butt version of] you.” (I’m not knockin’ it, just pointing out…)
KristiK Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 am
Too funny! Maybe I should just stick to my little blog stories in my tiny blog world…

Speaking of little stories, my “13″ post is “13 Things I Learned on My Recent Trip to Canada.”

Happy Thursday!
Nienke Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
OMG - I never thought of #4! Now you’ve got me freaked out…
Nancy Bond Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:35 am
Oh my, I feel an ulcer coming on just reading this! I can commiserate with #10. Thx for your visit!
Gabriella Hewitt Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:41 am
Why is #13 sounding eerily scary. Hmmm…I need to get out of this cat suit.
nancy Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
You are dedicated.

And, number 11? I can’t imagine the attack you can have over a book. I had one on just a post last week.
Mitch Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:28 am
I’m sure glad I write non-fiction.

:)

thanks for the read Mitch
Qtpies7 Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 am
I’ve had enough anxiety over writing my first UNPAID article, I can’t imagine trying to publish something bigger!
RObyn Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Man am I in trouble!!!!!!!
Bri Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
11, 12, and 13. And 2…once. All guilty.
Nicole Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Hee hee! Love that list… (and am going to ignore it as pertains to me, especially the compulsive e-mail and blog checking…)
Nicole Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Hmmm. I thought I left a comment, mentioning that I wasn’t going to think about my obsessive e-mail and blog checking. And it’s not there. Very strange….

(Your dragons are eating my comments!)
Mark Caldwell Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I subed a short story earlier in the week and just got an acceptance e-mail back so I’m happy.
Amy Ruttan Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
LOL! Oh yes, been there done that. I’ve been checking email for over a month, obsessively 14x a day waiting for contract. It came in today … no more obsessive email checking … until the edits start. *GULP*
Dorothy Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I feel a panic attack coming on.
Joely Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Glad to see a few of you are as neurotic as me. *sheepish* Happy TT everyone!
L-Squared Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I don’t think I’m an obsessive-compulsive writer, but I have had issues like 7 and 8 before.

Thanks for visiting my TT!
Travis Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Sometimes I dream whole scenes with my characters. There was a time in the early stages of my novel that I would do that and wake up with a vivid picture of the action. Luckily I was able to get a lot of that stuff recorded.
Alyssa Goodnight Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 pm
A lot of these sound very familiar–particularly the post-post-office panic attack.
Thursday Thirteen (#TT34) by depression.vahalo.com Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:39 am
[…] Posted by as Uncategorized “Big” submissions imply major stress symptoms, including fever blisters, tension headaches, aching back/shoulders, acidic stomach, or all of the above. Of course, the upset stomach might be blamed on the gallons of coffee you’ve been … article continues at Joely brought to you by Depression and Clinical Trials […]
Joy Renee Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:37 am
#12 is me to a T. i’v often been lost in my story world for over 24 hours solid. did at least two 30+ hour stints during this Sven challenge. 15 years ago i would frequently do a 48 to 72 hour marathon session in order to finish a story.

the perfectionism thing is major with me too. i tweak and edit and cut and paste and second guess and…

and my storyworld enters my sleep dreams as well. and sometimes my characters become as vivid as an hallucination to me wen my eyes are wide open. the real world is pale and shabby compared to my story world.

as for the whole submissions thing. anxiety about that is so intense that I avoid thinking about it. which means i don’t get as far as getting a submission prepared. that stems form being raised with the dictum that ‘good girls’ don’t call attention to themselves. blogging was meant to help me overcome this and has helped but it is still a struggle every single time i hit the publish button whether on my blog or on comments
GutterBall Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:30 am
I forget to eat. Seriously. I forget to eat, sometimes to drink, sometimes even to go to the bathroom. I’ll come out of The Zone and be thirsty, starving, and just about ready to have an intergastric event.

Of course, when Dave lived here, he’d just shake his head and rouse me every couple of hours to at least make sure I had water. *sheepish* Maybe I do need a keeper….
Tink Says:
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I do several of those and I’m not even a real writer!
Thanks for visiting my geography TT.

Thursday Thirteen (#TT34)

39 Responses to “Thursday Thirteen (#TT34)”

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