3 More Secrets Writers Won't Tell You About Themselves

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

We writers are a funny bunch.

Writers are a funny bunch, and only other writers really understand some of the idiosyncrasies that plague us. 

To exist in polite society, we try to keep our quirks on the down low, but some of them spill out into our everyday lives. 

Last month I shared four secrets writers won’t tell you about themselves, and today I’ve compiled three more.

Three more secrets writers won’t tell you about themselves

1. We’re late. A lot. Not because we don’t value others’ time or the commitments we’ve made, but because sometimes, in the middle of a perfectly planned day, a great idea for an article, blog post, or book chapter just POPS into our heads. If we don’t capture it, it will be gone forever. Other times we sit down at the keyboard to write for only an hour. When we lift our fingers from the keys, we discover that three have elapsed. These periods of inspiration can completely eclipse our dental appointments, carpool duties, or mother-in-laws’ birthday dinners (Sorry, Mom).

We edit EVERYTHING!

2. We edit everything. The pastor’s sermon. The church bulletin. The discharge papers from the hospital. Even the Bible.

Really?

Really. We determine there are far too many thats in the gospel of John—today’s editors would never stand for it.

As long as we do this silently, we seldom get into trouble, but heaven help us if we slip and point out an error. ‘Tis far far better to keep silent and retain friends than to pull out thy red pen and loseth them.

We sometimes make ourselves cry.

3. We sometimes make ourselves cry—with our own writing. This is usually because, whether we write fiction or non-fiction, we write from our hearts. If we didn’t believe our messages, we wouldn’t be writing them. If we weren’t passionate about our subjects, we’d never choose them. Nineteenth-century columnist “Red” Smith described writing this way: “You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”

One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, affirmed that a tender writing heart is appropriate and effective when he said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”

Mechanics collect past editions of Chilton’s Auto Repair Manual, estheticians have a deep-seated fear of wrinkles, and writers, well, we have our own set of secrets. I’m sure you have a few of your own. If you’d like to share them with this like-minded band of writers, leave a comment below and join the conversation.

What are some of your writer-related secrets? Be sure to share them in the comments section below!

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