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Katie Lee's avatar

As someone who has made a living at writing, I’m still amazed by how bad I am at it! So often I spend FAR too long writing something - even a comment like this - only to read it back and feel the need to totally redraft. I am in awe of people who can write fluid and compelling text quickly. I wish I could! So the short answer is, I am finding writing novels as much of a slog as writing everything else. I should probably just get a job in a pub and be done with it 🤣

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Janelle Hardacre's avatar

Spoken like a true writer who has to write! <3

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Becky C. Brynolf's avatar

God this was like reading my mind, I feel allll those pros and cons. Nice to know I'm not the only one. Thanks for writing this, that was really interesting x

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Janelle Hardacre's avatar

I am too! This is so interesting, thank you Hayley. It's really making me think. I feel very confident and accomplished as a copywriter. I don't feel like this at all with my fiction! It's almost like I'm two different people. I would love these two sides to come together a bit more.

I really appreciate what you said about editing. I think I'm also more of an 'edit a bit as I go' gal, but I think I've listened too much to 'advice' that I should not do this and I should pour out a shitty first draft. This has then made editing my fiction really challenging for me and something I pretty much hate. So when I eventually start a new long project I'm going to try and lean into my own process more.

I still also find MS level documents a nightmare! I wish I was better at zooming out and being able to 'see' the whole story. But I like your word tips. I never quite got on with scriv.

Congratulations on having your manuscript in such great shape! Something to really be proud of. It is no easy feat getting to that stage.

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Lucy Beckley's avatar

Ahhh Hayley… You have totally read my mind too!!! I feel all of this, especially the editing as I go and perfectionism. I still need to grow a rhino skin as the rejection still seems to sting me. Thank you so much for sharing this xxx sending love from Cornwall xxx

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