• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

Joanna Campbell Slan

Thanks for visiting the official website for New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author and Winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, Joanna Campbell Slan.

  • Home
  • What’s New?
  • About
    • Biography
    • Media & Appearances
    • Gallery
    • Media Kit
  • Books
    • Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series
    • Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series
    • Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thriller
    • Jane Eyre Chronicles
    • The Friday Night Mystery Club
    • Tai Chi Cozy Mystery
    • Non-Fiction
  • Blog
  • Crafts
    • Zentangle
    • Scrapbooking
    • Portfolio
  • Contest
  • Contact
  • Kiki Lowenstein
  • Cara Mia Delgatto
  • Friday Night Mystery Club
  • Jane Eyre
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • Tai Chi

Am I on the Right (Write) Track?

January 22, 2009 by Joanna Slan

With the new year, a lot of us are back to work. For many of my friends, that means back to writing.

I’ve been fielding questions about the process. One friend wrote me to say she’s wondering, “Am I on the right track? Can you tell me whether I should write this or something else?”

No author ever knows if she/he is on the right track. We all feel “at sea.” In fact, as you get into the writing of your book, it will get worse before it gets better. Yep. My friends call it the “oh, crap” moment, and even New York Times bestselling authors report to me that they have it, too.

Which is a long way of saying, this is normal.

The trick is to believe in your project despite those internal voices which say, “Argh! Why did I ever think this was a good idea? I should give up and write something else! Anything else! This is dumb! It will never sell! No one will want to read it but me! I’m wasting my time!”

Sound familiar? You see, that nasty chorus is why most people never finish writing their book. Most people

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: doubt, writer's block, writing process

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. RhondaL says

    January 23, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    I’ve got one major sidelined project, and my current WIP is taking me five years and counting.

    One thing that’s helping me is taking story craft classes, like from Mary Buckham and now Kris Neri. They help me move through the stall-outs better.

    But it’s too easy to just walk away.

  2. Joanna Campbell Slan says

    January 23, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    Mary Buckham is terrific. A very, very dedicated and giving teacher, and a savvy, astute reader. Don’t give up!

Footer

CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

LOVE AUDIOBOOKS?

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC?

THANKS FOR VISITING MY SITE!

I hope you find it interesting! Your privacy is important to me. Read the privacy policy here. Read the Cookie policy here. I hope you find the site useful! Thanks – Joanna

Copyright © 2023 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version