“I have to remind myself that, if I write through the words that don’t work, if make myself just sit there and do it, eventually I’ll reach a conclusion.”
Novelist Caroline Hulse reveals how she gets past giving up.
“I’ve given up writing thousands of times. I still nearly give up regularly. Writing may be my full-time job now, but some days the words just don’t flow.
For me, a book is a series of false starts and reversals. I have to remind myself that, if I write through the words that don’t work, if make myself just sit there and do it, eventually I’ll reach a conclusion. Either I’ll find what I’m writing isn’t working and needs to be set aside (painful) or I’ll find I’ve started getting excited again (much more fun).
It’s not just the internal pressures that can demoralise. Every time I finished a book and got the round of consistent rejection from agents, I gave up. I threw myself into my day job until another idea came to me that I just couldn’t ignore, and the whole cycle restarted.
It took twenty years and five books to get a publishing deal, probably partly because I got better along the way, and partly I took the advice ‘write what you want to read’ literally. My writing didn’t fit a particular genre, so it was a leap of faith for a busy, commercial agent to take me on. And there are definitely paths to a much easier life out there. But eventually an agent took a risk on me and, now, people like my writing for being ‘different’. Funny old world.
I’m reluctant to give advice, it’s so subjective. And luck and timing play a big part. But if you’re going to become a professional author, you will experience false starts, rejection and confidence battles on a daily basis. And, for me, that’s all part of the process. Without those setbacks, I could never create something I am proud of.”
Caroline Hulse lives in Manchester with her husband and a small controlling dog. She is the author of The Adults, which is published in fourteen languages and optioned for TV by Tiger Aspect. Her second novel, Like a House on Fire, is out now.
This article was taken from the book Seven Creative Gremins. Want more inspiring author stories plus gremlin-busting motivation? Get hold of your copy here.
How to become Unstoppable: Author Caroline Hulse