“What’s this week’s blog about?” Hubby leans over my shoulder to look at the computer screen.
“I got nothin’,” I say.
“How about Tips for Living With A Writer?”
“Am I that difficult to live with?”
“Um….” Hubby looks away.
“I’m listening.”
1. “Run while you can! But if you love them too much to do that..”.
2. “Grow Big Ears for listening, whether it’s about plot, characters, computer issues, or the publishing business.”
3. “Get into your significant other’s story. Be all in. You’ll be hearing about this story and the characters for many months so you might as well embrace it with the same passion they do.”
4. “Be willing to act out scenes or physical actions. Remember when you tried out that choke hold on me?”
5. “Offer honest constructive criticism. Hope the love you share is strong enough to weather the fall out. Better I point out a flaw or problem than someone else.”
6. “Be willing to read novels in their genre, that way the honest criticism is valid.”
7. “Grow thick skin. Be prepared for the response, ‘that’s stupid, I can’t write that!’ or ‘you can’t do that with first person POV!’ when you offer an opinion.”
8. “Learn to become an escape artist. I disappear when you need time alone.”
9. “Have a ready shoulder. Creative people go through sh** we uncreative types can’t begin to understand.”
10. “Be willing to make Starbucks runs.”
11. “Be their champion.”
Thanks for the blog post, hon. Now about that Starbucks run…
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Love this! All of these are so true. Good to know I’m not the only one with these problems.
Problems? No, they’re creative gifts…that’s what I tell Hubby, at least! Thanks for stopping by!
I have passed these instructions on to my husband, who has never, in the twenty-one years of our happy marriage, asked me what I was writing. I actually thought that was the normal way of living with the non-creatives.
Maybe he didn’t want to get sucked into the abyss! LOL. My hubby is sometimes too opinionated when it comes to my characters. Then I tell him to ‘back off’ and write his own novel.
With my hubby, as soon as I mention Ruth, Robin, Sandra, Helen or Daniel, he instantly knows I’m on about the story I’m writing called Lost Dreams. Bless his heart, he even bought me an electronic typewriter last Christmas as I’d hinted about needing more equipment for writing.
A typewriter?! I would be needing about 20 gallons of white-out to go with it!
How wonderful your hubby has your characters’ names memorized!!
Well let’s just say as some of the characters are me and him and the story is in part, about him and I getting back together he doesn’t really have much choice to have them memorised lol
My hubby takes the opposite approach. He’s not interested in reading/knowing about my writing. I also never want his advice and his only input is the occasional title idea or a sentence of porn written in my MS while I’m cooking the tea!!! I don’t encourage him. LOL
Well….the porn sentence might be distracting! I hope he IS supportive though because that frees you up to write more. And I do hope he brings you the tea on occasion.
I love this guest entry, L.Z. and Hubby!
I rolled down the list from the writing side and see how awesome my spouse is, too. That support is so important, and that sense of humour is definitely needed when it becomes a team effort to kill those darlings. My current WIP was only okay until Hubby tossed in some incredible ideas (among some cringe-worthy ones). Now, I have a lot of fire about this series, and he’s there to ask all of the right questions about the nitty-gritty details both on the page and behind the scenes. Some days, I think spouse deserves shared author credit for the work he puts in behind the scenes.
Spouse-of-writer = Superhero. That’s why spouses (and families) get so many deserved book dedications. 🙂
I would add (for my poor family): be flexible about types of music. Sometimes I need a soundtrack, and it can run the gamut from rock to country to bagpipes. 🙂
Love this post!
Most certainly!Luckily my family is accommodating also. My son and hubby try to guess what I’m writing about based on the music.
“Who are you killing now?” Hubby will ask.
“Creepy, mom. I like it,” says son,and–who knew–he asked for more bagpipes!
Awesome post! I have a patient husband, too. A gift beyond price. 🙂
I don’t know about you, but I am so NOT patient! So I agree 100%, having a hubby who puts up with my mania is priceless.
My wife was never supportive of my writings even thought later on she ended up writing her own story. She never shared hers and never read mine. Oh well.
I’ve heard this from many others as well, so you’re in good company. Difficult to understand why a spouse wouldn’t share but I suppose they have their reasons. Hopefully, you have a writers group or friends who support your writing! Good luck!! And focus on the good side—nobody offering telling you how or what to write! When my hubby tries imposing his ideas for a character I say, “Write your own damn novel!”
My husband doesn’t read much of my work, but is still very supportive. I think that’s the key – the mannerof the support is les important.
I agree. Ultimately, ‘support’ means different things to different people. I need someone who understands the level of commitment one needs to write.