{"id":961,"date":"2013-08-22T03:16:53","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T03:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/?p=961"},"modified":"2013-08-22T03:16:53","modified_gmt":"2013-08-22T03:16:53","slug":"nicole-roder-i-need-to-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nicole

Nicole Roder<\/p><\/div>\n

A couple nights ago, a friend asked me if I’d always known I wanted to be a writer. Well, I haven’t always wanted to. I mean, I’ve always written things. There was college, then graduate school, both with their requisite\u00a0exercises in premature grandiose genius<\/span>\u00a0term\u00a0papers. Plus, every job I\u2019ve ever had involved writing in some way, whether it was treatment plans (social worker), issue reports (policy analyst), or star charts (mom). Okay, I guess not waitressing, unless you count dinner tickets. I penned a powerful loaded baked potato.<\/p>\n

But to actually\u00a0be<\/i>\u00a0a writer? As a\u00a0job<\/i>? I\u2019d never thought of that. In fact, I still hadn\u2019t thought of it when my friend asked me that question. Writing isn\u2019t my job. It\u2019s what I have to do. I need to write. I have thoughts and ideas swarming through my brain that must be shared! When I share them out loud, I forget things. I jumble my points and omit important facts. (Though I\u2019m sure my family will tell you this hasn\u2019t stopped me from trying.)<\/p>\n

When I write it down, it makes sense. I sound smarter. Don\u2019t believe me? Try arguing on the Internet. That can make anyone feel like an expert.<\/p>\n

But expert or not, I have some strange affliction that causes my fingers to twitch until they clack across a keyboard. (Come on! I know you know what I\u2019m talking about!) And about four years ago, I decided to relieve my itch with novel writing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m supposed to say something about my process here. Well, I\u2019m writing my third book now, and so far my process seems to involve several torturous but necessary steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Come up with a\u00a0fantastic<\/i>\u00a0premise that I\u2019m sure will make a brilliant novel.<\/li>\n
  2. Do months of research on my premise, develop characters, and brainstorm plot and setting.<\/li>\n
  3. Start outlining my book and get stuck on the second or third bullet point.<\/li>\n
  4. Realize that my original premise can\u2019t possibly fit with the characters and story world I\u2019ve created and pitch the whole thing.<\/li>\n
  5. Drink lots of wine. Complain to my husband. Cry to my sister.<\/li>\n
  6. Have a 2 AM epiphany and furiously write until I\u2019ve gotten a new outline down on paper without a scrap of research.<\/li>\n
  7. Begin writing my first draft, researching and developing characters as I go.<\/li>\n
  8. At around the 30K word mark, realize a fatal flaw in the book and re-write the first third.<\/li>\n
  9. Finish my first draft and finally breathe.<\/li>\n
  10. Do lots, and lots, and\u00a0lots<\/i>\u00a0of editing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You\u2019d think that just getting it down on paper would be enough to satisfy my craving. But I want more than that. I want people to read it, and I want to know what they think about it. I want recognition. (Remember the star charts? They\u2019re not just for the kids.)<\/p>\n

    I\u2019m now going through the brutal process of trying-to-get-my-book-published. As I\u2019m sure anyone reading this blog knows too well, this comes with a lot of rejection. I could go on for another several pages about how I deal with that (and in fact I did<\/a>!). But I\u2019ll just say that you have to push forward.<\/p>\n

    You have to know that your writing is worth reading, and that someday someone will recognize it. Someday, you will be speaking with an editor, or a publisher, or a literary agent, who has fallen in love with your book. She will tell you all the emotions your characters brought forth in her. She\u2019ll tell you the parts that made her cry, and the ones that made her laugh out loud. She\u2019ll describe literary devices you used that you weren\u2019t even aware of, and make you feel brilliant for using them. This will happen. It just takes time and a ton of\u00a0liquor<\/span>\u00a0work.<\/p>\n

    I have had such a conversation. Very recently. I can\u2019t say with whom yet, but check back with me in a few weeks. Until then, keep writing. Consider it your gift to yourself.<\/p>\n

    Nicole Roder
    \n    @NicoleRoder1<\/a>
    \nwww.nicoleroder.com<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A couple nights ago, a friend asked me if I’d always known I wanted to be a writer. Well, I haven’t always wanted to. I mean, I’ve always written things. There was college, then graduate school, both with their requisite\u00a0exercises in premature grandiose genius\u00a0term\u00a0papers. Plus, every job I\u2019ve ever had involved writing in some way, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,124,24,19,16,15],"class_list":["post-961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authors","tag-author","tag-nicole-roder","tag-write","tag-writer","tag-writers","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\nNicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amused Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"157\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cynthia Kahn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cynthia Kahn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cynthia Kahn\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\"},\"headline\":\"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":711,\"commentCount\":14,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"author\",\"Nicole Roder\",\"write\",\"writer\",\"writers\",\"writing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Authors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\"},\"description\":\"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/08\\\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg\",\"width\":225,\"height\":157,\"caption\":\"Nicole Roder\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Amused Now\",\"description\":\"Shine a spotlight on indie artists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\",\"name\":\"Cynthia Kahn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cynthia Kahn\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmusedNow\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Amused_Now\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/an_admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now","description":"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now","og_description":"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.","og_url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/","og_site_name":"Amused Now","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow","article_published_time":"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":225,"height":157,"url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cynthia Kahn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cynthia Kahn","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/"},"author":{"name":"Cynthia Kahn","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8"},"headline":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write","datePublished":"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/"},"wordCount":711,"commentCount":14,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","keywords":["author","Nicole Roder","write","writer","writers","writing"],"articleSection":["Authors"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/","name":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write - Amused Now","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","datePublished":"2013-08-22T03:16:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8"},"description":"To Nicole Roder, writing isn't her job, it\u2019s what she has to do. She needs to write.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","width":225,"height":157,"caption":"Nicole Roder"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/nicole-roder-i-need-to-write\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nicole Roder ~ I Need to Write"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/","name":"Amused Now","description":"Shine a spotlight on indie artists","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8","name":"Cynthia Kahn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Cynthia Kahn"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/amusednow.com\/","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow","https:\/\/x.com\/Amused_Now"],"url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/author\/an_admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Nicole-Roder-225x157.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=961"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":966,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961\/revisions\/966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}