A Word for the 'Aspiring Writer'

Okay. Wonder what the writer’s life is like? This is what it’s like. I just got through writing, um, how many words did I write? Let me just check. Oh, I didn’t even know. I’m barely aware of my word count these days, but I write every single day. Where the hell did I start? Wait. Nope. Not there. Nope. Not there. Not there. Not there. Okay. It was there, right? Okay. It was right here. Actually. I changed that. Yeah. Okay, so let me see. Come up with that word count.

Forget it. It doesn’t matter. What matters is I ran across a situation where I wrote the word “gobsmacked” and I thought, okay, would a 30-year-old woman in the year 2022, which is when this is taking place, use the word gobsmacked? So I had to Google it or whatever you want to call it, and came up with gobsmacked: “The British Slang Gobsmacked: A Closer Look.”

Oh, this is so cool. The British slang gobsmacked. “Regarding British slang, few words capture the imagination quite like gobsmacked.” Really? “This colorful term rooted in British culture is more than just a word. It’s a vivid expression of shock, amazement, or disbelief.” Wow.

“And where does it come from and how is it used today? Let’s dive into the fascinating world of gobsmacked!” History of the British slang, gobsmacked, origins of the word. “The term gobsmacked is a combination of two parts.” It comes in two parts. “Gob: colloquial, British term for mouth, often used informally.” I think I’ve heard people maybe on British shows saying things like, shut your gob. Not quite with that accent.

“Smacked: referring to the act of being hit.” Hmm, hit with your mouth. “Together, gobsmacked literally means hit in the mouth.” Ooh, I was hit in the mouth once. Nevermind all that though. “This imagery conveys the feeling of being so shocked that one metaphorically feels like they’ve been struck across the mouth and left speechless.” How many times has that happened to you? Happens a lot to me.

“Gobsmacked is used to describe a state of extreme astonishment or amazement. It’s the kind of shock that leaves you speechless, often in response to something unexpected or unbelievable.” To say that I have been gobsmacked a few times lately is really understating things. Flabbergasted. Here are some similar expressions. “Flabbergasted, speechless, blown away.” Ah, “an informal American phrase with a similar sense of amazement.”

Maybe I’ll have her feel blown away instead of gobsmacked. I don’t know. It depends on how British she’s feeling that day, I guess. Anyway, so yeah, this is the writer’s life. I write a few hundred words every single solitary day, and if I’m not writing the words, I’m taking other words and rearranging them, so to speak, heretofore. (“Up to the present time; before this; previously.) Anyway, that’s all, and I’ll have a review at some point. Be seeing you!

Five hundred and two words. That’s what I wrote today. Am I sitting up straight? There. Yes. 502 words, and finally I put a button on a story that came before. I feel like the thing is sort of more resolved than it was, which makes a kind of sense, I hope.

I don’t know. I need a writer’s group. I need people to bounce this off of. Maybe that’s what I need to do, form an online writer’s group of writers at a certain level, because really you need to surround yourself with smart people. This is what I’m hoping to do by forming a community. You can sit and write all you want, but if it’s no good, you’re not going to get anywhere with it. And you need to get other people’s opinions.

You need to get the opinions of people who are at a level higher than yours, and you have to respect those opinions and think about them and listen to them. Because yes, this is about you and your voice and your story, but at the same time, you have to make it understandable to others, and you have to make it entertaining, and you have to make it make sense.

So anybody who tells you that writing is easy is full of shit, period. That’s the message here. It’s an everyday activity that if you do not enjoy it, you shouldn’t be doing it. So the trick here is to get started, and I tell myself that every single day. It’s not an easy decision when your hands hurt or your hand hurts and will not stop twisting. It is not an easy decision to make.

I could be doing anything right now. I could be making a plan to take a trip around the world. My husband would be shocked, and I don’t think he would like it at first, the idea. But if I said, I really want to do this, I feel strongly about it and told him maybe a reason for doing it, maybe to write a book about it, I don’t know. But anyway, the point is, if I made a good enough case for it, he would probably say, okay, let’s do it.

That’s the kind of person he is. He’s behind me. He’s got my back. He cares. And that’s what we all need. We need somebody who has our back, who cares about us, who’s there to keep us going when we’re feeling unmotivated. And it happens a lot for writers. Writers will go through these writer’s blocks. “I can’t write.” Well, you can. You just have to start. And for people who have never thought of writing as a career, you have to grapple with that. You have to grapple with time. I’m looking at the clock right now thinking, what else could I be doing right now?

Anyway, the point is part of this whole internet thing is it’s meant to support one another rather than tear each other down. And that’s what I’m hoping for with the community. That’s just my hope, and we’ll see, and I’m getting there, one step at a time, right? I’m directing a movie. That’s pretty major. It’s been really something, a wonderful experience. I’ll do that in a separate video someday. That’s it, then. Be seeing you!

PS: To get a copy of my Sam McRae short story, just click here! See what you think.