20 Writer Memes that Sum Up the #storyofmylife

“May-may”? “Mee-mee”? What the hell is that?

You’ve never heard of a “meem”?

Guess not. What is it?

All those funny pictures.

*cocks eyebrow*

*whips out phone, pulls up facebook*

And, there was no return after my husband opened my eyes to memes (though the spelling and name are still stupid and make no sense. Just saying.) I love them so much and share lots on Facebook and in my writing communities. Now, I’m not like many who spend their time all the time looking for them, but I do check for new ones every once in awhile.

Just like every other demographic has memes that capture them, writers do, too. It’s so fun and esoteric in a way. Let alone, they get us to laugh at ourselves.

Okay, I’m rambling. Basically, here are 20 memes that capture what it means to be a writer.

Oh, judgement. Media has created such unrealistic perceptions and assumptions about us as writers! Yeah, not all of us are Shakespeare or Emily Dickinson in our writing ability and stamina, but we get stuff done. Sometimes…

Exactly that face. That, “I’m gonna figure this out” / “I swear I learned that grammar rule one time” face. Let alone a hint of “something’s missing here” / “will they really notice”.

In a nutshell, that’s exactly what it is. For us to tell an authentic story, we have to let our characters tell it to us how it happened to them. But, when they catch attitude and won’t talk to us, we’re stuck at their mercy. We won’t admit that, though, so we came up with a term for it.

Final products are always way better than the original drafts. Many times, original drafts don’t even resemble or relate to the later drafts. And, if they are, you’d probably be wondering what we were trippin’ on when writing it at the time!

Natural writers are notorious for having too many story ideas and never really finishing any of them. So, that moment when you realize that each idea can fit together in some way, it’s this moment for sure.

Tell me why that’s exactly what happened with my novella! This happens way more than you think. And, yes, this is how we react because it took so long to plan and write, yet the problem still slipped through. But, at least we caught it during drafting and not during editing. Otherwise, we’ll be looking like the Emperor Llama up there!

We are definitely our own worst enemies! For some reason, whenever we have a promising idea, we get writer’s block or lose our writing groove. I swear, it’s like our brain rebels against the awesome! Well, while one strategy for jumpstarting your creativity is to backtrack, don’t reread everything. That’s when self-criticism starts happening!

Yes, yes. It always suddenly makes sense when we aren’t able to capture how and why. We try to be prepared and have notepads for jotting down the ideas, but one of two things will happen: (1) we physically can’t get it down on the page—driving, hands in water…; or, (2) we get it down and have no idea what the notes mean later when you look at it. The latter is more common.

It really does take more than most think! Everyone assumes writing a story is so easy. But, ELA grades contradict that! Try writing your own, then talk about us!

While we want to be ultra-productive and inspired—especially during NaNoWriMo and for contests—this is probably way more accurate. BUT! To our credit, some of our internet surfing is for research… Some of it…

When we have a whole plan in our head, it’s inevitable to figure out what we’re going to do in each book—means we’re organized. It also could mean that we have so many ideas for a story that its gonna have to be a series. 

I think we’ve all been there as writers. We get a really good idea and have the circumstance s to start writing right then and there. We get all into it, following the word flow in our head. But, once the flow starts to trickle, we realize that we have no idea where we’re going with this. It was awesome while it lasted, though!

Oh, yes. When the epic music starts—any genre—we writers tend to play all those awesome scenes the director will stage once our book is made into a movie. Every great story need some a movie, and every great movie needs a soundtrack, right?

Just like the one above, our novels need soundtracks. Not only for validation purposes (#goals) but for writing inspiration. Listening to music that matches your story’s mood can help you get back into your writing groove!

Getting an idea and planning that idea is the most exciting thing ever. If we’re  not preoccupied with other stories and projects—is there a time we aren’t?—we tend to bust through the doors looking to steal the party! That is,  until the blank page stares us down, daring us to translate our awesomeness into awesome language. 

Don’t deny it: you probably have some dark corners in your mind, too. As writers, though, we have the inclination to explore and elaborate on those in our work. In those cases, that’s when pseudonyms are you’re friend.

Not all introverts are writers, but, at least 90% of writers are introverted in some way. Why? No idea. But, that’s okay because we can hire others to market for us.

Sometimes, writing just isn’t going too well. But, that doesn’t mean we have to down ourselves! Every little bit counts—baby steps. It’s something, right?

Whenever trying to be credible and memorable authors, we have to have credible and memorable research. Don’t hold back, though I recommend it not be done during the drafting phase. It’s amazing how much information we can retain for a story instead of a test >.<

I’m not sure if this attests to our creative brilliance, making connections with our day-to-day lives; or, maybe our distractive nature when it comes to noticing stuff? Maybe it’s our superior attentiveness to minute details and how they can be better appreciated. Or, our dazed minds in an effort to avoid reality…It’s up for debate.

Writing isn’t all anxiety and desperation.

Sometimes, it’s humor and confusion, too. In any case, memes (these and others) are helping us to laugh a ton ourselves—our experiences, struggles, and strains—before anyone else can.

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So. As a writer, what are some interesting and funny experiences and habits you have?

Let us know in the comments below and on social media, of course. While your email at it, sign up for some Writer’s Wisdom in you’re inbox bi-weekly. That way you can keep up on my writing journey, too!

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