The "B" Word

One of the things I do first every morning after hubby leaves is check my Facebook and Twitter pages.  And sometimes one of the next things I do is blog.  And that's what's happening today.  As I scrolled down my Twitter feed, I found this from "Fuel Your Writing".

[NEW POST] Don't Let the 'B' Word Ruin Your Writing http://fuel.bz/I7X

First, I thought the 'B' word might be bitch.  I used to breed and show dogs so don't consider that a "bad" word.  It does sound strange coming from a 4 year old but when used in the appropriate context, well, hey...

Then, I decided the 'B' word must be bad.  I mean, if you could see some of my first drafts, you'd say they were beyond bad. :-)

While both my guesses were wrong, I'm not going to tell you what the 'B' word she's talking about is. You have to go read for yourself.  However, she said something that I've noticed in my own writing life. Here it is...

"I have a theory: the more you’re talking about your book, the less you’re writing it. Blabbing to everyone about it, outlining the story, the structure, the essence of it, isn’t writing it.

It’s seeking approval. It’s getting your jollies on the content without doing the work. It’s robbing your book of its chance to come into the world and have an impact.

So hush about it. Keep it to yourself or talk to your coach or writing peers to help you stay on track. Sit down and write."

Now, she's not talking about brainstorming plot and such with another writing buddy.  We often need to air out our idea with another who understands plot, structure and character motivations.  But many times we, myself included, tell our story to any and everyone who'll listen, we talk about our characters and before you know it, the urge to write the story isn't there.

Anyone else notice this?  How do you keep the fire to write your story alive?