Waiting. Writing. Waiting.

Turns out that a lot of being a writer is waiting for things to happen.

Not in an ill defined 'waiting for greatness to be thrust upon me, verily!' way. Actual waiting. For e-mails, for contacts, for news.

Writing a book might be quite a time consuming hobby / craft / profession, but that's probably the only reason all writers aren't also pant-wettingly insane. A new book takes up a lot of time, which means time you could spend clicking the refresh button and slipping slowly into insanity can actually be put to a more productive use.

Still, some jobs are fast-paced. Firefighter. Olympic sprinter. Teacher. Race car driver! Secret agent. Astronaut. Cowboy! Spy. King!

Wait, I got distracted...

Solo jobs, as writing is, tend to mean less crazy back and forth, shooting the Bad Guys (and rescuing the sexy but mysterious double agent) and more time typing away in your house, shooting the fictional Bad Guys (and rescuing the sexy but mysterious double agent, who'll only betray you 'cause, duh, she's a double agent).

Time spent writing is good, but there are plenty of other ways to frustrate yourself while you're waiting for news and edits and opinions. I've found some doozies. Oh, yes I have.

Twitter is a brilliant waste of time. It's probably the most useful and productive waste of time I've ever known. Millions of folk, interesting and not, expert and idiot, with things to say, but only 140 characters to do it in. No rants, no spammy pictures - just concise and easily followable or blockable info-blasts. Great stuff.

Specifically for me, the SHIT posts (Submissions Hell, It's True) over on Writer Writer Pants on Fire have been great to read. A series of interviews with debut authors on how their submissions process went, they're informative, realistic and hope-bringing all at once. Fun times.

The Absolute Write forums, of which I am a big supporter, offer writers community, expert knowledge and great resources for almost any question or thought you have. As with most forums, you can waste as much time as you want on less important questions and still find those little truth-nuggets that'll be a boon to your career.

And, of course, there's work. Real work you get paid for. I write for New York International, and working as a writer is a great, great joy. Do check out some of my articles if you want, and let me know what you think.

I'll be waiting, I guess.