After writing that post about finding my focus on Wednesday, I was poking around through my saved drafts and saw the title of this post. I dragged it out, and decided I should post it today and pretend it was all a part of the Great Plan, talking about focus twice in a row.
*ahem* Yes. I planned it. Hear me? You never heard me admit otherwise, m'kay? Good.
When I first reread Marked (previously Hunter Hunted) after writing it back in January, I realised something. This is what I said in my notes to myself for this post:
"I realised I don't want to write it [Marked] for the cool religion, 'cause I don't know anything about that. I want to write it for the character's journey. Likewise, what interests me with Jesscapades is not the tech and spyness, but the mystery of the glasses".
I stalled out writing Marked for a while, and I worked myself into impossible, implausible holes in Jesscapades. Why? Because I wasn't writing the story I thought I was writing.
With Marked, I thought I was writing a story about a cool tiger religion, where humans are sacred and violence against them is forbidden. With Jess, I thought I was writing a cool spy/assassin story with lots of tech and gadgets.
I was wrong, on both counts.
Marked is a story about a young tiger's battle with his religion; about someone learning to trust that they can't see all the eventual outcomes of their actions and that laws exist for a reason; and most of all, it's about someone realising that no one is ever to low to be loved, or too far gone to be redeemed. Even if you do happen to start a full-scale inter-species war. O:)
Jesscapades is a story about one girl's attempt to save her sister from herself; it's about learning that you have to let people make their own mistakes; it's about the mystery of magic and the workings of Fate.
Marked still has the cool tiger religion. Jess still has the gadgets. But neither of these is the driving force behind the story, and as I was writing I realised I didn't want it to be. It wasn't what I was interested in; it wasn't where my focus was. Both times, I stalled because I was trying to force the story to be what I thought it should be, not what I really and truly wanted it to be.
Knowing your focus before you writing - knowing why you want to write this story, what the point of it is for you - is just as important as figuring out what your focus is after you write, when you're editing.
I guess it's kind of like life, in a way: Is your focus what you think your life ought to be, what others think it ought to be, or is it what you want it to be, in your heart of hearts? Do you know what you want it to be? How do you know you've got there if you don't know where 'there' is?
And I guess that's like writing: How do you know what you think until you see what you say, after all? The joy, in the end, is in discovering.
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
27 August 2010
09 February 2010
Miss, Will I Be Like This Forever?
Two things collided in my head today: one, a student in one of my classes asked me a fantastic question, and two I finally read up on all the controversy surrounding the US covers of both Liar and Magic Under Glass.
I can't remember the exact phrasing of the question, but it was basically as the title of this post: miss, will it be like this forever?
To which I of course responded with puzzlement - will what be??
My student explained that she was finding it difficult to watch certain movies without being constantly conscious of shots and angles and themes and characterisation and and and... And that her elder sister had told her that after completing a major in English in her high school studies, this got worse, not better.
I remember lamenting similar things when I was in highschool, and I know it's an all-too-common complaint that studying a novel in English class ruins an otherwise good novel.
In university, my creative writing lecturer noted that he never read without his 'editing' brain in gear anymore; that he couldn't enjoy certain books because of this.
What was my reply? That like many things in life, things get worse before they get better; that eventually, if you want to, you'll be able to turn the editing part of your brain off and enjoy something for what it is, without criticism.
But.
And this is where the question collided with other things in my head.
But.
A lot of people might argue that English ruins novels; that studying them and pulling them to pieces robs them of all enjoyment. That's it not worth going through the worse to get to the better; why bother at all?
Because it's important. I'm preaching to the choir here, I know, but it is important. Learning critical thinking, learning to think about what something is trying to say and how it's going about doing it - that's not only an English skill, that's a life skill. To be active, informed, global citizens, it's vital that we know how to interpret and understand the plethora of information that's thrown at us every single day. We need to know what hidden messages look like if we are ever to spot them; and if we have not studied texts in order to discover the meaning of life, of love, of joy or pain or sorrow or injustice - how are we to recognise it hidden deep in the texts of everyday life?
Bloomsbury's covers are a case in point.
Ignorance is no excuse for allowing injustice to flourish; and 'too hard' or 'uncomfortable' is no excuse for allowing ignorance to flourish.
We need the skills that tearing texts apart furnishes us with - even if they come at the cost of the enjoyment of a handful of novels and/or films.
Miss, will it be like this forever?
I certainly hope so.
I can't remember the exact phrasing of the question, but it was basically as the title of this post: miss, will it be like this forever?
To which I of course responded with puzzlement - will what be??
My student explained that she was finding it difficult to watch certain movies without being constantly conscious of shots and angles and themes and characterisation and and and... And that her elder sister had told her that after completing a major in English in her high school studies, this got worse, not better.
I remember lamenting similar things when I was in highschool, and I know it's an all-too-common complaint that studying a novel in English class ruins an otherwise good novel.
In university, my creative writing lecturer noted that he never read without his 'editing' brain in gear anymore; that he couldn't enjoy certain books because of this.
What was my reply? That like many things in life, things get worse before they get better; that eventually, if you want to, you'll be able to turn the editing part of your brain off and enjoy something for what it is, without criticism.
But.
And this is where the question collided with other things in my head.
But.
A lot of people might argue that English ruins novels; that studying them and pulling them to pieces robs them of all enjoyment. That's it not worth going through the worse to get to the better; why bother at all?
Because it's important. I'm preaching to the choir here, I know, but it is important. Learning critical thinking, learning to think about what something is trying to say and how it's going about doing it - that's not only an English skill, that's a life skill. To be active, informed, global citizens, it's vital that we know how to interpret and understand the plethora of information that's thrown at us every single day. We need to know what hidden messages look like if we are ever to spot them; and if we have not studied texts in order to discover the meaning of life, of love, of joy or pain or sorrow or injustice - how are we to recognise it hidden deep in the texts of everyday life?
Bloomsbury's covers are a case in point.
Ignorance is no excuse for allowing injustice to flourish; and 'too hard' or 'uncomfortable' is no excuse for allowing ignorance to flourish.
We need the skills that tearing texts apart furnishes us with - even if they come at the cost of the enjoyment of a handful of novels and/or films.
Miss, will it be like this forever?
I certainly hope so.
03 February 2010
Lament for the Holidays
*sniff sniff* January is gone, and with it summer holidays. Behold, it is tragical indeed!
January turned into month that surprised me with its productiveness. After angsting mildly about the fact that I couldn't seem to write, Edge, the MC of Santuary jumped on me on the 12th of the month and never let go! Go Edge!!
Here are the stats:
Total word count: 15,761
On Sanctuary: 14,329
On a random background short for HNOT: 257
On the Powers short that's plodding away: 202
On my completed short for the month, Sculpt: 973
How's that compare to my goals? Surprisingly good! This was my most productive January ever! 15k a month would put me at 165k not including NaNo in November, so I'm on track to break 200k. Also, I cracked 16k on Sanctuary this month, and given I'm aiming for a total of 50k, I'm about a third done! Finally, I wrote, edited, and submitted one short this month, in keeping with my one-short-a-month goal.
So I'd say I did pretty well!
Biggest thing I learned? Sanctuary is one big reinforcement of the idea that voice is everthing: if I have my character's voice and actually listen to it, the story just carries itself :)
January turned into month that surprised me with its productiveness. After angsting mildly about the fact that I couldn't seem to write, Edge, the MC of Santuary jumped on me on the 12th of the month and never let go! Go Edge!!
Here are the stats:
Total word count: 15,761
On Sanctuary: 14,329
On a random background short for HNOT: 257
On the Powers short that's plodding away: 202
On my completed short for the month, Sculpt: 973
How's that compare to my goals? Surprisingly good! This was my most productive January ever! 15k a month would put me at 165k not including NaNo in November, so I'm on track to break 200k. Also, I cracked 16k on Sanctuary this month, and given I'm aiming for a total of 50k, I'm about a third done! Finally, I wrote, edited, and submitted one short this month, in keeping with my one-short-a-month goal.
So I'd say I did pretty well!
Biggest thing I learned? Sanctuary is one big reinforcement of the idea that voice is everthing: if I have my character's voice and actually listen to it, the story just carries itself :)
07 December 2009
Writerly Advice #4: Be A Reader
In my previous 'Writerly Advice' posts I've mostly concentrated on advice that is often handed out without thought, and needs debunking. Today, by contrast, I'm going to focus on the positives: advice that is useful, positive, and warranted. Which is:
If you want to be a writer, you'd better be a reader.
Or any variation with similar intent.
I hope that most of you will find this piece of advice pretty self explanatory; in any business, to succeed, you have to know the business, and for a writer that means not only knowing how to market your book and find and agent and so on and so forth, it means knowing how to write, and knowing what's been written. We read to learn as well as to enjoy, to absorb the rhythm of Story.
Lots of people read; we'd hope so, or all us writers would be out of a job. But, to borrow a phrase from Holly Lisle, as writers, we read the opposite way around to most people.
Most people read fiction for fun, and if they want to learn something, they turn to non-fiction. As writers, we can, of course, read like 'normal' people; you'd hope we could find fiction fun, otherwise why the heck are we writing? And of course we learn things from non-fiction, too.
But here's the thing: we also read backwards. We read fiction with our writer brains engaged, observing the methods of the author. We examine the way the plot hangs together, the way the characters are developed, the particular phrases and rhythms that are employed, and how they're employed, and what effect that has on us. Maybe we don't do this all the time, but I have noticed one thing - writers are often a lot more specific about why they don't like a book than non-writers :D Whether you admit it or not, you're paying attention to this stuff when you read fiction.
In contrast, many writers read non-fiction for 'fun'. Sure, some of the stuff we read is pretty dry and can hardly be classed as exciting or thrilling stuff, but ultimately the reason why we read so much of it is to fill up our ideas tanks, to spark off things in our brains that will thrill us, to find those serendipitous phrases and ideas that connect with something in a current or future work and create flares of excitement and joy.
If you don't read non-fiction, and you plan to be serious about this whole writing thing, you need to ask yourself why not. Non-fiction is an insanely broad category, and if your protest is that you 'don't like' non-fiction, then I thumb my nose at you. All you mean is that you haven't read widely enough to find out what you're interested in. And if you're not reading non-fiction, where is the depth in your writing coming from? Where are your ideas coming from? Sure, from life, and also from the fiction you read - but why not add non-fic to the mix as well? Those of us that write spec fic particularly can find non-fiction to be a veritable mine-field of ideas and inspiration for world building, plot twists, concepts, characters...
My fav non-fic books are the DK series that include Earth, Ocean, Human and Animal (the four I have). The full-colour, glossy illustrations are the epitome of shiny :D I also love books on animal psychology, on human relationships (so useful for figuring out what makes characters really tick, and also aiding in writing realistic characters of the opposite genre), and on anything to do with food :D
So tell me: Do you read non-fic? How often? Do you find it a source of inspiration or do you just find it dull? Do you have favourite topics? Tell me, tell me! :D
If you want to be a writer, you'd better be a reader.
Or any variation with similar intent.
I hope that most of you will find this piece of advice pretty self explanatory; in any business, to succeed, you have to know the business, and for a writer that means not only knowing how to market your book and find and agent and so on and so forth, it means knowing how to write, and knowing what's been written. We read to learn as well as to enjoy, to absorb the rhythm of Story.
Lots of people read; we'd hope so, or all us writers would be out of a job. But, to borrow a phrase from Holly Lisle, as writers, we read the opposite way around to most people.
Most people read fiction for fun, and if they want to learn something, they turn to non-fiction. As writers, we can, of course, read like 'normal' people; you'd hope we could find fiction fun, otherwise why the heck are we writing? And of course we learn things from non-fiction, too.
But here's the thing: we also read backwards. We read fiction with our writer brains engaged, observing the methods of the author. We examine the way the plot hangs together, the way the characters are developed, the particular phrases and rhythms that are employed, and how they're employed, and what effect that has on us. Maybe we don't do this all the time, but I have noticed one thing - writers are often a lot more specific about why they don't like a book than non-writers :D Whether you admit it or not, you're paying attention to this stuff when you read fiction.
In contrast, many writers read non-fiction for 'fun'. Sure, some of the stuff we read is pretty dry and can hardly be classed as exciting or thrilling stuff, but ultimately the reason why we read so much of it is to fill up our ideas tanks, to spark off things in our brains that will thrill us, to find those serendipitous phrases and ideas that connect with something in a current or future work and create flares of excitement and joy.
If you don't read non-fiction, and you plan to be serious about this whole writing thing, you need to ask yourself why not. Non-fiction is an insanely broad category, and if your protest is that you 'don't like' non-fiction, then I thumb my nose at you. All you mean is that you haven't read widely enough to find out what you're interested in. And if you're not reading non-fiction, where is the depth in your writing coming from? Where are your ideas coming from? Sure, from life, and also from the fiction you read - but why not add non-fic to the mix as well? Those of us that write spec fic particularly can find non-fiction to be a veritable mine-field of ideas and inspiration for world building, plot twists, concepts, characters...
My fav non-fic books are the DK series that include Earth, Ocean, Human and Animal (the four I have). The full-colour, glossy illustrations are the epitome of shiny :D I also love books on animal psychology, on human relationships (so useful for figuring out what makes characters really tick, and also aiding in writing realistic characters of the opposite genre), and on anything to do with food :D
So tell me: Do you read non-fic? How often? Do you find it a source of inspiration or do you just find it dull? Do you have favourite topics? Tell me, tell me! :D
11 November 2009
Er, Bye, October!
So, in all the fun and excitement of time-travelling last week, I realise now that I can do an October farewell! Huzzah!
...
What, you're not excited? Pah. Tough. :P
Sooo. In the glorious month of October, in which one relative had a heart attack, another surgery for a brain tumour which turned out to be cancer, another went missing and was found drowned, another whole circus were shouting death threats at each other, university was finished FOREVER, five interviews were undertaken and two jobs successfully attained (woot), a long weekend camp caused my feet to be cold and wet for three days straight and ingrained in me the desire to purchase some gumboots when they come back in season..... With all of that, what did I get up to writing-wise?
(Yes, I kid you not: all of that happened in October. o.O)
Apparently, writing is therapeutic: even with all of that rubbish going on, I managed to write a hair short of 16,000 words. Go me!
Here's the breakdown:
* 1825 on the Jesscapades rewrite, which is still mostly on hold because I know I don't have the skill I need to make this book what I want it to be yet;
* 1539 on Sanctuary, the YA fantasy; I've finally nailed the voice on this one, which is fantastic;
* 6704 on what is fondly known as 'the tiger novelette';
* Short stories from scratch now out on submission: The Cinnamon Shark (now called Calm) and Dear Santa;
* Short story from scratch, needs editing: Dragon Tuesday
* Plus various words here and there on the following shorts: Afterwards, "the velociraptor one", Rays of Time and Space, "the other Powers one".
What did I learn this month?
Mostly, that writing keeps me sane, that I write faster than I used to, that I don't need to beat myself up if I skip a day or two of writing because it'll balance out in the end. I only wrote 19 out of the 31 days in October, and I still pulled off an above average wordcount; this whole learning-to-lighten-up-on-myself thing is working really well :)
But here's the big thing I learned: I can, actually, be patient.
See, when you start writing you're filled with this obsessive drive to write-write-write, push-push-push, must-get-published, quick-quick-quick. Time matters, because even if it takes most people five to ten years to start earning 'real' money from their writing (ie, not the $5 you make from the occasional short story), so what? You're better than that, and you can do it faster!
Guess what?
Faster doesn't actually matter.
Yup, I wanna write. Yup, I am writing, and I'm writing and planning for publication and a career in writing. But I'm happy to take my time with it, and not rush it, and let my writing blossom as it needs to rather than forcing it into premature bloom that will fade rather than endure. I don't want to make the mistake that so many impatient new writers do, and send my work off before it's ready. I'll know when it's ready, when I'm ready, and I'm not yet, and I'm cool with that.
Phew. It's kinda nice not to be constantly beating up on myself for not pushing hard enough, you know? *grin* And I think my last two months' stats have shown that this shiny new relaxed attitude is actually better for my productivity than stressing over more-more-more.
I'll learn what I learn when I learn it. More than that is out of my control.
...This is all coming out ineloquently, and doesn't quite hit on what I mean precisely, but think of it like this: Act One has come to an end. Everybody, wave hello to Act Two in my writing life ;) :D
Do share: Anyone else have exciting (or boring, either way) revelations about their own writing this month? What did you all get up to? Speak to me!
And yes, I will go back and respond to all the comments I haven't responded to yet *blush* Sorry about that. O:)
...
What, you're not excited? Pah. Tough. :P
Sooo. In the glorious month of October, in which one relative had a heart attack, another surgery for a brain tumour which turned out to be cancer, another went missing and was found drowned, another whole circus were shouting death threats at each other, university was finished FOREVER, five interviews were undertaken and two jobs successfully attained (woot), a long weekend camp caused my feet to be cold and wet for three days straight and ingrained in me the desire to purchase some gumboots when they come back in season..... With all of that, what did I get up to writing-wise?
(Yes, I kid you not: all of that happened in October. o.O)
Apparently, writing is therapeutic: even with all of that rubbish going on, I managed to write a hair short of 16,000 words. Go me!
Here's the breakdown:
* 1825 on the Jesscapades rewrite, which is still mostly on hold because I know I don't have the skill I need to make this book what I want it to be yet;
* 1539 on Sanctuary, the YA fantasy; I've finally nailed the voice on this one, which is fantastic;
* 6704 on what is fondly known as 'the tiger novelette';
* Short stories from scratch now out on submission: The Cinnamon Shark (now called Calm) and Dear Santa;
* Short story from scratch, needs editing: Dragon Tuesday
* Plus various words here and there on the following shorts: Afterwards, "the velociraptor one", Rays of Time and Space, "the other Powers one".
What did I learn this month?
Mostly, that writing keeps me sane, that I write faster than I used to, that I don't need to beat myself up if I skip a day or two of writing because it'll balance out in the end. I only wrote 19 out of the 31 days in October, and I still pulled off an above average wordcount; this whole learning-to-lighten-up-on-myself thing is working really well :)
But here's the big thing I learned: I can, actually, be patient.
See, when you start writing you're filled with this obsessive drive to write-write-write, push-push-push, must-get-published, quick-quick-quick. Time matters, because even if it takes most people five to ten years to start earning 'real' money from their writing (ie, not the $5 you make from the occasional short story), so what? You're better than that, and you can do it faster!
Guess what?
Faster doesn't actually matter.
Yup, I wanna write. Yup, I am writing, and I'm writing and planning for publication and a career in writing. But I'm happy to take my time with it, and not rush it, and let my writing blossom as it needs to rather than forcing it into premature bloom that will fade rather than endure. I don't want to make the mistake that so many impatient new writers do, and send my work off before it's ready. I'll know when it's ready, when I'm ready, and I'm not yet, and I'm cool with that.
Phew. It's kinda nice not to be constantly beating up on myself for not pushing hard enough, you know? *grin* And I think my last two months' stats have shown that this shiny new relaxed attitude is actually better for my productivity than stressing over more-more-more.
I'll learn what I learn when I learn it. More than that is out of my control.
...This is all coming out ineloquently, and doesn't quite hit on what I mean precisely, but think of it like this: Act One has come to an end. Everybody, wave hello to Act Two in my writing life ;) :D
Do share: Anyone else have exciting (or boring, either way) revelations about their own writing this month? What did you all get up to? Speak to me!
And yes, I will go back and respond to all the comments I haven't responded to yet *blush* Sorry about that. O:)
21 September 2009
Look Ma, I Aten't Ded!
A thought has struck me - as thoughts are wont to do.
Motivated by said thought, I re-examined my writing stats spreadsheet; and the thought was affirmed.
It's a curious one, somewhat paradoxical. Un-intuitive. And it might not work for everyone.
But wow! It works for me, and I'm glad: it's made things much less stressful, now the pressure's off.
So what's the thought, I hear you wonder.
It's something that I was, for a long time, afraid of. You see, although I called myself a writer - I wasn't really sure. I didn't know that I could do it, not in my heart of hearts. And I wasn't sure it was what I wanted; and I couldn't be certain about why I did it.
And so, for a long, long time, I laboured under the fallacy that if I admitted that it didn't actually matter when I got published, the motivation to write would vanish - zip! - like that.
But here's the thought:
It doesn't actually matter when I get published. No one else in the world cares if I get published or not. And not being published isn't going to kill me, or make me a Bad Person, or worse, a Failure.
And here's the stunning part: I've admitted this, at long last, and I'm not actually dead. And neither is my writing. And neither is my motivation to write.
Wow.
Even more than this, I have statistics to support the conclusion that when the pressure's off - the pressure to polish, to get the novel ready to submit, to work to a deadline, to force myself to write when I don't feel like it because that's what writers do - my productivity actually goes up (an expected 30% this month over the previous two Septembers).
Who knew? :P
I've been having a tremendous amount of fun with writing lately, not forcing myself to commit to any one project, but letting the Muse wander spontaneously. I've got more ideas brewing than ever, I've worked through some major plot problems in a few stories, and I've written no less than three flash fictions in a week - when I'd written a total of one in my life before. I have - for me - a record number of things out on submission, and I'm not feeling stressed about my writing. It's fun.
I'm not feeling blocked - or when I am, there's no pressure on me to break the block and solve the problem now; I just hop over and work on something else, and every time thus far a solution has arrived of its own volition within a week. I'm not stressing, I'm not panicking, and I'm not beating myself up because I haven't met my word count goals for the day.
And, contrary to my expectations, all of this hasn't made me less determined to write: in fact, just the opposite. I'm more determined than ever that I will one day publish novels, in the plural. But I'm also more willing to wait for that time to come.
So I can't work from home next year. Big deal? I will, believe it or not, live. Things will work out; they always do. And in the meantime, so long as I keep doing something, I'll win out in the end: sometimes quantity trumps quality after all.
It's long been known that fear is a barrier both to creativity and success.
So join me in being radical: what do you fear? Why does it matter? How can you change your approach - your attitude, your practices, whatever - so relieve some of that pressure that we as writers inevitably put on ourselves?
Go on. Change something. Be daring.
You just never know what the results will be :)
Motivated by said thought, I re-examined my writing stats spreadsheet; and the thought was affirmed.
It's a curious one, somewhat paradoxical. Un-intuitive. And it might not work for everyone.
But wow! It works for me, and I'm glad: it's made things much less stressful, now the pressure's off.
So what's the thought, I hear you wonder.
It's something that I was, for a long time, afraid of. You see, although I called myself a writer - I wasn't really sure. I didn't know that I could do it, not in my heart of hearts. And I wasn't sure it was what I wanted; and I couldn't be certain about why I did it.
And so, for a long, long time, I laboured under the fallacy that if I admitted that it didn't actually matter when I got published, the motivation to write would vanish - zip! - like that.
But here's the thought:
It doesn't actually matter when I get published. No one else in the world cares if I get published or not. And not being published isn't going to kill me, or make me a Bad Person, or worse, a Failure.
And here's the stunning part: I've admitted this, at long last, and I'm not actually dead. And neither is my writing. And neither is my motivation to write.
Wow.
Even more than this, I have statistics to support the conclusion that when the pressure's off - the pressure to polish, to get the novel ready to submit, to work to a deadline, to force myself to write when I don't feel like it because that's what writers do - my productivity actually goes up (an expected 30% this month over the previous two Septembers).
Who knew? :P
I've been having a tremendous amount of fun with writing lately, not forcing myself to commit to any one project, but letting the Muse wander spontaneously. I've got more ideas brewing than ever, I've worked through some major plot problems in a few stories, and I've written no less than three flash fictions in a week - when I'd written a total of one in my life before. I have - for me - a record number of things out on submission, and I'm not feeling stressed about my writing. It's fun.
I'm not feeling blocked - or when I am, there's no pressure on me to break the block and solve the problem now; I just hop over and work on something else, and every time thus far a solution has arrived of its own volition within a week. I'm not stressing, I'm not panicking, and I'm not beating myself up because I haven't met my word count goals for the day.
And, contrary to my expectations, all of this hasn't made me less determined to write: in fact, just the opposite. I'm more determined than ever that I will one day publish novels, in the plural. But I'm also more willing to wait for that time to come.
So I can't work from home next year. Big deal? I will, believe it or not, live. Things will work out; they always do. And in the meantime, so long as I keep doing something, I'll win out in the end: sometimes quantity trumps quality after all.
It's long been known that fear is a barrier both to creativity and success.
So join me in being radical: what do you fear? Why does it matter? How can you change your approach - your attitude, your practices, whatever - so relieve some of that pressure that we as writers inevitably put on ourselves?
Go on. Change something. Be daring.
You just never know what the results will be :)
16 September 2009
Balance
Wow. This post has been sitting in 'drafts' for... well, a Really Long Time Now. I glance at it every now and then, just to remember that it's actually there, but I don't really think about it.
Today, I realised it's exactly what I've been looking for.
You see, I've been blogging a bit sporadically lately. I'm in the midst of prac, and while I'm busting to the brim with new ideas, none of them are really relevant to this blog.
And of course, I'm a perfectionist. A blog post has to be meaty; I have to feel like I've actually said something in it.
Hence, sporadic posting.
I've been writing a lot - I'm up to a bit over 7k for the month already - but I honestly believed that I had nothing to say about writing; I had nothing to blog about.
I was wrong.
So today: Balance.
Authors are always at risk of losing balance. We really buy into the idea that if we read enough blogs, or belong to enough crit groups, or talk to enough other authors we will somehow find that magic key and get published.
It's a nice thought. But nice don't buy rice... (Randomly, anyone know where that saying comes from?)
There IS no secret key to getting published. Rather, it's a mix of time, effort, and a chunk of luck.
I'm being reminded of this a lot this week, because I'm working on short stories again. I haven't done shorts for quite a while now, and I was missing the feedback that submitting gives - even if it is just rejections.
But that's exactly the point, it's where luck and timing comes in: I, like every other writer who submits I'm QUITE sure, have plenty of stories that have received multiple rejections before they were accepted. The most I have for any one story is only 5 right now - and that's chicken feed. And the stories that have placed certainly haven't been my favourite stories that I've written - I just happened to hit the right market at the right time with a story that resonated with them.
I want to relate this back to balance. How? Because as writers, we have obsessive, perfectionist tendencies. I certainly do. We go through phases of hating our story, our writing in general, and sometimes even ourselves because we haven't yet stumbled on the magical bit of timing that we need.
We rail against ourselves when we can't 'get it together' and perform miracles; when we can't somehow be the Magic Household Fairy, the Dedicated Working Wo/Man, the Bestselling Author AND Sane (!) all at the same time.
We're impatient.
We're impatient, we're scared, and sometimes we're lazy too.
Writing is hard work. It's terrifying work, because we expose so much of ourselves in the process.
And it takes time.
We're not superhumans with special powers; we're just humans with imaginations. We can't run the clock.
But we shouldn't let the clock run us, either.
So today, right now, let's make a committment together: tell me one thing that you're going to commit to enjoying, sometime this week, just for yourself. And tell me one thing that you're going to make a conscious effort to stop ragging at yourself about.
Me, I'm going to slow down and enjoy some yoga, and I'm going to stop telling myself that my worth as a human being is defined by how many dirty dishes there are in the sink.
How about you?
Today, I realised it's exactly what I've been looking for.
You see, I've been blogging a bit sporadically lately. I'm in the midst of prac, and while I'm busting to the brim with new ideas, none of them are really relevant to this blog.
And of course, I'm a perfectionist. A blog post has to be meaty; I have to feel like I've actually said something in it.
Hence, sporadic posting.
I've been writing a lot - I'm up to a bit over 7k for the month already - but I honestly believed that I had nothing to say about writing; I had nothing to blog about.
I was wrong.
So today: Balance.
Authors are always at risk of losing balance. We really buy into the idea that if we read enough blogs, or belong to enough crit groups, or talk to enough other authors we will somehow find that magic key and get published.
It's a nice thought. But nice don't buy rice... (Randomly, anyone know where that saying comes from?)
There IS no secret key to getting published. Rather, it's a mix of time, effort, and a chunk of luck.
I'm being reminded of this a lot this week, because I'm working on short stories again. I haven't done shorts for quite a while now, and I was missing the feedback that submitting gives - even if it is just rejections.
But that's exactly the point, it's where luck and timing comes in: I, like every other writer who submits I'm QUITE sure, have plenty of stories that have received multiple rejections before they were accepted. The most I have for any one story is only 5 right now - and that's chicken feed. And the stories that have placed certainly haven't been my favourite stories that I've written - I just happened to hit the right market at the right time with a story that resonated with them.
I want to relate this back to balance. How? Because as writers, we have obsessive, perfectionist tendencies. I certainly do. We go through phases of hating our story, our writing in general, and sometimes even ourselves because we haven't yet stumbled on the magical bit of timing that we need.
We rail against ourselves when we can't 'get it together' and perform miracles; when we can't somehow be the Magic Household Fairy, the Dedicated Working Wo/Man, the Bestselling Author AND Sane (!) all at the same time.
We're impatient.
We're impatient, we're scared, and sometimes we're lazy too.
Writing is hard work. It's terrifying work, because we expose so much of ourselves in the process.
And it takes time.
We're not superhumans with special powers; we're just humans with imaginations. We can't run the clock.
But we shouldn't let the clock run us, either.
So today, right now, let's make a committment together: tell me one thing that you're going to commit to enjoying, sometime this week, just for yourself. And tell me one thing that you're going to make a conscious effort to stop ragging at yourself about.
Me, I'm going to slow down and enjoy some yoga, and I'm going to stop telling myself that my worth as a human being is defined by how many dirty dishes there are in the sink.
How about you?
10 August 2009
Goals for 2009
No, you didn't read the title incorrectly. Yes, I'm making goals for the year. Yes, I know it's August.
...Funny. I wrote that first sentence about a week ago, when I looked through old posts and saw that I'd talked about setting '09 goals, but never actually had. This is funny, because now, today, this past weekend, I've been in a major funk. I hate my work (yes, I'm staring down the shambles of a plot that is currently passing for Jesscapades :S), I haven't written in two weeks and more, haven't wanted to, and I'm questioning my ability and my sanity.
[Insert most-of-the-day break here, during which I watch How To Motivate Yourself, a video by Holly Lisle that's part of the Think Sideways graduation goodies.]
Wow. Just, wow.
Motivation cannot be external; motivation has to come from within. You can't bribe yourself without also motivating yourself, which is why often times self-bribery falls down. So instead of sitting here, trying to think about the goals I ought to be setting and invariably setting myself up to fail, I'm now going to think about the goals I want to set: goals that will not only spur me on to acheive things, but to acheive the things I want to acheive without losing my sanity.
Mostly, I'm going to remember why I'm writing: NOT to be perfect. NOT to 'say something'. NOT to make a difference in the world. All of these things are important, and would be awesome - but they are NOT my primary motivation for writing. If I wanted to be perfect at something, I'd pick something easier than writing. If I wanted to say something, I'd become a preacher or a politician or a philosopher. If I wanted to make a difference in the world, I'd become an activist, or travel to remote locations (not exclusively 3rd World) and help 'the needy'. If all of these were my primary motivations, instead of happy corollaries, I'd do other things that would be much easier, much saner, and provide much quicker results.
Instead, I'm writing.
Why?
Because I want to write. Because I want to work from home so that I can watch my children grow up. Because, damn it all, writing is fun.
I'd forgotten.
And it all sounds so blunt and obvious here on virtual paper - but behind the safety of my laptop I'm nearly tearing up, because I'd forgotten that writing was fun.
So my goals for the year are thus:
* Write 150,000+ words. This is pretty manageable; I wrote more last year. Note that I'm not specifying what it has to be on; no pressure, just write.
* Win Nano. Because it's insanely fun, because it's such a blast to be part of the writing community when it happens - and because it gets awesome results.
* Keep Going. Write 6 days a week, not to get somewhere, but to enjoy the going.
* And for the rest of the year, make some time to sub. Subbing can be brutal, but between April and June I sold three short stories and a poem, and it was SUCH a boost - a reminder that writing isn't just a dream.
It's so tempting to put things in there like 'edit Jesscapades'; 'finish another manuscript'; and so on. But if I'm sufficiently motivated, such things will come naturally. And if I'm not sufficiently motivated, setting goals like that will only make me depressed that I can't stick to them.
So that's it. I'm not going to bribe myself any more. I'm going to motivate myself. And I'm going to remember: I'm writing because it's fun, and because I want to work from home.
I'm not writing in order to be perfect.
What are you writing for?
...Funny. I wrote that first sentence about a week ago, when I looked through old posts and saw that I'd talked about setting '09 goals, but never actually had. This is funny, because now, today, this past weekend, I've been in a major funk. I hate my work (yes, I'm staring down the shambles of a plot that is currently passing for Jesscapades :S), I haven't written in two weeks and more, haven't wanted to, and I'm questioning my ability and my sanity.
[Insert most-of-the-day break here, during which I watch How To Motivate Yourself, a video by Holly Lisle that's part of the Think Sideways graduation goodies.]
Wow. Just, wow.
Motivation cannot be external; motivation has to come from within. You can't bribe yourself without also motivating yourself, which is why often times self-bribery falls down. So instead of sitting here, trying to think about the goals I ought to be setting and invariably setting myself up to fail, I'm now going to think about the goals I want to set: goals that will not only spur me on to acheive things, but to acheive the things I want to acheive without losing my sanity.
Mostly, I'm going to remember why I'm writing: NOT to be perfect. NOT to 'say something'. NOT to make a difference in the world. All of these things are important, and would be awesome - but they are NOT my primary motivation for writing. If I wanted to be perfect at something, I'd pick something easier than writing. If I wanted to say something, I'd become a preacher or a politician or a philosopher. If I wanted to make a difference in the world, I'd become an activist, or travel to remote locations (not exclusively 3rd World) and help 'the needy'. If all of these were my primary motivations, instead of happy corollaries, I'd do other things that would be much easier, much saner, and provide much quicker results.
Instead, I'm writing.
Why?
Because I want to write. Because I want to work from home so that I can watch my children grow up. Because, damn it all, writing is fun.
I'd forgotten.
And it all sounds so blunt and obvious here on virtual paper - but behind the safety of my laptop I'm nearly tearing up, because I'd forgotten that writing was fun.
So my goals for the year are thus:
* Write 150,000+ words. This is pretty manageable; I wrote more last year. Note that I'm not specifying what it has to be on; no pressure, just write.
* Win Nano. Because it's insanely fun, because it's such a blast to be part of the writing community when it happens - and because it gets awesome results.
* Keep Going. Write 6 days a week, not to get somewhere, but to enjoy the going.
* And for the rest of the year, make some time to sub. Subbing can be brutal, but between April and June I sold three short stories and a poem, and it was SUCH a boost - a reminder that writing isn't just a dream.
It's so tempting to put things in there like 'edit Jesscapades'; 'finish another manuscript'; and so on. But if I'm sufficiently motivated, such things will come naturally. And if I'm not sufficiently motivated, setting goals like that will only make me depressed that I can't stick to them.
So that's it. I'm not going to bribe myself any more. I'm going to motivate myself. And I'm going to remember: I'm writing because it's fun, and because I want to work from home.
I'm not writing in order to be perfect.
What are you writing for?
05 August 2009
Genre Literacy
So, most of you will know by now that I'm training to be a teacher. By the end of the year (the Australian academic year lines up with the calendar year) I will be qualified to teach, and will hopefully have a contract for a full time job ;)
Well. Hopefully from the financial point of view. Wouldn't I LOVE to have nothing to do but sit at home and write :D
As part of my course this semester, I have to keep a blog (you can read my uni blog here). The subject that I'm keeping the blog for is about literacy, and more specifically, about the idea that it shouldn't just be English teachers that are responsible for teaching literacy.
An interesting corollary to this idea is that there are multiple forms of literacy. Literacy is expanded to mean not just 'how to read', but 'how to read x in the context y'. Reading novels requires one kind of literacy; reading mathematical word problems requires another kind. One of my uni friends wrote an insightful post about how that means that all of us, in some areas, are totally illiterate.
Does that scare you?
It scares me a little; but mostly, I think, because I'm one of those insane people that really truly does want to know everything about everything.
How does this apply to writing?
Well I got thinking about it, you see. I've just started editing Jesscapades (would have started last week but have been busy catching up with uni); Liana Brooks has been running a series of editing posts for a while; Michelle ran into problems a few months ago with conflicting crits on her novel.
Most of us, you see, write in one or a small handful of genres, often related to each other. Most of us also read primarily in that genre/those few related genres, although our reading taste is usually wider than our writing taste. Often, we crit in those same genres.
So all in all, we know our own genres pretty well. We know the tropes, the values, the expectations and the guidelines without even having to think hard about them.
But what about a genre you're not familiar with?
I have no idea, for example, what's really expected from a horror novel. Length, pattern, rhythm, tropes - I have none of this background information. I'm ignorant about the history, the expectations; I'm illiterate.
Does this mean I can't read in this genre? Well, no. I can read anything I like, and if you're venturing into a new genre, reading's probably the safest aspect to approach it from. But don't expect to get everything right away. Don't expect to understand the rich history of tropes and expectations that have been set up, and to be able to see the connections to earlier, influential works.
Does this mean I can't crit in this genre? Absolutely not. Writing is writing is writing, and so long as you're not trying to make every story you read into a clone of something you'd write yourself, you can always find something to say in a crit. Well-formed characters, rules of punctuation, the structure of a scene - these things all transcend genre boundaries.
Does this mean I can't write in this genre? Let's say it once and for all: You can write in whatever the heck genre you want! Such is the beauty and freedom of writing. But don't expect to be an expert in your first story. Do your research. Know what's expected of the genre first. Become literate.
You don't give a two month old a chapter book and expect them to figure out how to read. You don't give a six year old Pride and Prejudice and expect them to understand it. You don't give struggling English students raw Shakespeare, at least not without a lot of structure and support. Why? Because there's no point. They're not literate in that area yet; it's meaningless to them.
I'm a pretty literate person. But I can't make the mistake of assuming that just because I'm literate in one area, I'll be literate in all. I know I'm not. But I want to become literate. I want to become literate in as many areas as is humanly possible.
And so, I'm going to make the goal: by the end of the year, I'm going to be literate in another genre. And because I know how insanely busy my final semester of uni will be, I'll be kind to myself: I'm going to pick science fiction. I've got a bit of a handle on sci fi, so I'm not starting out completely in the dark. But it's something I know I could stand to learn more about - and given some important factors in my universe of stories, it's something I think I need to know more about.
So. That's it for today.
How about you? What are you illiterate in? What would you like to be literate in? And does anyone want to join me in learning a new genre by the end of the year? :D (Yes, I have some techniques etc in mind. There Will Be Posts %-))
Well. Hopefully from the financial point of view. Wouldn't I LOVE to have nothing to do but sit at home and write :D
As part of my course this semester, I have to keep a blog (you can read my uni blog here). The subject that I'm keeping the blog for is about literacy, and more specifically, about the idea that it shouldn't just be English teachers that are responsible for teaching literacy.
An interesting corollary to this idea is that there are multiple forms of literacy. Literacy is expanded to mean not just 'how to read', but 'how to read x in the context y'. Reading novels requires one kind of literacy; reading mathematical word problems requires another kind. One of my uni friends wrote an insightful post about how that means that all of us, in some areas, are totally illiterate.
Does that scare you?
It scares me a little; but mostly, I think, because I'm one of those insane people that really truly does want to know everything about everything.
How does this apply to writing?
Well I got thinking about it, you see. I've just started editing Jesscapades (would have started last week but have been busy catching up with uni); Liana Brooks has been running a series of editing posts for a while; Michelle ran into problems a few months ago with conflicting crits on her novel.
Most of us, you see, write in one or a small handful of genres, often related to each other. Most of us also read primarily in that genre/those few related genres, although our reading taste is usually wider than our writing taste. Often, we crit in those same genres.
So all in all, we know our own genres pretty well. We know the tropes, the values, the expectations and the guidelines without even having to think hard about them.
But what about a genre you're not familiar with?
I have no idea, for example, what's really expected from a horror novel. Length, pattern, rhythm, tropes - I have none of this background information. I'm ignorant about the history, the expectations; I'm illiterate.
Does this mean I can't read in this genre? Well, no. I can read anything I like, and if you're venturing into a new genre, reading's probably the safest aspect to approach it from. But don't expect to get everything right away. Don't expect to understand the rich history of tropes and expectations that have been set up, and to be able to see the connections to earlier, influential works.
Does this mean I can't crit in this genre? Absolutely not. Writing is writing is writing, and so long as you're not trying to make every story you read into a clone of something you'd write yourself, you can always find something to say in a crit. Well-formed characters, rules of punctuation, the structure of a scene - these things all transcend genre boundaries.
Does this mean I can't write in this genre? Let's say it once and for all: You can write in whatever the heck genre you want! Such is the beauty and freedom of writing. But don't expect to be an expert in your first story. Do your research. Know what's expected of the genre first. Become literate.
You don't give a two month old a chapter book and expect them to figure out how to read. You don't give a six year old Pride and Prejudice and expect them to understand it. You don't give struggling English students raw Shakespeare, at least not without a lot of structure and support. Why? Because there's no point. They're not literate in that area yet; it's meaningless to them.
I'm a pretty literate person. But I can't make the mistake of assuming that just because I'm literate in one area, I'll be literate in all. I know I'm not. But I want to become literate. I want to become literate in as many areas as is humanly possible.
And so, I'm going to make the goal: by the end of the year, I'm going to be literate in another genre. And because I know how insanely busy my final semester of uni will be, I'll be kind to myself: I'm going to pick science fiction. I've got a bit of a handle on sci fi, so I'm not starting out completely in the dark. But it's something I know I could stand to learn more about - and given some important factors in my universe of stories, it's something I think I need to know more about.
So. That's it for today.
How about you? What are you illiterate in? What would you like to be literate in? And does anyone want to join me in learning a new genre by the end of the year? :D (Yes, I have some techniques etc in mind. There Will Be Posts %-))
17 June 2009
What Is It /Really/?
A while back, Dany over at Mythtakes wrote a great post comparing stories to flowers. When we first get an idea for a story, many of us talk about having a 'seed' of an idea - but we forget to take the analogy further. Dany reminded me that, like seeds, often you can be mistaken about what it is that you're actually planting - you might think it's a parsley plant, only to wait a few weeks and find out that it was actually basil. Or you might plant a carrot seed, only to find out it was a potato plant.
Sometimes the surprises can be good; sometimes they can be bad. Even in the short time I've been writing seriously, I've experienced both: The Project gave me a bad surprise when I realised that I really, truly hated the MC and didn't want to write her. TBAEO (To Be An Evil Overlord) gave me a lot of fun surprises along the way.
So here I am, a hair away from finishing Jess - and there are more surprises. Jess isn't the book I thought it was going to be; what book ever is? And as I prepare to head overseas for the month, I'm putting Jess aside in one way - but I'm also mentally preparing myself to mull over an important question while I'm away:
Is the book that Jess has turned out to be the one I want it to be?
Overall, I think that it is. Or will be; there's a lot of editing to do yet.
It started out as a light-hearted, action-y sort of story about a girl who's told she must kill her best friend, but refuses. Instead, she would team up with her friend and they would fight the system together - and win.
Now? Now it's deeper. It's darker - or at least, it has the potential to be. Jess isn't just facing the system that set her up, she's facing all of her old fears - her entire past come back to haunt her. I know that somewhere in this lies the potential for a subtle, chilling, memorable story (which is a nice step from a few weeks ago where I was in despair over the whole thing); I just have to wait for it to bloom. And for me to bloom, so that my writing skills are what they need to be to tell the tale.
And you know what? Waiting's hard. But more on that another day. For now, I need to go start packing ;)
Sometimes the surprises can be good; sometimes they can be bad. Even in the short time I've been writing seriously, I've experienced both: The Project gave me a bad surprise when I realised that I really, truly hated the MC and didn't want to write her. TBAEO (To Be An Evil Overlord) gave me a lot of fun surprises along the way.
So here I am, a hair away from finishing Jess - and there are more surprises. Jess isn't the book I thought it was going to be; what book ever is? And as I prepare to head overseas for the month, I'm putting Jess aside in one way - but I'm also mentally preparing myself to mull over an important question while I'm away:
Is the book that Jess has turned out to be the one I want it to be?
Overall, I think that it is. Or will be; there's a lot of editing to do yet.
It started out as a light-hearted, action-y sort of story about a girl who's told she must kill her best friend, but refuses. Instead, she would team up with her friend and they would fight the system together - and win.
Now? Now it's deeper. It's darker - or at least, it has the potential to be. Jess isn't just facing the system that set her up, she's facing all of her old fears - her entire past come back to haunt her. I know that somewhere in this lies the potential for a subtle, chilling, memorable story (which is a nice step from a few weeks ago where I was in despair over the whole thing); I just have to wait for it to bloom. And for me to bloom, so that my writing skills are what they need to be to tell the tale.
And you know what? Waiting's hard. But more on that another day. For now, I need to go start packing ;)
05 June 2009
Art and Emotion
What is art? It's a big question, one that, with a little thought, I'm sure I could write a book about. Many people have, in fact. What started me thinking about this was the article that Glam posted today on The Innocent Flower. It's a good article, and I recommend you read it :o)
However, there's one thing in the article that really caught my attention - mostly because I disagree with it. Funny how things we disagree with tend to catch our eye like that, isn't it? *grin*
So, what was it that I felt strongly enough about to write a response post? This:
"Art that moves the soul toward feelings of beauty, serenity, or reverence is of greater intrinsic worth to humanity than art which moves the soul toward feelings of sorrow, anger, or horror. Art which may incite the soul toward wickedness has no value whatsoever."
It's an interesting idea, but in my opinion, it's not actually true.
You see, human seem to have this bias towards emotion - and, in fact, to life in general. We tend to harbour this perception that anything that feeling uncomfortable or unhappy must be wrong, bad, and somehow less than worthy.
And you know what? I disagree. There are two emotions in particular that leap to mind when I think of the poor-little-orphaned-emotions-nobody-loves, and I think both of them are very much misunderstood - which is something that we, as writers, cannot afford. We're supposed to deal with the entirety of the human experience, remember? At least, I believe we are ;) That counts for something, since it's my blog, right? O:) But seriously, it's about that weird principle 'honesty' again; not to mention the fact that conflict is the lifeblood of fiction.
The first emotion is sadness. Generally, people don't enjoy being sad. Funny that o.O But think about it for a second: just because we don't necessarily enjoy the feeling - does that make it bad? (And is anyone else thinking of the blatantly obvious vegetable analogy here? As in, I know you don't like your greens but they're good for you...)
Sorrow has a place. Sorrow functions not only as the opposite of happiness, an emotion that serves as a counterpoint and makes the sweet all that sweeter - it's also a necessary and appropriate response to certain situations. I think we'd all agree that someone who felt no sorrow at the death of a loved one was somewhat lacking in the humanity department. Sorrow is part of us, and part of who we are. It's part of life - and it's human. How can we say, then, that a story which moves one to sorrow is somehow of less value than one which moves one to joy? Is not the understanding and realisation of the natural sorrow of life, the tragedy to which we are all born, just as poignant and beautiful as a realisation of the beauty of life? Life is happiness and sadness, not merely one or the other. They're two sides to the coin of existence, both equally necessary. How then can we say that art that evokes one is better than art that evokes the other?
The other emotion that comes to mind in all of this is anger. Anger is a much maligned emotion, even more so than sorrow, despite the fact that it's not nearly as uncomfortable to experience - although to experience another's anger can be quite uncomfortable ;) But here's the question: why?
Ultimately, I think it's because a lot of the anger we see in every day life is misplaced; but because people waste an emotion on pettiness, does this mean it has no place in life? I think not. I would very much hope that anyone, confronted by the harsh reality of the sexual exploitation and abuse of very young children in many countries around the world, but most especially in poverty-stricken areas, would feel some modicum of revulsion and, I hope, anger. How can it be that things like this are allowed to exist in our world? Why? (Rhetorical questions. I know there are (partial) answers to these questions; that's not the point).
Anger, like sorrow - and like happiness, joy, love, peace, and all those other myriad feelings to which human beings are subject - has a place. And art, as well as simply being 'pretty', has a job to do, and part of that job is to both reflect and build up humanity - and any kind of 'building up' which is not grounded firmly in reality and truth is going to be a very shallow building up indeed. If art is to raise the collective spirit of humanity to a higher ideal, it must also seek to confront and overcome the things that hold us back - things to which our natural response must often be sorrow, anger, and regret.
Art does not exist just to make us feel good. It exists to move us, to challenge us, in whatever ways it can - and whatever ways are necessary. It is my hope that one day my stories will do the same.
So, question for you: Are there any works of art (in any medium, including writing) which evoke a traditionally negative emotion in the viewer, but which you particularly love? Marley and Me is probably the most recent book I've read that I loved, but hated at the same time because it was so sad. But despite the fact that I bawled my way through the last three chapters, and that it makes me uneasy and uncomfortable - I love this book. It's beautiful, and it's true. It's honest. So - what about you?
However, there's one thing in the article that really caught my attention - mostly because I disagree with it. Funny how things we disagree with tend to catch our eye like that, isn't it? *grin*
So, what was it that I felt strongly enough about to write a response post? This:
"Art that moves the soul toward feelings of beauty, serenity, or reverence is of greater intrinsic worth to humanity than art which moves the soul toward feelings of sorrow, anger, or horror. Art which may incite the soul toward wickedness has no value whatsoever."
It's an interesting idea, but in my opinion, it's not actually true.
You see, human seem to have this bias towards emotion - and, in fact, to life in general. We tend to harbour this perception that anything that feeling uncomfortable or unhappy must be wrong, bad, and somehow less than worthy.
And you know what? I disagree. There are two emotions in particular that leap to mind when I think of the poor-little-orphaned-emotions-nobody-loves, and I think both of them are very much misunderstood - which is something that we, as writers, cannot afford. We're supposed to deal with the entirety of the human experience, remember? At least, I believe we are ;) That counts for something, since it's my blog, right? O:) But seriously, it's about that weird principle 'honesty' again; not to mention the fact that conflict is the lifeblood of fiction.
The first emotion is sadness. Generally, people don't enjoy being sad. Funny that o.O But think about it for a second: just because we don't necessarily enjoy the feeling - does that make it bad? (And is anyone else thinking of the blatantly obvious vegetable analogy here? As in, I know you don't like your greens but they're good for you...)
Sorrow has a place. Sorrow functions not only as the opposite of happiness, an emotion that serves as a counterpoint and makes the sweet all that sweeter - it's also a necessary and appropriate response to certain situations. I think we'd all agree that someone who felt no sorrow at the death of a loved one was somewhat lacking in the humanity department. Sorrow is part of us, and part of who we are. It's part of life - and it's human. How can we say, then, that a story which moves one to sorrow is somehow of less value than one which moves one to joy? Is not the understanding and realisation of the natural sorrow of life, the tragedy to which we are all born, just as poignant and beautiful as a realisation of the beauty of life? Life is happiness and sadness, not merely one or the other. They're two sides to the coin of existence, both equally necessary. How then can we say that art that evokes one is better than art that evokes the other?
The other emotion that comes to mind in all of this is anger. Anger is a much maligned emotion, even more so than sorrow, despite the fact that it's not nearly as uncomfortable to experience - although to experience another's anger can be quite uncomfortable ;) But here's the question: why?
Ultimately, I think it's because a lot of the anger we see in every day life is misplaced; but because people waste an emotion on pettiness, does this mean it has no place in life? I think not. I would very much hope that anyone, confronted by the harsh reality of the sexual exploitation and abuse of very young children in many countries around the world, but most especially in poverty-stricken areas, would feel some modicum of revulsion and, I hope, anger. How can it be that things like this are allowed to exist in our world? Why? (Rhetorical questions. I know there are (partial) answers to these questions; that's not the point).
Anger, like sorrow - and like happiness, joy, love, peace, and all those other myriad feelings to which human beings are subject - has a place. And art, as well as simply being 'pretty', has a job to do, and part of that job is to both reflect and build up humanity - and any kind of 'building up' which is not grounded firmly in reality and truth is going to be a very shallow building up indeed. If art is to raise the collective spirit of humanity to a higher ideal, it must also seek to confront and overcome the things that hold us back - things to which our natural response must often be sorrow, anger, and regret.
Art does not exist just to make us feel good. It exists to move us, to challenge us, in whatever ways it can - and whatever ways are necessary. It is my hope that one day my stories will do the same.
So, question for you: Are there any works of art (in any medium, including writing) which evoke a traditionally negative emotion in the viewer, but which you particularly love? Marley and Me is probably the most recent book I've read that I loved, but hated at the same time because it was so sad. But despite the fact that I bawled my way through the last three chapters, and that it makes me uneasy and uncomfortable - I love this book. It's beautiful, and it's true. It's honest. So - what about you?
17 April 2009
Learning By Example
I don't know about you guys, but I happen to be a visual-kinesthetic learner. I really don't learn well by listening; I need to see what we're talking about in front of me.
On the other hand, I also learn pretty well by doing and discussing - if I'm talking it out, I'll remember it (oral rather than aural learning), and if I can touch it, grasp it, move it around and do it myself, I'll also remember it.
So when I started writing, and people told me things like: Your beginning needs to be hooky. You need to have voice. Your query must be professional. You have to tell the story without telling the whole story.
...I really had no idea what they meant.
Thankfully, in the last few months a really useful resource has popped up to combat this: it's the blog of Authoress, Miss Snark's First Victim - specifically, the Secret Agent contests. Have I entered them? Actually, no.
So how have I learned from them? By immersion. By doing. When you read through 100 or 50 or however (large) many first pages in a reasonably short space of time, you begin to realise what works and what doesn't. All that advice actually starts to make sense, and you can see things like voice, and hooks, and begin to get a feel for openings that are boring, or overworked, or trying to hard - or are just right. If you've never read through the entries in a Secret Agent contest, I really encourage you to do so. You don't have to comment on them if you don't want to or don't have time - just read them, and read them all, for your own benefit.
Interestingly, the quality of the submissions really seems to be increasing. In the first few rounds of Are You Hooked?, there were maybe 5% of entries that caught my attention and really hooked me. These days, I can find anywhere between 10 and 15%, and I'm getting pickier; I read faster, I totally skim, and an opening has to work hard to make me stop and read it properly.
So. Where is all this going?
Well, in a meandering sort of way, besides wholeheartedly recommending that you go read through the lastest round of Secret Agent entries, I'm getting to querying. It never occurred to me that the breakthrough I had in reading so many first pages might also be applicable to queries; but thanks to Nathan Bransford and his current 'Agent for a Day' contest, I've realised it is.
I've read every single one of the 50 queries entered, and I'm down to a short list of 14, although I could have made it 16 if I was feeling generous. Because this post is long enough (and my husband is waiting for me!), today I'm going to let you know what my top picks are. Over the weekend, before the contest closes on Saturday night, I'll narrow down my options (we're only allowed to 'request' 5 manuscripts) and on Monday I'll dissect my choices and see what I've learned about queries, and the querying process.
Ready?
Okay. These are my top 14, in no particular order:
#9 If It Ain't Broke: boy sets out to break every bone in his body, because we all know, they heal stronger...
#20 In The Driver's Seat: a memoir about truck driving throughout America. Great voice.
#22 Star Fragments: YA, 'media darling shattered by Hollywood's depravity'. Voice, again.
#26 Glyph: a spec thriller based on Aztec mythology
#27 Ghostland: Genetically modified outcast children. Mm.
#28 Long Shot Lost: Sci fi. Reads pretty standard, but a hint of an exciting voice.
#30 XLI: It's humorous, and the MC is a monk. Rah!
#33 Beneath the Heart of Beauty: mainstream about a man who has recurring dreams that he suspects are based on the events of a period of amnesia he suffered.
#36 Rosie's Child: mainstreamish, about a family geneaology mystery. Sounds pretty cool.
#37 Secluded Alleys: serial killer/cop mystery, with photography.
#38 Birthright: YA fantasy set in the wild future, where humans live in sanitised cities - the MC learns she's heiress to the wild...
#40 Becoming Emily Novak: YA coming of age. Solid, solid query.
#43 The Lion's Mane: YA fantasy. Time travel back to Roman Britain with a talking cat!
#1 Watcher's Web: Well, it's Australian for a start, hoorah! :D Fantasy about a girl who can talk to animals, and is being fought over by the great forces of the universe.
Even reading back through these now, a day after I initially picked them, I can see differences between them that help me make up my mind - to the point where I actually removed two off this list because I realised they weren't up to par with the others.
Finally, there's one query that I didn't even have to think about: auto-request. I'll dig it out and examine it on Monday. In the meantime, get yourselves over there and learn by example what a good query feels like! :)
On the other hand, I also learn pretty well by doing and discussing - if I'm talking it out, I'll remember it (oral rather than aural learning), and if I can touch it, grasp it, move it around and do it myself, I'll also remember it.
So when I started writing, and people told me things like: Your beginning needs to be hooky. You need to have voice. Your query must be professional. You have to tell the story without telling the whole story.
...I really had no idea what they meant.
Thankfully, in the last few months a really useful resource has popped up to combat this: it's the blog of Authoress, Miss Snark's First Victim - specifically, the Secret Agent contests. Have I entered them? Actually, no.
So how have I learned from them? By immersion. By doing. When you read through 100 or 50 or however (large) many first pages in a reasonably short space of time, you begin to realise what works and what doesn't. All that advice actually starts to make sense, and you can see things like voice, and hooks, and begin to get a feel for openings that are boring, or overworked, or trying to hard - or are just right. If you've never read through the entries in a Secret Agent contest, I really encourage you to do so. You don't have to comment on them if you don't want to or don't have time - just read them, and read them all, for your own benefit.
Interestingly, the quality of the submissions really seems to be increasing. In the first few rounds of Are You Hooked?, there were maybe 5% of entries that caught my attention and really hooked me. These days, I can find anywhere between 10 and 15%, and I'm getting pickier; I read faster, I totally skim, and an opening has to work hard to make me stop and read it properly.
So. Where is all this going?
Well, in a meandering sort of way, besides wholeheartedly recommending that you go read through the lastest round of Secret Agent entries, I'm getting to querying. It never occurred to me that the breakthrough I had in reading so many first pages might also be applicable to queries; but thanks to Nathan Bransford and his current 'Agent for a Day' contest, I've realised it is.
I've read every single one of the 50 queries entered, and I'm down to a short list of 14, although I could have made it 16 if I was feeling generous. Because this post is long enough (and my husband is waiting for me!), today I'm going to let you know what my top picks are. Over the weekend, before the contest closes on Saturday night, I'll narrow down my options (we're only allowed to 'request' 5 manuscripts) and on Monday I'll dissect my choices and see what I've learned about queries, and the querying process.
Ready?
Okay. These are my top 14, in no particular order:
#9 If It Ain't Broke: boy sets out to break every bone in his body, because we all know, they heal stronger...
#20 In The Driver's Seat: a memoir about truck driving throughout America. Great voice.
#22 Star Fragments: YA, 'media darling shattered by Hollywood's depravity'. Voice, again.
#26 Glyph: a spec thriller based on Aztec mythology
#27 Ghostland: Genetically modified outcast children. Mm.
#28 Long Shot Lost: Sci fi. Reads pretty standard, but a hint of an exciting voice.
#30 XLI: It's humorous, and the MC is a monk. Rah!
#33 Beneath the Heart of Beauty: mainstream about a man who has recurring dreams that he suspects are based on the events of a period of amnesia he suffered.
#36 Rosie's Child: mainstreamish, about a family geneaology mystery. Sounds pretty cool.
#37 Secluded Alleys: serial killer/cop mystery, with photography.
#38 Birthright: YA fantasy set in the wild future, where humans live in sanitised cities - the MC learns she's heiress to the wild...
#40 Becoming Emily Novak: YA coming of age. Solid, solid query.
#43 The Lion's Mane: YA fantasy. Time travel back to Roman Britain with a talking cat!
#1 Watcher's Web: Well, it's Australian for a start, hoorah! :D Fantasy about a girl who can talk to animals, and is being fought over by the great forces of the universe.
Even reading back through these now, a day after I initially picked them, I can see differences between them that help me make up my mind - to the point where I actually removed two off this list because I realised they weren't up to par with the others.
Finally, there's one query that I didn't even have to think about: auto-request. I'll dig it out and examine it on Monday. In the meantime, get yourselves over there and learn by example what a good query feels like! :)
25 March 2009
Having Not Done Anything...
Lately, I've been really flat when it comes to writing. My stats for the month are terrible - less than four thousand words so far. I think I'm going through a general Isuckitis phase due to tiredness.
But I realised, the other night, that the real reason I've not written particularly on Jesscapades all month is not only due to a lack of time, but also to the fact that I've been avoiding it. How? Why? I think the problem is that I've lost faith in the story. I'm not sure I believe it's good at the moment; I hit that big wall at the end of Feb, where I nearly gave up on the project because it turned nasty on me. I figured out what I needed to do, of course (see pretty diagrams here), but it's going to be a lot of work. So between that, and the fact that I've lost faith, I've been avoiding it. And I'm not sure what to do to regain my faith in it, either, other than just sit down and write the horrid thing. I loathe drafting so much :S
However, the good news is, I've been doing a bit of work on short stories. Thanks to a couple or fabulous crits, I've fixed a couple I had in edits (Ice Wolf and Murder) and sent them out again. I'm also making progress on the new short, Death and Foxes. It's going to be long at first draft, maybe 5k, but I can probably shave at least 1k off that in edits.
Which brings me to my point. For the first two thirds of the month, I'd completely forgotten about this. It's an article I wrote a few months ago, titled 'Always Do Something'. In my avoidance of Jess, I'd been writing altogether, and we all know that habits snowball: the longer I didn't write, the harder it was to write.
So, I have a new goal. It's to write something everyday, on something. It doesn't matter what it's on, even if it's the start of a new story or just a creative description or something, as long as I'm exercising my writing muscles for at least 500 words a day. Muscles need to be exercised, or they atrophy, and I'd hate to lose all the progress I've made over the last year.
And this, I think, I can do.
But I realised, the other night, that the real reason I've not written particularly on Jesscapades all month is not only due to a lack of time, but also to the fact that I've been avoiding it. How? Why? I think the problem is that I've lost faith in the story. I'm not sure I believe it's good at the moment; I hit that big wall at the end of Feb, where I nearly gave up on the project because it turned nasty on me. I figured out what I needed to do, of course (see pretty diagrams here), but it's going to be a lot of work. So between that, and the fact that I've lost faith, I've been avoiding it. And I'm not sure what to do to regain my faith in it, either, other than just sit down and write the horrid thing. I loathe drafting so much :S
However, the good news is, I've been doing a bit of work on short stories. Thanks to a couple or fabulous crits, I've fixed a couple I had in edits (Ice Wolf and Murder) and sent them out again. I'm also making progress on the new short, Death and Foxes. It's going to be long at first draft, maybe 5k, but I can probably shave at least 1k off that in edits.
Which brings me to my point. For the first two thirds of the month, I'd completely forgotten about this. It's an article I wrote a few months ago, titled 'Always Do Something'. In my avoidance of Jess, I'd been writing altogether, and we all know that habits snowball: the longer I didn't write, the harder it was to write.
So, I have a new goal. It's to write something everyday, on something. It doesn't matter what it's on, even if it's the start of a new story or just a creative description or something, as long as I'm exercising my writing muscles for at least 500 words a day. Muscles need to be exercised, or they atrophy, and I'd hate to lose all the progress I've made over the last year.
And this, I think, I can do.
23 March 2009
Random: Losing Yourself In Writing
Have you ever had the experience of losing yourself in your writing? Of sitting down to start and getting up an hour later, shocked at how much time has passed because the words just kept on coming?
Turns out, if you have, it's actually good for your internal happiness, and thereby your health. And if you haven't, investigate - there are strategies you can learn that can help you enjoy what you do - in writing, in life - more :) It's all about finding out what your 'happiness strengths' are, and finding ways to exercise them more in what you do every day.
I love the feeling of losing myself in my writing, but it doesn't happen often. My top strength, according to the survey on Authentic Happiness (the website of Dr Seligman, who presents the video below), is open-mindedness. It took a bit of creative thinking to come up with a way to include that in my writing (heh, lucky creativity is near the top of the list too! :D), but I've decided that at least one way I can do it is through listening to my characters more. By allowing them to have their own thoughts and feelings and opinions, and by allowing those to be different from my own, I'm exercising my ability to be open-minded, which will make me happier because it's something I enjoy and am apparently good at - and hopefully, it'll make me happy because it gets more writing done! :D
And, quite coincedentally, it will hopefully address a problem I've been having with the characters in my novels: they end up all sounding the same!
So go, watch the video, and tell me - what's your happiness strength? :)
Turns out, if you have, it's actually good for your internal happiness, and thereby your health. And if you haven't, investigate - there are strategies you can learn that can help you enjoy what you do - in writing, in life - more :) It's all about finding out what your 'happiness strengths' are, and finding ways to exercise them more in what you do every day.
I love the feeling of losing myself in my writing, but it doesn't happen often. My top strength, according to the survey on Authentic Happiness (the website of Dr Seligman, who presents the video below), is open-mindedness. It took a bit of creative thinking to come up with a way to include that in my writing (heh, lucky creativity is near the top of the list too! :D), but I've decided that at least one way I can do it is through listening to my characters more. By allowing them to have their own thoughts and feelings and opinions, and by allowing those to be different from my own, I'm exercising my ability to be open-minded, which will make me happier because it's something I enjoy and am apparently good at - and hopefully, it'll make me happy because it gets more writing done! :D
And, quite coincedentally, it will hopefully address a problem I've been having with the characters in my novels: they end up all sounding the same!
So go, watch the video, and tell me - what's your happiness strength? :)
25 February 2009
The Danger of Gold Stars
Last week or the week before we discussed why we write. Mostly, it appears, we write for ourselves. It's something we'd do even if we knew we'd never get published (affirmed by a poll on Critique Circle a few months ago).
We're writers; we write.
We also write because we have something to say that we think is of value. I make no secret of the fact that I want my writing to be meaningful, even life-changing ('though to only a small degree is enough) - and yet I still don't understand why. Why do I want to make a difference, and how exactly do I think writing fiction will do that? It's something I'm still exploring, and for now I have no answers.
However, there was another reason that came up that I can discuss right now. It's writing for self-affirmation, or, as one reader put it, writing for gold stars.
Is there anything wrong with wanting public affirmation of your talent, your thoughts, and, inevitably in writing, your self?
No.
Is there anything wrong with that being the entire (or primary) reason you write?
Yes.
Materialism can cause low self-esteem, but here's a newsflash: so can relying on other people's opinions. In any course in life, but particularly in the writing business, putting all your hopes in gold stars can be dangerous. Writing is a brutal game, and if your self esteem is completely tied to your work, then even time someone rejects your work, you'll feel like they're rejecting you - and that can lead you to an unpleasant place.
A leadership/mentoring seminar I once attended described self esteem like this:
Self esteem = what you think people you respect think of you.
Read it again. It's what you think others that you respect think of you. If that's the case, then how do you have any control over it? Can you ever control your own self esteem, or are you doomed to dependence on those around you? If your work is one of the more important aspects of your self, and other reject it, how can you ever have a good self esteem?
Look at the equation closely. There is one aspect you can control.
We're writers; we write.
We also write because we have something to say that we think is of value. I make no secret of the fact that I want my writing to be meaningful, even life-changing ('though to only a small degree is enough) - and yet I still don't understand why. Why do I want to make a difference, and how exactly do I think writing fiction will do that? It's something I'm still exploring, and for now I have no answers.
However, there was another reason that came up that I can discuss right now. It's writing for self-affirmation, or, as one reader put it, writing for gold stars.
Is there anything wrong with wanting public affirmation of your talent, your thoughts, and, inevitably in writing, your self?
No.
Is there anything wrong with that being the entire (or primary) reason you write?
Yes.
Materialism can cause low self-esteem, but here's a newsflash: so can relying on other people's opinions. In any course in life, but particularly in the writing business, putting all your hopes in gold stars can be dangerous. Writing is a brutal game, and if your self esteem is completely tied to your work, then even time someone rejects your work, you'll feel like they're rejecting you - and that can lead you to an unpleasant place.
A leadership/mentoring seminar I once attended described self esteem like this:
Self esteem = what you think people you respect think of you.
Read it again. It's what you think others that you respect think of you. If that's the case, then how do you have any control over it? Can you ever control your own self esteem, or are you doomed to dependence on those around you? If your work is one of the more important aspects of your self, and other reject it, how can you ever have a good self esteem?
Look at the equation closely. There is one aspect you can control.
Mostly, you can't control what you think other people think. You get that impression from their actions, their words, and their general attitude. Sure, sometimes we can get it wrong, but on the whole, it's pretty hard to convince yourself that someone likes you when they're making it obvious that they don't.
What you can control is found in the key phrase, 'who you respect'. People whom you have no respect for aren't important to you; their opinions don't matter. So how to you take control of your self esteem?
Choose carefully who you will respect.
Have standards. Require those whose input you receive to meet those standards (though don't be perfectionistically impossible, naturally!!). And don't make the mistake of thinking that because one person has respectable opinions in one area, they will in another: I can tell you what I think of your writing, but please don't ask me to tell you if you're a good basketball player or not.
Which brings us back to writing.
Although much of what you put into your writing comes from you, ultimately, it isn't you. When you ask people for criticism of your work - or when they give it to you anyway - you're not asking them to critique YOU. They're qualified to crit your work; they're not qualified (mostly) to crit you.
Learn to dissociate yourself from criticism - or writing for publication is going to be an arduous slog (which it is anyway) that will break you in the end.
04 February 2009
The Ultimate Freedom
A few weeks ago, Liana asked a question on her blog: Why do you write?
There were so many great answers to this question, and although I'd thought about this question before, the answers that people shared made me re-examine my own answer, and come up with something I'd always known, but never realised.
First, here are some of the other answers (used by permission):
"Because it makes me happy. Whether or not I get published. Ever. I will ALWAYS write." ~ Lady Glamis
"I like to entertain. Be it myself or the people who wish to read my stories, that's why ... Plus, I get to do whatever the heck I want! It's not like you can go about destroying solar systems on a daily basis in real life without a few people protesting. ;)
"Writing allows me to push personal boundaries and learn; it lets me vent frustration in safe ways (except maybe towards characters, who are never safe); it keeps me entertained and occupied and I enjoy it. There are slumps and periods of Isucktis, etc, and getting out of them is not always quick or easy, but in the end, I still enjoy what I do. I get very real satisfaction blowing things up--it's soothing. B-)
"As for publication, it may be a slim chance, but just think: there still IS a small percentage of people that get their books published. I see nothing wrong with aiming to be in that percentage. Even if I don't make it though, I will keep writing, keep trying. You lose every chance at your dream if you give up on it." ~ Merc
"Books have given me so much comfort in life, I want to at least try and give the same to others. Some of my wips, well I want to show that my religion isn't as bad as it can be made out to be. Sure, there are nutters, but which society doesn't have them? Merc made me realise something. Yes, we get to do a lot of things in writing we ordinarily can't do in RL. Those that know me, well they'll appreciate how much more I enjoy writing because creating my characters means at least part of me can be 'normal'. It's nice though, when RL comes with strings attached, to be free in wips." ~ Yunaleska
"Because it's an addictive escape. Have you noticed how many writers' families say that we are in our own world. Especially if we are writing and on CC at the same time. What the fire is burning down? Ah no it can't be, Abi just got on her horse, you'll have to reschedule, sorry." ~ Rie
See anything common in their responses? I think it's something common to my response, too: writing is freedom. In writing, we are free to explore ideas, concepts, situations that we might never encounter in real life. We are free to be whomever we want as we dip into the heads of all our characters, and we are free to recreate the world in our own image.
That's writing. But what about sharing what we write? If all we wanted was the freedom, we could write all day, quite content in the knowledge that no one will ever see what we have written. So why do some of us have this drive to show our work to others?
I think affirmation is part of it - we want to have someone else affirm that what we think, what we believe - what we have created - is worthwhile. But there's more to it than that. You know I go on about things like themes and meaning and legacies... And I know that's part of why I write.
But you know what? I'm not actually quite sure what part. I don't know what it is that I hope to gain by sharing my writing with people. I want to make them think, I know that - but why? Why is it so important to me that others think and reflect, and have cause to develop opinions and ideas of their own?
*grin* So I guess that's another part of why I write - to figure out why I write, and what it is that I want to say. There's a quote that my creative writing teacher in my undergrad degree used to spout at us all the time. I've forgotten who said it originally, but I love the sentiment:
How can I know what I think until I see what I say?
Yup. I can identify with that.
And that brings me to the final reason for the day: I write for me, too. I write because, to me, my stories mean something. In a weird, twisted kind of way, they expand my thinking, open my mind, and force me to challenge all my beliefs and perceptions. Writing isn't a comfortable task - at least, not if you do it well.
And you know what?
I think I like that.
16 January 2009
When To Let Die, A Spoonful Of Soup, and Think Sideways
First up, the soup. What am I talking about? A mini version of Link-a-bet Soup, of course! :D
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
So, I and a few writerly friends are getting ready to query. Where do you go to research agents? Lots of places - but QueryTracker is a great start, and they even have a blog.
Of course, if you're querying you're going to need to know How To Write A Great Query (whee, don't we love free downloads?!).
Secondly, the Think Sideways course. Hopefully by now you're all aware that I've been taking Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course, a writing course with a difference. I love it, I adore it, I want to marry it... *ponders the implications of marrying an online course* Er, okay, strike the last one O:) But anyway, I love it. I have a few reviews up - yes, I need to do more - but basically, let me assure you, it's pretty jolly awesome.
The course is open full time for enrolments, so you can enrol anytime you like. Don't forget that I offer a 20% rebate on any subscriptions made through my links (conditions apply).
HOWEVER. As of February 27th, the course will CLOSE to Charter Member enrolments. Which means that to get any of the cool bonuses that charter members (rah, go us guinea pigs who test-drive the course!), you'll have to pay extra.
If you've even been thinking about maybe taking this course, let me encourage you to do so before Feb 27 - I'll let you know what the bonuses are when I get the all, but I can assure you that they're going to be worth it.
And remember, you can drop the course at any time, no questions asked, and receive a pro rata refund for any month for which you've already paid. So sign up, already! :D
Right. On to the meat of the postiness.
It's a question that's been playing in my mind this week, what with my recent discussion about what I learned from the partial novels I wrote in '08: how do you determine when to keep on at something, and when to let it die?
I've come to a few conclusions, though they're not by any means all-inclusive.
First of all, I need to explain something. Yes, this comes back to my favouritest circle of topics: meaning, themes - and your legacy.
Legacy? I hear you ask. What on earth is our legacy, and why should we be concerned with it?
Well, you might not be. That's fine. But we all know that I'm striving for work that's meaningful in some way - I want to write something that Matters. So I'm concerned with it, because I want to leave an impression - I want my writing to have a legacy. Even if you don't have any particular desire to change the world, it's still important to consider the work you're writing as part of your eventual body of work. Not convinced? Think of this:
Any book you write, at any point in your career, for any reason, will be, at some point, the first book of yours that someone picks up.
Do you really want someone's first impression of you to be based on a book you hate but wrote for the money, or something that's nothing like any of the rest of your work, or, or, or...?
Don't give the reader another reason to switch off to you; they have enough already.
So, why do you ditch a book? Either 1) because it's not something you're capable of writing at this point in time, due either to lack of ability, or lack of distance from the subject matter, or 2) because it's not something you want as part of your legacy.
Reasons as to why you might not want something in your legacy include:
* It's just not a genre you see yourself being happy to write in long term. This covers books 2 and 3 in my original post, and to some extent book 5.
* The story itself is okay - but for whatever reason, you can't stand to write about the main character any more. It's okay to hate the main character - hate is a force of attraction, after all - but if you have no respect for your character, if nothing about them interests or engages you, it might be time to ditch the story. That's number 4 in my list of false starts.
* There are so many problems with the plot it's just not worth fixing - many first novels suffer from this, and remember, 'plot problems' can be all sorts of things: gaps of logic, plot bunnies, cliches, 'devices', etc. On their own, these things can be tackled; only you can decide where the boundary is between 'wrecked, but salvageable' and 'utter garbage; too much work to fix', and a lot of it will hinge on how much you love the story in other ways. Book #1 in my list comes here: it's a mess, but the underlying premise is fun, and one day I'll fix it.
But what about those borderline cases? What do you do when you can't quite decide if it's worth it or not (a la me with the whole concept of short stories right now)? And what if you want to work on something completely different just for the fun of it?
Of course it's okay to muck around with stuff that you don't actually intend to be part of your 'legacy': writing different styles and genres pushes out the boundaries of our ability, and helps us to learn and grow. But bear in mind that there's a fine line between playing around for fun to increase your ability, and wasting time on things you never intend to be serious about.
Personally, I think that if you don't intend to get involved in the style you're experiementing with (or genre, or voice, or whatever) in a big way, then you should at least be keeping an eye on what you're learning from the experience. The question is, are you a) going to learn stuff that b) no other story could teach you and c) will be applicable to the stuff you actually intend to make a career out of?
If you're not going to learn anything from it, or if what you learn could be learned by doing something more directly related to your career, or if what you're learning isn't going to be applicable to anything else.... Well, we're all allowed to do things just for the hell of it. Just realise that if what you're doing doesn't fit any of those criteria (which are, let's face it, pretty broad), you're probably not doing something which can be classed as 'work', in terms of writing ;)
And that, dear readers, is my random thought of the day. I'll be away all next week, so you'll get automated posts, bwa ha %-) But watch out the week after where I'll be back to completely contradict myself and discuss the importance of having 'just for fun' projects :D
For now - have you ever thought about your 'legacy', and the fact that every book you write will be someone's first glimpse at you as a writer? Does this matter? Does it or should it influence how you decide which projects to let die? Why have you let projects die?
08 January 2009
The Late 2008 - Shine in 2009
Like my cheesy title? *grin*
So, given it's what everyone else is doing*, I thought now would be a good time for my 2008 recap.
Raw stats first.
In 2008, I:
* wrote 161,207 words of fiction.
* finished a draft of TBAEO.
* did preliminary edits and replotting of TBAEO.
* worked on The Black Gates, then retired it at about chapter 5 - the plot Needs Work.
* started Logan. Wrote 10 chapters only to realise the story started at chapter 11. Put aside, as the MC was too boring.
* learned how to write short stories - hoorah! Total of 8 in various stages.
* edited my first 'proper' play. Wrote several others, including an 8 act one to be performed in a week's time.
* began The Project. Wrote half, outlined the rest, realised I hated the MC and put it aside.
* signed up to write a self-pubbed non-fic ebook, to be completed this month.
* began several MG novels for nano, none of which behaved, so they've been temporarily put aside.
* started Jesscapades, which I adore, and which at this point I'm planning to be my debut novel.
My main goals for the year were to make 10 submissions and have 3 complete manuscripts. Sadly, the year has been fraught with false starts, so I have only one :( As for submissions, I've done 12 :) So that's a success. Granted, a lot have been resubs, and I've had no bites yet though a couple of commendations and personalised rejections, but hey - I did more than 10 subs :) Rah!
Although on the one hand I feel like the year has been a bit of a failure - I haven't completed any novels that I'm happy with - on the other hand, my total word count is up by 60% on last year's count. And more importantly, I've learned a lot. Sure, I've had a lot of false starts - but I know why they were false starts, and each time, they've been for a different reason - which means I'm learning.
And now I've hit on a novel that I like, with a reasonably strong voice, a fun plot, a great MC... Mind you, I'm not halfway yet, so I'm hoping like mad that I like the book because it really is good (this is what the beta readers are saying) and not because I just haven't hit the wall yet (what my brain is saying).
So, this is what I've learned from each of my false starts this year:
1) TBAEO - not a false start, but something that DEFINITELY needs work before it can see the light of day. From this I learned perhaps my biggest lesson of the year - that I can finish a complete novel, and that I can dissect it and replot it to make it stronger.
2) The Black Gates - this is actually my first novel. I've been working on it off and on for years - and because of this, it's fraught with beginner mistakes - not least of which was a lack of original, interesting plot. I fixed that by introducing some great twists - but I'm yet to figure out how on earth it all goes together. It's not complex enough - but it's too complex. Gack.
3) Logan - heh. From this, I relearned the importance of having not only a strong MC, but one who has enough tension and internal conflict to drive the plot. Logan, the MC, was not strong enough to be a driving force - instead, he was someone who was driven, being forced and manipulated into making his decisions instead of reacting to the situation himself - and so he was boring. It was about now that I also realised that I didn't actually want to write traditional-style fantasy after all...
4) The Project. If TBAEO could be called an exercise in character development, then TP is its opposite: an exercise in plot. I set out to write this deliberately as a pot-boiler, simply to force myself to learn how to keep up the pace and tension, how to introduce stumbling blocks and small problems - in short, how to keep the middle from sagging. I succeeded pretty well, but unfortunately in doing so sacrificed character, and the MC turned into someone whom I didn't like, couldn't identify with, and just plain didn't want to write about.
5) The Edge and Gem series - I only made a tiny start on these at the beginning of Nano, but it reinforced for me the necessity of knowing your character's voice before writing the book.
6) Jesscapades. With luck, this one won't be a false start. So far (about 1/4 of the way in) it's got a great combination of character AND plot, and I'm excited to see just how much better this is than anything I've done before.
And that, my friends, was 2008. I know, I haven't talked about my goals for 2009 yet - but to be honest, I can't really get my head around the idea of new goals until this big camp (Jan 16-24) is over, and the dog book is written. I'll think about goals, and post them either in the final week of Jan, or in early Feb.
In the meantime - what's the biggest thing you learned in 2008?
* I was going to do it anyway. It just seemed like a good excuse O:)
So, given it's what everyone else is doing*, I thought now would be a good time for my 2008 recap.
Raw stats first.
In 2008, I:
* wrote 161,207 words of fiction.
* finished a draft of TBAEO.
* did preliminary edits and replotting of TBAEO.
* worked on The Black Gates, then retired it at about chapter 5 - the plot Needs Work.
* started Logan. Wrote 10 chapters only to realise the story started at chapter 11. Put aside, as the MC was too boring.
* learned how to write short stories - hoorah! Total of 8 in various stages.
* edited my first 'proper' play. Wrote several others, including an 8 act one to be performed in a week's time.
* began The Project. Wrote half, outlined the rest, realised I hated the MC and put it aside.
* signed up to write a self-pubbed non-fic ebook, to be completed this month.
* began several MG novels for nano, none of which behaved, so they've been temporarily put aside.
* started Jesscapades, which I adore, and which at this point I'm planning to be my debut novel.
My main goals for the year were to make 10 submissions and have 3 complete manuscripts. Sadly, the year has been fraught with false starts, so I have only one :( As for submissions, I've done 12 :) So that's a success. Granted, a lot have been resubs, and I've had no bites yet though a couple of commendations and personalised rejections, but hey - I did more than 10 subs :) Rah!
Although on the one hand I feel like the year has been a bit of a failure - I haven't completed any novels that I'm happy with - on the other hand, my total word count is up by 60% on last year's count. And more importantly, I've learned a lot. Sure, I've had a lot of false starts - but I know why they were false starts, and each time, they've been for a different reason - which means I'm learning.
And now I've hit on a novel that I like, with a reasonably strong voice, a fun plot, a great MC... Mind you, I'm not halfway yet, so I'm hoping like mad that I like the book because it really is good (this is what the beta readers are saying) and not because I just haven't hit the wall yet (what my brain is saying).
So, this is what I've learned from each of my false starts this year:
1) TBAEO - not a false start, but something that DEFINITELY needs work before it can see the light of day. From this I learned perhaps my biggest lesson of the year - that I can finish a complete novel, and that I can dissect it and replot it to make it stronger.
2) The Black Gates - this is actually my first novel. I've been working on it off and on for years - and because of this, it's fraught with beginner mistakes - not least of which was a lack of original, interesting plot. I fixed that by introducing some great twists - but I'm yet to figure out how on earth it all goes together. It's not complex enough - but it's too complex. Gack.
3) Logan - heh. From this, I relearned the importance of having not only a strong MC, but one who has enough tension and internal conflict to drive the plot. Logan, the MC, was not strong enough to be a driving force - instead, he was someone who was driven, being forced and manipulated into making his decisions instead of reacting to the situation himself - and so he was boring. It was about now that I also realised that I didn't actually want to write traditional-style fantasy after all...
4) The Project. If TBAEO could be called an exercise in character development, then TP is its opposite: an exercise in plot. I set out to write this deliberately as a pot-boiler, simply to force myself to learn how to keep up the pace and tension, how to introduce stumbling blocks and small problems - in short, how to keep the middle from sagging. I succeeded pretty well, but unfortunately in doing so sacrificed character, and the MC turned into someone whom I didn't like, couldn't identify with, and just plain didn't want to write about.
5) The Edge and Gem series - I only made a tiny start on these at the beginning of Nano, but it reinforced for me the necessity of knowing your character's voice before writing the book.
6) Jesscapades. With luck, this one won't be a false start. So far (about 1/4 of the way in) it's got a great combination of character AND plot, and I'm excited to see just how much better this is than anything I've done before.
And that, my friends, was 2008. I know, I haven't talked about my goals for 2009 yet - but to be honest, I can't really get my head around the idea of new goals until this big camp (Jan 16-24) is over, and the dog book is written. I'll think about goals, and post them either in the final week of Jan, or in early Feb.
In the meantime - what's the biggest thing you learned in 2008?
* I was going to do it anyway. It just seemed like a good excuse O:)
07 January 2009
A Bit Of A Ramble To Kick Off The New Year...
So, it is Wednesday. Yes, uh huh, it is. And I was supposed to post on Monday.
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
01 December 2008
Thankfully, I Reflect
Ah, the end of another month :) It's recap time, and in the spirit of the American holiday Thanksgiving, even though technically I don't celebrate it, I've decided it's also a good opportunity to recap gratefully.
This month has been one of endings, in lots of ways. I've finished uni - for the year, for the course I was doing, and also my time at this particular university - we've 'finished' our time at our current house and made the decision to sell, I've finished a lot of personal things, and I feel like I've finished a certain chapter in my writing career, too. For some reason, as I sit down to write this today, and to write today, it all feels different.
In my NaNo novel, I've finished act one, where all the conflicts are introduced and the characters come on stage, and I'm up to the bit now where I need to start planning, to start weaving - and I think that's where I'm up to with my writing 'career' also. I've spent two years playing, having fun, letting myself run loose simply to see what happens (exactly like I do with act one in my novels), but now that's over. It's nearly a new year - a year in which I am determined to take my writing to the next level and begin querying. This is a step that, like the middle act of a book, is going to require forethought and planning. I'm going to have to dig through all the 'stuff' I've uncovered in my experimental act one, and find out what works, what doesn't - and what might if I twist it right.
I've learned a lot from my act one, and I am so grateful that the process has been so comparatively painless. My writing has improved in leaps and bounds, I know that, but what I'm most grateful for is the change in attitude. Writing is a job, now. One I adore, but also one I'm professional about. I've moved on from hobbyist, and I'm readier than ever to take it - and myself - seriously.
So, what exactly have I acheived this month? This:
* 19,134 words on Jesscapades, my primary focus for NaNo
* 12,731 words of assessment, including around 8,750 on a short story
* 2,024 words on a short story, Wolf of Ice, based in the same world as last year's NaNo, TBAEO (albeit with an extremely different tone)
* Other miscellaneous bits and pieces, which when added to the above give me a month's total of 39,407.
I failed NaNo by about 10.5k; it would have been really nice to crack 40k; it would have be great to crack 20k on Jesscapades.
But this is a time of thankfulness. I'm thankful that, given the horrors that have been both uni and my health this month, I got this much done. I'm thankful that my new work hours start today, which give me a better structure to my day and will facilitate more writing. I'm thankful that my husband is so supportive of my writing, and that we're progressing to the point where I can actually use him as a sounding board when I get stuck. I'm thankful for my insanely wonderful friends, most of whom read this blog, all of whom touch my life in unique and surprising ways, making it richer, fuller, better. I'm thankful for this blog, as a way to demonstrate my committment, discover my opinions, set myself goals.
I'm thankful, most of all, for the gift that is writing, in all its feverish, empassioned, messy, tangled glory - and thankful that I can partake of it.
Happy December, everyone. May the last month of this year count.
This month has been one of endings, in lots of ways. I've finished uni - for the year, for the course I was doing, and also my time at this particular university - we've 'finished' our time at our current house and made the decision to sell, I've finished a lot of personal things, and I feel like I've finished a certain chapter in my writing career, too. For some reason, as I sit down to write this today, and to write today, it all feels different.
In my NaNo novel, I've finished act one, where all the conflicts are introduced and the characters come on stage, and I'm up to the bit now where I need to start planning, to start weaving - and I think that's where I'm up to with my writing 'career' also. I've spent two years playing, having fun, letting myself run loose simply to see what happens (exactly like I do with act one in my novels), but now that's over. It's nearly a new year - a year in which I am determined to take my writing to the next level and begin querying. This is a step that, like the middle act of a book, is going to require forethought and planning. I'm going to have to dig through all the 'stuff' I've uncovered in my experimental act one, and find out what works, what doesn't - and what might if I twist it right.
I've learned a lot from my act one, and I am so grateful that the process has been so comparatively painless. My writing has improved in leaps and bounds, I know that, but what I'm most grateful for is the change in attitude. Writing is a job, now. One I adore, but also one I'm professional about. I've moved on from hobbyist, and I'm readier than ever to take it - and myself - seriously.
So, what exactly have I acheived this month? This:
* 19,134 words on Jesscapades, my primary focus for NaNo
* 12,731 words of assessment, including around 8,750 on a short story
* 2,024 words on a short story, Wolf of Ice, based in the same world as last year's NaNo, TBAEO (albeit with an extremely different tone)
* Other miscellaneous bits and pieces, which when added to the above give me a month's total of 39,407.
I failed NaNo by about 10.5k; it would have been really nice to crack 40k; it would have be great to crack 20k on Jesscapades.
But this is a time of thankfulness. I'm thankful that, given the horrors that have been both uni and my health this month, I got this much done. I'm thankful that my new work hours start today, which give me a better structure to my day and will facilitate more writing. I'm thankful that my husband is so supportive of my writing, and that we're progressing to the point where I can actually use him as a sounding board when I get stuck. I'm thankful for my insanely wonderful friends, most of whom read this blog, all of whom touch my life in unique and surprising ways, making it richer, fuller, better. I'm thankful for this blog, as a way to demonstrate my committment, discover my opinions, set myself goals.
I'm thankful, most of all, for the gift that is writing, in all its feverish, empassioned, messy, tangled glory - and thankful that I can partake of it.
Happy December, everyone. May the last month of this year count.
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