Thursday, August 13, 2009
Why I Write
I know most of you have procrastinated on Facebook, 
MySpace, or Twitter. I often wonder how the world communicated before cell phones and wall posts. Who would have thought that reading something as trivial as what someone ate for dinner could be so interesting? I’m just poking fun, but I have to admit, when SEP confirmed me as a friend, I got a little light headed. Face book has allowed me to reconnect with some high school friends, and old acquaintances. I’ve enjoyed catching up on the lives of people I haven’t seen in over 20 years. However, I have received a few messages with comments about my pursuit of a writer’s dream. Some of them were very interesting and supportive, but then a few, not so much. I even reconnected with a friend from high school who is a published author. How cool is that?
MySpace, or Twitter. I often wonder how the world communicated before cell phones and wall posts. Who would have thought that reading something as trivial as what someone ate for dinner could be so interesting? I’m just poking fun, but I have to admit, when SEP confirmed me as a friend, I got a little light headed. Face book has allowed me to reconnect with some high school friends, and old acquaintances. I’ve enjoyed catching up on the lives of people I haven’t seen in over 20 years. However, I have received a few messages with comments about my pursuit of a writer’s dream. Some of them were very interesting and supportive, but then a few, not so much. I even reconnected with a friend from high school who is a published author. How cool is that?This blog is dedicated to the individuals who ask why I would want to write a book. This is my top ten reasons why.
1. Because I can.
2. As therapy for all the nasty mean things my brother did to me as a child, and the way Jody Mulky treated me when I made the pee wee cheerleading squad, not to mention that Chris Thomas turned me down when I asked him to junior prom. I have issues to work out, and by cracky I’m doing it in the pages of a book, and it’s going to be good.
3. I am a cover art whore and my cover is going to be good. It’s going to picture a half naked, dark skinned man with no chest hair, a tattoo around his bicep, and a dark brooding look in his eyes. If I get lucky maybe, a Ducati will be in the background. I know that most writers never get a choice with their cover art, but after the publisher finds out about the childhood trauma I endured, they’ll make an exception.
4. I have 21 years of experience as a nurse. In those 21 years, I’ve interacted with people of all lifestyles, in every stage of life and death. I could write a book for every years worth of experience. I’ve lived it, now it’s time to share the joy and heartache.
5. I have the choice of picking out a cool pen name-an alter ego so to speak.
6. I have the opportunity to meet cool writer buddies.
7. To have the opportunity to travel, and experience other cultures, and meet other writers in all walks of life.
8. The opportunity to change a person’s negative energy toward the romance genre.
9. To be able to say I wrote a book as a way of obtaining a personal goal.
10. To create a cast of characters that resonate in the reader’s mind long after they close the cover.
What are your reasons for writing a book? Have you ever used a character or a scene to work out some personal issues? Does anyone else have a cover art fetish?
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76 comments:
I write because I'm a total introvert. There weren't very many people I liked in the real world so I created ones I did. :) The best part I control them. Well most of the time.
Honestly, I write because I have to. If I don't I slip into a manic depressive state, which does nobody any good. Thankfully, hubs has come to realize that writing makes me happy. So he doesn't complain about all the time I spend on the computer, or the late dinners (at least not too much).
But if you want to dig deeper, I write so I don't do physical bodily harm to certain people in my that deserve to be drawn, quartered, and fed to the sharks.
I write because it's the best way to deal with the people and stories in my head that beat away at my skull until I think I might be insane even though they reassure me that I'm not but what do they know they aren't real.
I think.
But I'm not sure.
So, I write.
Let's add to Renee's list of to be drawn, quartered, and fed to the sharks those who have made not so muchsupportive comments to Lisa.
If I'm angry, I write.... it's good for creative juices.
I LOVE cover art, the hotter the better... just wish they'd show just how thick and strong and uh... verile the boys in the story are LOL! I'm obviously a perv. :)
And I'm a total introvert as well. I would rather be alone transcribing thoughts as sitting in a room full of people chatting.
Renee,
EXACTLY! It's my form of going postal!
Chance, Excellent! I'm not sure why I have a flight of ideas, so I'll write them down:)
Tiff,
I knew I would find a cover art sister ho!
I'm going to be away from the computer this AM. I promise I'll check back later. Another reason I write, so I can eventually quit the day job...when I'm riding a rascal...at the rate I write.
Lis, great blog! :)
I also write because I can't NOT write. I think the most amusing people are the ones whose eyes widen when I tell them that I probably spend 15-20 hours a week writing. They say "where do you find 20 hours a week to write?" And I say, "well, I don't want TV... and I don't go out much." And that covers it pretty much. LOL! 2-3 hours at night, a few hours a day on the weekend. It's easy to find 20 hours, especially when I'm not whiling my dead time away in front of the tube.
But I don't write because I've got nothing better to do. I write because I love it. I love putting words together and I love creating things. Since I have no tactile creativity and can't draw a respectable stick figure, words are my paints and pencils. LOL!
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, etc., oh my aching head. lol So many forms of expression, and some are right and some just overwhelm me. Since I'm definitey a one on one person, I should like instant messaging, but even then I can't think fast enough, always thinking of the response half a beat too late. :) But that's not nearly as bad as a chat room. Shudder.
The comfort and appeal of blogging, this blog in particular, is knowing others feel some of the same insecurities as I do, and I love the like minded comments you have expressed on why you write. I'm also an introvert, and knowing this about myself is a big part of why I write. Writing is my opportunity to take my time and be heard. Otherwise, it's like the world will pass me by. And, of course, to dig into the heads of my characters. At least THEY will get a word in edgewise. LOL
Yes, Marnee, love your comment that you don't write because you don't have nothing less to do. We have to remember that we love it. It's hard to do when we're stuck. I was trying to come up with an idea for the HQ Presents contest (link if interested is - - http://www.iheartpresents.com/2009/07/the-harlequin-presents-writing-competition-2009-is-now-open/ - - and stubbornly trying to block out my need for a paranormal or suspense element, and having a really hard time. Now I've got an idea and having FUN again. :)
Of course, I don't use my writing as a sad and pathetic opportunity to rewrite my traumatic teenage history by pairing the bookish nerd (me) with the gorgeous basketball star (J-love), nor do I use it as a means to insert moronic secondary characters who may or may not resemble people I dated and now scorn. THAT, my friends, would be self-serving...and ridiculous.
Tiff: I write better when I'm angry (or sometimes just sad) than if I'm happy. If I'm happy, I might as well screw the writing because I have nothing to write about. Apparently I need to be feeling pissed or depressed to channel the conflict in my story.
Lisa, I want to know who wasn't exactly supportive. Who are they? I'll go beat them up.
I write...because it amuses myself. Because I'm funniest in print. Because I'm wittiest, smartest, and most thoughtful in print than I could ever be in real life, at a party "working the room." I have control of what is said; I always have the best lines--and everything works out like its supposed to. Basically I'm a control freak who can't control her own life, so she controls her fictional one instead. Best of all, unlike real life, the girl with the best lines gets a HEA.
Remember that line from that Becoming Jane Austen film where Cassondra is asking Jane about the story she's writing. And Jane says it starts badly and gets worse. And then essentially says the characters will get the happy ending that wouldn't normally happen in real life to these characters (meaning the poor unmarried women with no prospects). I totally loved that scene, that line--it's so true.
I also liked this:
Mrs. Radcliffe: Of what do you wish to write?
Jane Austen: Of the heart.
Mrs. Radcliffe: Do you know it?
Jane Austen: Not all of it.
I've never once thought about rewriting my sad teenage history. I do like to write when I'm angry, but only so I can set the villain up for a very painful death like the rack, the pear, or disembowelment.
Hellie, you picked the perfect words:
I write…because it amuses myself. Because I’m funniest in print. Because I’m wittiest, smartest, and most thoughtful in print than I could ever be in real life, at a party “working the room.” I have control of what is said; I always have the best lines–and everything works out like its supposed to. Basically I’m a control freak who can’t control her own life, so she controls her fictional one instead. Best of all, unlike real life, the girl with the best lines gets a HEA.
Now why couldn't I have said that? That's me! lol I also like that we get to craft in a story how how the girl with "the best lines" has all our own flaws and STILL gets a HEA.
Personally I like how in FICTION the girl with the best lines wins the good looking guy--and the girl with the big knockers, doesn't.
I like that too Hellie. Or the nerdy girl who wears glasses and is really socially awkward can end up dating the hot guy, who's actually really sweet and romantic. I love fiction. I really do.
Personally, the reason I write is because now that I can, I can't stop. I might go days without writing anything fictionous on paper but in my head, I'm constantly thinking about it.
I write because I can.
I write because it's the one thing I can enjoy all by myself and be proud about.
I write because one day I'm going to prove to the whole world I really can write and I'm damned good at it.
And I write because I hear all these tiny voices in my head and if I didn't get it out, I would be locked in a padded cell and the key would be thrown away.
Marnee said, "Since I have no tactile creativity and can’t draw a respectable stick figure, words are my paints and pencils." I love that! It is exactly how I feel. Writing is my creative expression.
I write because it is a large slice of who I am. I could stop writing, but if I did I would be less fully myself, a lesser person generally, and a blight on the lives of those around me.
You know, I still don't claim to anyone that I write.
Hm.
I love to write about the country. I think it's because I have good memories from living out in the middle of nowhere that need to be shared with those who've never smelled fresh baled hay in June. Or heard crickets well into the night. Or saw the open sky with all the stars shining down on you so bright. Or the way the wind smells sweet and laying in the leaves in the autumn as they cushion under your head as you daydream.
I agree, Marn and Janga. I may not be able to draw, but if you give the artist a pencil and paper and give me the same pencil and paper, I could write you a description well enough that it would be like seeing them.
Writing is an art form.
Sin said, " I still don’t claim to anyone that I write."
I can't either, to non-writer friends that is. And I think they think I'm playing bingo on the computer all day. The sad thing is, some days I am!
Marnee & Hellie, you never fail to crack me up.
This is probably going to sound weird, but I write so I can sleep at night. When I lay down to sleep, I'll have stories running through my head like movies. In theory, if I get the story on paper, then that makes more room in my brain for rest to factor in. Of course, it also makes more room for new stories to take up residence, the characters chattering like magpies in my head.
I also write because I love words. I love their meanings, and the infinite combinations that are possible. I love the power of words to create a world, evoke an emotion, or to trigger curiosity, or humor, or comfort. It's a heady sensation to be master of that kind of power.
Don't hate on the big boobed girls.
I was worried I couldn't think of a reason why I write and then I got to Marn's comment. I'm with her, I'm not particular artistic in any way. Can't draw or paint. Can't even craft. But I can be creative with words and I like to tell stories. And it's just something I've always wanted to do.
For me, it's like talking onto the page and anyone who knows me knows how much I like to talk. :)
About the therapy thing, I definitely enjoy serving out fictional comeuppance to those who deserve it in RL. A short story I'm working on is so close to reality, I'm not even changing the names to protect the guilty.
Melissa/Sin - It took a while for me to freely tell people I'm a writer, but I figured out that I'm a writer whether I write a book or not. I've been writing business letters and commercial copy and school papers and a million other things and it's something I'm good at.
Funny enough, when people at work learned I'm a writer, instead of giving me a hard time, they started consulting me on letters and forms and brochures and all kinds of things. I'm like the office editor now. LOL!
I'm fairly large chested. I ain't hatin'. We don't always get the guy either. Guys can be distracted away from the large ta-tas.
Kelly, I'm a lot like you. If I don't write, all I hear when I lay my head down at night is my characters talking to me.
Melissa, they will be pleasantly surprised and shocked when they finally realize all that face time with the monitor produced a brilliantly written manuscript, now won't they?
And even though you play bingo on the computer most days, you're still putting in effort. You're still thinking about the writing. That's what counts. And eventually the words will add up :)
Terrio - You are absolutely right. We are writers whether we write a book or not. But other than the personal worry on the reactions from people knowing I write, there is the pure selfishness of guarding my writing time. I know I couldn't say no if, like you, I was asked to help on writing projects. So my motives to keep mum aren't entirely noble. :)
Sin - yes, I'm with you on hoping to "show them all" I was brilliant all along some day! LOL And you got it about the "thinking" about the writing even when doing something else. It's amazing to me how that helps to have ideas come to me.
I too am always thinking about the story, but I've yet to train myself to take notes when this happens. The faulty memory is not conducive to this problem.
Oh, I see. What they don't know can't hurt you. Very smart. (How did she get in here?)
I write so I can curb my creative impulses into cheaper, slightly less embarrassing formats of entertainment. For instance, just this week alone, my love of writing has curbed the following desires to learn:
Basket weaving
Interpretative dance
Sky diving
Yodeling
Mime
I just pictured Hellie doing mime and choked on a chocolate Bliss.
ROFLMAO!!!!
But I can totally see you doing the yodeling. Having that voice that *carries* and all....
LMAO. I know. ITA. I about died choking on water when I thought of Hellie miming.
But you know, Matty can always teach you interpretative dance. LOL
Oooooh, the Lawn Mower. LOL!
That would almost combine the interpretive dance AND the miming.
Sin said: I love to write about the country. I think it’s because I have good memories from living out in the middle of nowhere that need to be shared with those who’ve never smelled fresh baled hay in June. Or heard crickets well into the night. Or saw the open sky with all the stars shining down on you so bright. Or the way the wind smells sweet and laying in the leaves in the autumn as they cushion under your head as you daydream.
Wonderful Sin! Exactly how I feel. 8)
It seems that everyone is compensating for baggage of some description! No-one is writing specifically to amuse/inform/enlighten the poor old reader, ie ME.
Ah well, I guess I might be the same. I like the 'using words as paint brushes' bit but don't think it applies to me, even though my last and only attempt at an oil painting looked like an abstract for the end of th universe.
I don't honestly know why I write, when I do. I'm not angry, I don't have emotional baggage to compensate, I'm not trying to be an artist, none of the reasons discussed really apply to me.
Thinking some more, I conclude that it somehow balances the scientific creativity that dominates much of my life. And if I can make someone laugh or smile then that pleases me.
Thats it. Its the repressed comedian inside me searching for expression! :lol:
To be totally honest though, I just find it relaxing.
LOL Oh, all the great plot ideas I've lost because I didn't get out of the shower to write them down...
I was thinking it was great to that as a writer you can have the character do the the forms of entertainment (sky diving, mime, etc.) but wonder if you have to DO them to WRITE about them...
I'm closer to Q's reasons than anyone's. And I can't write when I'm mad either. My voice totally changes. I prefer my happy voice. LOL!
No, there's no need to inform the reader in my need to write. :) Most of the time, that little problem gets in the way and I'm like, darn, now I have to do research, which can be interesting, but is NOT what sat me down to write. It's the emotion.
Love this blog topic. What's wrong with me, can't stop talking today. lol
No-one is writing specifically to amuse/inform/enlighten the poor old reader, ie ME.
Entertaining you, sugar cakes, is just icing on the cake. If you think about it, all undertakings have a selfish motivation (i.e. the writer)--not an altruistic one (i.e. the reader). I'm sure even science theories are discovered more for selfish motive first over the altruistic one.
Besides you can run into all sorts of problems when you start writing for the reader alone instead of yourself.
I write because I need to entertain myself and the nasty duck only has so many batteries. ;)
But seriously... (Yeah, right.)
I do think it be about the creative juices that need ta be dealt wit'. Hellie, ya could learn ta mime, but would it feed yer soul? I could learn ta dance, paint, style hair, design wonderful gardens, groom dogs, any number a' things. We all could. Given enough time we could all learn any a' this, including yodaling (yodeling? yod'ling?) Anyway! Instead, we write.
It be the divine spark in us all. Ta create.
I don't know if'n I could write when angry...words get all tangled when I try.
Q - Melissa be right. The reader is there, in the back a' the head, but can't be right in the immediate. Reader gets in the way, we start thinkin' what the reader would like... Come the third draft, I think 'bout the reader. But that be re-writin' ta me, not the initial rush a' the writin' in general.
Melissa said, "I was thinking it was great to that as a writer you can have the character do the the forms of entertainment (sky diving, mime, etc.) but wonder if you have to DO them to WRITE about them…"
I don't think so. That's where research helps. The heroine of my first mss is an award-winning fiber artist, and the hero is a country music super star. I can't do much more than sew a button on, and people run screaming from my presence when I sing. It was fun to have my characters succeed at things for which I lack the talent. The Internet makes research much easier. I learned a great deal, for example, by lurking on a guitar players forum.
What a day to hop back on the ship! Great blog, Lisa.
I believe the main two reasons I write are for therapy (righting my youthful wrongs) and it's my only form of creativity. You hit it right on the head for me Marnee. I have forever felt lacking because I can't sew, crochet, cook, bake, (insert any other talent in here), etc. etc. But I feel like I have a way with words and that gives me my creative pat on the back.
Hellie also hit on something else that is so so true for me - saying the right thing at the right time. I'm from a big, witty, intelligent family - someone always has a better come back or a wittier remark. When I write, it's me!!
Havin' yer characters do the things ya dream about or find interestin' is one of the benefits a' writin'.
Like bein' a pirate in the Caribbean.
Or singin' at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.
Award winning fiber artist, that sounds interesting! As a reader, I am totally hooked in by tidbits like that!
Irish, I know the feeling. My family isn't huge, but they are all faster on the comeback than I am. I always feel like conversations are ten miles down the road before I have something to say... I'm pissy at interupting, so I get left behind.
But I'm working on it! And yes, writing situations where the character does get heard, is able to speak up...it's great therapy. And it does help me when I hit the real situation...
What's compelled me to start writing? Lots of things from honoring my mom's idea that writing is what I'm destined to do to a long list of others.
When trying to put it into words the best I can explain it is "I write to give back and to be there for someone else."
I was an only child with older, ill parents who lived on a small farm in the middle of nowhere. Books were my best friends, my way of having a "real" life that didn't include taking care of my parents when I was only 10 and helping to paying household bills starting at 14.
So now, I think there is something calling me to write so that some lonely person out there might just find my book and have a better day - the same way books helped me growing up. I want to create a book that allows readers to drift away from their everyday lives and forget their worries.
I know this sounds corny, but trying to put it into words is way hard!
I'm so sorry to be absent today. I have such a crappy job, it never allows for blogging:( I'm still swamped, but I appreciate all the input. Thanks crew for helping me out! Hellie, the particular person I wrote this blog for made light of romance novels, and insinuated I use him as one of my heroes....
I wish I had more time to comment, but I'm running the show today, and surgery never stops. I'll try my best to catch up later.
Janga said, "...It was fun to have my characters succeed at things for which I lack the talent..."
Yes, that's exactly what I'd like to do. To be free to write a character be anything. I think it's wonderful that you weren't afraid to give your characters talents that weren't entirely familiar to you personally. I'm still trying to figure out the "how'd they do that?" from examples of my favorite writers, and I have a glimmer of an idea that the "trick" of writing what we don't know is kind of a "less is more" approach - - less research or being very selective. Or a lot of bluffing - - that saying "it is what it is" with such confidence that the reader doesn't pause to question, or for that matter, would rather get to the sex. :) I mean the emotion. You know what I mean. lol
I'm hoping this less is more approach works because my hero is a chef and I can't cook. Well, not much. I have scenes planned where he talks food and does some cooking, but I'm dreading them. I'm not good at research. Thank heaven for Top Chef and the Food Network.
Terrio, just a thought, but if I were writing a scene like yours, I would filter my own lack of knowledge through another character (the heroine?)and not be in the POV of your hero. Kind of like if you're watching Top Chef (but you aren't the chef and the expert) how would you describe what you (the heroine) is observing? I'm imagining the hero cooking and just watching his hands...oh, getting off track. lol But if HE can throw out some cooking terms (in French?) but you're not in his POV then maybe it would be easier? I may have to backtrack and say not necessarily less research, but being very selective on how it interacts with the plot and characters. :)
That's HER photographing HIM. Dang it.
Actually, you've hit it right on the head. My heroine is like me, can't cook at all. And the two scenes I have in mind are him actually photographing him while he works, getting turned on by watching his hands, and then him teaching her that eating should be a sensual experience.
The second scene will be the toughest for me because I'll need to talk flavors and textures that I know nothing about. Luckily, I know enough foodies and adventurous eaters to tap their brains for input.
But that's weird how you got those scenes right. LOL! It's like you read my mind. *doodoodoodoo*
Great scenes! You should be very excited to write them. :) You have it all figured out except for the vocabulary!
I love the idea of the chef turnin' her on wit' food. I've seen it done in movies... I'd also look for movies that address the passion of food. Even that goofy one with Queen Latifah where she thinks she has a terminal disease...takes her love of cooking to some awesome resort where there is snow. (Real helpful, I know!)
But movies like that, like Julie/Julia, "Water for Chocolate" ... so many to inspire you reg. the passion around food without worrying about the nuts and bolts...all of that would help.
Helli said: Entertaining you, sugar cakes, is just icing on the cake. If you think about it, all undertakings have a selfish motivation (i.e. the writer)–not an altruistic one (i.e. the reader). I’m sure even science theories are discovered more for selfish motive first over the altruistic one.
Besides you can run into all sorts of problems when you start writing for the reader alone instead of yourself.
I hate to fault your logic Helli luv *grin*, but the reader is the only person who will buy your work and should perhaps be an important consideration for a publishing author.
You are right about the science though. Glory and fame are powerful motivations. :lol:
Chance said: Q - Melissa be right. The reader is there, in the back a’ the head, but can’t be right in the immediate. Reader gets in the way, we start thinkin’ what the reader would like… Come the third draft, I think ’bout the reader. But that be re-writin’ ta me, not the initial rush a’ the writin’ in general.
Good point Chance and Melissa. I'm only suggesting that as a writer you also consider the reader POV and for example, don't over clutter the text too early, thus straining the reader's memory. Always keep things simple in the begining and allow complexity to evolve. At least if you want me to read it!
AND Chance,do you know that your blog comments play havoc with my spell checker! *grin*
Q - You're talking about two different aspects. The technique is where you keep the reader in mind. The "keep it simple" and "don't over clutter." That's technique.
But Hellie is talking about the storytelling part. We tell the stories that resonate with us, that mean something to us. If we do that, the book will find its audience. And the reader will experience our passion and love for the story because we've infused it into the story.
The storytelling and the technique used to tell the story are two different things.
Terri explained it less cluttery than me. *LOL*
Q, pet, we know I'm not logical. And there is little logic in creativity--there is only "WHAT WORKS"--and generally the moment a creative person starts painting for his audience (or writing for his audience) rather than himself, it starts going down in flames. I don't mean you should not be so obscure that only yourself would ever want to read it--but usually people are not alone in having a bent sense of humor or wanting to find love ever-after. But when you write to please yourself first, there is a magic in the writing that I can't explain. It's indelible.
When it's not there, we can all tell. The writer clearly hates the book--and it passes onto the reader that this writer doesn't respect the book, the story, the characters, and definitely doesn't respect the readers who'd read this crap--and that will lose you a reader faster than anything I know.
It's like that axiom that if you respect yourself, others will respect you too.
Who'd a thunk I'd use less words than you? LOL! This is a first!
Terri, thats very well put. After a day talking with marketing personnel my perceptions are perhaps a little distorted.
Your view is perhaps a little idealistic though...and I love you for it. Can you be sure that a story that resonates with you will find a large enough audience to make a profit for the publisher?
A small concession to the market research perception of what sells might be prudent? For example, a cricketing romance would probably sink without trace in America whereas it would certainly resonate with me! *grin*
Helli luv, again I find some slight inconsistency. I greatly admire your idealism, but it may not pay the rent. Many great artists accept commissions for portraits, music, architecture etc. I think that someone as talented as you could make small concessions to known reader interests and still make it your own story with all the associated magic. Most aspects of life involve some compromise after all.
Q - No one is talking profit. But I have to jostle into traffic and make my way home, so I'll tune back in later to read how Hellie is about to eviscerate you.
I mean this with total sincerity.....DUCK.
Hahahahaha! Is Hel goin' on a duck hunt? The Q duck hunt...
Trust me, we think a' the readers...but not right away. It stifles the creativity. If ya please yerself...and I hate ta say it this way, but it's true... We aren't unique. We please ourselves and we will please an audience and it will ring true.
Sorry 'bout the spellcheck probs, Q, love... Ya needs a' pirate english settin'...
I have a day job. That pays my rent. Anyone who goes into writing for the express purpose of making millions of dollars is deluded. When you work it all out, you're working for like a penny a page. If this were a business-business and the worker's rights people came to make sure you weren't punishing your employees, every writer would be fired for working their employees for less than minimum wage, in poor conditions, and no overtime.
In an ideal world, there's both passion and "remembering your audience" (because I do believe in the rule of not boring your reader). But I'm not writing a werewolf book or a Regency Duke simply because it's the single hot trend. (I suppose if I were already being offered a million dollars to do it, I might be less snobby about it. But I am not going to write to market--as an unpublished person--when the market changes every five minutes and who the heck knows when I'll be offered a contract. Possibly long after werewolves are popular. And there are numerous LOGICAL and CREDIBLE published authors who will back me on that one.)
We will have to agree to disagree on this one. I won't be writing a duke. And maybe you're right: I won't be getting published. But I am happy with the story I have right now and that's all that matters to me.
LOL Terri
I will check with some old mates in the UK MOD to see if they could warn me of incoming missiles!
Gotta go now.....great fun chatting with you. :D
Helli, I meant to keep my comments general.
Sorry if I offended.
I have read some small extracts of your work and loved them. I think its great to find someone blazing their own trail. Its a gamble in a way. You might hit the jack pot and make your fortune, but as you say, if you don't the day job keeps you secure.
I will buy everything that you can publish by the way! :D
Really Gotta dash now!
You didn't necessarily offend, Q, you just hit a nerve. :)
We know you mean well and you're looking at this from a rational, practical angle. There's nothing wrong with that. Think of it this way, did you become a scientist to become famous and make a million dollars? Or because you found the subject fascinating and wanted to discover things no one else had? My bet is on the 2nd option.
Same for us.
I would love to hear you guys continue this discussion of writing for yourself vs. considering the reader and market, but I know it's late in the day, so I'm probably out of luck.
While I'm a true believer in writing for yourself, I did experiment recently in trying to craft a story for a contest, and it floored me to try to write from what seems to me a backwards process; to consider the market first and THEN craft a story to fit. This really wreaked havoc with my creativity to the point that I felt like someone with OCD who'd had something in their orderly world shuffled! lol But in a way it was good practice. I tried and tried until I broke the habit (which was simply to come up with a book synopsis that didn't involve the paranormal). Like Q's comment of an artist accepting a commission for work, I think that what at first places limits can be liberating. Yes, I'm unpublished. But I'd like to think I could (if asked) write according to guidelines. But just knowing that is enough. I'll go back to the "idea first, market later" habit with pleasure! lol
Melissa, we will continue to be long-winded about this for hours yet.
Yes, challenging yourself from the aspect of going outside what you're comfortable with is a good thing. I still think you'd have WANT to tell that story somewhere within you. Otherwise it's going to fall flat.
I have a 8 chapter beginning to a jilted bride story--COULDN'T BE MORE MARKET--and I couldn't care less about either of those characters. Which is irrating to those who've read the opening chapters because it's exaclty the kind of story they'd buy and some have begged me to finish it, and I can't make myself finish it. The conflict I need to give it--I'm not interested in building sufficiently. The characters are too nice. *LOL* Not tortured enough. Not bratty enough. *LOL* I like brats because I am a brat. These people are too normal and I have no business writing them.
So yes, it's smart in the long run perhaps, but it's not me. At least not right now.
And can you believe it.... I left the office at 4 today. *dancing*
I'm hoping that paranormal and urban fiction will stay hot long enough for me to get something written and get it out. LOL It's not really about writing to the market for me either. I prefer to write paranormal because my voice is darker and I like to write to my voice. Though, I suppose I could write about puppies, rainbows and kittens. But then most of the people around here would think the sky was falling. Hell had frozen over. Pigs were flying and the fat lady was a singing.
Hellie, ...you’d have WANT to tell that story somewhere within you. Otherwise it’s going to fall flat. ITA. Unless you feel the story, the story isn't just going to fall out onto paper perfectly. Nothing happens perfectly in the writing world. You have to work for it. You have to WANT and NEED to tell the story. Otherwise, it will be like the monotone science teacher standing at the chalk board for hours droning on and on about something I can't even begin to fathom- and no one enjoys that. Except maybe Q *g*
Yes, Hellie, you are exactly right. You have to be EXCITED about a story to get through the long process of living with chracters from beginning, middle to end. I too have a WIP that is thrilling. It is a good story, but for some reason (okay lots of reasons, mainly lost my way threading the plot to converge in a believable HEA) I lost my focus with it. It happens. So, I flounder with "what to do?" until I write something else. The best thing I ever accepted was that I wasn't giving up just because I needed to try something else. So, sounds like you are smart to realize what is right for you in the "right now." And it has to make you feel good to have people begging you to finish! :)
I have to write what's in my heart and head, I struggle with writing too much to pattern it after what is marketable. My biggest problem is my hang up with originality. I know everyone says your voice makes it your own, but I stall when I find my story plot too close to something else I've read. I worry too much about writing something unique, instead of just writing.
I love to write when I'm angry, some of my best stories and scenes have evolved through frustration. I can channel so much emotion into words and actions when I'm ready to blow a major vessel.
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