 "You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft—then you can add all the genius you like."
-Phyllis A. Whitney Every writer is going to face rejection at some point or another in their career. It doesn't matter how prepared for it we think we are, the reality is - it sucks. Inevitably we question the validity of the submitted work, of our skills and our choices. But these thoughts don't do much to forward our writing. They are great though if you're looking for an excuse to go on a three day binge. Eventually, if your serious about your writing, you have to keep going.
A while back I came upon an old story/artical on the SFWA.ORG website that I found very helpful in modifying my view of the submittal process. It's rather long, but very informative and amusing. I recomend it highly to anyone who is planning to submit any form of fiction to any editor. I was lucky to have read this before my first submittal. It made that first rejection much less painful.
Have a look at:
The Sobering Saga of Myrtle the Manuscript - A Cautionary Tale by Tappan King
 Writers block: When your imaginary friends won't talk to
you.
This has got to be the most debated topic among writers. Is it real and how do you get around it? In my opinion it is very real and over the years I have devised a multitude of ways to get around/past it. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. But I think the best advice I've ever received on the topic was this: Don't let it get you down. It will eventually pass.
As I said, I have devised a whole list of tactics for dealing with it. The most successful one for me has been to pick up a book - or a magazine or news paper -
and just start reading -Anything that will totally disengage my mind from the story at hand. Most often by 10 to 20 minutes in, I can stop and begin to think about my own work again. If nothing still stands before me, then I think about what I just read and what I liked or didn't like about it. Things like the writer's style or the choice of words they used. I analyze sentence structure or even topic and try to think about what's different between what I've just read and what I'm trying to write. More often than not, I have the sparks of some new idea and I set to work on it immediately. Even if I know I probably won't use it. The important thing is to get back to writing. Once the ideas are flowing again it's easy to get back to where I need to be and start being productive once again.
My second tactic is a bit more sadistic. I try to pick one chore around the house that I really do not enjoy at all, (preferably something mindless) like shampooing the carpet of washing out the trash cans or scrubbing the bath tub, and go do that instead. Then as I work I think about the story and tell myself that I can quit the task if I can work out the next scene in my head so it's ready to write, then I can stop and go write it. It's proved to be a very motivating tactic.
The point of this is – every writer has times when words are not our friends. Keeping a record of what works in getting past those moments can be helpful, but the real key is just to keep on writing and don’t give up.
 Either marry your work – take it seriously and do it every day – or date it – write only when you feel like it – but know which you are doing and the repercussions of both.
- Anonymous
“Hey, you busy tomorrow night? You want to get together for a couple of hours, have some fun?”
- Or -
“To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”
Which relationship am I in? Well, for about 25 years we dated. I was in love with writing, but I just couldn’t bring myself to commit. It was fun and all, but I always let other things come between us. Writing had other ideas though, and I eventually came to a point in my life when I had to choose. I stopped writing –cold turkey – and tried to live my life without it.
It’s hard to break a lifelong addiction though, and my will power sucks: I caved within a week. My family and friends all thought I was nuts but I realized I just couldn’t live without Writing in my life if I wanted to stay sane. It was time to get serious and take the plunge.
The ring was cheap - a box of pens and about two hundred sheets of paper; The engagement was short - less than a week; The honeymoon was about 20,000 words long, and we went to a truly magical and beautiful place.
Then the glitter wore off and reality set in. It was difficult at first – learning to live with one another day in and day out – but in time we began to work things out. Just like a spouse, Writing requires dedication and commitment. It’s work, real work. It might come easier to some than to others, but it still requires great attention and diligence, just like a marriage. You have to work on it every day, whether you’re in the mood or not. Just like a marriage too, you get out what you put in.
It’s easy to write.
It’s hard to write well.
It’s even harder still to write skillfully.
Take the time to be honest with yourself and with your writing. Know why you do it and what you expect to get out of it. The more honest you can be, the better the chances you will have a long and happy relationship, whether you just date or you wear a ring.
 'The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid: the state of being alone.'
— James Baldwin
When I write, I write alone. All writers do. It’s a prerequisite of the trade. My characters and my stories live in my head. It’s a big place, lots of crazy stuff going on in there I know, but it’s only big enough for one. The idea of writing one of my own stories as part of a collective project is a rather strange concept for me.
I try to be open to new opportunities and new ways to learn and improve my writing skills. With this in mind, I have decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. While I have never done it before, I’ve heard it’s a good exercise to get the writing juices flowing. Seeing as how I haven’t been as productive as I’d like to be lately, I thought it might be just the thing to motivate me to keep my fingers on the keys. (Not to mention it seems a good place to get connected with a writing community in my area.)
If you’ve done it, you already know more than me. If you haven’t, then here is the link to the site and you can learn all about it there:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
I think I need a break from my 'Seven Circles of Heil' story. I suspect a month away from it might be just the thing to rejuvenate my efforts at finishing it. While progress is still crawling along, I’ve realized that I’m just getting sick of it. Not the story mind you, but looking at it day in and day out. I’ve gotten to the point of editing where I’m doing it almost line by line, tying up all threads, item by item. It’s got to be done, but it’s tedious. It might be nice to step back for a few weeks and come December, see it with “Fresh Eyes,” so to speak.
Then again maybe this is just another well camouflaged act of avoidance.
Either way I’m excited about starting NaNo.
Anyone out there ever done it? How did it work out for you? What did you take away from it when it was over? Let me know if you would, I’m really interested.
It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head. — Audre Lord
Looking around, my mind wanders, as it always does. Also as it always does, most of it's wandering is to get out of its current situation. I'd like to call it boredom, but in truth it's more likely that it wanders for avoidance. The more I feel the need to do a specific thing, the more my mind works to avoid it.
Currently I have been working on my second fantasy novel. The first one hasn't sold yet, but that's ok. It's currently out seeking an agent and I have a feeling it eventually will find just the right one.
So why am I writing a blog post and not working on my novel? As I said before: Avoidance.
It's one of those personality ticks that annoy me about myself, but also one that defines me. I've tried to change it about myself, but I find I'm never as happy when I'm trying to be something I'm not, as I am when I just accept and deal with who I am.
I made a good deal of progress on the story yesterday, and I am pleased about that, but I know I'm far from done. I would love to just snap my fingers and be finished, but lacking the magical abilities of my main character, I don't see that happening. Besides, I doubt it would be nearly as satisfying as the struggle of wresting the words from the chaos of my mind and the vastness of my imagination. There is a perverse joy for me in laying these words out on paper to create something interesting and, at moments, spellbinding.
I'm not trying to say that I'm a spectacular writer. But I do have spectacular moments. There are times when the words come to me only after countless days of scribbling and arranging, rearranging, trashing and redefining them. But there are moments, when ideas open up with a sense of perfection that make all the struggles to find them worthwhile.
Writing is the only thing that has been a constant throughout my life. I've changed jobs, careers, interests, hobbies, locations. But writing has always been a part of me.I don't feel I'm me without it. I never go anywhere without a pencil and notebook. Every minute I'm able, I turn to words in some form. It's an obsession that tames the chaos of my mind; The order to the madness; The gravity that holds me in my life.
It took me a long time to be able to call myself a writer, but I do now. I'm not a published one yet - unless you count some essays I wrote in high school that won some contests and were published in local newspapers - but I know I will be someday. For now I am pleased just to call myself what I am and have been for all of my adult life and a good portion of my childhood: I am a writer.
I find saying it out loud and writing it down, both make it more difficult to avoid.
 "Writing energy is like anything else. The more you put in, the more you get out."
- Richard Reeves
While I have been making progress on Seven Circles, my writing lately has not been where I would ultimately like it to be. I have a full time job, a family, and a bag of excuses that would put Santa's famous red sack to shame. These things have a way of slipping into my writing time and energy. The results are not things to brag about.
Now I'm not a big fan of structure. It has its place, but madness and chaos are most often my bread and butter when it comes to creativeness. But sometimes, and I truly hate to admit it, even these steadfast companions go on hiatus.
The Novel is nearing completion but progress has slowly been on the decline. The creative parts are nearly all finished. The plot is complete, the characters are hashed out, the story line is filled in and the fun part is just about done. Now I'm into the tedious and monotonous part of the work: The editing process.
This is the part where I generally get derailed. It's not fun and I don't like doing it.
The result tends to be a creative slowdown. My answer to that is to pound away, and to keep pounding until I have either killed the work, or hammered out something I'm not ashamed of. It's exhausting to say the least.
To help me get back on track, I decided I needed to do something bordering on drastic (and I had 5 days of unused vacation left at work). I decided to go on my first writers retreat. I booked a cabin at Lake Hope State Park in Southern Ohio, packed up my manuscript and all my odd notes and scribbles pertaining to it, my laptop, my current notebooks, my kit of office supplies, a change of clothes, and the dog. I loaded it all into the SUV and got on the road. This was my first actual monetary investment in my writing beyond the basics (i.e. paper, pens, notebooks, laptop, etc...) and it felt pretty good.
What I hoped for when I got in the car to leave, and what I came home with two days later, were two separate things. While I didn't get as much accomplished on the manuscript as I had hoped to, I came away from the trip feeling rejuvenated and excited about my writing at a level I haven't felt in ages. I have new ideas that I want to try out; I have new directions I'm excited to explore; I've found ambition and confidence that somehow got buried in the droll existence of everyday life.
None of these things were things I went looking for, at least not consciously looking for. I just wanted some time away from the normal distractions of day to day living, to concentrate on the manuscript and make some real progress for a change. I can't say exactly what happened, but having nothing to think about but the words was like taking a breath of fresh air. I got to complete thoughts. I got to explore ideas without interruptions. I got to have fun with my writing. It was great.
As far as investments, I'm marking this one down as highly lucrative. I feel like I went looking for oil and struck gold instead.
 'If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.'
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
Coming from a man who explored Mars long before mankind ever made it there, I have to believe he knew a little something. While I read a few of his books as a much younger me, I have to say I never got hooked on his stories. However I must give credit where credit is due, and the man could tell a story. He had vivid imagery, excellent pace, and gripping ideas. Imagination like his is legendary for a reason.
There are many authors I admire, most for style more than individual stories. I tend to measure my writing against theirs and strive to emulate the qualities I admire most in their work. I don't want to write like them, but I want to learn how to do what they do, or did. I want to perfect my prose so to speak. I want to learn to pace my stories perfectly; craft my dialogue seamlessly; make my settings so real the reader tastes the honey in the tea the protagonist is drinking or smells the sweat of the horse he's riding on. I want to master the skills to tell the best story I can. I'll never reach the level of craft I strive for if I don't keep writing new stories and exploring new ideas.
My second novel is in the works. It's also a fantasy novel. A bit more mature than the first. A bit more complex as well I suspect. It's about 90% complete and weighing in around 77,000 words in its current condition. I still have a few scenes to work out, but I can see the entire story in my mind and it's slowly seeping out onto the pages.
I'm excited about this one. I'm looking forward to completing it, even though that
means taking it out in the yard and shooting it.
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