Article Hopping

Every once in a while I flick around through articles on writing, a little ritual I enjoy from time to time. I'm never expecting an epiphany, but I do tend to notice thought trends. What can I agree or disagree with, what can I test or try. You've probably hit on a few of these because it's super tempting to write on a point you've read and dissect it for yourself. Annnnd that's what I'm about to do.

Read a lot, write a lot= better writer. It used to be an insistence to study the 'masters' for what you wish to write. However, it's becoming more and more noticed that those masters don't actually need to be novelists or  bloggers or those obvious choices.The general consensus is now leaning towards the idea that you must be a conscious consumer. Take note of the structure of shows and movies that move and interest you. Find the best way to take the product of a writer and translate it into what works best in the reading/writing experience. Be mindful of the medium you are working in, be mindful of how OTHER things influence them. I would never aim to divert writers from supporting writers by reading books, but only be aware that to hook certain readers, sometimes you might need to be 'more' than a novelist.

Patience is a buzz word lately. One article talked about how so many creatives' dreams involves the Big Break. That the length of our patience is often dictated by how long we are willing to wait for that magic moment. There are a lot of angles around this one: writers offering the 'hard truth' that not everyone 'makes it' or else everyone would do it. Some just offer the optimism that as long as you love what you do, a Big Break is only a bonus to the joy of doing it. I don't know about you but I'm mixed on this one. Do we ever do anything purely out of passion? Are we really okay with being a tragic story of failure when it never pans out? Some days I'm certain I'm doing this because I simply can't imagine not doing it. Some days, I do get a little wistful with the idea of it being a sustainable living. Is it somehow less to not choose one, to kind of sit in the middle of this? One thing I try not to focus on is time. You can't say to yourself "I've been doing it for this long, and nothing, so maybe it's time to quit." If you're truly not enjoying it, even loathing it, I'd agree with you. I've been there with many things I've tried and it never gets better as long as that attitude persists. However, if you're comparing it to the success of others, disabuse yourself of that. It's not a mark of your ability or future success. Can't emphasize enough that, as with most things in life, hard work helps, luck is the big dumb decider. You might have to change tact, on many aspects of your work and marketing, to reach the right people the right way. I wouldn't demean someone else's talent or work, but hey, some people are also hit with a ridiculous stroke of luck.

Consumer vs. Creator. My nephew Thomas actually brought this one up. He lamented that we've reached an age where it's impossible to consume all that you really want to in your lifetime, that you'll have to miss certain things due to the sheer volume and even dedicating yourself to it 24-7 with as much efficiency as possible, you'll miss out on something. (I actually argued that I LOVE this-- that we can learn to be selective, to reward artists that are putting in greater effort rather than just always consume what is widely available or popular.) Creatives often find this balance frustrating though. How much should I consume? How much consuming is procrastination to creation? I've seen many creatives lament that they're playing video games when they should be creating-- but should they? One thing that is apparent is that downtime is important to productivity and that even certain downtime activities align with the sort of processes that actually strengthen our work. So how can we be certain we're doing enough of either? Well, you can't. I can offer my experience with health issues here and say that you can eat all the right things and exercise your ass off and you'll still have fuck-all to show for it. Even when you're sure you're doing enough, sometimes the results or the output just isn't going to be cause to celebrate or congratulate yourself. Sometimes you just have to adjust and know that you're doing what you can. There's a lot of guilt and doubt and self-criticism in creativity and yeah, you might be procrastinating. So do something about it.

And yes! I DO blog to procrastinate! But I also blog as a warm-up to actual writing. It's easy to excuse helpful downtime as 'being lazy' or 'procrastinating' because we're also living in a fucked-up time where people seem to think that bragging about anything other than hard work and misery makes you a shitty human being. Someone else is struggling so how dare you enjoy anything?! Eh, you have to take that in stride too. I mean, people, they're not really all that bad. Some of my favorite parts of life involve some great people. However, even someone you like can slip into societal droning and start to drill you about responsibility and hard work when in truth, you've been biting the bullet about just how hard it is. It's just not trendy for creatives to be brooding and depressed anymore, so we get damn good at making it look easy. Well, yeah. Not a single person is going to be curious about our work if the act of doing it makes us a total shit to be around.

Again, take everything in stride. I've become quite used to writers being supportive one minute then needing to ignore you the next. I don't take it personally because we have to go through phases to grow, not just for our work but for our own doubts, successes and struggles. I don't demand anything-- it's a crazy process. It's my wish to be able to support other writers someday, but I'm also broke and spamming social media on someone else's behalf-- it's not helping either of us. I'll get to that point, not because it's guaranteed, but because I just don't see myself doing anything else. Even if the possibility exists that 20 years from now, I'm still invisible, it just doesn't faze me. I'm proud I'm about to release my tenth book. I'm psyched that my 11th is coming along great. I'm grateful I have five other writing projects to throw words and ideas at and I'm excited that drawing is a part of my body of work too. I spent a pretty miserable decade trying to be an 'adult' but I had no energy to do what I loved. 

If I can add anything more, do this (whatever this is) because you feel alive when you do. If doing anything else is an existence, it's not admirable-- I'm sorry to tell you it's just not. People may not admire you for what they are certain is just 'doodling' or 'journaling' (and all creatives get shit on there, so no, it's not just you), but if you feel good about yourself, you're much more useful to this world than doing the 'right thing' will get you. See, because the 'right thing' is something you ultimately decide. If the right thing for you doesn't match up to what other people think, it's okay as long as you can live with it. It doesn't matter what people think about your situation. It doesn't matter if they think you're lucky or that you should be grateful. It's okay to want more and still enjoy where you are. And I know you don't need my permission, but sometimes you just need someone to say the same things you are. Like a mantra, another voice can lend to self-empowerment. You can still disagree and cherry pick what works for you, of course. Don't know about you, but writing is one place I endeavor to never shut the hell up. Did a lot of that in the past-- won't waste another second doing it in the future.

Okay, maybe a few seconds. For the sake of downtime and creation both.

Why You Go Ahead and Publish

You've completed your novel! No mean feat! For first timers, it feels like it's in the bag, so you start looking for the lucky agent/publisher who has the opportunity of a lifetime to cash in on your bestseller.

High as a kite on aspiration, your fingers float over the keyboard. You type something to the effect of 'publishing' into that search bar.

Huh, editing... Well, I guess I did that. I ran spell checker after every chapter for sure! Professional? Yikes, how about self-editing? Ouch, steep curve... No wonder some people pay someone else.

Formatting... (And you thought editing was a curve...)

Beta readers? Can I trust my precious to just anyone? If I like it, someone else will, right? No guaranteed feedback. Should I get an NDA? 

Brain freeze! Wait, I'm drinking hot coffee...

Let's suppose you get past the intimidation of the basics. You formatted, edited, read it to the point where there's nothing left to nitpick. Still, something just never feels right. You find a misspelled word in the first chapter--ugh, it's ruined. You edit again-- ugh, you hate that dialogue, that character, why did you give that a pass? You dismantle, you rearrange, you rewrite.

Guess what? You're probably ready. For what, I can't say. If you don't have the confidence yet to put a value on it, you have to know that most authors,,even best selling ones, never love their work when they took the leap of faith and never looked at it since. They often need fans to even help them revive the memory of it.

Wait, shouldn't they know it like the back of their hand? Funny how accurate that saying is. Try drawing the back of your hand from memory. No peeking. Even when I tell you to draw it while looking, you'll probably look constantly as you do. Let's say you have a photographic memory or you truly memorized the back of your hand because you're kind of an asshole (don't worry; I've done it just to debunk an argument too). The recall of even a pristine memory is often very clinical, devoid of emotion in order to exact perfect recall of the visual. Something gives. Your mood, your confidence, your nerve, your dog ate your hard drive, what novel? The point is, your novel is not sentient. Although I would love to see you write a book to that effect, you're probably looking for an out that isn't really rational.

Name any famous author. Their work is shit. What about--? Yup, them too. Because any famous author is just not someone else's favorite. There is no universally beloved author. None that come close even have an entire don't of work that can do no wrong. They've cashed in on their fame, become hated on Twitter... Well, you would trade in fame for a small, loving fan base anyway. Ooo, you want a hugbox? Do you think trolls are less evil when they find you? Oh ho ho, no no no no...

I'm not here to frighten you away from this. To make fans and friends, the work has to get out there and that means trolls and assholes too. You'll get passive aggressives that insinuate how similar your work is to someone else (coughripoffcough) too. Oh, give you a troll over the crusty grey assholes any day. 

Just ask yourself if you're ever going to burn this manuscript or if you'll pine over the what-ifs. Ask yourself if you're truly a storyteller or just a rabid fanchild. 

Why do you publish? Because you know its value. Because you're ready. Because you have more stories to tell and this one is just the beginning of a pattern of completion you're setting. I can't give you that answer, but in this day and age, with all that's available to you?

Because you fucking can.

You can also pull it, learn from it, grow from it. This is for YOU to decide. Scary, wonderful, terrible, terrific, yours.

Thinking Outside Your Genre

As of lately, I know my mind being in my work has led largely to talking around it but I'm sure for my writer friends, this is a place where we grab the sails and ride the wind for all its transient and precious value.

However, I have to say it's the work of others that I also feel compelled to account for these moments. Once more, a very valuable relationship I have with another writer plopped a second go at reading a screenplay I'm always excited to see the evolution of and it really propelled me into my current edit with renewed buoyancy. Antonio Maccagnan-- I need you all to remember this name because his work has the sort of depth, humor, emotional depth and versatility that even this crazy world can't ignore. I find his style and enthusiasm to be really instrumental into the courage and confidence that feeds my own work.

It can be really difficult to find a truly sincere camaraderie among other writers and if I can give you more valuable advice from this, it's to look outside of your usual genre for those connections. Or in this case, it's not always a deliberate action you take. When I received a private message asking me to take a look at his work, it was through a FaceBook group that I had joined only hours before and one I hadn't yet even posted in. Perhaps because it was a personal request rather than a general post, it appealed to my curiosity. Yet another takeaway for you-- just like agents aren't fond of being a CC in an email for general queries, your best beta readers are probably going to be the ones you seek out with individual consideration.

For one, there is no immediate feeling of safety or even competition in the mix. When you're not looking for 'experts' in your genre, you're getting truly fresh eyes. They are often still adept as writers with a similar passion for story-telling but they have completely different angles and approaches that can really enhance what you bring to your genre. Rather than looking for new ideas (difficult to near-impossible), you find a new way to tackle themes that can add depth to your piece that falls well outside trend and predictability. Ideas are wonderful to have, but you're going to find your voice is lent more to how you set the stage, the play of dialogue-- all things that aren't locked in the safety of your usual genre.

When you're not looking for someone to echo your thoughts, you even find very valuable exchanges in the disagreements. I don't always feel immediately comfortable offering what I would have done differently, but when you can build that level of rapport where your opinions hold more weight, then it becomes an experience outside of technicality, editing, a true exchange of knowledge leading to insight into your work that is often overlooked by a casual observer.

That being said, I do hope to be able to do some active searching for what my friends are doing this year. If you're one of these friends that I've expressed an interest in your work then haven't said much since, it wasn't just empty flattery. I know that's a thing for some people, but I don't do it. Truly, I have been immersed in my work and my intent to seek out your work is still in my radar. Right now, it's come down to the ones that seek me out and ask my opinion on something specific. Because my focus is very singular, the ones that give me 'homework' and a clear aim are something I find time for first and foremost. Nope, you don't have to beg or get too formal with me, just hit my inbox or comments and if I can fit it in, done and done. It's always an honor when a friend finds my input valuable.

I never want to give the impression that it's easy to build those relationships and for some of us, reaching out is a paralytic thought. If you're not the active seeker then be the one who offers an open door. Gently remind people you want to hear their 'pitch' and work out what you have time for. Gathering valuable relationships isn't scything fields of wheat, it's more like panning for gold. Find peace in the process rather than developing anxiety when things just aren't panning out. Sometimes you have to let go of active searching, switching into a more passive state so you can continue developing the work you want people to look at. If you're frustrated by time spent fruitless, stagnant on a stubborn path of unmet expectations, give it a passive assignment so you can give the active time to your work.

You'll fall into old traps of unproductive states from time to time, but I hope this can serve as a reminder that you're not quitting when you change priorities. You're placing value on your progress, prioritizing the work. Don't cling to what you think should be a bestseller and ignore the potential to expand your future work now. Many writers hustle to put out work consistently for many years before they find an audience. It's not because their work isn't good or they're doing anything wrong. Many of them met up with the harsh realities of obscurity but kept building their vision. Visibility isn't all advertisements, spam posting, and waving your arms around. It's often about standing your ground, moving just enough to make sure the strongest parts are always under your feet.

Okay, sometimes it's flailing...

Like wacky waving inflatable tube man, it can be a little dizzying, but don't forget that there is no lack of direction (and redirection) to keep up the momentum of inspiration and action.

You, too, can do this! And for the low, low price of free (+labor, materials, time, and putting up with your muse), you will rock! You signed up for this so take it for all it's worth. 

On a side note...

I know some writers get discouraged that most, if not all, of your friends and family are not fans of your work. Do remember that this is very typical and is not an indication of your talent or their love/support. I'm fully aware that sometimes family isn't a guaranteed source of love and support. For years, my aspirations were largely scoffed at and I can even admit it was rightly so. I kept notebooks, sketchbooks, never really focusing on anything, never having a complete show for the discipline of what I was doing. People will think you're not serious-- until you publish a book or two or ten, until they start seeing people commenting about your work on social media. Sometimes it takes a lot of visible little victories to start recruiting some of your closest friends. Sometimes the reason for this isn't awful-- many people closest to you are hesitant to enable you to flounder on your potential. They want to see you reaching beyond their safety to reach others. 

Yes-- some of those toxic people won't ever come around, won't ever knock on your door unless you're wildly famous or are even eager to see you fail because they are afraid you'll prove them wrong. I can also tell you that these people are both very few and will also crowd your view of what is actual and what matters. Toxic people are often like ink on your windshield, keeping you from seeing the cheering fans or even the sunlight. They are not the sum of all that's out there. If someone you respect and love isn't coming around, it may be time to take inventory of what you are putting out there. I've found that most of those people aren't hard to win over. The time it takes to accomplish something big is not the correct value to place on their approval either. When you want that journey for yourself, it isn't reasonable to place all of that weight, all of that struggle as what it took to win someone. That kind of assessment will only feed the bitter, resentful troll in your own head. Rather, understand that they might have already known you had it in you but didn't want to lay the weight of that on you to add to your failure if you couldn't come through.

I know the people that didn't ride my ass, either in opposition or support, when I struggled to perform weren't cruel. They were cautious of how vulnerable that process was for me and even trusted me to find my way. I can appreciate that no one tried to hold my hand because I needed both of them to type (and even when I draw, the non-dominant hand was useful for the hotkeys on my tablet). What speaks volumes is that their silence turned into words of pride for me, buying my books and even calling me an 'author' in conversation. Or like my bestie Emily says, a 'sensei'.

All in all, your passion-people are out there and they're probably not going to be who you expect them to be. The work is what will draw them, for better or worse, so don't apologize for the time and energy you need to spend to make that happen. Let your family and friends take on their important role as is and don't expect them to take on the fan role. More often than not, they'll have the important role of helping you through the ups and downs so you're not blowing off steam everywhere else and turning people off of your work. Their impartiality can be important in reminding you that you're still valuable outside of your work, that indeed you are still a pretty amazing person regardless.