Writing: The Grand Obsession

Unknown 4 Saturday, April 19, 2014

It wouldn't matter what I did to pay the bills, I would still have to say, "I'm a writer" if asked at a cocktail party. ...

My Writing Job

Jodi Kendall 3 Friday, April 18, 2014

Like many writers out there, I always knew this was my dream profession. And I’ve worked my whole life to build a writing career … and,...

Talent + Passion + Discipline = ?

KC Held 7 Wednesday, April 16, 2014

"I have a love-hate relationship with the writing life. I wouldn’t wish to have any other kind of life…and on the other hand, I wish i...

The Mirror of Fandom

Unknown 2 Saturday, February 22, 2014

Harry's Two-Way Mirror ( Harry Potter Wikia ) The thing that fascinates me about fandom is how sociable it is, that it grows through...

Writing "Metrics"

Bret Ballou 3 Friday, February 14, 2014

Happy Hallmark...I mean, er, Happy Valentine's Day! So in a "real" job, such as my "day" job, we spend a signifi...

We original Muses have a little saying about writing for publication that we trot out from time to time:

Writing is a pie-eating contest in which the prize is more pie.

What we mean is basically that you'd better love writing because once you get a book contract, you can expect to do it a whole lot more.

But is writing the same once you get the book deal? Does sitting at the computer typing away, building characters, revising, expanding, cutting--does it feel better or worse when you're getting paid to do it? Easier? Harder? More satisfying? Less?

The answer for me has been is a little bit of everything.

It's a great feeling to know that the words you're typing will someday be printed and bound into a book, but it also brings pressure. Those words cannot suck if they're going to be printed and bound. The problem is that suck is an inescapable part of the writing process. You can't bypass it. You have to overcome the suck. You have to take it and power-wash the rust and barnacles off, and then polish it, and eventually you get something shiny and presentable. Maybe there's a writer somewhere who lays down perfect first drafts. If so, I haven't met them (and I'm not sure I want to.) My point is that the internal critic prevalent in writerly minds can become even louder when writing turns into a job.

An editor and agent can also bring their comments to your work, complicating matters. This was something that was new to me when I became a published writer. I wanted so much to impress both that my own instincts felt dimmer. It was like a critique group in my head all the time. Not a great way to draft, especially when there's also... wait for it...

Deadline pressure. When writing became work for me, deadlines ruled my life for about two years. My life's milestone's were no longer Halloween and Christmas, and my son's birthday. They were Revision Due Dates and Copy Edits due. I had to learn to pace myself (still learning.) I had to learn that, in order to do my best work, I need things like sleep, and food, and exercise in my life. I had to become comfortable with my ability to write and revise relatively quickly - at least, much, much faster than what I'd been used to.

But enough about all the tough parts. What about the great aspects?

Well, not a day goes by that I don't feel exceedingly lucky to get paid to write. I mean that. Fortunate doesn't begin to describe how I feel. I think I say, "I love my job" several times a week. Only half of those are me speaking to the mirror.

Though I try not to think about the "end game" when I'm drafting, sometimes it's a thrill to look at a chapter and imagine a reader reaction. And I feel so, so privileged to have an excellent editor and agent to guide me along the way. Before I was published, I used to read books and think I could never create something so complete and polished. Now I understand the team effort that goes into the process. I feel so lucky to have that help. Even deadlines have their benefits. Things get done when there are deadlines!

And that reminds me... time to get back on the clock. Or, I should say: time for some more pie!

More pie, anyone? Or, Writing as a Job

Veronica Rossi 4 Thursday, February 13, 2014

We original Muses have a little saying about writing for publication that we trot out from time to time: Writing is a pie-eat...

We're talking voices on the blog this week, and how they affect our writing process. Sometimes the various voices that speak up along the drafting and revision stages can feel confusing and contradictory. Part of my development as a writer has been learning when to say, "tell me more about what you mean," or, "thanks, but that's not in line with what I'm trying to do."

Sounds easy, but it's not. I'm still working on it. Navigating the voices requires:

knowing what you're trying to do
knowing who can actually help you (you trust them and share similar artistic sensibilities)
knowing your process well enough to judge when & how much feedback you need

Getting just one of those elements down is tricky, but all three? Tough. The writing game is unpredictable. This isn't science, after all. Every story is different. Every character. And you. You are also changing all the time--what you admire in writing. What your goals are, as a storyteller. It's a lot of moving parts, and any one wobbling wheel can upset the entire balance. The most seasoned writers, I'm certain, still run the risk of coming away from a critique or editorial letter (or review) feeling black and blue.

The useful voices, I'm learning, are the ones that don't go away. They niggle and nag and taunt, and force you to shop online at 2 AM because you can't sleep. They say:

"Sorry, V, but you just aren't pulling off the first person Golden Retriever POV. It's not believable and it's falling flat, and the narrative is so ponderous and repetitive. I mean... what's with the obsession with tennis balls and squirrels? And what makes you think that you, a human, can pull off a believable retriever mentality? You're just not qualified, and the market saturated with goldens! Everyone's moved onto French Bulldogs. I'm sorry to break this to you, but you're barking up the wrong tree."

Grrr.

What do you say to this kind of feedback? How do you respond to this voice?

Well, you can make your retriever a bulldog, or you can push yourself. Feedback is only negative if you let it be. Almost everything you hear about your work, if it's delivered to you by someone thorough and halfway thoughtful, can be made usable, instructive, or enlightening--even if it's simply by reinforcing what you already know.

Whenever you are told that something seemed off or weak or confusing, you get to decide first and foremost whether you agree. Here's where your gut comes into play. Trust it, but don't be close-minded, either. How can you improve your craft if you aren't willing to see areas that could be strengthened? Honed? Rethought? You get to decide what how you go about dealing with that. But if the feedback doesn't feel right and your Golden Retriever POV actually rocks, then you get to own that, knowing it's stronger because it took some punches, but it's still standing.

My point is that you don't always have to fight the voices. Let them come. Listen to them. You can be stronger and smarter. Why wage war against the very thing that can help you? Trust yourself to single out the ones that matter -- and to put them to use in a way that works for you. Work toward that trust. Practice it so that someday, when someone tells you you're POV isn't working, you can look them in the eye, and smile, and say: woof!