I've been following blogs and forum posts concerning how eBooks are changing the publishing industry. If you haven't been following this trend and you are a new author, you should probably start reading up on this more.
Recently, I read a topic in author Christopher Moore's forums about eBooks and how this could impact the writer. Now, for those of you who do not know Christopher Moore (shame on you!), he is a successful author of satirical novels and a very cool guy to boot. I highly recommend you read some of his work and possibly visit his website.
I wont go into all of the details of that thread, but instead leave it up to you to read what he was saying in it. However, I will say that I became very concerned with what I read. Now, Moore is a veteran author. Like I said, he is also very successful, and if he is concerned with how the digital world will impact the publishing world, and more specifically, writers, then that worries me.
As an aspiring novelist, it scares me to think that trying to break out in publishing is going to become even harder when the market is inundated with more and more content by people who self-publish. It's already hard enough to get your foot in the door. When more avenues are introduced that allow untalented writers to get their work out there, it will be even harder to find quality material. It means that there will be more garbage to dig through to find that proverbial diamond in the rough.
I think there are pros and cons to this whole situation, however, I think the cons are beginning to outweigh the pros. Some of the pros include: making it easier for new authors to publish and distribute their work; reaching a wider audience; and for authors who are actually good but always faced rejection to finally break out.
Now to address the important cons. While making it easier to publish and distribute content, authors (good and bad) will find the market more competitive to make themselves known among the plethora of material. Marketing a work now is already very competitive. Readers will have to weed out a lot of horrible writing before they find a writer who is actually good. eBooks will more than likely become cheaper as the market is flooded, thus making it nearly impossible for newer authors to make a living by their writing. Not to mention the digital piracy that has harmed the music industry. Just imagine what it will do to the publishing world. In the aforementioned topic, Moore says that he has musician friends that were living on royalties. Now that piracy has changed the music industry, those friends, that thought they were finished touring, now have to go back out and perform to maintain their lifestyles. He goes on to say that while that's fine for musicians, what would authors do in the face of piracy? It's not like an author can pack a stadium to read his work to an audience. Something that makes you think, right?
With all of the ramifications the digital medium is doing to other markets, especially publishing, I think the effects are out of the scope of this blog. I urge you to begin keeping yourself informed of how it will affect the market. If you're like me, you will probably find yourself worried about the future of the printed medium.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Jealousy and inadequacy, fuel for the fire?
I'm not sure if the title completely captures my feelings on the following subject, but these were the first two words that seemed to come to mind.
My wife subscribes to Entertainment Weekly. She left a recent copy lying on my side of our bed, opened to a review of a new novel.
"What's this doing here?" I asked.
"I wanted you to read that," she said.
I picked up the foled magazine and read a review of The Passage. Now, I saw several mentions of this novel on some headlines feeds I subscribe to. The headlines I glanced at mentioned that this was a hot new book, a breakout hit, etc., but I thought nothing of it at the time. I mean, c'mon, there's always some breakout hits, right?
Well, I read the review, which also summarized the plot. At first, I felt jealous, and then I felt, maybe not inadequate, but defeated, as if I was late to the party or something. The reason I had this latter reaction was because this plot sounded similar to a novel plot I came up with a couple of months ago. I usually run all my story ideas by my wife who, as a college English professor and well-read individual, I listen to very closely.
She thought there was enough similarity in our plots that she wanted me to see this book's reception since it was released. The reception was obviously very good. I mean, when a relatively unknown author has a breakout book that receives a lot of positive praise and a seven-figure deal, well, who wouldn't be jealous, right? The defeat I felt was that his book began with some political overtones that captured the present, which is the same as my idea. However, in The Passage there is a span of time (said to be a century in the review) that elapses in the story. Mine doesn't have this.
Another similarity is that there are zombies. Well, maybe that's a vague term. In mine there are people that can be classified loosley as zombies based on something integral to the plot. In The Passage these creatures aren't necessarily zombies but "viral" vampires? Whatever that is, it sounds like it may be close to zombies and I've actually heard someone say the resemblance is close.
To get back on topic, I couldn't help but feel like someone had beaten me to the punch of what my story was about. Now, like I've said, I haven't read this book. And I probably won't as I don't want to take anything from it when I end up writing my own story. But, I fully intend to go ahead and write my story once I finish writing my southern gothic tale. The story I have in mind feels like something unique and very interesting, so I'd be a fool not to write it.
I'm just saddened that while I'm in the middle of writing one story and sitting on another great idea, another writer has stumbled upon some aspects of my plot and beaten me to the punch (or publisher) with it.
My wife subscribes to Entertainment Weekly. She left a recent copy lying on my side of our bed, opened to a review of a new novel.
"What's this doing here?" I asked.
"I wanted you to read that," she said.
I picked up the foled magazine and read a review of The Passage. Now, I saw several mentions of this novel on some headlines feeds I subscribe to. The headlines I glanced at mentioned that this was a hot new book, a breakout hit, etc., but I thought nothing of it at the time. I mean, c'mon, there's always some breakout hits, right?
Well, I read the review, which also summarized the plot. At first, I felt jealous, and then I felt, maybe not inadequate, but defeated, as if I was late to the party or something. The reason I had this latter reaction was because this plot sounded similar to a novel plot I came up with a couple of months ago. I usually run all my story ideas by my wife who, as a college English professor and well-read individual, I listen to very closely.
She thought there was enough similarity in our plots that she wanted me to see this book's reception since it was released. The reception was obviously very good. I mean, when a relatively unknown author has a breakout book that receives a lot of positive praise and a seven-figure deal, well, who wouldn't be jealous, right? The defeat I felt was that his book began with some political overtones that captured the present, which is the same as my idea. However, in The Passage there is a span of time (said to be a century in the review) that elapses in the story. Mine doesn't have this.
Another similarity is that there are zombies. Well, maybe that's a vague term. In mine there are people that can be classified loosley as zombies based on something integral to the plot. In The Passage these creatures aren't necessarily zombies but "viral" vampires? Whatever that is, it sounds like it may be close to zombies and I've actually heard someone say the resemblance is close.
To get back on topic, I couldn't help but feel like someone had beaten me to the punch of what my story was about. Now, like I've said, I haven't read this book. And I probably won't as I don't want to take anything from it when I end up writing my own story. But, I fully intend to go ahead and write my story once I finish writing my southern gothic tale. The story I have in mind feels like something unique and very interesting, so I'd be a fool not to write it.
I'm just saddened that while I'm in the middle of writing one story and sitting on another great idea, another writer has stumbled upon some aspects of my plot and beaten me to the punch (or publisher) with it.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wallowing in Southern Gothic
Broadening my reading spectrum has turned me into a monster! I've come to the realization that I am really enjoying dystopian literature as well as southern gothic tales. Since venturing outside the boundaries of horror, I've found myself perusing the stories of Margaret Atwood, William Faulkner, Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck, and the list goes on. Certainly these writers are not popular within the horror genre and if you had asked me what I thought of their work only a year and a half ago, I probably would have scoffed and said that I'm not much interested in their type of writing. Ah, how naive we are in the beginning.
Dystopian stories, I can understand liking, but never did I think I would embrace southern gothic. I actually hated Faulkner's As I Lay Dying upon completing it (which I believe I've mentioned in a previous blog). Now look at me, still can't pull my nose out of the southern gothic novels! Next on my reading list is Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road. While I am really enjoying the stories of these southern characters, people whom I'm actually a part of, I find that I'm also doing research.
I've recently begun writing a new novel. A southern gothic tale called Lathem's Legacy, which I also mentioned in a previous blog, so I won't rehash that here. My point is, I never thought I would find myself writing anything remotely close to the genre I'm writing now. Also, I should mention that so far (15,000 words into the story--roughly 65 pages) I haven't experienced any dread at approaching the blank page. This is something of a treat for a writer. With my first book, The Shadow People, there were many days when I sat down to write and found that the words were difficult to muster. It was a real chore to get my thousand words out of my head and onto the page. I'm grateful to say that I haven't experienced this yet with the new novel. Of course, I probably just jinxed myself and now will suffer an extreme case of writer's block.
Yes, fifteen thousand words is still very early in a novel, but I am using a new technique of outlining as I go that seems to be helping me navigate my storyline and giving my fuel for each future writing session. It feels great to be writing a novel again, one that I am eager to stick with above and beyond any other writing projects that happen to pop into my head. And before this becomes something of a nonsensical rant (I feel like I am beginning to babble), I just want to point out again how wonderful it is to read outside of one specific genre and come out with a book idea you never thought you would entertain in a million years. Who knows? This could be my big breakout novel and to think I never would have considered writing it in the not-too-distant past.
Dystopian stories, I can understand liking, but never did I think I would embrace southern gothic. I actually hated Faulkner's As I Lay Dying upon completing it (which I believe I've mentioned in a previous blog). Now look at me, still can't pull my nose out of the southern gothic novels! Next on my reading list is Erskine Caldwell's Tobacco Road. While I am really enjoying the stories of these southern characters, people whom I'm actually a part of, I find that I'm also doing research.
I've recently begun writing a new novel. A southern gothic tale called Lathem's Legacy, which I also mentioned in a previous blog, so I won't rehash that here. My point is, I never thought I would find myself writing anything remotely close to the genre I'm writing now. Also, I should mention that so far (15,000 words into the story--roughly 65 pages) I haven't experienced any dread at approaching the blank page. This is something of a treat for a writer. With my first book, The Shadow People, there were many days when I sat down to write and found that the words were difficult to muster. It was a real chore to get my thousand words out of my head and onto the page. I'm grateful to say that I haven't experienced this yet with the new novel. Of course, I probably just jinxed myself and now will suffer an extreme case of writer's block.
Yes, fifteen thousand words is still very early in a novel, but I am using a new technique of outlining as I go that seems to be helping me navigate my storyline and giving my fuel for each future writing session. It feels great to be writing a novel again, one that I am eager to stick with above and beyond any other writing projects that happen to pop into my head. And before this becomes something of a nonsensical rant (I feel like I am beginning to babble), I just want to point out again how wonderful it is to read outside of one specific genre and come out with a book idea you never thought you would entertain in a million years. Who knows? This could be my big breakout novel and to think I never would have considered writing it in the not-too-distant past.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Spring is in the air, and so is writing fever!
It's been a while since I've blogged anything. Some of this has to do with my new job, which keeps me very busy. Some of it is because I'm lazy when it comes to blogging as I tend to focus much of my writing on my short stories and novels.
I mentioned last that one of my stories, Hush, Hush, My Love, would be in a forthcoming issue of Shroud Magazine. I am anxiously awaiting that issue, which is the 9th issue by the way. I expect it will probably come out sometime in the Summer. Please, be sure to pick up a copy. If you like it, send me some feedback via my website.
I've begun work on a new novel. Something much different than my normal work. As anyone who knows me or my writing know, I usually write only horror or dark fiction with an occasional science fiction story thrown in for fun. Well, since I've been reading outside of my genre, I've discovered a huge goldmine of fantastic stories and authors. Namely, the Southern Gothic writers. I recently read Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the first Faulkner story I've ever read. At first, I hated it. I got hung up on Vardaman's POV stream-of-consciousness. The story stuck with me though, like a popcorn kernel caught between your teeth. I worked at it, mulling the story over in my mind until I finally developed an admiration for it (I still don't like Vardaman's POV though). I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and now I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath. The first Southern Gothic books that started my love of this sub genre were Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and John Grisham's A Painted House. I look back on each of these novels with a fondness and took something away from each one. The novel I'm currently working on is in this same vein. It's called Lathem's Legacy and I'm using many of the different techniques from the aforementioned authors to create this piece. From Steinbeck's use of dialect, to Faulkner's use of character POV to tell each story, to Lee's and Harper's way of introducing grotesque characters who are realistic, believable, and at the same time, slightly pitiful.
This is a story about Georgia farmers during the early 1950s dealing with one of their family members fighting overseas in the Korean conflict. I am trying to write in such a way that doesn't show southern people in a bad light. I wanted to tell the story of a family that was respectable, such as the family in To Kill a Mockingbird. Through a changing POV for each chapter, I want to give the reader a sense of the characters: the way they think and act, and how they view their family and peers. The overall story arc is centered around how the family deals with the absence of Lathem, the oldest boy of the Whitfield family. There are several subplots, including an illegitimate pregnancy, one person's struggle with living in the shadow of an abusive alcoholic father and town scoundrel, the bond of friendship between a boy and a mentally handicapped man, and the defense of a friend in the face of danger.
When I first set out to write, I never thought I would pen anything outside of horror. If you'd have told me that I would try writing a Southern Gothic novel, I would have scoffed at the idea. Since reading the previously mentioned books, I've grown a deep appreciation for these writers and their stories. I never liked the idea of setting any of my previous stories in the south. I don't know why since I am a southern native. I guess I just felt that the south wasn't an exotic locale for a story. But, since reading several stories about the south, I've learned a lot. Especially, that writing about a place you know makes the work of adding verisimilitude that much easier than making up a location from scratch. Also, combining traits of people you know to create new and varying characters opens up a whole new world of exciting characters to live in my stories.
In addition to the Southern Gothic novels, I've also been reading more dystopias. Aside from Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World, I've read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and begun reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which is simply brilliant. This caused me to begin a short story (maybe it will turn into a novella, time will tell) called Jurisprudence. This is the story of a man who receives a summons from The State to appear in court. He has no idea why he is summoned as he can think of no circumstance when he has broken the law--this sounds much like the premise of Kafka's The Trial, which is in my reading queue, but is not a ripoff, I assure you. Throughout the story, I want to paint the picture of a dystopia where corporations rule the country and people are merely grist for the mill, keeping the cogs of the business machine turning. Through the actions and dialogue, I want the reader to get a sense of what this future world is like. Not until the main character's trial does the real drama unfold. This story, as well as the novel mentioned above, are both still works in progress, but they were born out of ideas that came to me as a result of exposing myself to new worlds through reading various books outside of my usual genre.
I guess this post is just a case in point of my original advice to throw caution to the wind and pick up some books you normally would never have read. You never know how a book will impact you and change your outlook on things. If it weren't for me adhering to this philosophy, I would probably still be churning out bland horror tales.
I mentioned last that one of my stories, Hush, Hush, My Love, would be in a forthcoming issue of Shroud Magazine. I am anxiously awaiting that issue, which is the 9th issue by the way. I expect it will probably come out sometime in the Summer. Please, be sure to pick up a copy. If you like it, send me some feedback via my website.
I've begun work on a new novel. Something much different than my normal work. As anyone who knows me or my writing know, I usually write only horror or dark fiction with an occasional science fiction story thrown in for fun. Well, since I've been reading outside of my genre, I've discovered a huge goldmine of fantastic stories and authors. Namely, the Southern Gothic writers. I recently read Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the first Faulkner story I've ever read. At first, I hated it. I got hung up on Vardaman's POV stream-of-consciousness. The story stuck with me though, like a popcorn kernel caught between your teeth. I worked at it, mulling the story over in my mind until I finally developed an admiration for it (I still don't like Vardaman's POV though). I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and now I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath. The first Southern Gothic books that started my love of this sub genre were Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and John Grisham's A Painted House. I look back on each of these novels with a fondness and took something away from each one. The novel I'm currently working on is in this same vein. It's called Lathem's Legacy and I'm using many of the different techniques from the aforementioned authors to create this piece. From Steinbeck's use of dialect, to Faulkner's use of character POV to tell each story, to Lee's and Harper's way of introducing grotesque characters who are realistic, believable, and at the same time, slightly pitiful.
This is a story about Georgia farmers during the early 1950s dealing with one of their family members fighting overseas in the Korean conflict. I am trying to write in such a way that doesn't show southern people in a bad light. I wanted to tell the story of a family that was respectable, such as the family in To Kill a Mockingbird. Through a changing POV for each chapter, I want to give the reader a sense of the characters: the way they think and act, and how they view their family and peers. The overall story arc is centered around how the family deals with the absence of Lathem, the oldest boy of the Whitfield family. There are several subplots, including an illegitimate pregnancy, one person's struggle with living in the shadow of an abusive alcoholic father and town scoundrel, the bond of friendship between a boy and a mentally handicapped man, and the defense of a friend in the face of danger.
When I first set out to write, I never thought I would pen anything outside of horror. If you'd have told me that I would try writing a Southern Gothic novel, I would have scoffed at the idea. Since reading the previously mentioned books, I've grown a deep appreciation for these writers and their stories. I never liked the idea of setting any of my previous stories in the south. I don't know why since I am a southern native. I guess I just felt that the south wasn't an exotic locale for a story. But, since reading several stories about the south, I've learned a lot. Especially, that writing about a place you know makes the work of adding verisimilitude that much easier than making up a location from scratch. Also, combining traits of people you know to create new and varying characters opens up a whole new world of exciting characters to live in my stories.
In addition to the Southern Gothic novels, I've also been reading more dystopias. Aside from Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World, I've read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and begun reading Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which is simply brilliant. This caused me to begin a short story (maybe it will turn into a novella, time will tell) called Jurisprudence. This is the story of a man who receives a summons from The State to appear in court. He has no idea why he is summoned as he can think of no circumstance when he has broken the law--this sounds much like the premise of Kafka's The Trial, which is in my reading queue, but is not a ripoff, I assure you. Throughout the story, I want to paint the picture of a dystopia where corporations rule the country and people are merely grist for the mill, keeping the cogs of the business machine turning. Through the actions and dialogue, I want the reader to get a sense of what this future world is like. Not until the main character's trial does the real drama unfold. This story, as well as the novel mentioned above, are both still works in progress, but they were born out of ideas that came to me as a result of exposing myself to new worlds through reading various books outside of my usual genre.
I guess this post is just a case in point of my original advice to throw caution to the wind and pick up some books you normally would never have read. You never know how a book will impact you and change your outlook on things. If it weren't for me adhering to this philosophy, I would probably still be churning out bland horror tales.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
I'm going to be published. It's been an arduous journey.
I mentioned in my news feed earlier in the month that I was going to be published in Shroud Magazine. My story, Hush, Hush My Love, will be in the 9th issue. That means it will probably be out this summer. If you haven't heard of Shroud, and you're a fan of horror and dark fiction, I urge you to get a subscription to this magazine. The editor, Tim Deal, is a really nice guy and puts together a top-quality magazine. It's definitely worth getting a subscription. Also, I want to share my story with you, so even if I can't persuade you to buy a subscription, at least buy the 9th issue. I'm sure you'll find that your money was well spent.
I just want to say that this news has put me over the moon. I've received a substantial number of rejections. I've entered stories into contests, sent them to all the magazines that I think would enjoy them and received only rejection. In retrospect, I think some of the stories I submitted deserved rejection. I was more naive early on, and now that I've learned a lot and my writing's matured more (although, it still has more maturing to do), I can look at those earlier stories with a more critical eye. I see why they didn't work at the time. For some of them, the story was weak or cliche. My dialogue was not up to par. Even though some (only a few, mind you) of those stories received a warm welcome from my first readers, the editors at the various magazines where I sent them thought otherwise. So, for Tim to send me an acceptance letter was a welcome relief.
I'm very happy with the story, too. It's called Hush, Hush My Love. Like most of my stories, this one came out of nowhere. But, unlike the rest of my stories, this one had some hypnotising quality to it. Thinking back to the writing process, it almost seems mystical, like I can't quite identify why this story, among all of the ones before it, should stand out in my mind so. If I could put my finger on the aspect that makes it stand out from the rest, I'd try to harness that ability so I could write nothing but publishable stories. But, unfortunately, that's not the way the writing process is. Even the big names write stinkers from time to time.
I guess it's just a sign that says my writing is getting better. It doesn't mean I won't write stories that are bad. I think it just means that I'll write fewer stinkers; the ratio of good to bad is finally beginning to shift. I hope you'll pick up a copy of Shroud Magazine's 9th issue and read my story. If you like it (or even if you don't), I'd appreciate you leaving me some feedback on my website.
I just want to say that this news has put me over the moon. I've received a substantial number of rejections. I've entered stories into contests, sent them to all the magazines that I think would enjoy them and received only rejection. In retrospect, I think some of the stories I submitted deserved rejection. I was more naive early on, and now that I've learned a lot and my writing's matured more (although, it still has more maturing to do), I can look at those earlier stories with a more critical eye. I see why they didn't work at the time. For some of them, the story was weak or cliche. My dialogue was not up to par. Even though some (only a few, mind you) of those stories received a warm welcome from my first readers, the editors at the various magazines where I sent them thought otherwise. So, for Tim to send me an acceptance letter was a welcome relief.
I'm very happy with the story, too. It's called Hush, Hush My Love. Like most of my stories, this one came out of nowhere. But, unlike the rest of my stories, this one had some hypnotising quality to it. Thinking back to the writing process, it almost seems mystical, like I can't quite identify why this story, among all of the ones before it, should stand out in my mind so. If I could put my finger on the aspect that makes it stand out from the rest, I'd try to harness that ability so I could write nothing but publishable stories. But, unfortunately, that's not the way the writing process is. Even the big names write stinkers from time to time.
I guess it's just a sign that says my writing is getting better. It doesn't mean I won't write stories that are bad. I think it just means that I'll write fewer stinkers; the ratio of good to bad is finally beginning to shift. I hope you'll pick up a copy of Shroud Magazine's 9th issue and read my story. If you like it (or even if you don't), I'd appreciate you leaving me some feedback on my website.
Reading outside of your genre
Most writers have probably heard that to improve their craft they should read widely, even outside of their genre. While there are many who do this without hesitation, there are some who find it painful to venture beyond the comfort zones of their favorite genre. In the past, I was also guilty of this latter habit.
My favorite genre has always been horror. My bookshelf had no diversity among the authors that sat atop the shelves. One would only have to look at my titles to see that Stephen King was my favorite author. I had heard the advice to read widely and avoided doing so. Eventually, I received some books a friend was throwing out. While sifting through the boring non-fiction titles in the pile, I came across some John Grisham books. I knew he had a reputation for writing novels about lawyers. While this did not appeal to me in the least (I have a distaste for lawyers, which is a long story in itself), I took them anyway. Who would turn down free books, right? The two Grisham books I took with me were, King of Torts and A Painted House. One night, after having finished yet another Stephen King book and feeling like reading something very different, I scanned the books in my queue and saw A Painted House. I pulled it from the shelf and began reading it.
Never have a enjoyed a book so much! I was delighted to find that John Grisham had written a superb non-lawyer novel. It was like a revelation to me. After finishing that book, I read Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Yet another great book that I should've read in high school but didn't due to ignorant stubbornness. Since then, I've gone back and read many more classics that I never enjoyed when I was younger. I have also extended my tastes, purchasing books from so many different genres. From satirical to crime/drama to literary. Recently, I read Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men after watching the movie and found the book, as thin as it is, to be a gem of a story.
To look at my bookshelves now, one would see a very diverse landscape of book titles. I find myself looking back on the various genres with an extreme sense of joy. I've knocked down the walls of my favorite genre, left the narrow confines of the comfortable and walked into the daylight, experienced the really great and the awful. My writing has begun to reflect changes from the new experiences I've had when reading authors like McCarthy, Bradbury, Huxley, Orwell, and Faulkner, to name a few. I've seen how more notable authors handle character development, desciption, dialogue, pacing, themes, symbolism, and mood. It helps me identify the flaws in my own work and that of other writers.
Since this epiphany, I no longer find myself in Barnes & Noble, scrounging among the familiar aisle searching for quality horror novels. Instead, I walk down the unfamiliar aisles, scanning book titles and covers for something intriguing. I read the back cover and, if it sounds at all interesting, I find myself buying books by authors I may have only vaguely heard about in the past, if at all. Most times, I'm satisfied with the new books I choose and the story they have to tell. Other, less often times, I find that what I've read was disappointing or outright horrible. But, even these bad books have their own lessons; mainly, how not to do something.
When meeting new writers, I like to discover who their influences were and how widely they read. More often than not, I learn that they only read a certain genre and are hesitant to venture outside of it. While I can certainly understand this hesitation and apprehension, I try to encourage them to break out of that habit. Sure, you can learn how other successful writers in a genre do things. You can even see what's been done to exhaustion and steer clear of those pitfalls, but to not expose yourself to the other stories out there is to rob yourself of an excellent writing education. Reading such diverse material will shed light on new techniques that can enrich your writing and strengthen the skills you, as a writer, bring into your stories.
So, if you're one of those new writers flailing in a shallow puddle trying to learn to swim, let me implore you to come over to the ocean of diverse literature. Wade in. The water's fine. Really, it is. And, I'm sure you'll learn plenty.
My favorite genre has always been horror. My bookshelf had no diversity among the authors that sat atop the shelves. One would only have to look at my titles to see that Stephen King was my favorite author. I had heard the advice to read widely and avoided doing so. Eventually, I received some books a friend was throwing out. While sifting through the boring non-fiction titles in the pile, I came across some John Grisham books. I knew he had a reputation for writing novels about lawyers. While this did not appeal to me in the least (I have a distaste for lawyers, which is a long story in itself), I took them anyway. Who would turn down free books, right? The two Grisham books I took with me were, King of Torts and A Painted House. One night, after having finished yet another Stephen King book and feeling like reading something very different, I scanned the books in my queue and saw A Painted House. I pulled it from the shelf and began reading it.
Never have a enjoyed a book so much! I was delighted to find that John Grisham had written a superb non-lawyer novel. It was like a revelation to me. After finishing that book, I read Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Yet another great book that I should've read in high school but didn't due to ignorant stubbornness. Since then, I've gone back and read many more classics that I never enjoyed when I was younger. I have also extended my tastes, purchasing books from so many different genres. From satirical to crime/drama to literary. Recently, I read Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men after watching the movie and found the book, as thin as it is, to be a gem of a story.
To look at my bookshelves now, one would see a very diverse landscape of book titles. I find myself looking back on the various genres with an extreme sense of joy. I've knocked down the walls of my favorite genre, left the narrow confines of the comfortable and walked into the daylight, experienced the really great and the awful. My writing has begun to reflect changes from the new experiences I've had when reading authors like McCarthy, Bradbury, Huxley, Orwell, and Faulkner, to name a few. I've seen how more notable authors handle character development, desciption, dialogue, pacing, themes, symbolism, and mood. It helps me identify the flaws in my own work and that of other writers.
Since this epiphany, I no longer find myself in Barnes & Noble, scrounging among the familiar aisle searching for quality horror novels. Instead, I walk down the unfamiliar aisles, scanning book titles and covers for something intriguing. I read the back cover and, if it sounds at all interesting, I find myself buying books by authors I may have only vaguely heard about in the past, if at all. Most times, I'm satisfied with the new books I choose and the story they have to tell. Other, less often times, I find that what I've read was disappointing or outright horrible. But, even these bad books have their own lessons; mainly, how not to do something.
When meeting new writers, I like to discover who their influences were and how widely they read. More often than not, I learn that they only read a certain genre and are hesitant to venture outside of it. While I can certainly understand this hesitation and apprehension, I try to encourage them to break out of that habit. Sure, you can learn how other successful writers in a genre do things. You can even see what's been done to exhaustion and steer clear of those pitfalls, but to not expose yourself to the other stories out there is to rob yourself of an excellent writing education. Reading such diverse material will shed light on new techniques that can enrich your writing and strengthen the skills you, as a writer, bring into your stories.
So, if you're one of those new writers flailing in a shallow puddle trying to learn to swim, let me implore you to come over to the ocean of diverse literature. Wade in. The water's fine. Really, it is. And, I'm sure you'll learn plenty.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Giving this another go!
I've been away too long from my blog, and from my writing for that matter. I recently got another job, after being unemployed for over a year. Although, I must admit, it was a wonderful year of sleeping in and reading books late into the night. My only regret is that I didn't use my days wisely to accomplish more writing than I did.
Since starting my new job (I've only been there a week), I haven't sat down to write anything and it really makes me want to kick myself. I promised myself that I would sit down this weekend to write. Of course, I've done that in the past and wasted my opportunity because I ended up watching a movie or playing a game instead of writing. Not today, though! Today has been a wet and dreary day outside. Oh, and also cold. Can't forget to mention the winter storm that supposed to be bearing down on us.
Well, I got online and visited some author sites to build my motivation. Actually, my motivation was pretty much piqued already, but it never hurts to read motivational words from other (successful) authors. So, I went to Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, and Cormac McCarthy's websites and browsed for a little bit. Then, before I could let the procrastination bug bite me, I closed my browser and opened my editor. I started close to one o'clock this afternoon.
I worked on the first draft of a short story I started yesterday called Help Wanted. I had only written four pages previously. I finished the first draft today and it came in at a whopping 20+ pages! When I finished it, I opened another short story I had started earlier called Swiftly, the End Cometh. I only had one written page to begin with, but now that I've finished, it's well over ten. I know, that doesn't seem like much, but I looked at the clock when I finished writing and saw that it was almost 6:00 PM.
THAT'S A LOT OF WRITING, PEOPLE! Well, for me at least. Especially, in one day. And now look at this. I'm blogging, which means that I'm writing even more. I've been bitten by the writing bug and damn it feels good!
Okay, that's enough for today. I just wanted to write for any readers out there to let you know that if you make yourself sit down to write (even when you don't want to) you can accomplish a lot of writing. The key is making yourself do it.
One last thing, which I just discovered: my foot's asleep! Argh!
Since starting my new job (I've only been there a week), I haven't sat down to write anything and it really makes me want to kick myself. I promised myself that I would sit down this weekend to write. Of course, I've done that in the past and wasted my opportunity because I ended up watching a movie or playing a game instead of writing. Not today, though! Today has been a wet and dreary day outside. Oh, and also cold. Can't forget to mention the winter storm that supposed to be bearing down on us.
Well, I got online and visited some author sites to build my motivation. Actually, my motivation was pretty much piqued already, but it never hurts to read motivational words from other (successful) authors. So, I went to Dennis Lehane, Elmore Leonard, and Cormac McCarthy's websites and browsed for a little bit. Then, before I could let the procrastination bug bite me, I closed my browser and opened my editor. I started close to one o'clock this afternoon.
I worked on the first draft of a short story I started yesterday called Help Wanted. I had only written four pages previously. I finished the first draft today and it came in at a whopping 20+ pages! When I finished it, I opened another short story I had started earlier called Swiftly, the End Cometh. I only had one written page to begin with, but now that I've finished, it's well over ten. I know, that doesn't seem like much, but I looked at the clock when I finished writing and saw that it was almost 6:00 PM.
THAT'S A LOT OF WRITING, PEOPLE! Well, for me at least. Especially, in one day. And now look at this. I'm blogging, which means that I'm writing even more. I've been bitten by the writing bug and damn it feels good!
Okay, that's enough for today. I just wanted to write for any readers out there to let you know that if you make yourself sit down to write (even when you don't want to) you can accomplish a lot of writing. The key is making yourself do it.
One last thing, which I just discovered: my foot's asleep! Argh!
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