Warren Adler's Blog, page 31

Keidi Keating

For me writing is akin to the feeling of sipping ice cold orange pop through a straw on a sunny day; a long, warm cuddle from a loved one, and lying on a golden sandy beach with my feet refreshed from the ebb of the tide. I started writing very short stories at the age of three. Writing offered a way of leaving reality, and creating new worlds; worlds full of increased loving, light, and beauty. As the youngest of four children, I often felt left out of my sibling’s play-time activities – plus I felt like I didn’t fit in – so I quickly learned to prefer spending time alone. During those moments by myself I would sit on the kitchen carpet with a notepad open and begin writing stories…about cats, beaches, people, and made-up animal characters. My imagination would relish in the delight of thinking up whatever worlds, characters, and scenarios it wanted! After I’d finished writing I’d go back and draw a cute illustration on each page then color it in. I even wrote an ISBN number and barcode on the back cover. It was clear, even from that tender young age, that writing books was a big part of my purpose in this lifetime. And it’s clear that it continues to be so…

http://www.yourbookangel.com/

 

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Paul Hollis

Storytelling has always been a natural part of my life. Some of the best stories I told as a child were lies but they were good enough to avoid punishment. My parents generally walked away feeling guilty for trying to punish an innocent child. I’d like to think it was because I possessed an uncanny ability to connect with an audience on a human level but truthfully it’s more likely I was able to pass along emotional connections to enable listeners to feel the story.

As some point, a friend suggested I write down my stories and the rest is history, as they say. Writing immediately appealed to the middle child in me. I have a simple desire to please other people, to do something remarkable that will attract praise. But it became much more than that. Writing has opened new worlds of creativity for me and I now have a need to write every day. I’ve found my passion and I intend to be the best at it.

http://thehollowmanseries.com/

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Patti Larsen

At twelve years old, far too young to be enamored of epic fantasy and science fiction adored by my father, I stumbled on a Nancy Drew mystery. It was a YA story that woke the writer in me and, decades later, drove me to ditch my successful business for a shot at becoming a full-time author. Almost seventy books later, I live the life I always wanted, lost in worlds that consume me and with characters who make me laugh, cry and want to hug them and never let them go. While making a living as a creator. My favorite Twitter hashtag says it all: #bestjobever.

http://www.pattilarsen.com/

 

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K.M. Weiland

I’ve always made up stories. In fact, my earliest memory is of myself in a tree house at a family reunion, making up a story about bad guys kidnapping everyone and how it was up to me to save them. I started writing my stories down and compiling them into a monthly newsletter when I was twelve. When, years later, I suddenly found myself with a published book in my hands, which other people were presumably going to read, the responsibility of my words suddenly came home to me. I believe God gives all of us a gift (or gifts). It’s our responsibility—and our privilege—to then give that gift back. I feel blessed every day to wake up and realize I get to do this writing gig for a living.

helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com

 

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Katherine Bogle

Writing isn’t just a hobby or a job, it is a way of life. For writers like myself, it’s a way to pour your soul onto pages for others to read. I began writing when I was very young. There were so many characters bouncing around in my head, I just had to get them out of there somehow! Writing became my outlet for creativity. It was my way of peeling back the layers of my imagination, and plucking out the best pieces for external consumption. Writing is who I am, and I love it. If I didn’t have my novels such as Sanctum, Haven, and my latest, The Aldar Dominion, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Not only can a writer create a character or story, but that person you design can become a part of you. Much like writing is a big part of me.

https://katherinebogle.wordpress.com/ 

 

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Nick Thacker

I wasn’t always a ‘writer,’ and honestly never thought I’d be one. I’ve always been a reader, though, and I finally said to myself: “if all of these other writers can do it, so can I!”

Turns out, I was wrong — writing was harder than it looked, and I struggled through that first book. However, my editor saved it, and I enjoyed the process enough to jump headfirst into the second one, then the third… and on.

The emotional significance of writing, for me, is simple: writing is cathartic — I tend to write based on my feelings at the moment: a long, winding love story or a short, punchy action scene. It doesn’t always end up in the book, but it’s always helped me work through whatever I might be feeling, in a logical and tactical way.

http://www.writehacked.com/

 

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Elizabeth Wynter

My return to writing isn’t interesting; it’s how I managed to convince myself for so many years that I wasn’t a writer that keeps me up at night.

Like many of you, I started writing the moment I could and, for me, that began with a journal around age six. Short stories followed through school, with more journaling and even some reporting for my high school newspaper. During and after college I kept journaling, contributed to a friend’s webzine and freelanced for local newspapers.

But I still didn’t think of myself as a “writer” and not even when I chose a profession that draws heavily on my writing skill. I suppose that’s because, to me, real writing was writing books – and, up until five years ago, I hadn’t done that yet.

And by giving into my insecurities, I successfully curbed my drive to write over the years, until one day I couldn’t curb it anymore and I started my first book, which I finished six months later. That was three books ago.

Today, as I sift through old material, I see that, yes, my stuff is good. And then, I understand: being a writer is both a decision and not. I grasped control of my work the moment I stopped controlling myself – and that’s possibly the doorway to the best writing of all.

https://emwynter.wordpress.com/

 

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My Salute to Librarians

From the moment I entered the hushed, sacred precinct of the Brownsville Children’s Library in Brownsville, Brooklyn, back in the mid-1930s, I have been a passionate advocate of the public library.

My most profoundly joyous memory is walking through the crowded, noisy, aroma-filled atmosphere of Sutter Avenue, between rows of pushcarts selling anything edible and wearable, on my way to that vine-covered magic castle of books. It was like crossing a moat from the reality of a contemporary world of struggle and strife, to a paradise of storytelling, which opened infinite possibilities and aspirations in a young boy confronting a strange and scary future.

Most delectable was the homeward journey, back over the same route, but this time heavy with the anticipation of reading the books I was carrying in my arms. I lived with the illusion of stamped library cards piling up, until I had read every book in the library designated for my age group. I think I got pretty close.

That love affair with libraries inspired a lifetime of heavy patronage in every part of the country I have lived. In my twelve-year stay in Jackson Hole, WY, I helped shepherd our lovely little library from a log cabin, into what is now one of the best modern libraries. I was enormously proud to serve as its president.

It was a real battle to create a modern library in Jackson Hole. The entrenched political hierarchy was against change, and it took an extraordinary amount of time and creative energy to convince those who held the purse strings that a library was no longer merely a place for books, but a community asset, a meeting place, and an intellectual center.

I have always been madly in love with librarians, a noble profession of dedication of the highest order. In my long career as an author, librarians have been integral to my writing process. They have provided assistance in research and additional support. Even something as basic as a Google search, while an essential tool for an author, is not as enjoyable and effective as working alongside a knowledgeable librarian.

Librarians also offer the public a fantastic filter and provide them with books that are the most meaningful to both the community as a whole, and to those dedicated readers, regardless of income, for whom the pursuit of entertainment, insight, and knowledge through books, is as essential as the air we breathe.

These extraordinarily dedicated librarians have faced enormous challenges of funding and priority resetting in the face of monumental change. But this is nothing new for public libraries. They have always confronted challenges, including disinterested knucklehead politicians who do not understand the inherent value of these indispensable institutions.

As a kind of commercial adjunct to public libraries, there were once convenient neighborhood lending libraries found mainly inside stores selling greeting cards, stationery, and other paper products. They carried books chosen mostly from bestseller lists, and rented them out to avid readers at a modest day rate.

My mother was addicted to such lending habits, and spent hours after her household chores reading. I would often find her, nose in a book, on a living room chair, deeply engrossed in such works of the imagination.

I applaud and celebrate reading fiction for pleasure, especially because of its importance as an activity in fostering an aware and civilized society. Authors, particularly novelists, are being economically squeezed as never before in our history. Believe me, it hurts to acknowledge this. In addition, there are too few filtering agents to assess the avalanche of novels coming into the pipeline. The traditional and respected evaluators of quality, like librarians, have largely disappeared, leaving behind a crowded turf of reviewers with varied sensitivities, tastes, and abilities who are trying valiantly to fill in the gaps.

While many of these reviewers are quite discerning, they are too fractionalized to offer a cohesive voice that can help propel an author towards the ultimate goal of discovery and, of course, book sales. Add to this obstacle a diminishing cadre of dedicated long form readers of literature, books that do not fit into any genre, the NOVEL. Note the caps.

Of course, I am oversimplifying. The novel is an art form, and the clichéd image of the starving artist applies. To many authors, writing novels is their oxygen, but even the act of creation implies the impulse of finding willing adherents, meaning readers.

Librarians serve as prime filters of edifying reading material for the people they serve. Taxpayers fund them to purchase the books for the people they serve. The public library is the one truly bright spot for writers who brave the trials and tribulations of the industry. When authors are forced to give their works away for nothing in the fierce battle for recognition, there is no economic benefit to the writer. Only purveyors get a most precious commodity, i.e. a name in their databank, and a potential consumer for other products they offer on sale.

The author’s fiercest ally in the battle for human enlightenment is the librarian. I salute them all.

 

 

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Caroline Mitchell

My entry into the world of writing was unusual, to say the least. I’ve always had a love of the written word, and regularly attended my local library in my youth. Growing up in rural Ireland, there wasn’t a lot else to do apart from read and daydream. But it wasn’t until I was in my forties and living in the UK that I wrote my first book. As a serving police officer, launching a book on my true encounters with the paranormal was a nerve wracking but ultimately rewarding experience. It led me to a passionate love affair with writing, and I was fortunate enough to be signed in a three-book deal with publishers Bookouture for my DC Jennifer Knight series. These thrillers are infused with my experiences of the police and paranormal, and I am delighted with the response to date. My advice to anyone starting out with writing would be to persevere, write something every day, and never stop studying the craft.

http://caroline-writes.com/

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Betty Thomason Owens

I started to write because I had a story and it would not be quiet. I was a stay-at-home mom raising three rambunctious boys. Writing provided an outlet for the overflowing joy in my life. As I studied to improve my skill, I learned how freeing it was to live life through words on paper. My artistic side craves fulfillment. Creating worlds filled with characters and situations supplies that need.

bettythomasonowens.com

 

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