Terry Persun's Blog, page 3

Whidbey Island Writers Conference

 
October 25 ~ 27 writers in the Seattle area have a great opportunity to network and learn at the Whidbey Island Writers Conference. You can find more details about my workshops (neatly presented in one place) here.
If you are a young writer (in middle or high school) and you would like to improve your writing, don't miss the special workshop that has been arranged just for you -- presented by my daughter, Nicole J. Persun. 
If you have stumbled onto my blog and are unfamiliar with me or Nicole, be sure to check out our feature in Seattleite magazine.
Still on the fence about signing up? The good folks at Writer.ly have offered up "17 Great Reasons to Attend the Whidbey Island Writers Conference."

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .

The Sit-Down Tree

I’ve always been a nature boy. As long ago as I can remember, I’ve loved spending time in the woods, mostly alone. Even though I grew up with two brothers and a sister, my alone time was always important to me.
Even when we first got television at our remote country location, I spent a lot of my time outside the house. I recall when my whole family watched movies on television on Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t sit still that long, and didn’t want to be inside anyway. That was way too many hours not to be in the sun playing.
One of my favorite places to go was to a special tree that grew—no lie—in the shape of a chair. We called it the sit-down tree (that’s how young we were). I’d cross the creek—called Beautys Run—behind our house, then climb the embankment into the woods. The sit-down tree was located less than a quarter mile to my right. From there, I could see over the bank and across the creek into the side field.
Sitting on that tree, with my legs propped up and my back against the main trunk, I’d daydream, making up stories with super heroes, genius scientists, and strong leading men who protected their families from villains and monsters alike. That wasn’t the only place I daydreamed or made up stories. It was just one of the places. Each had its own feel, and each had a way of gently opening the door to my imagination.
The sit-down tree, like other places, was a magical place to be, a place that I can bring back to life even while sitting in a house thousands of miles, and fifty-some years way. That freedom to open my creativity has kept me alive, fed my soul, and is with me always. I wish for everyone reading this to have their own sit-down tree, and may you go there often.
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank 

Deal Alert: Cathedral of Dreams

 

BookBub Deal Alert ~ CATHEDRAL OF DREAMS now available for 99¢ . Download your weekend SciFi read TODAY! 
BookBub.com/ebook-deals/Cathedral-of-Dreams


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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .

Workshop Insights

 


Writing Workshop participants share their main takeaways from my recent session ~ 
5 pro tips and 4 essential books for honing your craft.


h/t EPIC Group Writers
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .

Science

"No matter what you create, no matter how you approach the creation. We are a creative species. For me, an interest in science feeds my creativity as much as an interest in writing. The two often work together whether I’m writing science fiction or literary fiction. The science behind good sentence structure is as interesting to me as the science behind an electronics circuit..."
Check out my guest post on  Author Magazine, "Science."   

Novels—Are they art?

I know a lot of writers, including me, who want to believe that what they write is art, as much as it is science fiction, romance, thriller, or what have you. What makes something art and not just a job? I’ve often wondered about that.
In my recent reading I came across a quote from poet William Stafford. “An artist is a person who makes the decisions about the work the artist is doing. If you give that away it’s not art.” I’ve pondered that statement for a long time.
Since I write a lot of poetry, and get it published, I notice that the only editing that goes on, most often, has to do with misspellings. Poetry is art. I make all the decisions. I may ask a friend for an opinion, but I make all the decisions.
Novels, on the other hand, are a little different. I make all the decisions…at first. Then it goes through a series of processes: first readers, editors, proof readers. My first readers tell me where the writing gets too slow for them, where the writing gets them confused, where the action overshadows the character, and where the character development overshadows the plot, and all kinds of other things. Editors, question my word choices, my punctuation, my paragraph breaks—for goodness sake. They’re not looking for what the author is trying to do, they’re adjusting to their own set of rules that they think are “real,” but of course they’re not real.
So, how do I decide if what I have written—after it goes through all those people—is art? Is it mine? Did I make the decisions?
It has taken me years to be strong enough in my convictions where I can say yes to most of those questions. I do change things if they appeared too clunky or confusing, but only after I read through the material several times and feel that I am in agreement. And, the changes are my words, too. No one else’s words come through. Seldom do I let that happen. And still, even if it does, it was my decision to make the change.
So, whether I write science fiction, fantasy, or what others might call literary fiction, it’s all art. It’s my art: landscapes, portraits, or caricatures.
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

The Someday Factor

"I lecture and give workshops on writing fairly often, and the difference between those who want to write and those who write, is fairly simple. Those who want to write aren’t writing, they’re talking about writing or making excuses about why they can’t write..."
See my 10 tips on how to break through the "someday factor" on Author Magazine.

Putting Work Into Perspective

Feeling frustrated by your day job?  I'd like to remind you of the importance of regular work to creatives.
Check out my guest post on  Author Magazine, "Putting Work Into Perspective."  

Meanings

Here’s something that I’ve lived by for a long time: “What a book means can be open to the reader but what happened cannot be open to the reader.” I love this statement because I am only able to write what happens, and how the character believed or reacted. Internal dialog is great, but it’s only the opinion of the character whose point of view you’re in and is unreliable for that reason. In fact, when people talk about reliable and unreliable narrators, I find it a bit crazy. If I’m telling a story, it’s coming through me, and if you’re telling a story, it’s coming through you. Don’t tell me that one is more reliable than the other. I know that’s on the highest level, and we’re often talking about character only, but I just wanted to point that out.
So, what happens in a book—unless you use a first person point of view—should be explained clearly, and without bias, if that’s even possible. That way, the reader can and will determine the book’s meaning for him or her self. I say, ‘if that’s possible’ because every writer gets to choose what they show. If I don’t like something, it’s easy to write it as dark (literally), or with many shadows. And if I do like something, it’s just as easy to write it in sunlight. These choices do matter. This is editorializing.
I like books where the editorializing is minimal. I want the author to tell me the story, show me what happens in the scene. A lot can be portrayed by what characters say to one another, or how they try to manipulate one another. Plus, like the old adage, “Action speaks louder than words,” what happens in a novel takes on weight. How people act, how they walk, their facial expressions, can speak volumes about a person.
I’m not talking about show don’t tell here. In fact, if your characters argue a lot, I don’t want to read pages upon pages of their arguments. Sometimes, please, oh, please, just tell me they argued again. Or if they have a certain habit, don’t show me every time. I’ll start to see it without being shown. No, I mean how they react to situations in the book. I want to watch it happen so that I can make up my mind what it means to me.
I suppose that’s why I’m not always crazy about books written in first person. I get their monologue. I get what they claim happens, but I don’t get to see it myself, and therefore make up my own mind. I’m driven through the book through their eyes, often with all the BS that goes with it. Every first person narrative is unreliable by nature. That’s why memoirs don’t typically interest me. I don’t want the writer’s opinion, I want to make up my own mind.
So, it’s my belief that a well-written book should provide me with plenty of content, and as little editorializing as possible. That way I can decide what I think it’s about. I become part of the creativity of the book. Isn’t that what’s so great about reading in the first place? 
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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His latest poetry collection is “And Now This”. His novels, “Wolf’s Rite” and “Cathedral of Dreams” were ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalists in the science fiction category, and his novel “Sweet Song” won a Silver IPPY Award. His latest science fiction space opera is, “Hear No Evil”, his latest fantasy is “Doublesight”, his latest mainstream/literary novel is “Ten Months in Wonderland”. Terry’s website is: www.TerryPersun.com or you can find him on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Terry%20Persun&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

Armchair ePublishing Interview: Are You Ready To Fumble?

Today I stop by Armchair ePublishing to discuss on revising / polishing work and knowing when you have "scored a touchdown" with your work.


"The art of writing is like the art of music, painting, or even automobile design. It basically says that you don’t know what’s good because good is subjective, not objective. Stop worrying about it."

Read more

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Terry Persun writes in many genres, including historical fiction, mainstream, literary, and science fiction/fantasy. He is a Pushcart nominee. His historical novel, Sweet Song , was a Silver IPPY Award Winner. His new fantasy novel is Doublesight . Terry’s utopian / dystopian novel, Cathedral of Dreams was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year finalist in the science fiction category. His other science fiction titles include the sci-fi thriller Revision 7: DNA and the newly released space opera, Hear No Evil .