Rena Sherwood's Blog, page 3

10 Bad Books By Great Writers

[image error] “People who have half a mind to write a book – unfortunately do!”  -- Anonymous
Even the best authors can produce some real clunkers. Although these 10 are arguably great writers, steer clear of these books, listed in alphabetical order. (Some of these appear on my Goodreads reviews.)
Judy Blume, Wifey
Celebrated children book author Judy Blume’s 1978 work for adults seems desperate to distance itself as far from children’s books as possible.  The unsympathetic protagonist, caught in a boring marriage, decides to have an affair.  This theme has been much better done by other writers.  The numerous sex scenes are blunt, chilling and embarrassing instead of sensual.
William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
This highly-acclaimed 1929 novel about the fall of a Southern family is confusing, unsatisfying and depressing.  It was written in a Faulkner’s stream of consciousness style, but novels like As I Lay Dying managed to make this style compelling and comprehensible.
Dick Francis, Hot Money
Francis became more famous as a mystery writer than as a champion steeplechase jockey.  Most of his mysteries are examples of how to write a mystery, but this 1987 offering lacks the grim but hopeful reality of British horse racing that appears in the majority of Francis’ works.  There are too many characters and a sudden ending to make this a satisfying work.
Jonathan Franzen, Freedom
Franzen has earned accolades for his works, including this very long 2010 novel.  Told in different character’s voices, this novel fails for being too patronizing to the reader.  Symbols and metaphors are explained at great length by the characters.  The novel is much too long and cutting out those explanations would save the reader’s nerves.
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
Although this novella won the Pulitzer Prize of 1954, The Old Man and the Sea is responsible for a generation of readers to hate Hemingway.  This is a shame, considering that most of Hemingway’s novels are full of quirky dark humor and three-dimensional characters.  Unfortunately, this novella lacks his sense of humor and character development.  In modern times where animal suffering is cringe-worthy, readers may find themselves rooting for the fish.
Stephen King, Insomnia
The master of this 1994 thriller starts strong and then keeps on stumbling in this bestseller.  Although this was publicized as being a novel that can stand by itself, it makes numerous references to King’s Gunslinger series.  This is incredibly frustrating for anyone who hasn’t read a Gunslinger book.
Dean Koontz, Cold Fire
The basis of a good horror story is that the plot must be believable.  In this way, the reader wonders if the premise could actually happen.  This is sadly missing in Koontz’s 1991 offering, Cold Fire.  The female protagonist, a reporter, seems to be the most intelligent human being that has ever lived in order to figure out just what is going on to a seemingly miraculous man.
Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed
Lamb creates vivid characters and compelling plotlines, but The Hour I First Believed (2008) breaks no new ground.  It contains dozens of pages reproducing interviews and news articles about the Columbine school shooting.  Readers already overly familiar with the Columbine shooting will find these long passages tedious.  This novel so similar to Lamb’s previous I Know This Much Is True (1998) that you have to wonder if he plagiarized himself.
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
McCarthy’s 2006 short novel won raves from Oprah Winfrey and from many critics.  However, the main plot line – what happens in a post-Apocalyptic world – has been much better in Stephen King’s The Stand, in John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids and about 100 other science fiction short stories.
John Steinbeck, Burning Bright
Although technically this is a three-act play, it’s more of a three-act circus.  Published in 1950, Steinbeck’s experiment of writing a novella in play form fails.  The characters have bizarre dialogue, as if they are trying to speak in pretentious poetry.  Each act includes the same plot structure and characters with the same names – but other than that, these acts have nothing to do with each other.  The first is set in a circus, the second at a farm, the third on a boat and the finale in a delivery room.  It makes for disorienting reading.

Had to Monetize the Blog. Sorry.

Hey, give me a break -- I made only $850 in 2015 and I'm still hurting. I need to gather in all the pennies I can -- even if this means that I loose my literary soul. Hopefully this means I will not have to delete any previous posts (you never know when the AdSense rules are going to change) but if I do, it probably won't be that great a loss to society.

In the meantime (and it is a mean time) I am going to post some of my old articles from websites that are no longer with us (and I see appear in evil scraper sites.) Right now, I'm going to concentrate on posting articles about writing but I'm sure I'll stray off to other topics eventually because that's how I am and there is no cure.

Also, I've started posting new material up at my other blogs that you may enjoy:


The Future of the Thoroughbred (a blog about horses)Not the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (promo blog for my eBook)My Dog is Better Than Your God (a blog about dogs and some atheism stuff)Dreaming of Peter (sleep, dreaming and health problems associated with them)Why Van Gogh Matters (about Van Gogh, of course!)

3 Reasons Why Freelance Writing is Great

If you’re passionate about writing and learning, then freelance writing is the best job in the world.  It’s not an easy job, though.  
If you’re passionate about writing and learning, then freelance writing is the best job in the world.  It’s not an easy job, though.  You have to be willing to put in the hours, drop a lot of social engagements and submit to seemingly bizarre revision requests.  If you are willing to do all of that, then you will discover all of the reasons that freelance writing is such a great career – flexibility, variety and stability.
Flexibility
You work your own hours.  This doesn’t mean that you get to watch YouTube videos for hours and call it “research.”  You have to get your behind in the chair, fingers on the keyboard and churn out the work.  But the more you write, the easier it is to get in the habit of writing. 
There is no one to ask vacation dates from, so you can set your own vacation dates.  You may not be able to go on vacations for the first few years of your freelance career, but eventually you will be able to.  You may be able to incorporate article ideas during your vacation.  Expect to do rough drafts or article outlines while on vacation.
Variety
The Internet provides thousands of places to turn your words into money.  If you are able to get into traditional print media, great, but the bulk of freelance writing jobs are online.  On the same day, you could be writing for blogs, press releases, brief news items, how-to guides and advertising.  The subjects also vary wildly, which keep you from getting bored.
When you begin freelance writing, get out of your comfort zone and write about as many topics as you can.  This gives you more job opportunities and more clips to show to future clients.  As your career progresses and you have your pick of clients, you can pick which subjects will be your specialty. 
Stability
In a traditional job, you went from your home to a building and did your job for one business.  But how about if that business tanked?  You’re left without any income.  With freelance writing, you avoid this scenario by having many clients.  You can keep on assessing the clients you have, dropping those that are irksome and taking on more clients.  Try to have at least six clients at any one time.  That way if one fails or just does not have enough work for you, you can still bring in income with the other five clients.
Even though you are your own boss, you still have to be disciplined, professional and know your limitations.  These are things best learned on the job.  In freelance writing, you can learn these skills while still bringing in an income.

Advice for New Online Writers

Writing web content is not a reliable way to make money
According to Indeed.com, the average annual salary of a web content writer is $56,000. Keep in mind this is just an average. When starting out, web content writers will make a lot less. You will be lucky to crack four figures. Web content writing is hard work with long hours for very little money. Treat a career in web content writing as a second job instead of relying on it as a main job.
When you do get work, act professionally. Get it done on time. Let your clients have at least two ways of getting in contact with you. Use good grammar, spelling and punctuation in your correspondence emails. Get a separate email account for your clients. If you do not have a PayPal account, get one. Many clients will only pay by PayPal.
Expect Scams
Finding paying clients that offer steady work is very difficult. This is a “feast or famine” type of career. You must take as much work as you can when it is offered in order to help you get through times of no paying writing jobs. Because there are so many online writers desperate for work, it will be inevitable that all web content writers will run into scammers.
Scammers will not give you a clear answer as to how much money you will make. They will ask for long articles as a “sample” of your work. Never send long articles as samples. It will wind up being stolen. Make a blog, webpage or LinkedIn page that shows off your best online clips. Send links to these pages as samples to potential clients.
Unpredictability
Never count on steady work from any client. Many online writers were making a good living writing for just one client, Demand Media. Google then launched the Panda algorithm in late 2011, which penalized Demand Media web sites. Demand Media dropped most of its writers and greatly slowed down the amount of writing jobs available for the few writers that was left.
Clients can come and go at the drop of a hat because of online trends, natural disasters or sudden bankruptcy. Never be satisfied with just one or two major clients. Get at least six clients so that if one client suddenly disappears you still have five other revenue streams. Economize whenever you can and bank your savings. Your savings should be used only in emergencies when you cannot find work.
Image: "Notebook and Pens" by Marco Verch for Wikimedia Commons

Being a Writer: Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Or, overcoming the intimidation factor of being a writer
If I only had a dollar for every time I was laughed at when I mentioned I wanted to be a writer, I’d still write anyway.  I’d only do it in a more comfortable chair.

Public Perception of Writers

And I'm not the only one. Any career in the creative arts is looked on with eyes rolled to the heavens. Although some lucky writers were given immediate support by their families and friends, most would-be writers are heavily encouraged to take up another profession by friends, family and total strangers.

The reason for this is because the nay-sayers hold a genuine fear that you will not be able to make enough money to survive. Most people look at all artists as starving artists. You will certainly find them in any field of the creative arts today. If someone you know (or don't know) tried to discourage you from being a writer, they are usually doing it out of concern for you rather than trying to put you down.

Money or Lack Therof

The chances of making enough money to survive through your writing alone are grim. You not only have to learn how to write, you have to learn how to network, how to sell yourself and do your own bookkeeping. Even books on writing careers written by successful freelance writers will caution, "Don't quit your day job." For example, my “day job” is caretaker to my elderly mother.  I don’t get a salary for it, but I do get bed and board.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average yearly salary for a freelance writer was 
$55, 420.  Keep in mind that this is the average. Last year (2015) made a mere three-figure salary.  Finding the average of a freelance writer's salary is like finding the average of a professional baseball player's salary. It only takes a few multi-million dollar contracts to screw up the national average.  And so, this worry about money can be very intimidating, indeed.

Write Anyway

Write anyway. Let the very burning drive to write be your validation to write.  If you have the passion for it, you will find ways to incorporate writing into many aspects of your life, whether you are a freelance writer or not. Know deep within yourself why you want to write is it to put food on the table, to express yourself, or just because you love it?

If going three days without writing something down drives you nearly insane, then perhaps you have the passion to write. Writing is the jugular vein of your life. The more you write no matter what you write the better you will get. And you'll keep yourself sane.

Recommended Reading


Take Joy: A Writer’s Guide to Loving the Craft.  Jane Yolen.  Writer’s Digest Books; 2006.On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.  Stephen King.  Scribner; 2000.Procrastinating Writers. “Do YouFear Failure?” May 12, 2009.

5 Most Effective Ways to Get Over Writer’s Block

Advice from a freelance writer -- me
When you write for a living, then writer's block can be crippling. Although people who write as a hobby or "for fun" also feel crippled when they undergo writer's block, they usually have another source of income to fall back on. But for a professional writer, word flow is the only way to get food on the table. Here are five ways to get the butt in the chair and the fingers on the keyboard.
Look At Your Bills
This is an incredibly effective way to remove writer's block. Do not underestimate the thought of getting a harassing phone call from a bill collector. Suddenly, that series of colon cleansing articles due next week looks a little more appetizing.
Needing to pay bills taps into your survival instincts. When asked about his talents, legendary British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel quickly denies that he possesses exceptional talents. In an interview with Musician magazine, Gabriel explains, "Image that a gun was put to your head and you were told that you'd be shot unless you managed to produce a great work of art. Suddenly you would find motivation to do so."
Let that pile of bills act as a gun put to your head. You'll be writing like mad before you can think about it.
Read Something From Your Favorite Charity
Ever wish you could give more money to your favorite charity? You could if you wrote more articles, blog posts or whatever it is you write in order to get paid. By looking at people or animals that suffer worse lives than you have, your writer's block seems to dwindle in comparison. This is a more altruistic version of the first method.
Just stick to one charity or you'll soon feel overwhelmed with responsibilities. Try to keep the reading of websites, charity newsletters or whatever to about ten minutes, or you'll just be reading instead of writing.
Write in Small Chunks
You can trick yourself into writing a whole article, short story or whatever. Don’t think "I have to write a whole big project now." Instead, think, "I have to write a headline or title now." That's it. That's all you have to do. When you get that done, mentally pat yourself on the back and think, 
"Alright – now I need to write the first sentence. That's it. Just the first sentence." And so on.It’s a bit like climbing a mountain or cleaning a house.  The whole task looks insurmountable, but if you take it down into small chunks, the task is accomplished.
Set a Deadline
Even if your writing project does not have a deadline, give it one. It’s hard to justify postponing writing when you have a deadline looming. Make the deadline the day before a special event so that your event is even more special with a sense of accomplishment.  Other deadline dates can include upcoming vacation days, doctor's appointments or when the next episode of your favorite television show comes on.
Loosen Up and Laugh

Your first draft does not have to be perfect. Editing and revision come later. Just get that first draft out as quickly as possible. When you go back and see the mistakes you made, realize that the sky has not fallen because you did a typo. Have a laugh and enjoy the process of getting yet another writing assignment accomplished.

Laptop Really Has Cancer Now

After three and a half weeks glorious remission, the Black Screen of Death cancer has returned to my 4+ Dell Inspirion 5040 laptop. This time, I think it's a gonner. I'm depressed since this laptop treated me better than any of my boyfriends did. I hating hitting my Mom up for money but have no choice. No laptop -- no work freelance writing. And I guess I can kiss the year-long subscription I had to Windows and Office goodbye.

Oh yeah -- tomorrow is my birthday. Happy fucking birthday to me.

My Last Honest Post

I won't be posting anything about myself -- especially about how I really think about things -- anymore on this blog until after Trump leaves office or people in America are allowed to have an opinion anymore.

I'm still looking for work -- but do not expect to find any.

Oh -- my ebook is still availble on Amazon.

I Think My Laptop Has Cancer

I may not be online for a while since I think my previously-trusty Dell laptop seems to have gone beyond a virus and toppled into cancer. It's one of those hideous Black Screen of Death affairs. I've spent the last two (or is it three?) days trying to fix this myself (ha ha) using tutorials from YouTube and elsewhere. Wish me luck.

I Think I Have Brain Damage Because I Want to Write Tons of Book Reviews

Howdy. Sorry I haven't blogged since June. I've been busy writing for money from others and then I'd get so stressed that I'd have to chill out by either reading or writing book reports on Goodreads. Earlier this year I was in the Top 100 of book reviewers (I was #99) but now I see I've somehow jumped up to #61.

I can't remember how many reviews I've written (as opposed to just clicking the star rating. That's too wimpy for me). I think I've gone past 1600 now. Well, the sake of argument we'll say I have written over 1600 reviews.

And not just that. No, no, no. My high only comes after I've done the ol' Cut & Paste finger dance and copied it into a file of my reviews that I keep on my laptop.

I'm not just a book addict. I'm a HARD CORE book addict.

I have no idea why I'm so driven to do these reviews. Perhaps because I'm so tempted to do drugs. Or perhaps it's the only way I can be assured of a reading audience. Or maybe because one day I'll become famous for writing thousands of book  reviews.