Darius Jones's Blog: A Writer Begins - Posts Tagged "epictetus"

Time for a report on my writing projects.

It turns out that things can not move forward swiftly all the time, especially when publishers, magazines and editors get involved. That’s why I haven’t published anything since The Library of Lost Books in July. But although the editors haven’t green lighted anything yet, I’ve kept writing and wanted to share where my projects are at.

-I am still waiting to hear back on a SciFi short story. I sent it to a magazine that’s undergoing some management changes, so it’s been held up for some time. This has been frustrating, but it’s a good story and a really good mag, so I’m willing to be patient and see what happens.
-I have a fantasy short (7,500 words) story pretty much done and ready to submit.
-I have finished draft one of a historical fiction novella (18,000  words). It’s not speculative history (i.e., the Nazis developed the atomic bomb and won WWII), but a fictionalized retelling of a familiar story. I’m excited about this one, as it’s my first foray into historical fiction.

To sum up, although there’s a lull on the publishing side, the writing side is moving forward. Which is just the way one of my heroes, Epictetus, would have liked it. 

I hope to write more about Epictetus, but the central idea of all his work was that excellence (arête, see Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Plutarch’s Lives, etc. for the ancient Greek concept) comes not through outwards signs and awards, but through doing our best. The universe’s role is to play itself out, to continue to function according to the laws of Logos (what we might call Reason) and Fate (what we might call Chance). The individual’s role is to play his part bravely and well, no matter what the universe throws his way. To be the best soldier, the best wrestler, the best doctor, the best trumpet player, the best friend, the best father that one can be (with the caveat that each person and creature does the best with the body and abilities they were endowed with by nature). As Epictetus put it (Discourses, Book II, Chapter 5):

Therefore Socrates well understood playing at ball... And what was the ball he had to play with? Life, chains, exile, a draught of poison, separation from a wife, and leaving his children orphans. These were what he had to play with; and yet he did play, and threw the ball with address. Thus we should be careful as to the play, but indifferent as to the ball.

So, the ball may not be dropping my way,  but I’m going to keep playing the game. The short story will be off to magazines soon. And the novella should follow fairly soon thereafter—whether a publisher picks it up or I have to publish it on Kindle myself.

As always. Keep playing, keep pushing. Keep reading, keep writing. Until next time.

This was going to be a retrospective blog post of my first year as a (self) published author. But events have changed that. Instead I’d like to blog today about dedication. 

Recently, my novel, The Library of Lost Books, received it first really bad review. I mean really bad. The reviewer did make some points I thought weren’t quite fair, but he/she also made some pretty salient points. And perhaps that’s why it really stung.

But I’m not letting it phase me. I’ve got to stay focused, plugged in and writing. It’s just like old man Epictetus said (Discourses, Book III, Chapter XXV):

…even if we have renounced the contest, no one restrains us from renewing it, nor need we wait for another four years for the return of another Olympiad; but recollecting and recovering yourself, and returning with the same zeal, you may renew it immediately; and even if you should again yield, you may again begin; and if you once get the victory, you become like one who has never yielded.

There was a time when I would let such feedback stop me. I would stop writing that week. Reassess. Rethink things. One week of introspection would become two. Finally, I would try writing again. After the break, I would be rusty naturally, the writing would be worse, stilted. It wouldn’t flow. I would review what I had written that day before getting 1,000 words up on the screen. More self-criticism would seep in and I would stop writing for the day. Then, it would be three weeks in a row without writing. I might jumpstart my psyche out of it again on week 3, but probably not. Instead I would go into a writing pause of months, maybe even years.

No more.

When I get bad criticism now, I take it in cautiously. The process goes something like this:

1. Read the criticism.

2. Determine whether the criticism is Destructive or Constructive. Destructive criticism has tell-tale signs. It involves personal attacks and/or highly emotive language. Such as: “This writer is clearly ignorant of the subject matter and the weak characterization and cliché plot twists only make matters worse.” Honestly, there’s really not much I can do with that, even if I wanted to. Constructive criticism sounds more like this: “the plotting was weak,” “I lost interest near the end,” or “there were too many typographical errors.” This is fine and I can use it to improve my work.

3. If it’s destructive criticism, I stop reading it and try to forget about it. There’s no point in dwelling on or responding to negative attacks.

4. If it’s constructive criticism I think about it. I analyze what they’ve said and determine whether they have a point. Sometimes, they do.

5. I pay attention to whether multiple readers have the same criticism. This always gives their thoughts weight. For example, in The Library of Lost Books, a number of people said that the middle was slow and broke the plot arch. The fact that three different readers said this without being prompted, tends to make me think they were right and that I could have incorporated that section into the plot arch better or at least reduced its length. 

6.  If the constructive critics have a salient point, I try to incorporate that into my writing. That is IF I feel that it jells with where I want to go as an artist. I’m not going to start writing like James Joyce (who I really don’t care for) just because someone thinks that it would improve my work. But, in the future I do intend to  make sure the midpoint of my novel carries the action and tension forward, so that I don’t lose readers’ interest.

I like to think I’ve developed a more mature reaction to negative criticism. Most importantly, I don’t let it derail or stop my writing routine. I just show up to work and write each Sunday as much as I can. And more and more, I am able to separate the wheat from the chaff, the constructive criticism from the destructive, and incorporate that back into my writing.

It took a lot of writing and sharing with friends and strangers and listening to what they had to say to get here. Sometimes, it hurt. I can’t claim it didn’t. But now I’m used to it. And I can usually figure out if criticism is coming from a bad, dark place or a good place. I let the dark stuff roll off my back and I learn from the good criticism. It’s that sort of response that is slowly helping me become a better writer.

Until next time…keep reading, keep writing,

D

PS. There is a happy ending to this story. I stayed focused. I did my editing and pre-writing on Sunday just like I planned and didn’t let negative voices derail me.