S.K. Thomas's Blog, page 5
January 28, 2016
How I Make a Living as a Writer (and You Can, Too)
I recently ran across this article in one of my many searches and enjoyed it very much. I hope you will too. This post originally appeared on The Altucher Confidential.
James Altucher has written nine published books and one comic book. He's created a web series for HBO and is working on one right now for PBS. He's built 20 companies and failed at 17 of them. He speaks regularly about misery at conferences that can't seem to get enough of it. He's written for Yahoo, AOL, the Wall St Journal, The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, the Elephant Journal, and others. His newest book is titled "Choose Yourself ." He lives by a river. You can follow James on Twitter @jaltucher. All of the opinions and/or facts in this article are his.
So without further ado, I present James Altucher:
When I first wrote a novel in 1991, I remember walking down the road and seeing a pretty girl and thinking, "She might like me now."
I know that a lot of what I write seems to involve whether or not women like me. But that's what I think about. I want people to like me. And when I was younger, it was more important that women like me than that men like me.
I also wanted money. I didn't want to work for a boss. That scary feeling of being called into the boss's office after you know you did something that was "wrong." I put it in quotes because what does it matter now? What did it even matter then? How could you, my sweet baby, ever do something wrong? (Note: that's the sentence I would whisper to myself after being summoned to the boss's office.)
"Don't you have any pride in your work?"
"Clean out your desk today."
"Did you steal all of the paper?"
"Why did the office cleaning lady find 20 moldy sandwiches in your drawer?"
"Why didn't you test the software before it went to the client?"
Whatever. It's because I was busy and no, I didn't have pride in my work. I was 22 years old and looking at women and trying to publish a novel on the side so I didn't have to work anymore. And I have no comment about the sandwiches. It took many years before I made any money as a writer. And what works then is different now. Right now it's easier than ever. But the rules changed every three or four years and they will change again. Just like they change with everything in life.
By the way, that first novel, and the four that came after it, and the 50 short stories that came after it, never got published. I used to think I needed to publish something before I could feel good about myself, before I could call myself a "writer," before I could have a girlfriend, before I could get a real job, before I could move to NYC. What a pathetic weight on my shoulder to think I needed something controlled by just a handful of people. Those weights stayed on my back for years.
When you have weights on you, you can't move. The weights are only mental. Go ahead. Move.
So…GO!
You Are a Writer:
If you sit down at a blank screen every day and simply do nothing then you are a writer. If you write one word, even better. Some people will disagree. Maybe you will disagree. That's fine. We also can all disagree. Meanwhile, our DNA is telling us we are pretty much exactly the same. People argue and DNA laughs.
Read a Ton of Stuff:
I try to read pieces or chapters in 3-4 books a day or more. I read at least from one non-fiction, one or two quality fiction, and one inspirational. I try to read at the level I want to write. I do this in the morning before I start writing. If you email me, you can see in the auto response some of the latest things I've been reading. At night I relax and read things that are a little more like "junk food"—fun things that I want to read but don't necessarily inspire my writing. If you don't like reading, you won't like writing.Before I wrote this morning, I read parts of books from Teju Cole, Bukowski, Eckhart Tolle, and the blog Hyperbole and a Half.
Someone wrote in a comment to someone else's post a few weeks ago: What if James Altucher had to take care of two kids in the morning? Yes, it's true. Kids suck. But sometimes I do have to do that. Plus I have other responsibilities. So I wake up at 4am and begin reading and writing. Or earlier. Whatever it takes.
Get Rid of Prejudice:
Agents, publishers, and editors at the traditional companies are mostly bullshit. They have no clue what they are doing. For the most part they pick sucky writers whose books flash for a week or so and then disappear forever. And they take a year to publish your book after they accept your book. This is not 100% true. But try to gauge the entrepreneurship of the people you are dealing with. You need people as creative as you. It needs to be a team and not a machine.
You can traditionally publish, but make sure you are doing it with creative entrepreneurs and not people stuck in the machine. If you think you need a mainstream publisher for reasons of ego or prejudice then you are guaranteed to publish a worst-seller instead of a bestseller.
The second you start to think something, anything, is IMPORTANT, then your ego will suffer and your work will suffer. If you are an artist, get your art in the hands of people. That's your only job. Destroy every gatekeeper.
Self-Publishing Is Not E-Books:
If you self-publish, you can make an e-book, you can make a print-on-demand book through Createspace, you can make an Audio book through Audible, you can make a hardcover, you can even make a t-shirt with your book on it. I have over 20 t-shirts with the entire 67,000 words of "Choose Yourself!" printed on it. My kids have several shirts. [My wife] Claudia does. Nobody is allowed to walk into this house without wearing that t-shirt.
Do what you want. Self-publishing simply means you write a book and you figure out how to get it into the hands of other people. It might just be you sell it on your email list. Congrats! You're then a published author. In my post "How to Self Publish a Bestseller" I write about the details and the numbers.
Bookstores Are Evil:
My kids are sad that Borders is dying and that Barnes & Noble is next. Keep your mouths shut, kids! I get it. I love bookstores also. It's like a work of art to see all of those covers, to thumb through the pages, to grab a pile of books and a coffee and start seeing what books you want to buy.
But don't forget just 20 years ago everyone said Barnes & Noble was evil because they were killing the independent bookstore. I have news for you: the indies were evil also. One guy picking out 500 of his favorite books and no others.
Now a B&N might have 10,000 books but Amazon has 20 million books. Why would you ever give someone the choice to limit you. I hope all bookstores die and that Amazon is the only one left standing. Because then every author has a chance and not just the ones the B&N gatekeeper decides on.
And I'll tell you how I am doing my role: I pick out the books I might buy in a Barnes & Noble. I take them to the coffee shop in the store. I buy my coffee and start thumbing through the books. Then I buy the books right there and then in the store. On my Kindle. Screw you, Barnes & Noble.
Platform Is Shit:
I agree it's important to have some internet presence. You need to sell your first 1,000 books once you publish and the internet is a good way to do it. But your free audience is not the way to do it. They read your blog for free. They don't even want to fork over 99 cents to buy your book.
I will give you an example: on my last book, Choose Yourself!, I obviously encouraged my readers to buy it. But another group, Stansberry Research, recommended it to their paying subscribers. In two weeks through them I sold tens of thousands of books. It took my free audience, which was millions bigger, three months to catch up in sales to an audience that had never even heard of me before.
Now my book has sold over 100,000 copies and I'm getting ready to send out another email bundle to another list. This will be infinitely more valuable than any blog, podcast, marketing, whatever I use to promote my book on the internet.
I love the audience for my blog and these posts. I feel it's one of the few times I've seen a community of genuine good people trying to improve. I don't write here to sell books but to build community and make friends. Most of the internet is "outrage porn" and I'm glad we've avoided that.
That said, I am not an expert on marketing. Ryan Holiday, who is an expert on book marketing (and also told me the term "outrage porn" yesterday), helped me with my book and was an invaluable resource and to this day still is. Ryan and Tucker Max and Nils Parker are building a company which will revolutionize this industry. One rule I have is I am loyal for life to anyone who helps me make money and Ryan definitely helped me.
Blog:
This seems opposite of what I said above. But blogging is not such a bad idea. How come? Because it makes you write every day. And it also is fun to build friends and community around your blog. But if you want to blog, don't just register a domain name and start blogging. You won't get any traffic.
I encourage people to find online communities that they like and feel like participating in and start blogging there or guest posting there. If you are unsure of where and how to blog, start by practicing on a site like Quora, which is a question and answer site that also hosts blogs.
Practice answering questions there. See what gets upvoted and what doesn't. Improve your skills. See if you enjoy it. Then start taking some of your answers and making them into a blog. Then start guest posting on other sites. You're not trying to build an audience for your blog. You're trying to build an audience for YOU, PERIOD. There's no money in ads, blah. You have to be more creative than ever how you build an audience. The best Internet marketing I did was when I did a reddit AMA (which Ryan, above, set up).
Look at someone like EL James, who wrote Fifty Shades of Grey. I don't even think she had a blog. She was posting on fan fiction sites for Twilight. And millionaire teenage bestseller, Amanda Hocking, was posting in the comments section of JA Konrath's site and building community that way.
There's a thousand ways to build community and practice writing on the Internet. Blog is one of them but there are many others. My #1 suggestion: first practice on Quora (cc Marc Bodnick) If you go there, follow me and say "Hi!".
Write Every Day:
I had a friend who wanted to be a painter. "When I move to Paris I'll finally be able to paint," she said. She never moved to Paris. Now she's a programmer and hates her job. I have another friend who has been working for 30 years on one novel. She keeps hating it and rewriting it. She can't get a publisher interested. She only writes when she's inspired. She needs writing groups to push her along.
I get it. I get writer's block also. But writing is a muscle. I used to play in chess tournaments a lot. I was ranked a master. And then I got busy with other things. So my skill level has dropped. It would take me a good six months of studying, three hours a day to just get back up to my old skill level. If you don't write every day, you won't know what your potential skill level is. You will be producing sub-par work. And in a world where 15 million books will be published this year, your book will have little chance to shine.
It doesn't matter if you write good stuff or bad stuff every day. Yesterday, for fun, I wrote about how much I enjoyed bowel movements. Will I publish that? I hope not! It was awful! But I wrote because that's what I wrote yesterday. 1500 words about bowel movements. Mission accomplished.
Do the math: if you just write 1,000 words a day that are publishable then you have a book every two months. 1,000 words a day is not easy. But it's not hard either. This post is 1,800 words so far and I started 20 minutes ago. I'll spend many more hours rewriting it than writing, it but once you start exercising the writing muscle (start with 200 words a day, then 300, etc.) you will get up to 1,000.
Rewrite Every Day:
See above. I feel better about the words I take out then the words I write. First you have a block of stone, then you make a sculpture, then you chisel and fine tune until you have a work of art. Art is born from the rewrite, not from the typewrite.
With Choose Yourself! I kept rewriting obsessively. One time the book was all finished and sent to editors, designers, etc. Then I did the audio version. KABLAMO! Any paragraph that made me feel like, "Ugh, I'm too bored to read this out loud," I noted. Then I went back home and rewrote the whole book again. And the audio version veered so much from the book it was completely unabridged. Everyone hated me. But I liked the final result much better. Read your work out loud and cut out anything that makes you lag.
Can I Make Money Writing Articles?
No. You used to be able to make a living writing articles. Just a few years ago. In 2005 I made a good living writing about 3-4 articles a day for different publications while I was running my fund and before I started and sold Stockpickr. But those days are over. People just don't pay for content. And there are too many writers. It's a supply and demand thing.
If you expect to make a living from articles or blogs then figure out how to do one of three things:
1)Blog for free, but then lead people to a subscription information product. Like "stock picks" or "dating" or whatever you think you're an expert at and nobody else is.
2)Get speaking gigs. This is hard.
3)Do consulting or coaching. This is possible.
I've never been that great at any of the three above. Well, maybe #3 but only recently. So this leaves us with only one thing. ONE THING works.
Write a Lot of Books:
If you can write one book and it's a mega-bestseller like 50 Shades of Grey, then congratulations. There is exactly one of you and I know your name: EL James. For everyone else, you have to write more than one book. And for most people, you have to write dozens of books.
I was at a dinner recently of a bunch of self-published Amazon authors who were making a living at it. Every single one of them had more than ten books written and published in the prior year or so. Theresa Ragan, as an example, has 13 or 14 books written (thriller and romance) in the past two or three years. Hugh Howey, known for his Wool series, has written around 28 books in the past few years. I lost count while counting them. He never stops. I highly recommend his SAND series which just came out.
At the dinner there was one woman who had written over 100 books. If she averages $100 a book a month for the rest of her life it's not so bad. Choose Yourself! was my 11th or 12th published book. I have four more books sitting here ready to go. Throughout history, the best books have often been written in a short amount of time. Bukowski's Post Office and Jack Kerouac's On the Road were both written in three weeks. Always remember the key rule: an overnight success takes at least five years of solid work (as defined in my prior post "The Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Reinventing Yourself").
I left out important things: how do you market books, how do you make art, how do you build discipline, what do you write about, and so on. There's answers for all of those. The most important thing for me: writing without fear. Writing without judgment. Writing without anger. Making writing fun. Writing right now.
Writing is about freedom and not money. I want to write to you something fun and useful. And I want you to read it.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
James Altucher has written nine published books and one comic book. He's created a web series for HBO and is working on one right now for PBS. He's built 20 companies and failed at 17 of them. He speaks regularly about misery at conferences that can't seem to get enough of it. He's written for Yahoo, AOL, the Wall St Journal, The Financial Times, The Huffington Post, the Elephant Journal, and others. His newest book is titled "Choose Yourself ." He lives by a river. You can follow James on Twitter @jaltucher. All of the opinions and/or facts in this article are his.
So without further ado, I present James Altucher:
When I first wrote a novel in 1991, I remember walking down the road and seeing a pretty girl and thinking, "She might like me now."
I know that a lot of what I write seems to involve whether or not women like me. But that's what I think about. I want people to like me. And when I was younger, it was more important that women like me than that men like me.
I also wanted money. I didn't want to work for a boss. That scary feeling of being called into the boss's office after you know you did something that was "wrong." I put it in quotes because what does it matter now? What did it even matter then? How could you, my sweet baby, ever do something wrong? (Note: that's the sentence I would whisper to myself after being summoned to the boss's office.)
"Don't you have any pride in your work?"
"Clean out your desk today."
"Did you steal all of the paper?"
"Why did the office cleaning lady find 20 moldy sandwiches in your drawer?"
"Why didn't you test the software before it went to the client?"
Whatever. It's because I was busy and no, I didn't have pride in my work. I was 22 years old and looking at women and trying to publish a novel on the side so I didn't have to work anymore. And I have no comment about the sandwiches. It took many years before I made any money as a writer. And what works then is different now. Right now it's easier than ever. But the rules changed every three or four years and they will change again. Just like they change with everything in life.
By the way, that first novel, and the four that came after it, and the 50 short stories that came after it, never got published. I used to think I needed to publish something before I could feel good about myself, before I could call myself a "writer," before I could have a girlfriend, before I could get a real job, before I could move to NYC. What a pathetic weight on my shoulder to think I needed something controlled by just a handful of people. Those weights stayed on my back for years.
When you have weights on you, you can't move. The weights are only mental. Go ahead. Move.
So…GO!
You Are a Writer:
If you sit down at a blank screen every day and simply do nothing then you are a writer. If you write one word, even better. Some people will disagree. Maybe you will disagree. That's fine. We also can all disagree. Meanwhile, our DNA is telling us we are pretty much exactly the same. People argue and DNA laughs.
Read a Ton of Stuff:
I try to read pieces or chapters in 3-4 books a day or more. I read at least from one non-fiction, one or two quality fiction, and one inspirational. I try to read at the level I want to write. I do this in the morning before I start writing. If you email me, you can see in the auto response some of the latest things I've been reading. At night I relax and read things that are a little more like "junk food"—fun things that I want to read but don't necessarily inspire my writing. If you don't like reading, you won't like writing.Before I wrote this morning, I read parts of books from Teju Cole, Bukowski, Eckhart Tolle, and the blog Hyperbole and a Half.
Someone wrote in a comment to someone else's post a few weeks ago: What if James Altucher had to take care of two kids in the morning? Yes, it's true. Kids suck. But sometimes I do have to do that. Plus I have other responsibilities. So I wake up at 4am and begin reading and writing. Or earlier. Whatever it takes.
Get Rid of Prejudice:
Agents, publishers, and editors at the traditional companies are mostly bullshit. They have no clue what they are doing. For the most part they pick sucky writers whose books flash for a week or so and then disappear forever. And they take a year to publish your book after they accept your book. This is not 100% true. But try to gauge the entrepreneurship of the people you are dealing with. You need people as creative as you. It needs to be a team and not a machine.
You can traditionally publish, but make sure you are doing it with creative entrepreneurs and not people stuck in the machine. If you think you need a mainstream publisher for reasons of ego or prejudice then you are guaranteed to publish a worst-seller instead of a bestseller.
The second you start to think something, anything, is IMPORTANT, then your ego will suffer and your work will suffer. If you are an artist, get your art in the hands of people. That's your only job. Destroy every gatekeeper.
Self-Publishing Is Not E-Books:
If you self-publish, you can make an e-book, you can make a print-on-demand book through Createspace, you can make an Audio book through Audible, you can make a hardcover, you can even make a t-shirt with your book on it. I have over 20 t-shirts with the entire 67,000 words of "Choose Yourself!" printed on it. My kids have several shirts. [My wife] Claudia does. Nobody is allowed to walk into this house without wearing that t-shirt.
Do what you want. Self-publishing simply means you write a book and you figure out how to get it into the hands of other people. It might just be you sell it on your email list. Congrats! You're then a published author. In my post "How to Self Publish a Bestseller" I write about the details and the numbers.
Bookstores Are Evil:
My kids are sad that Borders is dying and that Barnes & Noble is next. Keep your mouths shut, kids! I get it. I love bookstores also. It's like a work of art to see all of those covers, to thumb through the pages, to grab a pile of books and a coffee and start seeing what books you want to buy.
But don't forget just 20 years ago everyone said Barnes & Noble was evil because they were killing the independent bookstore. I have news for you: the indies were evil also. One guy picking out 500 of his favorite books and no others.
Now a B&N might have 10,000 books but Amazon has 20 million books. Why would you ever give someone the choice to limit you. I hope all bookstores die and that Amazon is the only one left standing. Because then every author has a chance and not just the ones the B&N gatekeeper decides on.
And I'll tell you how I am doing my role: I pick out the books I might buy in a Barnes & Noble. I take them to the coffee shop in the store. I buy my coffee and start thumbing through the books. Then I buy the books right there and then in the store. On my Kindle. Screw you, Barnes & Noble.
Platform Is Shit:
I agree it's important to have some internet presence. You need to sell your first 1,000 books once you publish and the internet is a good way to do it. But your free audience is not the way to do it. They read your blog for free. They don't even want to fork over 99 cents to buy your book.
I will give you an example: on my last book, Choose Yourself!, I obviously encouraged my readers to buy it. But another group, Stansberry Research, recommended it to their paying subscribers. In two weeks through them I sold tens of thousands of books. It took my free audience, which was millions bigger, three months to catch up in sales to an audience that had never even heard of me before.
Now my book has sold over 100,000 copies and I'm getting ready to send out another email bundle to another list. This will be infinitely more valuable than any blog, podcast, marketing, whatever I use to promote my book on the internet.
I love the audience for my blog and these posts. I feel it's one of the few times I've seen a community of genuine good people trying to improve. I don't write here to sell books but to build community and make friends. Most of the internet is "outrage porn" and I'm glad we've avoided that.
That said, I am not an expert on marketing. Ryan Holiday, who is an expert on book marketing (and also told me the term "outrage porn" yesterday), helped me with my book and was an invaluable resource and to this day still is. Ryan and Tucker Max and Nils Parker are building a company which will revolutionize this industry. One rule I have is I am loyal for life to anyone who helps me make money and Ryan definitely helped me.
Blog:
This seems opposite of what I said above. But blogging is not such a bad idea. How come? Because it makes you write every day. And it also is fun to build friends and community around your blog. But if you want to blog, don't just register a domain name and start blogging. You won't get any traffic.
I encourage people to find online communities that they like and feel like participating in and start blogging there or guest posting there. If you are unsure of where and how to blog, start by practicing on a site like Quora, which is a question and answer site that also hosts blogs.
Practice answering questions there. See what gets upvoted and what doesn't. Improve your skills. See if you enjoy it. Then start taking some of your answers and making them into a blog. Then start guest posting on other sites. You're not trying to build an audience for your blog. You're trying to build an audience for YOU, PERIOD. There's no money in ads, blah. You have to be more creative than ever how you build an audience. The best Internet marketing I did was when I did a reddit AMA (which Ryan, above, set up).
Look at someone like EL James, who wrote Fifty Shades of Grey. I don't even think she had a blog. She was posting on fan fiction sites for Twilight. And millionaire teenage bestseller, Amanda Hocking, was posting in the comments section of JA Konrath's site and building community that way.
There's a thousand ways to build community and practice writing on the Internet. Blog is one of them but there are many others. My #1 suggestion: first practice on Quora (cc Marc Bodnick) If you go there, follow me and say "Hi!".
Write Every Day:
I had a friend who wanted to be a painter. "When I move to Paris I'll finally be able to paint," she said. She never moved to Paris. Now she's a programmer and hates her job. I have another friend who has been working for 30 years on one novel. She keeps hating it and rewriting it. She can't get a publisher interested. She only writes when she's inspired. She needs writing groups to push her along.
I get it. I get writer's block also. But writing is a muscle. I used to play in chess tournaments a lot. I was ranked a master. And then I got busy with other things. So my skill level has dropped. It would take me a good six months of studying, three hours a day to just get back up to my old skill level. If you don't write every day, you won't know what your potential skill level is. You will be producing sub-par work. And in a world where 15 million books will be published this year, your book will have little chance to shine.
It doesn't matter if you write good stuff or bad stuff every day. Yesterday, for fun, I wrote about how much I enjoyed bowel movements. Will I publish that? I hope not! It was awful! But I wrote because that's what I wrote yesterday. 1500 words about bowel movements. Mission accomplished.
Do the math: if you just write 1,000 words a day that are publishable then you have a book every two months. 1,000 words a day is not easy. But it's not hard either. This post is 1,800 words so far and I started 20 minutes ago. I'll spend many more hours rewriting it than writing, it but once you start exercising the writing muscle (start with 200 words a day, then 300, etc.) you will get up to 1,000.
Rewrite Every Day:
See above. I feel better about the words I take out then the words I write. First you have a block of stone, then you make a sculpture, then you chisel and fine tune until you have a work of art. Art is born from the rewrite, not from the typewrite.
With Choose Yourself! I kept rewriting obsessively. One time the book was all finished and sent to editors, designers, etc. Then I did the audio version. KABLAMO! Any paragraph that made me feel like, "Ugh, I'm too bored to read this out loud," I noted. Then I went back home and rewrote the whole book again. And the audio version veered so much from the book it was completely unabridged. Everyone hated me. But I liked the final result much better. Read your work out loud and cut out anything that makes you lag.
Can I Make Money Writing Articles?
No. You used to be able to make a living writing articles. Just a few years ago. In 2005 I made a good living writing about 3-4 articles a day for different publications while I was running my fund and before I started and sold Stockpickr. But those days are over. People just don't pay for content. And there are too many writers. It's a supply and demand thing.
If you expect to make a living from articles or blogs then figure out how to do one of three things:
1)Blog for free, but then lead people to a subscription information product. Like "stock picks" or "dating" or whatever you think you're an expert at and nobody else is.
2)Get speaking gigs. This is hard.
3)Do consulting or coaching. This is possible.
I've never been that great at any of the three above. Well, maybe #3 but only recently. So this leaves us with only one thing. ONE THING works.
Write a Lot of Books:
If you can write one book and it's a mega-bestseller like 50 Shades of Grey, then congratulations. There is exactly one of you and I know your name: EL James. For everyone else, you have to write more than one book. And for most people, you have to write dozens of books.
I was at a dinner recently of a bunch of self-published Amazon authors who were making a living at it. Every single one of them had more than ten books written and published in the prior year or so. Theresa Ragan, as an example, has 13 or 14 books written (thriller and romance) in the past two or three years. Hugh Howey, known for his Wool series, has written around 28 books in the past few years. I lost count while counting them. He never stops. I highly recommend his SAND series which just came out.
At the dinner there was one woman who had written over 100 books. If she averages $100 a book a month for the rest of her life it's not so bad. Choose Yourself! was my 11th or 12th published book. I have four more books sitting here ready to go. Throughout history, the best books have often been written in a short amount of time. Bukowski's Post Office and Jack Kerouac's On the Road were both written in three weeks. Always remember the key rule: an overnight success takes at least five years of solid work (as defined in my prior post "The Ultimate Cheat Sheet on Reinventing Yourself").
I left out important things: how do you market books, how do you make art, how do you build discipline, what do you write about, and so on. There's answers for all of those. The most important thing for me: writing without fear. Writing without judgment. Writing without anger. Making writing fun. Writing right now.
Writing is about freedom and not money. I want to write to you something fun and useful. And I want you to read it.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
January 21, 2016
Takeaway Truth
These times are tricky. The holidays are over and it's back to writing. Maybe you were thrown a curve ball, and then again there is a chance your writing career decided to take a different path as you grew and implemented what has been learned (a more complete path creatively).
Whatever stage a writer is at, just believe you are exactly where you need to be. Keep tapping away at that infamous keyboard as the rest of the world slips away for a brief moment of time. Submerse yourself and engage in the flow of the written word.
There is a burning passion within all of us. If the writer in you doubts how far you can go, just remember how far you've come. Remember the treacherous obstacles faced and challenges won as more strength and confidence are actively being garnered along the way.
Sometimes a writer just needs to trust their instincts and see where it takes them. Each individual writer is a leader in their life. Be brave and live in truth. People hate truth. It's usually undramatic, quite boring and most unappealing, but we must dwell in it to be realistic as to how we can improve and where we will go.
Nothing is holding you back from being successful. The world always needs more storytellers. Learn to celebrate accomplishments and pat yourself on the back every once in a while. Don't expect other people to keep you encouraged. It's up to you.
You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own, and you know what you know.
And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.
- Dr Seuss
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
Whatever stage a writer is at, just believe you are exactly where you need to be. Keep tapping away at that infamous keyboard as the rest of the world slips away for a brief moment of time. Submerse yourself and engage in the flow of the written word.
There is a burning passion within all of us. If the writer in you doubts how far you can go, just remember how far you've come. Remember the treacherous obstacles faced and challenges won as more strength and confidence are actively being garnered along the way.
Sometimes a writer just needs to trust their instincts and see where it takes them. Each individual writer is a leader in their life. Be brave and live in truth. People hate truth. It's usually undramatic, quite boring and most unappealing, but we must dwell in it to be realistic as to how we can improve and where we will go.
Nothing is holding you back from being successful. The world always needs more storytellers. Learn to celebrate accomplishments and pat yourself on the back every once in a while. Don't expect other people to keep you encouraged. It's up to you.
You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own, and you know what you know.
And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.
- Dr Seuss
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
January 14, 2016
Book Reading Challenges
Here we go, another new year as voracious readers are solidifying deals for Book Reading Challenges as their New Year Resolution.
There's nothing better than cracking open a book or booting up your Kindle to settle down, unwind and possibly unplug from all the stress of the day. Plus, you're accomplishing a goal that you personally set for yourself.
But what if you set your goals too high? What if these Book Challenges bring on unnecessary time-consuming stress? The stress that you thought would be no big deal when you signed up, but your life has changed and all of a sudden there's not enough time in the day.
I personally enjoy book challenges as long as I can pick the book to read. I was going to read them anyway, so why not have healthy competition and a little encouragement to get it done. If I have books left over, I just roll them into the next year. Sounds easy, right? Not always.
Last year in 2015, I set a goal of 50 books and it might've been a little more than I could chew. I had to sustain quite a rapid pace to keep up throughout the year, and when more obstacles came into my life that weren't planned, my goal made me feel exhausted, rundown and in need a couple months break by the time I completed it. For some people that doesn't even begin to describe how many books they read, but for me it was a neck breaking pace with all my other duties in life. And I was intent on taking it seriously, if only for the authors that had poured their heart and soul into making their book a reality.
Some people are just so adamant to reach their lofty goal that they race through books not giving the author the respect they deserve. Are they really enjoying the book or just in a race against time? I recently handed off one of my books to someone in the latter part of 2015, who read it in a couple of hours. Her comments for my review were confusing the next day, and anything but constructive, as she commented that she really didn't take the time to understand all the intricate aspects of my story line. I can only assume she was rushing at the end of the year to get through her last books to meet her Book Reading Challenge.
This year to save my sanity, I've opted for 5 books. Honestly, I know I will read way more than 5, but I can relax knowing my goal will be met as I truly let each story envelop me like a cozy, warm blanket taking me on a journey of the author's imagination as I savor every morsel each book has to offer.
The question still lingers: Are we a society devouring these Book Reading Challenges like some one-night stand making notches on our blogs as we keep track of these books as if they're disposable?
As we grab the next great work and turn it into a numbers game, let's try to keep in mind the author behind the story and how wonderful these Book Reading Challenges are. They support authors in such a fantastic way, and if done correctly can give the reader their much needed dose of escapism.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
There's nothing better than cracking open a book or booting up your Kindle to settle down, unwind and possibly unplug from all the stress of the day. Plus, you're accomplishing a goal that you personally set for yourself.
But what if you set your goals too high? What if these Book Challenges bring on unnecessary time-consuming stress? The stress that you thought would be no big deal when you signed up, but your life has changed and all of a sudden there's not enough time in the day.
I personally enjoy book challenges as long as I can pick the book to read. I was going to read them anyway, so why not have healthy competition and a little encouragement to get it done. If I have books left over, I just roll them into the next year. Sounds easy, right? Not always.
Last year in 2015, I set a goal of 50 books and it might've been a little more than I could chew. I had to sustain quite a rapid pace to keep up throughout the year, and when more obstacles came into my life that weren't planned, my goal made me feel exhausted, rundown and in need a couple months break by the time I completed it. For some people that doesn't even begin to describe how many books they read, but for me it was a neck breaking pace with all my other duties in life. And I was intent on taking it seriously, if only for the authors that had poured their heart and soul into making their book a reality.
Some people are just so adamant to reach their lofty goal that they race through books not giving the author the respect they deserve. Are they really enjoying the book or just in a race against time? I recently handed off one of my books to someone in the latter part of 2015, who read it in a couple of hours. Her comments for my review were confusing the next day, and anything but constructive, as she commented that she really didn't take the time to understand all the intricate aspects of my story line. I can only assume she was rushing at the end of the year to get through her last books to meet her Book Reading Challenge.
This year to save my sanity, I've opted for 5 books. Honestly, I know I will read way more than 5, but I can relax knowing my goal will be met as I truly let each story envelop me like a cozy, warm blanket taking me on a journey of the author's imagination as I savor every morsel each book has to offer.
The question still lingers: Are we a society devouring these Book Reading Challenges like some one-night stand making notches on our blogs as we keep track of these books as if they're disposable?
As we grab the next great work and turn it into a numbers game, let's try to keep in mind the author behind the story and how wonderful these Book Reading Challenges are. They support authors in such a fantastic way, and if done correctly can give the reader their much needed dose of escapism.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
January 7, 2016
Who needs beta readers, right?
Authors are testing their books with either a group of friends, associates or even the local book club before throwing it out into the world. And everyone else in the business world does it. So why not authors?
It's a good enough idea; sending it off to get evaluated and accepting opinions of different readers to find out exactly what one has. It's also great help, thank you beta readers of the world. But is this really necessary?
After I wrote my first novella, I was so excited to finally 'have it done'. I had edited and re-edited until my words on the page didn't even make sense to me any longer. I thought I was done. I was new to the book writing world and just wanted to see if I had something worth reading. I thought people would be very forgiving if the editing wasn't up to par or if the story had some minor flaws. Hey, as long as you were entertained.
Amazingly enough, after uploading it to a few sights for the first couple of months it was receiving rave reviews, I was even called a 'writing genius' at one point. And there it was. Who needs beta readers, right? And who even needs professional editing? I got this.
Turns out that was just a warm up to the storm brewing ahead. Soon enough, I learned that I was using the world as my beta reader and no one gave me the memo. It was about to get real. Only my beta readers comments were about to be shared with everyone, instead of just little old me. So, if you want to go 'rogue' as I did and take your hits live, then you sure as hell better have thick skin and be able to take them as the world brings them to you.
I did eventually go through all the original steps that most authors take. I just did it in a different way (ass backwards, perhaps). But hey, I'm still making my way to the same destination as everyone else. I'll be the first to admit it was a great learning experience and much needed. There was some emotional pain involved, but I survived and I'm still here with more fortitude and courage than before.
So, why is it important to be okay with beta readers, even if you're rogue like me? The fact is: we spend so much time on our own manuscripts that we can’t see them objectively after a while, no matter how diligently we self-edit. These readers will give you their opinions, but the ball is still in your court to evaluate their responses and decide to use them or not. And lastly, don’t think that seeking a beta reader is an admission that you don’t know what you’re doing as a writer. It’s quite possibly the best opportunity for you, as an author, to get the vital feedback you're looking for before releasing the project you worked so hard on.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
It's a good enough idea; sending it off to get evaluated and accepting opinions of different readers to find out exactly what one has. It's also great help, thank you beta readers of the world. But is this really necessary?
After I wrote my first novella, I was so excited to finally 'have it done'. I had edited and re-edited until my words on the page didn't even make sense to me any longer. I thought I was done. I was new to the book writing world and just wanted to see if I had something worth reading. I thought people would be very forgiving if the editing wasn't up to par or if the story had some minor flaws. Hey, as long as you were entertained.
Amazingly enough, after uploading it to a few sights for the first couple of months it was receiving rave reviews, I was even called a 'writing genius' at one point. And there it was. Who needs beta readers, right? And who even needs professional editing? I got this.
Turns out that was just a warm up to the storm brewing ahead. Soon enough, I learned that I was using the world as my beta reader and no one gave me the memo. It was about to get real. Only my beta readers comments were about to be shared with everyone, instead of just little old me. So, if you want to go 'rogue' as I did and take your hits live, then you sure as hell better have thick skin and be able to take them as the world brings them to you.
I did eventually go through all the original steps that most authors take. I just did it in a different way (ass backwards, perhaps). But hey, I'm still making my way to the same destination as everyone else. I'll be the first to admit it was a great learning experience and much needed. There was some emotional pain involved, but I survived and I'm still here with more fortitude and courage than before.
So, why is it important to be okay with beta readers, even if you're rogue like me? The fact is: we spend so much time on our own manuscripts that we can’t see them objectively after a while, no matter how diligently we self-edit. These readers will give you their opinions, but the ball is still in your court to evaluate their responses and decide to use them or not. And lastly, don’t think that seeking a beta reader is an admission that you don’t know what you’re doing as a writer. It’s quite possibly the best opportunity for you, as an author, to get the vital feedback you're looking for before releasing the project you worked so hard on.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
December 17, 2015
Guest Spotlight: About Your Calling by Frank A. Acosta
Frank could sense that it was time for him to begin living as though he was already an author and public speaker. Of course, again, his mind quickly began to find reasons for doubt, such as: 1) while he had worked on a collection of poetry off and on for 4-5 years, he didn’t see the pathway to having it published so that he could technically be an “author”; and 2) being so soft-spoken and given that his lungs have taken a beating from multiple bouts with pneumonia and from having a form of Muscular Dystrophy, it just didn’t seem practical for him to give speeches for a living. So, did this stop him?
Without further ado, I present Frank A. Acosta:
I couldn’t sleep last night.
My mind ran back to a conversation I had with a good friend about the inspiration behind RWF Global and how I’ve been working on promoting it.
I joked that I am not a marketing genius yet though I feel blessed for learning as much as I am about promotion and networking in general. I also feel blessed to have friends, family and new acquaintances who support my effort to reach out and motivate people to live with a purpose.
And somewhere during the conversation my friend mentioned that RWF Global seemed to be about finding direction and a sense of one’s calling in life.
Then it hit me: I realized that talking about finding my calling could actually inspire others to find theirs!
I had known this in a way, of course, but hearing it from another person in a slightly different tone helped me understand it in a new light. Sometimes you just have to hear about what you’re doing from another voice because it’s easy to become unaware of the effect you’re having and the kind of energy you’re giving off.
Also, the fact is you don’t have to be a well-known expert to cause a positive change in the lives of others. You don’t need fancy degrees, accolades, a million dollar bank account and your own T.V. show to have an impact and to do your part in improving the lives of others as you improve your own. You simply need to live your truth.
In terms of people, we have to remember we are all from the same energetic source. Regardless of our gender, race, and cultural backgrounds, we’re still living beings built from the same stardust. The color of your skin and the accent that you have doesn’t matter; the message you have DOES. Imagine how happy you get when you talk about something that is important to you.
As an example, when I prayed the night after I talked with my friend, I could sense that it is time for me to begin living as though I am already an author and public speaker.
However, I soon remembered reading about different self-publishing companies and instances when I have actually given short talks in front of crowds ranging from a dozen to nearly 3,000 people.
It’s also true that without faith I would have never created RWF Global in the first place.
You see it takes faith to live. It also takes faith to find your calling, but you often have more help to do this, even if you don’t realize it at first.
And even though faith is believing in that which is not yet seen, you CAN feed your spirit on the food that grows faith when you’re willing to be open and listen. It just takes practice. You can help encourage others to find their calling in life too.
To learn more, check out his website here: http://rwfglobal.com
Frank A. Acosta is a visionary and a person who is determined to make this world a better place. Even though most of his struggles have been anything but ordinary, he is still more determined than ever to reach success.
Thank you everyone for all your help and support this year. It has truly meant a lot. We all work to help each other and rise to new heights.
Stay tuned for a new blog article Jan. 7th, 2016 after the holidays. Have a safe and happy holiday.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Thriller Series.
Without further ado, I present Frank A. Acosta:
I couldn’t sleep last night.
My mind ran back to a conversation I had with a good friend about the inspiration behind RWF Global and how I’ve been working on promoting it.
I joked that I am not a marketing genius yet though I feel blessed for learning as much as I am about promotion and networking in general. I also feel blessed to have friends, family and new acquaintances who support my effort to reach out and motivate people to live with a purpose.
And somewhere during the conversation my friend mentioned that RWF Global seemed to be about finding direction and a sense of one’s calling in life.
Then it hit me: I realized that talking about finding my calling could actually inspire others to find theirs!
I had known this in a way, of course, but hearing it from another person in a slightly different tone helped me understand it in a new light. Sometimes you just have to hear about what you’re doing from another voice because it’s easy to become unaware of the effect you’re having and the kind of energy you’re giving off.
Also, the fact is you don’t have to be a well-known expert to cause a positive change in the lives of others. You don’t need fancy degrees, accolades, a million dollar bank account and your own T.V. show to have an impact and to do your part in improving the lives of others as you improve your own. You simply need to live your truth.
In terms of people, we have to remember we are all from the same energetic source. Regardless of our gender, race, and cultural backgrounds, we’re still living beings built from the same stardust. The color of your skin and the accent that you have doesn’t matter; the message you have DOES. Imagine how happy you get when you talk about something that is important to you.
As an example, when I prayed the night after I talked with my friend, I could sense that it is time for me to begin living as though I am already an author and public speaker.
However, I soon remembered reading about different self-publishing companies and instances when I have actually given short talks in front of crowds ranging from a dozen to nearly 3,000 people.
It’s also true that without faith I would have never created RWF Global in the first place.
You see it takes faith to live. It also takes faith to find your calling, but you often have more help to do this, even if you don’t realize it at first.
And even though faith is believing in that which is not yet seen, you CAN feed your spirit on the food that grows faith when you’re willing to be open and listen. It just takes practice. You can help encourage others to find their calling in life too.
To learn more, check out his website here: http://rwfglobal.com
Frank A. Acosta is a visionary and a person who is determined to make this world a better place. Even though most of his struggles have been anything but ordinary, he is still more determined than ever to reach success.
Thank you everyone for all your help and support this year. It has truly meant a lot. We all work to help each other and rise to new heights.
Stay tuned for a new blog article Jan. 7th, 2016 after the holidays. Have a safe and happy holiday.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Thriller Series.
December 10, 2015
Guest Spotlight: Fiction Writers Should Be Heard Not Seen by Peter Pollak
The Guest Spotlight this week is on Peter Pollak. He is a multi-talented author and before Peter retired, he was a journalist, educator and entrepreneur as well as Little League coach, civil rights & anti-Vietnam activist and yoga practitioner. All those things plus reading, reading & more reading gave him the courage to do what he wanted to do since he was a teenager; fiction writing is Peter Pollak’s passion.
So without further ado, I present Peter Pollak:
The modern aesthetic is for fiction authors to be invisible. That’s why so many novels are written from a close third or first person point of view. Early novelists often jump into the middle of their stories for short asides or long dissertations, but that style is long gone and today’s writers need to remove the last vestiges of their presence from their stories. Writers should be heard and not seen. Examples of where this issue needs to be addressed follow.
Let’s start with chapter headings. Cute or even informative chapter headings should be dispensed with. They remind the reader that there’s an author telling this story and s/he wants you to know the theme of this chapter is “Madeline Meets a Stranger” or some such title. Better are chapters headed solely by the number of the chapter, and only if absolutely necessary the date, time, and/or location when the chapter begins. The latter, however, can easily be injected into the beginning of the chapter. “It was the first of January and he was late to his half past ten appointment at his lawyer’s Chicago office.” I even recommend removing the word chapter. Just the number please.
It is more important, however, to eliminate the dozen ways authors remind readers of their existence in the body of their stories. A novel I read recently jumped from scene to scene without the traditional blank line break. This meme is borrowed from television and movies where it works fine. As viewers, we’re used to scene jumps, but not so much in books. The standard is a blank line between scenes when the story shifts point of view from one character to another or when there’s a break in time or a shift in locations. Eliminating that break is off-putting. It doesn’t just remind us there’s an author telling this story, it punches us in the nose with that fact. Ouch. Formatting tricks break the readers’ engagement in the story. Save them for graphic novels.
Another example of authors reminding readers of their presence is when they fill in background information. We writers call this ‘backstory.’ Here the author is too lazy to provide the information in the course of the story, so s/he stops to tell it in one lump sum. Backstory reminds the reader that you, Mr. or Ms. Author, are telling this story. It lessens readers’ emotional connection to your story, which is why it should be avoided. The solution is to find ways to introduce the information through external or internal dialogue or mete it out in short bursts. “Landing at Heathrow reminded him of his last unhappy visit to London.”
Authors are adept at finding other ways to protrude into their stories. A sneaky way of doing so is to insert information that the characters in the scene would not know or see. They write sentences such as “Little did she know she would never see him again,” or “They were unaware of the armed men approaching their cabin.” A more subtle example of this is describing something a character would be unlikely to notice.
If your character is in the middle of a car chase, he’s unlikely to pay attention to the woman pushing the baby carriage unless she’s about to cross in front of his car. Nor will he pay attention to the fact that the clock on the town hall had fallen behind once again.
Authors want to make their world real and thus insert details into the story. Occasionally they point out a detail that if they thought a moment they’d realize their characters would not notice at that particular moment. A character might notice the tattoo on a waiter’s wrist as he’s taking the order, but probably wouldn’t pay attention in the darkened restaurant lighting that he hadn’t shaved that morning or to the brand of cigarette the man standing in the restaurant’s doorway was smoking. These are examples of the author showing the reader how observant s/he is and they should be avoided unless they have some pertinence to the story. Coming into the restaurant, a character might notice the smells, the noise level, and the layout of the tables, but s/he would probably not pay attention to the wait staff’s uniforms, or the maître d’s hairstyle, or think of title of the song piped in as background––because presumably there’s a purpose to the character’s being in that location at the time. If it’s to meet someone, the character is looking to see if s/he is already there or to select the ideal table location or find the emergency exit.
Another subtle way authors have of sneaking into their stories is in dialogue where characters provide information they wouldn’t need to tell each other. “You know, Mary. The odor of this bakery reminds me of Grandma Schmidt’s kitchen with the crockery her parents brought with them from Germany when they escaped in 1938.” If Mary knows Grandma Schmidt, the other character doesn’t need to tell her that the family brought over their kitchen crockery when they escaped in 1938. She already knows.
One way to catch these and other ways we writers have of intruding into our stories is to read them out loud before they are made public. When reading out loud it’s easier to catch when the voice is yours as opposed to your character’s or the detail is one your character wouldn’t see or hear or smell at that moment.
Today’s readers love stories in which they can identify with the characters and feel engaged in the story. They don’t want authors to put a barrier up between them and the story, which is what those ancient techniques do. Formatting tricks, chapter titles, irrelevant details, and backstory say, “look at me, the author. Aren’t I wonderful!” In truth, the reader will think you’re wonderful if you remain hidden, letting them hear you through your characters and not in your own voice.
His most recent novel, House Divided, is a thriller that exposes the potential for events taking place on America’s college campuses to feed into the plans of radical Islamic terrorists.
Available here: http://www.amazon.com/House-Divided-P...
Join Peter on his webpage: http://petergpollak.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petergpollak
He is also currently accepting beta readers for his sixth novel, which has not been released yet. He describes it as a 75,000-word thriller whose working title is Manchurian Candidate meets Mission Impossible. If anyone is interested in giving feedback, please email Peter: peter@expendable-man.com for more information.
Thanks Peter!
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
So without further ado, I present Peter Pollak:
The modern aesthetic is for fiction authors to be invisible. That’s why so many novels are written from a close third or first person point of view. Early novelists often jump into the middle of their stories for short asides or long dissertations, but that style is long gone and today’s writers need to remove the last vestiges of their presence from their stories. Writers should be heard and not seen. Examples of where this issue needs to be addressed follow.
Let’s start with chapter headings. Cute or even informative chapter headings should be dispensed with. They remind the reader that there’s an author telling this story and s/he wants you to know the theme of this chapter is “Madeline Meets a Stranger” or some such title. Better are chapters headed solely by the number of the chapter, and only if absolutely necessary the date, time, and/or location when the chapter begins. The latter, however, can easily be injected into the beginning of the chapter. “It was the first of January and he was late to his half past ten appointment at his lawyer’s Chicago office.” I even recommend removing the word chapter. Just the number please.
It is more important, however, to eliminate the dozen ways authors remind readers of their existence in the body of their stories. A novel I read recently jumped from scene to scene without the traditional blank line break. This meme is borrowed from television and movies where it works fine. As viewers, we’re used to scene jumps, but not so much in books. The standard is a blank line between scenes when the story shifts point of view from one character to another or when there’s a break in time or a shift in locations. Eliminating that break is off-putting. It doesn’t just remind us there’s an author telling this story, it punches us in the nose with that fact. Ouch. Formatting tricks break the readers’ engagement in the story. Save them for graphic novels.
Another example of authors reminding readers of their presence is when they fill in background information. We writers call this ‘backstory.’ Here the author is too lazy to provide the information in the course of the story, so s/he stops to tell it in one lump sum. Backstory reminds the reader that you, Mr. or Ms. Author, are telling this story. It lessens readers’ emotional connection to your story, which is why it should be avoided. The solution is to find ways to introduce the information through external or internal dialogue or mete it out in short bursts. “Landing at Heathrow reminded him of his last unhappy visit to London.”
Authors are adept at finding other ways to protrude into their stories. A sneaky way of doing so is to insert information that the characters in the scene would not know or see. They write sentences such as “Little did she know she would never see him again,” or “They were unaware of the armed men approaching their cabin.” A more subtle example of this is describing something a character would be unlikely to notice.
If your character is in the middle of a car chase, he’s unlikely to pay attention to the woman pushing the baby carriage unless she’s about to cross in front of his car. Nor will he pay attention to the fact that the clock on the town hall had fallen behind once again.
Authors want to make their world real and thus insert details into the story. Occasionally they point out a detail that if they thought a moment they’d realize their characters would not notice at that particular moment. A character might notice the tattoo on a waiter’s wrist as he’s taking the order, but probably wouldn’t pay attention in the darkened restaurant lighting that he hadn’t shaved that morning or to the brand of cigarette the man standing in the restaurant’s doorway was smoking. These are examples of the author showing the reader how observant s/he is and they should be avoided unless they have some pertinence to the story. Coming into the restaurant, a character might notice the smells, the noise level, and the layout of the tables, but s/he would probably not pay attention to the wait staff’s uniforms, or the maître d’s hairstyle, or think of title of the song piped in as background––because presumably there’s a purpose to the character’s being in that location at the time. If it’s to meet someone, the character is looking to see if s/he is already there or to select the ideal table location or find the emergency exit.
Another subtle way authors have of sneaking into their stories is in dialogue where characters provide information they wouldn’t need to tell each other. “You know, Mary. The odor of this bakery reminds me of Grandma Schmidt’s kitchen with the crockery her parents brought with them from Germany when they escaped in 1938.” If Mary knows Grandma Schmidt, the other character doesn’t need to tell her that the family brought over their kitchen crockery when they escaped in 1938. She already knows.
One way to catch these and other ways we writers have of intruding into our stories is to read them out loud before they are made public. When reading out loud it’s easier to catch when the voice is yours as opposed to your character’s or the detail is one your character wouldn’t see or hear or smell at that moment.
Today’s readers love stories in which they can identify with the characters and feel engaged in the story. They don’t want authors to put a barrier up between them and the story, which is what those ancient techniques do. Formatting tricks, chapter titles, irrelevant details, and backstory say, “look at me, the author. Aren’t I wonderful!” In truth, the reader will think you’re wonderful if you remain hidden, letting them hear you through your characters and not in your own voice.
His most recent novel, House Divided, is a thriller that exposes the potential for events taking place on America’s college campuses to feed into the plans of radical Islamic terrorists.
Available here: http://www.amazon.com/House-Divided-P...
Join Peter on his webpage: http://petergpollak.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/petergpollak
He is also currently accepting beta readers for his sixth novel, which has not been released yet. He describes it as a 75,000-word thriller whose working title is Manchurian Candidate meets Mission Impossible. If anyone is interested in giving feedback, please email Peter: peter@expendable-man.com for more information.
Thanks Peter!
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
December 3, 2015
Reveal-ations
What does it really mean to be an open book? How vulnerable do you feel when something about yourself or your work is revealed?
As writers, this is a tricky situation. Our work speaks for itself, but a lot of times our passions, fears and most damning secrets are weaved throughout our stories. Revealing ourselves is never an easy task, and forces us to find our voice. Your inner self is a complex person who has a variety of thoughts and feelings. So, the need to share with others, these inner feelings and thoughts is one way of a reveal-ation. What you share about yourself should encourage others. So, why sometimes does it make us feel psychologically naked and sometimes extremely nervous?
It's important to let others know how you think, how you feel and what you believe. No matter what the consequence is.
As a writer, it does need to be incorporated within your works. Readers will feel the vulnerability and appreciate how powerful that is. Your heart and soul poured out on paper, your inner most demons right there in black and white can be a glorious thing.
However, some people often hide their inner thoughts and feelings because of whether or not they'll be accepted. It can become a double-edged sword. We're really saying we don't accept ourselves. We're denying ourselves that chance to speak out, to declare our inner thoughts and feelings-for better or worse.
Through the writing process, we should discover and reveal so much of ourselves as we embrace the unknown. And, be proud for how far you've come.
Know who you are.
Have your convictions.
Be proud of yourself.
And speak your truth.
Reveal.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Mystery Thriller Series.
As writers, this is a tricky situation. Our work speaks for itself, but a lot of times our passions, fears and most damning secrets are weaved throughout our stories. Revealing ourselves is never an easy task, and forces us to find our voice. Your inner self is a complex person who has a variety of thoughts and feelings. So, the need to share with others, these inner feelings and thoughts is one way of a reveal-ation. What you share about yourself should encourage others. So, why sometimes does it make us feel psychologically naked and sometimes extremely nervous?
It's important to let others know how you think, how you feel and what you believe. No matter what the consequence is.
As a writer, it does need to be incorporated within your works. Readers will feel the vulnerability and appreciate how powerful that is. Your heart and soul poured out on paper, your inner most demons right there in black and white can be a glorious thing.
However, some people often hide their inner thoughts and feelings because of whether or not they'll be accepted. It can become a double-edged sword. We're really saying we don't accept ourselves. We're denying ourselves that chance to speak out, to declare our inner thoughts and feelings-for better or worse.
Through the writing process, we should discover and reveal so much of ourselves as we embrace the unknown. And, be proud for how far you've come.
Know who you are.
Have your convictions.
Be proud of yourself.
And speak your truth.
Reveal.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Mystery Thriller Series.
November 19, 2015
Guest Spotlight: Life is Too Short by KD Forsman
The Guest Spotlight this week is on K.D. Forsman. She provided a brilliant and moving article about her own struggle to write and how she found courage through family tragedy. She says, "I realized that we get two choices in this life. 1. Get on and do it or 2. Die wondering."
K.D. is a wonderful writer and author, she was born in the UK and immigrated with her family to middle earth (New Zealand) at the age of four where she still live today. A member of New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA), New Zealand Book Council and Romance Writers of New Zealand, she's been extremely privileged to be mentored by other published authors. My creative goal is to entertain my readers through the stories I share.
So without further ado, I present:
Life is Too Short by KD Forsman
Life’s too short for procrastination …
It took me ten years to pluck up the courage to get serious about my writing.
Ten years of procrastination; self-doubt and negative thoughts; a mind-set that I was not academic enough, witty enough or even interesting enough, permeated my mind and deflated my dreams of reaching out to claim the illusive title of writer as my own.
So I blogged. And I blogged. And then I blogged some more. For fun, I had my public facing blogs, my private blogs and kept a journal. Professionally, I wrote content for websites, designed brochures, marketing material and wrote business proposals; all of which provided much safer ways to express my creativity and didn’t require me to really step outside of my comfort zone and put it out there. Between blogging and my job, I have managed to keep some semblance of sanity over the years and keep my desire to write in check.
Then tragedy and a miracle happened. My mother got breast cancer and underwent a grueling series of operations and chemotherapy. Then she was diagnosed with secondary cancer in her bones. Things were not looking good. Shortly after that, my uncle was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. I was like a daughter to my uncle, we were extremely close as he had no children of his own. When he passed away last year, I was absolutely devastated and still keenly feel the loss of such a wonderful man and role model in my life. That was the tragedy. So where was the miracle you might ask?
The miracle is my mother. She has, touch wood, gone into remission. She’s responded incredibly well to her anti-cancer medication, to the extent that the cancer on her bones has disappeared. The doctors can’t explain it. She is a living miracle and we are so thankful for her health and recovery.
These two events in my life were the catalyst for my writing. Suddenly I was confronted with how short and precious life is.
I realized that we get two choices in this life. 1. Get on and do it or 2. Die wondering.
I chose the first.
So back in May 2014, I engaged the services of a writing coach and with her help, we scoped out the story of ‘Fraud & Fabrication.’ Armed with knowledge on story structure, a clear plot outline and lots of tips and tricks to keep me motivated, I managed to write my first draft by Christmas then get the book professionally edited and self-published by February 2015. It was daunting at times, but also extremely rewarding to see my book, my cover design and my work finally in print.
So please, I implore of you; don’t procrastinate your way through life letting circumstance and events determine your direction. Instead, grasp firmly onto your hopes and dreams and do what you need to do to make your dreams a reality.
Life is too short, too fleeting and too precious to fade away behind a façade of self-doubt and worry about what other people think. This is your life and your time; don’t let it pass you by.
Wonderfully said, KD.
Link for more KD Forsman:
http://kdforsmanbookreviews.blogspot....
Stay tuned for a new blog article Dec. 3rd, 2015 after Thanksgiving holiday.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Mystery Thriller Series.
K.D. is a wonderful writer and author, she was born in the UK and immigrated with her family to middle earth (New Zealand) at the age of four where she still live today. A member of New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA), New Zealand Book Council and Romance Writers of New Zealand, she's been extremely privileged to be mentored by other published authors. My creative goal is to entertain my readers through the stories I share.
So without further ado, I present:
Life is Too Short by KD Forsman
Life’s too short for procrastination …
It took me ten years to pluck up the courage to get serious about my writing.
Ten years of procrastination; self-doubt and negative thoughts; a mind-set that I was not academic enough, witty enough or even interesting enough, permeated my mind and deflated my dreams of reaching out to claim the illusive title of writer as my own.
So I blogged. And I blogged. And then I blogged some more. For fun, I had my public facing blogs, my private blogs and kept a journal. Professionally, I wrote content for websites, designed brochures, marketing material and wrote business proposals; all of which provided much safer ways to express my creativity and didn’t require me to really step outside of my comfort zone and put it out there. Between blogging and my job, I have managed to keep some semblance of sanity over the years and keep my desire to write in check.
Then tragedy and a miracle happened. My mother got breast cancer and underwent a grueling series of operations and chemotherapy. Then she was diagnosed with secondary cancer in her bones. Things were not looking good. Shortly after that, my uncle was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. I was like a daughter to my uncle, we were extremely close as he had no children of his own. When he passed away last year, I was absolutely devastated and still keenly feel the loss of such a wonderful man and role model in my life. That was the tragedy. So where was the miracle you might ask?
The miracle is my mother. She has, touch wood, gone into remission. She’s responded incredibly well to her anti-cancer medication, to the extent that the cancer on her bones has disappeared. The doctors can’t explain it. She is a living miracle and we are so thankful for her health and recovery.
These two events in my life were the catalyst for my writing. Suddenly I was confronted with how short and precious life is.
I realized that we get two choices in this life. 1. Get on and do it or 2. Die wondering.
I chose the first.
So back in May 2014, I engaged the services of a writing coach and with her help, we scoped out the story of ‘Fraud & Fabrication.’ Armed with knowledge on story structure, a clear plot outline and lots of tips and tricks to keep me motivated, I managed to write my first draft by Christmas then get the book professionally edited and self-published by February 2015. It was daunting at times, but also extremely rewarding to see my book, my cover design and my work finally in print.
So please, I implore of you; don’t procrastinate your way through life letting circumstance and events determine your direction. Instead, grasp firmly onto your hopes and dreams and do what you need to do to make your dreams a reality.
Life is too short, too fleeting and too precious to fade away behind a façade of self-doubt and worry about what other people think. This is your life and your time; don’t let it pass you by.
Wonderfully said, KD.
Link for more KD Forsman:
http://kdforsmanbookreviews.blogspot....
Stay tuned for a new blog article Dec. 3rd, 2015 after Thanksgiving holiday.
Simply post a comment to start a conversation.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog. Connect @skthomasauthor or http://www.skthomasauthor.com to learn more about her Pawned Queen Mystery Thriller Series.
November 12, 2015
Gluttony for the Holidays
The holidays are upon us. I'm sharing this flash fiction piece to remind everyone to enjoy the season and remember how blessed you are.
Gluttony for the Holidays:
Cassie walked into her friend’s house scanning about as she prayed there were no cookies, candies and treats lurking where she least expected them. She didn’t even want to be a part of these festivities. The holidays were an abomination in her eyes; an ongoing problem with weight management has put her in a state of panic, fearful to gain back what she worked so hard to lose. But she wanted to support her friend who is having her first Christmas in her new house.
“Hello Cassie, I’m so glad you decided to join us and enjoy the day. We’re going to have so much fun.”
Cassie knew there was nothing fun about this, only people who gorged and overindulged while pinning their weight loss hopes and dreams on their New Year’s resolutions.
“Would you like something to drink? We have soda, tea, champagne or how about a spritzer?” Amelia asked.
“Water will be fine,” Cassie said.
By this time lots of people were milling about as they socialized while being downright merry. Cassie didn’t recognize too many people and wondered how Amelia had so many friends she didn’t know about. Just then she smelled it, a certain fare cooking in the kitchen as the scent came wafting out into the house and made her hungry. She kept affirming to herself, “I just have to keep it together for today.” Thanksgiving hadn’t been pleasant either. She took it upon herself to stay home and sleep, only to get up when she felt pangs of hunger. She stuck to her normal cuisine and zoned out watching movies as she waited for the day to be over. She didn’t even go out and enjoy the holiday sales. Those stores always have snacks or treats waiting for the cold, hungry shoppers.
“This temptation has haunted me my whole life and it has never got any easier, continuously focused on problems with my weight made cravings unbearable at times. My friends would always eat candy and sodas until their hearts content, but I, as a child was the one who drank diet soda and was forced to eat salads. While my friends ate burgers and fries, I ate healthier homemade versions that were not near as tasty and worse yet, highly regulated.” Cassie’s broken record in her head reminded her to stay alert, “This temptation cannot get the best of me.”
“Our holiday dinner is ready everyone,” Amelia shouted as she took Cassie’s arm and showed her the way to the dining area. When they rounded the corner, Cassie gasped. Her eyes grew big as her heart sank. She had never seen such a spread when suddenly she felt nauseated. An eight foot table stood before her filled with goodies that bulged right to the edge with not an inch to spare.
“It’s alright, darling. Now, just find a seat, sit yourself down and enjoy these blessings. You don’t have to eat a lot, but I do want to see you enjoy your food,” Amelia insisted.
“I can’t, you don’t understand…this is too much temptation. It’s going to ruin all my hard work and efforts.”
She looked at Cassie with sympathy in her eyes and said, “It’s going to be all right. Please, just try to have a good time.”
Cassie hesitated while staring at the table topped with all the usual holiday fare; glazed this and succulent that was filled with sugar laced treats and salty filled eats. Down farther along the way were opulent sauces and sumptuous spreads. Her eyes widened, her mouth began to salivate when something in her mind snapped as she quickly grabbed a plate. She rushed and layered it with edible eats and high heaping mounds as tall she could stack. The plate soon became too cumbersome as pains shot through her arm; it became a balancing act that just took a little twist of her wrist before she resumed on. After all, as she peered down the ever elongated table, there was still miles of smorgasbord to enjoy like in a children’s holiday fable. She plunged her spoon through some fruity, marshmallow goop before she smacked it down on her plate and then went back for another scoop. She dug into the goop again as she directed her second spoonful straight for her mouth. The constraints were lifted and freedom rang as she moaned when her taste buds awoke with a bang. She sucked on the serving spoon licking it clean before she returned it to the bowl from which it came. For once, she didn't have a care in the world. Not thinking of the others, she moved down the line double-dipping unapologetic for whomever came behind. Dinner rolls were next and her favorite of all, she saw them and giggled with delight. Gently she tucked her fingers into the rolls warm presence before she tore one open to spread on the butter and happily shoved it into her dark tunnel of terror. “No, no, no.” She had scolded and lapped up the butter with a swipe of her tongue. She made her way down the last leg of her trip as she aligned pieces of desserts, that spiraled all together to make a nice looking flower. Her second plate towered much like the first, she couldn’t wait to sit down and eat until she felt like she was going to burst.
“Cassie?” she heard someone gasp.
She froze, embarrassed as she had forgotten all these people were around. “My what they all must think, this pig in a trough like I have never ate.”
“Cassie, Cassie!” She blinked when she heard her friend call out.
“Yes?” Cassie followed her friend’s finger forcing her to look down at her plate. Then, reality crashed in when she saw nothing there, it was completely bare.
“I’m sorry Amelia, but I really have to go.”
“No Cassie, it’s okay, I’ll fix you a plate myself.”
“I tried for you, but I just really need to leave.”
“I’ll help find your coat and see you to the door then,” Amelia insisted, wishing she could do more for her friend.
Cassie went on a search in the bedroom, almost frantic to get out of this uncomfortable situation. She made her way across the room as she lurched forward to grab her coat. When she leaned back and moved off the bed, she caught her reflection and the mirror held her attention. It looked as if her pants were busting at the seams. She inspected herself at every angle, and contemplated how much weight she gained through her imaginary food gorge. “Look at you, fantasizing about chowing down like the cow that you are.”
Silently, Amelia hung back and watched from the doorway as her friend gaped at herself in the mirror. “She is so painfully thin, a walking skeleton.” Tears threatened to burst forth as she insistently held them back. “She is here wasting away and not even I could get her to eat on this gluttonous holiday.”
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
Gluttony for the Holidays:
Cassie walked into her friend’s house scanning about as she prayed there were no cookies, candies and treats lurking where she least expected them. She didn’t even want to be a part of these festivities. The holidays were an abomination in her eyes; an ongoing problem with weight management has put her in a state of panic, fearful to gain back what she worked so hard to lose. But she wanted to support her friend who is having her first Christmas in her new house.
“Hello Cassie, I’m so glad you decided to join us and enjoy the day. We’re going to have so much fun.”
Cassie knew there was nothing fun about this, only people who gorged and overindulged while pinning their weight loss hopes and dreams on their New Year’s resolutions.
“Would you like something to drink? We have soda, tea, champagne or how about a spritzer?” Amelia asked.
“Water will be fine,” Cassie said.
By this time lots of people were milling about as they socialized while being downright merry. Cassie didn’t recognize too many people and wondered how Amelia had so many friends she didn’t know about. Just then she smelled it, a certain fare cooking in the kitchen as the scent came wafting out into the house and made her hungry. She kept affirming to herself, “I just have to keep it together for today.” Thanksgiving hadn’t been pleasant either. She took it upon herself to stay home and sleep, only to get up when she felt pangs of hunger. She stuck to her normal cuisine and zoned out watching movies as she waited for the day to be over. She didn’t even go out and enjoy the holiday sales. Those stores always have snacks or treats waiting for the cold, hungry shoppers.
“This temptation has haunted me my whole life and it has never got any easier, continuously focused on problems with my weight made cravings unbearable at times. My friends would always eat candy and sodas until their hearts content, but I, as a child was the one who drank diet soda and was forced to eat salads. While my friends ate burgers and fries, I ate healthier homemade versions that were not near as tasty and worse yet, highly regulated.” Cassie’s broken record in her head reminded her to stay alert, “This temptation cannot get the best of me.”
“Our holiday dinner is ready everyone,” Amelia shouted as she took Cassie’s arm and showed her the way to the dining area. When they rounded the corner, Cassie gasped. Her eyes grew big as her heart sank. She had never seen such a spread when suddenly she felt nauseated. An eight foot table stood before her filled with goodies that bulged right to the edge with not an inch to spare.
“It’s alright, darling. Now, just find a seat, sit yourself down and enjoy these blessings. You don’t have to eat a lot, but I do want to see you enjoy your food,” Amelia insisted.
“I can’t, you don’t understand…this is too much temptation. It’s going to ruin all my hard work and efforts.”
She looked at Cassie with sympathy in her eyes and said, “It’s going to be all right. Please, just try to have a good time.”
Cassie hesitated while staring at the table topped with all the usual holiday fare; glazed this and succulent that was filled with sugar laced treats and salty filled eats. Down farther along the way were opulent sauces and sumptuous spreads. Her eyes widened, her mouth began to salivate when something in her mind snapped as she quickly grabbed a plate. She rushed and layered it with edible eats and high heaping mounds as tall she could stack. The plate soon became too cumbersome as pains shot through her arm; it became a balancing act that just took a little twist of her wrist before she resumed on. After all, as she peered down the ever elongated table, there was still miles of smorgasbord to enjoy like in a children’s holiday fable. She plunged her spoon through some fruity, marshmallow goop before she smacked it down on her plate and then went back for another scoop. She dug into the goop again as she directed her second spoonful straight for her mouth. The constraints were lifted and freedom rang as she moaned when her taste buds awoke with a bang. She sucked on the serving spoon licking it clean before she returned it to the bowl from which it came. For once, she didn't have a care in the world. Not thinking of the others, she moved down the line double-dipping unapologetic for whomever came behind. Dinner rolls were next and her favorite of all, she saw them and giggled with delight. Gently she tucked her fingers into the rolls warm presence before she tore one open to spread on the butter and happily shoved it into her dark tunnel of terror. “No, no, no.” She had scolded and lapped up the butter with a swipe of her tongue. She made her way down the last leg of her trip as she aligned pieces of desserts, that spiraled all together to make a nice looking flower. Her second plate towered much like the first, she couldn’t wait to sit down and eat until she felt like she was going to burst.
“Cassie?” she heard someone gasp.
She froze, embarrassed as she had forgotten all these people were around. “My what they all must think, this pig in a trough like I have never ate.”
“Cassie, Cassie!” She blinked when she heard her friend call out.
“Yes?” Cassie followed her friend’s finger forcing her to look down at her plate. Then, reality crashed in when she saw nothing there, it was completely bare.
“I’m sorry Amelia, but I really have to go.”
“No Cassie, it’s okay, I’ll fix you a plate myself.”
“I tried for you, but I just really need to leave.”
“I’ll help find your coat and see you to the door then,” Amelia insisted, wishing she could do more for her friend.
Cassie went on a search in the bedroom, almost frantic to get out of this uncomfortable situation. She made her way across the room as she lurched forward to grab her coat. When she leaned back and moved off the bed, she caught her reflection and the mirror held her attention. It looked as if her pants were busting at the seams. She inspected herself at every angle, and contemplated how much weight she gained through her imaginary food gorge. “Look at you, fantasizing about chowing down like the cow that you are.”
Silently, Amelia hung back and watched from the doorway as her friend gaped at herself in the mirror. “She is so painfully thin, a walking skeleton.” Tears threatened to burst forth as she insistently held them back. “She is here wasting away and not even I could get her to eat on this gluttonous holiday.”
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
November 5, 2015
Secret of a Writer
I thought about leaving this page blank. Once you, the reader, had scrolled to the bottom of the page, I would've had a statement like, "Art is never finished, only abandoned" or "there are no secrets because the internet explains them all."
There is really only one secret writers know and this secret has a way of haunting even the most confident. And that my friend is, "Any creative piece exists in a state of uncertainty and is never finished."
Now, the reader has a fantastical scenario all built up within themselves. They imagine a writer passionately creating exactly what our mind's eye tells us to put on the page and magically conjuring up a masterful piece of work as we breathe life into the most mundane. However, for the person creating their piece, it never really feels finished.
"Writing is work--there's no secret. - Sinclair Lewis
It's always a challenge to keep oneself from tinkering, changing and editing. We could easily do this until we keel over from exhaustion. Hollywood does this all the time, by having alternate endings for movies, just in case they change their mind or the audience changes it for them. I've even known songwriters to have a song that hits the top of the charts, although, when they listen all they can hear is the mistakes they didn't catch before.
So where does it end?
There are times when we simply have to walk away. A writer can tweak anything for as long as humanly possible, but when do you feel finished? If you are a perfectionist, when is it considered perfect? And if a writer has been honing their craft for more than a decade or two, how does that person not want to go back and call a do-over on some of the first works they ever wrote?
We have to get past this obsession. Aim for completion rather than perfection. Release it when you're ready and know it's as complete as it can be. Even after release, try and stay away from it unless there is a major issue to rectify.
As a writer, hold on to your sanity and take it all in with a grain of salt, because in the end, the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
You have a thought, let's hear it. Leave a comment.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
There is really only one secret writers know and this secret has a way of haunting even the most confident. And that my friend is, "Any creative piece exists in a state of uncertainty and is never finished."
Now, the reader has a fantastical scenario all built up within themselves. They imagine a writer passionately creating exactly what our mind's eye tells us to put on the page and magically conjuring up a masterful piece of work as we breathe life into the most mundane. However, for the person creating their piece, it never really feels finished.
"Writing is work--there's no secret. - Sinclair Lewis
It's always a challenge to keep oneself from tinkering, changing and editing. We could easily do this until we keel over from exhaustion. Hollywood does this all the time, by having alternate endings for movies, just in case they change their mind or the audience changes it for them. I've even known songwriters to have a song that hits the top of the charts, although, when they listen all they can hear is the mistakes they didn't catch before.
So where does it end?
There are times when we simply have to walk away. A writer can tweak anything for as long as humanly possible, but when do you feel finished? If you are a perfectionist, when is it considered perfect? And if a writer has been honing their craft for more than a decade or two, how does that person not want to go back and call a do-over on some of the first works they ever wrote?
We have to get past this obsession. Aim for completion rather than perfection. Release it when you're ready and know it's as complete as it can be. Even after release, try and stay away from it unless there is a major issue to rectify.
As a writer, hold on to your sanity and take it all in with a grain of salt, because in the end, the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
You have a thought, let's hear it. Leave a comment.
SK Thomas is a writer, author, book reviewer and the curious creative complex brain behind this blog.
Keep in touch with the blogger/author:
Website: http://www.skthomasauthor.com
Twitter: @skthomasauthor
Member of Goodreads, LinkedIn & Google+
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