The Reasons Why you wrote your book or books discussion
Why I write (or in other words, why Adrianne is crazy, crazy, crazy....)
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The Passing Parade Of Life.
Once upon a time, that is the traditional place to start and I did so quite often, and I am now able to report that the pleasure of seeing your work in print is considerable the time has been well spent, and any income welcome, but that is not always the main issue is it?
From a highly privileged position of authority, with a view of the passing parade of life at close range completely unknown to the public, or normally to the press either; I made copious daily notes with just one object in mind, to record the lives and times of the people passing by in the constant parade of history, some would pass only once, but others would be regulars even daily in some instances for many years.
There were great protective friends but now sadly departed, many with great experience and knowledge that they passed on freely to ensure not only success in our profession; but the ultimate in safety procedures based on their own successful results and of course quite a few dangerously near misses.
My penciled notes began in the glorious nineteen sixties, with great memories of persons going way back in time; these were real personalities well worthy of remembering for all time; but they were already quickly forgotten, just like the money made plastic personalities of our modern world.
Progression was swift and so was technology, beginning with a professional black lead pencil, then a steam powered, (my own steam) typewriter, an electric typewriter, an electronic typewriter, a word processor, a computer with a memory little better than my own and finally a super duper computer with all the extra bits, and a memory that is perhaps too clever for its own good; or mine.
Over and over again, I read and printed my work, cutting page after page of the rough notes until I had two reasonable copies, actually two separate books, the second one following on to the first one, then never having done anything like it before but with aid of the most modern technology, I actually bound them quite efficiently, using pre-glued covers and a Rexel T20 electric binder.
Having traveled this far with my project, the next part was to place my work and its elite cast into a well deserved setting. A word with the local chief librarian ensured shelf space and the initial copies were accepted, job well done? Well not quite, perhaps I could do better and I pushed my luck a bit further, quite a lot actually.
I had a rare old photograph of H.M. George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, also a few short completely unpublished stories concerning our Royal Family, in answer to my request for permission to publish my stories and the photograph, I was amazed to very quickly receive a reply saying that permission was granted and that H.M. would accept copies of both books for inclusion in The Palace Library, full mission accomplished without a doubt!
In order to ensure instant rare books of quality, only five books of each title were luxury bound in Royal Blue covers with Real Gold Lettering, and one of each is now in The Royal Library saved in a Palace for Posterity, a specially chosen resting place for my own National Heroes to be remembered for ever.
Finished on a great note of course, but taking advantage of a fair wind blowing in my direction I decided to start yet another project, most probably the last.
In the eighteen eighties, Queen Victoria had authorised a great book of castles and stately homes in the United Kingdom. To complete this enormous task; an unnamed photographer and an unnamed writer had traveled the length and breadth of the United Kingdom by limited train service and horse drawn coach in order to complete their dedicated works.
When I contacted H.M. our Queen and suggested that it would be a good idea to authorize an update of the old book for Her Golden Jubilee, she not only gave permission for me to do it but she ordered a copy of the new book to add to the other two already in her library.
Full speed ahead, I actually re photographed over two hundred photos, retyped all two hundred pages and had them bound in matching Royal Blue covers with real gold lettering in about two weeks time, the original photographer with his hand held flare and the black cloak over his head would most certainly have been well impressed with the result, but ten to one he never even saw his own handiwork completed. There are actually only two copies of Beautiful Britain in luxury format in the entire world and I have one of them.
I feel you girl, I write too because like you it is my passion. The characters will not leave you alone until you've said and shown all they want to impart. It sounds crazy, but that's how it is! :)
i write to release tension anger and boredom
Hi Ari, It certainly does not sound crazy, far from it! in fact it sounds about right to me,how about a few explosive paragraphs in print, you have a good subject, an enterprising first paragraph and a final ending in sight, if you stretch a few sentences in the middle you have a story, and practice makes perfection.
Cheers H.
Not yet Ari, just the reasons for writing as above,Cheers H.
April wrote: "I feel you girl, I write too because like you it is my passion. The characters will not leave you alone until you've said and shown all they want to impart. It sounds crazy, but that's how it is! :)"You're right, writing does relieve tension--and when I'm writing I am never bored. You hit the nail on the head.
The original post is clear Ari, but please explain, what do you mean?Best Wishes.
H.
I mean my writing doesnt really relive my tension. it uses it
Sorry Ari, but is that not the same, not being rude, but many people get a similar result by merely digging the garden, of course it works quite well but it is hardly creative or artistic,that only shows in a finished project, in the garden or the computer.Best wishes H.
Adrianne wrote: "Do I write for money? No. People who do will be bitterly disappointed--unless you make the NYT bestseller lists, you will not be rich. In fact, it'll be a long, long time before I break even and make enough money to cover the costs of being a writer (promo, conferences, et cetera). "See, I respectfully disagree because I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. I write because "writer" is what I am. However, I also approach it as a job and I do make money at it, and I'm not a NYT author. First with non-fiction, and now with my fiction. I know quite a few writers who make money writing fiction and have replaced their "evil day jobs" with writing.
The problem is, too many people still view the "traditional" world of the old print publishers as "real writing." The world of e-publishing has exploded, and no, I'm not Stephen King and don't expect to be. However, the fact that I can write full-time and work from home doing it without needing a part-time or full-time job to supplement my income is, in my mind, a success.
I write for money because I WANT to write for a living. That means turning what I love to do into a job. I treat it like a job. It makes me no less creative or less of a writer for approaching it like that, but by being bound and determined to make money doing it so I can KEEP doing it (all the years I wrote fiction "just" for fun I needed to work doing something other than writing to pay my bills).
I treat it like any computer programmer or nurse or lawyer or anyone treats (or should treat) their job -- I constantly strive to improve, hone my knowledge and skills, keep abreast of current trends and breakthroughs, etc.
Yes, it's a passion first. But it is possible to make a living at it if one is determined enough to do so. However, it means thinking outside the box, pursuing alternate routes you might not have considered before, and being willing to take a chance to stretch your skills, knowledge, and talents in directions you might not have otherwise gone.
I ended up not doing Nanowrimo this year. I didn't have TIME. I was too busy writing and editing my novels and stories already contracted. *LOL* I mean, 30k in a month is GREAT...but many weeks, I easily do that in the span of a few DAYS.
Considering the reader, critical, and editorial response I'm getting on my writing, I'd say I haven't sacrificed quality for quantity either. But I set my sights and determined that nothing would stand in my way of obtaining my goal, and that was to be able to write fiction for a living and get paid for it and be able to pay my bills doing it.
I highly encourage anyone out there who wants to write for a living to DO it. Set it as a goal and bust your hump to make it happen. Did it happen overnight? No. I spent over four years first doing nothing BUT non-fiction writing for pay (with my "fun" fiction writing on the back burners) to support myself, and finally transitioned in 2008 to digging in and getting my fiction published.
It's doable, but the old traditional ways are quickly falling by the wayside. Frankly, once someone can make a name for themselves in e-publishing and have an established successful track record there with a fan base, backlist, etc. THEN it's easier to get an agent to look at you to take a chance on you. It proves to them you know how to market yourself and can get the job done and they're willing to put their time and effort into you a little more than someone who's never sold a single manuscript before.
Do I write for money? No. People who do will be bitterly disappointed--unless you make the NYT bestseller lists, you will not be rich. In fact, it'll be a long, long time before I break even and make enough money to cover the costs of being a writer (promo, conferences, et cetera).
In short, you gotta do it because you want to do so with all of your heart. It requires hard work, the ability to accept criticism, and a lot of hours sitting in front of the word processor pulling out your hair. It means rounds of edits, advertising, and putting the word out there that you even exist. It's a full time job onto itself, and sadly I already have one of those. But I do the best that I can!
Love & Magic,
-A