Shark attack

Phew! I nearly fell off my surfboard there for a couple of days. The sharks were nibbling at my toes. But this morning I finally made a breakthrough on chapter 13, or what is currently 13. I'm driving ahead on this one story thread. I'll need to go back and pick up the other pov's and story lines--not sure I can call them "subplots," as I won't know for a while which is subplot to which. I'm thinking this is the mainline, but--to totally mix my metaphors--nothing is set in concrete here.

Without including today's word count, I'm up to 18,591, which is still ahead of the NaNo game even with my lousy progress, or lack thereof, for a few days.

I should have realized Nov. 4th & 5th are always the nadir of my year. Must be my biorhythms. Funny thing is that I never remember until it's past. You'd think I'd see it coming each year. But I don't. If I'm going to get sick, it's usually then. This year it was my car that got sick. Well, maybe that's a good thing--better the car than me!

THE ICE PICK

Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path: the Journey from Frustration to Fulfillment, by Lynn Lott and Nancy Pickard. New York, Ballantine Books, 2003. 241 p. $24.95. ISBN: 0-345-45524-X.

How are you doing with your writing?

Are you experiencing loneliness, confusion, frustration, and unhappiness? Are you burdened with wanting to write so badly and unable to get the words on the paper?

Or maybe you’ve finally decided that you really can do it and have committed yourself to getting something written. A New Year’s Resolution, perhaps? And then your commitment fades into having second thoughts and leaves you wavering in uncertainty, unsure of yourself and feeling that everything you write is garbage.

Perhaps, though, you are at last riding the wave, letting go and letting your story energy carry you where it will, reaching for that stage when you are fully immersed in your work (and maybe a little afraid the wave will end too soon). Or you may even be joyfully basking in the fulfillment that comes when publication is at hand or you find the writing is its own reward.

Unless they stall out on one of the earlier ones, depressed and feeling that they are permanently stuck, most authors go through all of these steps, Some, perhaps most, go through them with every book they write!

If you need to know you’re not alone and that even best-selling authors go through the same thing, and if you want reassurance that "this too shall pass," and that there is a way up and out, this book is for you. There’s even a "Quick Finder" in the back to help you decide which step you’re on.

Recommended to me by another member of the Workshop, I eagerly pass the recommendation on to you. This is a truly wonderful book. It would make a great Christmas present to yourself and one that will help inspire you no matter which "step" you find yourself on.

Dare to dream.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Dec. 2004}

THE ICE PICK

Writing as Adventure: a Writer’s Companion, by Varda One. [Philadelphia]: Xlibris Corporation, 2001. 159 p. $17.84. ISBN 1-4010-1392-9.

Whether you are a beginner, amateur, or a professional writer there may be days when you wonder what you’re doing and if it’s worth it.

This book is written for those days and for any other days when you feel the need for some inspiration or encouragement or when you just want to know that someone else understands.

A "collection of comforts written in a personal style," as if by a friend, this book is filled with practical advice, personal tips, passed-along wisdom, and encouraging stories. As with any collection like this, it contains some repetition and is best used when you "dip in anywhere," rather than trying to read it straight through.

Some of the things may make you laugh, or even cry, but Varda One writes of the experiences common to authors everywhere. Her advice is pithy and direct, and always encouraging.

Varda discusses everything from the "woodwork angels"--people who "seem to come out of the woodwork . . . bearing information, guidance, suggestions," at just the right moment--to the joys and pains of the paying and non-paying marketplace and how she handles the inevitable rejections.

She talks of talent and fear, of believing in yourself, of motivation and persistence, of the burden of perfectionism, of style and writing as process, of feedback and readers and the writing life, and of scheduling and the luck of timing which may depend more on your own openness or resistence than to chance.

But above all she speaks of the joy of writing, of allowing yourself to write or not to write, of telling your inner critic "Later!" and giving "yourself permission to be trite, inconsistent, even chaotic" until you get the piece down.

She warns about the envy of other writers that can hobble or destroy you, and the death of individuality that can come from crippling schedules or conformist jobs. "The marketplace," says Varda One, "requires that you serve the needs of others; the muse demands that you be faithful to your inner voice."

This is not a how-to-write book, in the sense that you will not find guidance here on how to handle viewpoint or construct a plot, although I learned a neat way to handle telepathic speech, by enclosing the dialogue in .

But if you seek encouragement and enjoy learning what other writers have discovered about writing and marketing, then this wonderful book belongs on your shelf or on your desk. It would make a nice Christmas present for yourself or another writer you know.

As Varda One says, "Writing is an adventure into the unknown. Writing is confronting fears." And, "just as my friend made a statement that helped me, maybe something I write will click with you. Don’t quit before the miracle."

I very highly recommend this wonderful book.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Dec. 2002; reprinted Feb. 2003. Also reprinted in The Write Stuff Book Review, Jan. 2003.}

THE ICE PICK

Writing in Spite of Everything, by Bruce Holland Rogers. Eugene, Ore., Panisphere Books and Audio, 2000. ISBN 0-9704210-0-1. Audio-cassette tape, 90 minutes, $11.00.

Do you ever have trouble writing because of distractions, fears, writing blocks, worries, or depression? If so, this inspiring tape may be an answer for you.

No stranger to speculative fiction readers, Rogers has won the Bram Stoker Award in horror and two Nebula Awards in science fiction and fantasy, as well as the Pushcart Prize for literary fiction. And he admits that "there is hardly a pitfall he hasn’t had to drag himself out of." But in so doing, he has managed to "become an expert in crawling out, brushing himself off, and getting back to work." On this tape he shares with us what he has learned about avoiding the psychological and emotional perils of writing, and of dealing with them when you can’t avoid them.

In his pleasant, soothing voice, Rogers discusses the times when we are "barely even nibbling at our writing." Whether you call this writer’s block or just procrastinating, most of us feel that we don’t write enough. In fact, Rogers defines a writer as "a person who thinks he doesn’t write enough."

This excellent tape is more than just a "feel good" tape. Rogers addresses specific causes for our excuses, anxieties, and difficulties, and offers concrete solutions.

The first problem he addresses is "the difficulty of beginning"--that terrible blank piece of paper or computer screen that can completely stall out a writer. And he talks about how to get started and keep moving, giving you a number of different techniques for getting started. Some ideas may work for you; others will not, depending on how you approach your work and whether you are a "basher"--who needs to perfect everything before moving on--or a "swooper"--who wants to get it all down first and worry about revising later.

Or are you a victim of external distractions? What is your work area like? Are your distractions social or from family? Do you use research or revision as a distraction? You can’t change the kind of person or writer that you are, but there are things you can do.

He discusses also answers for the internal distractions of fear, boredom, depression, the endless quest for something new, the inner rebellion of self when you are too hard a taskmaster, the lure of ever-better projects, and the pain of regret.

There are the emotional "weights" of discouragement, of lack of support by family or friends, of martyrdom, and of skepticism of your own God-given talents. Perhaps you need a "work buddy" to encourage you. Or one of Rogers’ other solutions.

Four "absences" sometimes stop us from writing. These may include lack of energy, goals, inner fire, or effort. Perhaps you have outgrown your goals or you are trying to write someone else’s idea of the story you should write.

Lastly, Rogers discusses the difficulty of ending and how "endless fiddling becomes an excuse not to write."

"Writing," Rogers says, "is much more than a job or a career," because "by writing we deeply connect with our inner selves and the world around us," and whatever interferes with our ability to write affects everything else in our lives. Rogers describes writing as being "right up there with family, friends, spirituality, and anything else that gives us roots." Because of that we need to be able to write on "in spite of everything."

I love this tape. After a particularly difficult summer and fall, I found this tape to be just what I needed to help me get back to work. I recommend it very highly to any writer who thinks he isn’t writing as much as he’d like to.

{Published in SF and Fantasy Workshop Newsletter, Dec. 2001.}

THE ICE PICK

Writer’s Block and How to Use It, by Victoria Nelson. Cincinnati : Writer’s Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-168-5.

"Properly interpreted, writer’s block is the best thing that can happen to a writer." Most of us experience writer’s block, or at least "writer’s resistance," from time to time. The guilt, or even depression, some of us endure because other people say they never encounter writer’s block, or say that it doesn’t exist and we’re just being lazy, or simply because we know we "should" be writing, only adds to that stalled out feeling and may, according to Nelson, actually lengthen the period of the block and hinder our healing and our return to work. "The block is a signal to readjust the way you are approaching your work; it is not the problem itself."

Nelson discusses many different kinds of writer’s block that authors battle. These include "beginner’s block," where you face a blank piece of paper or screen and can’t even get started or are unable to resume writing after an absence; procrastination; perfectionism; demanding too much and punishing yourself for low productivity; obsessive rewriting, where you polish and polish and never let go; playing forever with notes, notebooks, and plans; fear of success; and forcing yourself to write one kind of material while your real talent lies elsewhere.

At the end of each chapter, Nelson gives exercises for breaking that particular kind of block, but the emphasis in the book is on our coming to an understanding of what writer’s block is and how our creative processes work. Or fail to work. As such, it is not so much a self-help book, with all of the finger-pointing advice often contained in them, as it is a discussion of where we are and why. And through that discussion she offers solutions, warnings, and lots of encouragement.

Basically, Nelson believes that writer’s block is a question of losing touch with the "creative child" inside each of us. You may argue with that, but the book does get you thinking about what your particular problem might be caused by, what good might come from it, and what you can do about it--all of which is better than berating yourself or sitting and staring at a work you’ve started and cannot finish.

At the very least, reading this fascinating book will give you something to do until your muse returns from her vacation.

{Published in GPIC, the Oklahoma Science Fiction Writers Newsletter, May, 2000.}