Don't Go It Alone

A sunny Wednesday morning here, after an admittedly impressive storm hit NY / NJ last night. My agent flew in from the UK yesterday, amid the noise and chaos of tornado warnings and lashing rain, but all is now well, and I'll see her tomorrow. Very excited about that. What a strange world that I can live in a different country to someone, have so much communication, even enter a contract, and not meet them for months.

Odd.

But writing is an especially odd profession / hobby / inclination / madness. It's solitary in a way that many jobs could never be. In between the editors, the agents, the bookshops and, hopefully, the fans, there are hours - days - weeks - months - (years?) - of typing away by yourself.

Maybe even in one of these awesome writing sheds:

Personal favourite, right here

The trick is not to go mad. Well, madder.

Community is important. Not just a lifeline to the normal world of friends, family, mortgages, bills, grocery shopping, etc. I mean the community of other writers, who share struggles, understand problems, have links and tips and other friends they can send your way.

This is where our modern world, with the net and digital worlds and less barriers every day, really comes into its own. Can't encourage you enough to make sure you're plugged in. 

Twitter, Facebook, this very blog, other blogs, Query Tracker, Absolute Write, SCBWI  ... those are just some of the ways I keep in touch with writers, editors, agents, etc, and then meet new writers, new editors, new colleagues. There are writing competitions (Writer's Digest runs small ones every two months), writers retreats, conferences, online 'webinars' (I do not like this word), and every combination of these, and more, under the sun.

Don't go it alone.

Don't go mad. Don't get lonely. Most important, don't ignore the support and inspiration and encouragement and love of people you might never meet, but who will care about you, about your writing, and about your successes. You should care about their careers, too. 

Writers are creative types, and most are doing it for the love, not the money. But that can mean staying inside your own head for far too long, or even getting a bit too much into the worlds you create. Who's going to understand that? Other writers. No, it's not an exclusive club, and no, writers aren't special people with special problems ... but you're going to get limited sympathy if you try to pull off that complaint with someone who doesn't care. Community is the life support you need to make it in the tough world of books, I think.

This article from Guardian Books is a bit worrying: Ebooks Price War Sees Price Cuts of 97%. Seems like the future's only going to be tougher for you / me / us. Best to stick together, eh?

Autumn Writing, Autumn Books

Edited Sept 19, to add more suggestions to the list. Thanks, all! SPC.

Face it, guys - Autumn is coming. Or Fall, if you're that way inclined.

It's my favourite season. I have fond memories of school days playing conkers, crushing dry leaves, splashing in puddles (not technically a seasonal pastime in England) and sitting indoors in the warmth while outside the temperature fell.

Insert 'lovely pumpkins' joke here

It's a good time for reading, when the weather turns but the colour's still there. You can grab a window, or a bench, or a bed, and settle down happily. Pretty good times.

Thought I'd gather a collection of my favourite books to read this time of year.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Why? Look at the date. September is the start of schools in England, and for Harry, the start of this school year is like nothing he's ever experienced. If you're looking for a chance to re-read this series, why not use the time of year as a great excuse?

Tess of the D'Urbervilles 

Hardy's classic story about a girl wronged by the world is placed very firmly in a pastoral, country setting. Harvest, nature, and the natural world vs. modern life are all brilliant themes.

James and the Giant Peach

Yesterday was Roald Dahl Day - how could I ignore this master of the dark, the grizzly, the bizarre, the amazing, and so much more? What's it about? The title's pretty clear on that.

The Lady of Shalott, and other works

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria, and a master at evoking scenery and scale as backdrops to his narratives. The Lady of Shalott's opening lines certainly put me in an autumnal mood. All together now:

On either side the river lie

Long fields of barley and of rye,

That clothe the wold and meet the sky;

And thro' the field the road runs by

 To many-tower'd Camelot;

And up and down the people go,

Gazing where the lilies blow

Round an island there below,

 The island of Shalott.

And finally ...

What else?

I'm going to be looking for suggestions for the best fall reads, and trying to build up my list. Onwards!

Edited to add:

First suggestions have come in. Harry Potter got another plug (and quite deserving, too):



And also Wuthering Heights



I like this one. The wild moors, the rolling clouds, and the coldness of the heath and the memories that start the story - brilliant. I've actually been to the Bronte Parsonage, and it's amazing to see where these books were written and really get how the landscape inspired the tales.

And now, Northanger Abbey



Which, honestly, I have not read, though I trust the opinion of the reader. Maybe I should give it a try...

Edited again

The newest addition? Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier, a great pick from Kat Ellis over at http://katelliswrites.blogspot.co.uk/



I love this book, from its now world-famous opening line to the ending I did not see coming. Name dropping this book also got me on the good side of a girl I once met whilst living abroad - a girl who became my wife. There's an endorsement for you.

SPC

Edited again

Mansfield Park



along with Pride and Prejudice



Which, I have to admit, I have a bit of a blind spot for...

And North and South, by Gaskell



Which I have not read, but am open to. Anyone read this? Thoughts to share?

Also, second poem suggestion for autumn times is, fittingly, The Autumn, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Found here, and the opening stanza below:


Go, sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them --
The summer flowers depart --
Sit still -- as all transform'd to stone,
Except your musing heart.

Great stuff, guys. SPC.

Writers write. Right?

A Sunday update, as I'll probably be away on Monday.

Today I set aside time specifically to write. Now, this isn't an unusual thing. With one full book on submission and a couple of short stories out there, I obviously find the occasional moment to scribble away.

Today was different purely because of the amount of time. In fact, the whole day was mine.

I work from home as a writer, but on company time I rarely turn to my manuscripts. Something about mixing the mindsets doesn't work for me. Plus ... y'know ... I'm not supposed to do it.

But today was a writing day. It's been pretty good - a decent 6000 words added to the book. That's more than, ooh, the last few weeks combined. Yup. I've been slacking off big time. With work picking up and some other life changes, I've gone through plenty of days without writing at all.

Is that a problem? I'm not working on time constraints at the moment. There's no publisher waiting, cigar in hand, for my book. Should I rush?

Writers write ... but every day?

There are certainly plenty of opinions on this. I've heard Philip Pullman talk nice and bluntly about writing. If you want to be a writer, then write. Builders build. Teachers teach. Carpenters probably carp. Writers write. They don't mope around, complaining about their muse, and they don't procrastinate on the Internet.

Ahem.

I think, in truth, there's an obvious divide; full time writers, and then those of us for whom it's not a day job. If being an author is my full time job, and I rely on it for income, then yes, I should write. It's an art - sure. No one's pretending it's not. But if it's my business and my life, it needs commitment. If, like me, you're writing 'in the cracks' of your life, with a full job to keep up, then no, I don't think everyday is unnecessary.

Progress is necessary. Getting from A to B, adding to the pages, and telling the story. We all have our own goals and targets. For now, though, I'm happy pottering along, and not feeling bad if a few days go by without some literary inspiration striking.

I would love to keep up a good 5000 a day. The book'd be finished in a month! Imagine!

But where would my life be? It's living that keeps me writing; seeing and loving and exploring the world, and using all of that to make stories. Locked in a room all day every day would make me pretty odd. I'd probably end up a post-modernist. Golly.

Living, working, writing. The balance is there, and we all have to find it.

And I'll keep you posted on the word count for the rest of the week.

SPC

Wednesday's Inspiring Book - The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

New design, same format. You know the drill by now.

It's Wednesday, which around here means looking back at books that led me to where I am today. All writers stand on the shoulders of those they've read before, but for all of us, there are some books that do stand out. Perhaps a book that, as a child, first made you realise people wrote these for a living. Or a book you came across only last week that helped to re-energize your flagging strength. I have enough of those, believe me. Writing to publish can be a real slog.

But reading is working for anyone who wants to write. There's an amazing, mad, crazy wealth of fantastic books out there, and no reason not to go diving in whenever you can.

So, what are we looking at today?

It's the good ol' Writers' and Artists' Yearbook

  

First edition I bought was many years ago, and I've replenished my stock multiple times. But thinking back to the earlier days, when getting an agent seemed like such a far-off dream, and working out how publishing worked was itself daunting (these were pre-Twitter and social media days, remember), the Yearbook was an amazing resource, encouragement, and solid link to the world of writing and publishing.

Especially as a younger guy - I would have been thirteen when I first wrote to an agent - it was easy to feel like I was kidding myself. The big, real world of authors and contracts and money was a nice dream, but what does a kid really know about the world? The Yearbook was tangible, something with answers, and something I could hold up as proof. Well, it said, I'm trying, at least. What more can I do? I'm trying.

That's really one of the mantras of my writing 'career' so far. I'm going for it - what more can I say? No regrets so far, and none to come, even if nothing more comes of it. I follow my dream and I have so many others to thank for that: Writers, agents who offered even the smallest encouragement to a clueless young boy, my family, my friends - and, equally, the books I read; the stories than inspired me, and the Yearbook that told me what to do with that inspiration.

Check it out if you're UK-based, and if you're not, they still have a website you can plug in to - http://www.writersandartists.co.uk/

SPC

Merry Labor Day, one and all. Ho, ho, ho!

It's Labor Day, so I'm skiving off work to go into NYC with some friends and eat English food - sticky toffee pudding, cream teas and the like.

So, no post today, except for this one to say I'll be picking up on Wednesday with the next Wednesday's Inspiring Book post. Until then, take care.

SPC