I’ve always believed that no matter what you do for work, whether you’re waitressing, as I did for many years, or teaching truculent adolescents, or delivering the mail, you owe it to yourself and those around you to have some fun while you’re doing it.
In the writing life, however, fun’s not always easy to come by. There are the rejections, for one thing. Sometimes years of them. Sometimes even a lifetime’s worth. What’s more, you can't even complain about it because you don’t have any co-workers with whom to kvetch. No one but maybe the poor, beleaguered cat or dog forced to keep you company in your “office”--whatever crowded corner that may be. And if you try whining to your family, they’re likely to tell you that if you don’t enjoy it, your time might be better spent mowing the lawn, painting the shutters, or canning tomatoes.
So yes, there are rejections, isolation, and reviews written by people whose cat got run over by a car, whose spouse ran away the babysitter, and who just got the worst haircut of their life--all on the same day they sat down to review your book. In other words, they’re not in a very good mood.
But the real despair doesn’t come from the outside. It comes from recalcitrant characters who refuse to give up their secrets, or plots that veer wildly off course; forcing you have to scrap a whole month’s work and begin again, or arriving in the middle of a book only to realize you have no idea how to finish it--or why you began it in the first place.
But this isn't about the Days of Despair every writer experiences. It's about the days that make them all worthwhile. It's about the amazing, almost illegal amount of fun you have when the writing goes well. It's about the hours, days, whole weeks when the characters won’t stop talking, and the plot soars, and you feel that if only you could give up the silly little habit of sleeping, you could write a whole novel, or screenplay, or book of poetry non-stop.
It's about turning on the computer, and getting a terrific, heartfelt message from someone you never met who loves your characters or your poems as much as you do. The days and weeks when you’re so happy you sing to the cat, and waltz with the dog.
Last week was one of those for me--which may explain why I haven’t been around Gather as much as I’d like to be. I spent long hours in my summer office (also known as the deck) watching the birds at the birdfeeder, communing with my co-workers (the aforementioned cat and dog), living on sunlight and coffee, and watching a story come to life beneath my fingertips.
At the end of the week, I found this great quote from Mark Haddon, author of the marvelous novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time:
"My best days do seem like a distillation of all that was best about school. Write a story! Paint a picture! Write a poem! Make a print! And my life always feels a little empty if I'm not learning something new."
All I could do was nod and smile at him in his office far away in London. Yes, that's it, exactly!
So what about you? What did you make, learn or celebrate this week? What made you so happy you felt like dancing with your dog?
Patry Francis, Books Correspondent:
Patry's column, Diary of a First Novelist, published every week to Gather Essentials: Books. It will detail all she knows--and is in the process of learning--about writing and publishing.
To learn more about Patry and her debut novel, The Liar's Diary, visit her Website,
You can find all of Patry's articles, Diary of a First Novelist, at www.gather.com/patryfrancis
Keep up with Patry’s other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network -- just click here and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page
You’ll find Patry and other Book Correspondents, plus celebrity author content and plenty of other bibliophiles at Books.gather.com
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Comments: 53
I have revised my first paragraph, and it was a good time but it became a little too informative for a mother's point of view incognito.
I think writing fiction must be much more difficult. I never studied writing, and I'm afraid if I did it now at 84, I would lose whatever little folksy talent I have writing articles that catch the interest of a few people.
Sheila: It always feels good when you sit down and DO it.
Jerri: How cool is that?
Ruth: Your take on history sounds very interesting. I look forward to reading more...
One, I am now working half time - so, logically there should be more time for me to exericse, write and clean house; wink!
Two, I have sharpened my eye by spending hours in the last two weeks putting up nearly 200 photos so far, on Gather....
That said, I will need to make a schedule for myself: When I MUST write my fiction and do nothing else. My characters give me a lot of trouble when I ignore them. Other times, they just give me trouble.
Kathryn: A schedule helps, but I warn you--once a long work of fiction snags you, you may not have time for much else! P.S. I love what you said about your characters. Ditto.
Tom: Sounds like a familiar scenario! Great description. Now I just want to know if you really did open the word processor...
Christina: When people start talking about your characters like they're real people, that's an extremely good sign. Good luck with the novel!!
Picturing you there on your deck getting that email from a stranger reminded me that I've been meaning to write to a friend, a musician, to tell her two really fine stories I'd heard from people in the audience last time I was at a gig of hers, about ways her music has touched their lives. Time to go do that.
W O R D S M I T H I N G
Everyone seems to be blogging now, so I thought I'd try that out as well. I've started one at: http://elenabowman-scifimysteryromanceauthor.blogspot.com/
Don't know how this will work out, but I'm willing to try it...hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think.
Apart from any likelihood of writing, my desire to express myself does manage find ways of emerging. Photography is my current passion and I enjoy capturing moments or objects which give me joy. Most of them are commonplace things, like insects, wildlife and birds or very transitory like cloud formations or silly me, the way the sun shines through various liquids or glass. I am easily amused and I lead quite a simple life. My themesong could be "Non-Material Girl" :-)
I have a thirst for learning and feel so grateful to be living in the age of easy access to the wealth of knowledge on the Internet. I am not satisfied to see a new insect. I want to know what it is called, what it eats, and whether or not it is harmful.
On a slightly more formal level I was delighted this week with a new book my husband has bought me on advanced Photoshop skills. I look forward to trying each technique to see if I want to add any or all to my repertoire for photo enhancement. I have also taken several of the free on-line courses offered by HP (Hewlett Packard.) I have had many reasons in the past weeks of offering images for viewing at Gather for truly appreciating the skills I learned in those courses.
I am also blessed with serendipity. There are definitions to be found for this state but to me they mean that lucky things happen to me. Here is an example - Two days ago I went out for a walk to enjoy the clear air and sunshine and I like to travel without encumbrances. I just stuck my Medicare card in my pocket in case anything should happen to me, to provide some ID. When I came home I forgot it was there and put my shorts aside. Today I picked them up and nearly folded them up and put them in a drawer. I might not have thought about the Medicare card for months until I next needed a medical appointment and then I would have had no clue whatsoever where I had misplaced it. Such a minor little occurence and yet I was so grateful that I had felt it and found it as I put the shorts away.
Well that is a little about me and why I am pleased to have seen your article and Mark Haddon's quote. I did read and enjoy the book but those sentences didn't jump out at me at the time. Thank-you for focusing on it and I shall definitely seek out your other articles.
PPS - There is obviously a frustrated writer inside me somewhere. For the second time today I am apologizing for being so verbose. LOL
Kerry:I'm sure you just made someone's day! So often I've been affected by things I read, see and hear, but never thought to contact the person and tell them. Now that I've been the recipient of other people's generous messages, I'm much more likely to make the effort to let the artist know when I enjoy something.
C.L.: Wordsmithing! I like the sound of that...
Elena: I'm like you. I admire authors who can work with an outline, but I seem to need to take the trip blindly allowing my characters to lead. I'll check out your blog.
Jean: Unfortunately, there's no escaping those. Good luck!
Jann: Thanks for sharing something about yourself here. Your comment was a true delight. (And you're right, the quote is not from the novel. I found it on The Guardian Website.)
James: When you look forward to vacation so you can work on your novel, that means you're a true writer. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Twenty years ago when I was fresh out of high school did I ever imagine the technology available for mass communication. Who could conceive of "blogging" or publishing on the internet?
I have been in your same position. Believe me, you think it will last forever but it is temporary. Write what you can in your journal. It may seem like like work. There are books I found helpful one is called "Writing Down the Bones" which will give you fun activities to try and encouragement. Another I cannot think of the name but the author's last name is Cameron and she is a screenwriter in hollywood who swears by a morning journal. she swears that writing 3 pages of whatever comes to your head each morning will help stoke the fires of creativiity. I sat the that no matte how much you write a day you need to write something in any kind of style. If you don't use it you will lose it. Also read the famous book by Rilke "To A Young Poet" (I think it is called that). I hope this helps. Also Hang in there it will get better. I know I have been there!
When I'm in the middle of a piece my characters capture me and draw me to my office.
What a blessing to have the opportunity to be a writer.
Kristine: What you say about finding things to write about through your work is so true! When I started blogging, I wrote mostly about my waitressing job. My readers seemed to enjoy those stories more than any others.
tamara: Thank you!
Eric: Congrats on all the great feedback! Things like that kept me going for years!
Trish: I had to call my husband in the room to read your comment. Today when he came home from work, I was out on the deck engrossed in my laptop. "What are you doing here??" I said.
Jared: Thank you for visiting. And yes, it is all good!
I'm visiting your website and would also like to share my author sites for my first two published novels. www.byronnovel.com and www.chanceofalifetimenovel.com.
I recently posted an article to the gather book site entitled THE POWER AND IMPORTANCE OF A READER, which relates to your information.
Thank you.
Rob Tucker
I believe that reading a book you enjoy is a unique and individual experience. When you really like a book, you will recommend it to another reader, who will also have a unique and individual experience.
Reading a book is not a group social activity. It's not a concert. It's not watching a movie or television. It's the psychological and emotional connection between your life and the meaningful impact of the words the author offers to you on those pages. A great value of belonging to a book club is the opportunity to share reader perceptions in a group with common or uncommon interests.
Writing a novel and eventually having it published is a humbling experience. Writing is not glamorous. It's hard work to do it well and manage to enter and be accepted in the political business environment of the publishing industry. I encourage readers to appreciate the efforts of writers. You may be an audience of one, but cumulatively, you are an audience of many and what you have to say about your reading experience is important and significant.
Given the proliferation of electronic modes of communication, interest in reading does not seem to have diminished. More and more books are being published and more people are reading them. What is nice to see is that there are books of all kinds that are written to the preferences and expectations of a diverse range of readers. Clearly, any given book may not appeal to all readers and rarely does. Sales figures are not necessarily an accurate index for reader preference.
Any book you pick up has a sociological context. From a marketing perspective, the criteria that readers consciously or unconsciously use to select a book does provide insight to writers and publishers and makes for an interesting discussion regarding reader personality, life style, and social and cultural influences and how these characteristics might determine what approach a writer uses in developing a book project.
Writing a book is a personal subjective creative design and development process that parallels the design, development, production and sale of almost any manufactured product. The requirements and sequence are similar from the initial input, writing and internal and external feedback, through the final output or accepted manuscript which passes on to production and marketing.
Considering that a book may begin as an original creative work without the writer knowing the potential audience, eventually the realities and financial metrics of a highly competitive marketplace exert a primary influence over the book as a product when encountering editorial preferences of publishers and their target audience(s).
Interestingly, writers experience creative satisfaction but readers decide the success of a book.
Tina: You DID have a wonderful week. Jupiter and the blue heron made me smile.
Robert: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. They were wonderfully articulated, and I agree with your conclusion.
I love dogs very much, and the idea of me with a cat dancing in the dark and shadows...of its genlle-cold and sweet-statueques breezes of the night under the distant of glitters of the heavenly stars... with the watchful owls and eerie howls... and that pale moonlight... unmindful of the far-coming dawn.
( Patry - don't think of anything, just being rhetoical and decent... sublime, no tricks and with kicks just to make you feel so sacred even for awhile in time, my gift of words)
If anyone ever knew the hours I spend at times trying to catch just the right shot only to scrap it because it just wasn't good enough. Then there are the times when it is just right. It is almost like when you let go of that bowling ball and you know the second it leaves your fingers that it is going to be a strike.
and learn its secrets. But if we did, I guess we would destroy the magic...
Excellent article, Patry. I will stop by to read your column again.
I feel like a new woman!
A toast to the good days. Yay!
More fun times ahead!
cw: You describe it so well. I like your toast, too. Here, here!
Duckie O: And just the sight of your cheery little duck makes me happy. Thanks for an equally cheery comment...
Brighton: Don't wait to clean out your brain! You never know what you might make of the clutter. P.S. The time thief makes frequent stops around here, too.
I adored your piece above, and related so well! I've been in the land of oh-my-God-MORE-editing for the past few months, and have been feeling more and more crabby and almost resentful that I've been missing my daily fix of creating something new. I've done a few Seedlings columns, and have written some fun articles for Gather, but they have provided brief highs.
I guess it's because I normally write books in a storm of words - you know - a chapter a day, a quick edit to catch typos and pretty it up, then on to the next chapter. The rough draft is done in 2-3 months (given my usual 2 hours a day to write), and that stretch of time is soooooo good. Such a wild and delightful ride. When it's over, I just want to start the next book, and before I know it, I have a ton of books that need polishing. I guess it's selfish. But I hate stopping.
This time, though, I decided that Lady Blues (#11) needed to be in pristine condition, just-in-case... so I've been hammering away at it for the past few months. Almost done, and my crit partner, Sonya Bateman, has been helping me with cool plot ideas for the new book I'll start soon. It will be the third in the Sam Moore paranormal mystery series. I can't wait, and feel myself getting more and more excited as we discuss the possible plot twists... Oh, I so want that feeling again! It's totally addictive, as you know!
I wanted to tell you that my wife and mother-in-law both read The Liar's Diary and were as crazy about it as I was! They raved about it, and naturally flew threw it in just a few days. ;o) I knew they would! It is a thrill!!!
Take care and talk to you soon - A.
I usually write short stories and have only written one novel so far which needs lots of revising. I wrote it in the two months that Gather gave us from the time that the First Chapters contest was announced until two days before the final submission date. I have made some improvements but that seems to be the hardest part. The writing, once I started it in earnest, flowed. I didn't let life interfere. Now I keep finding all kinds of ways to procrastinate. It's like I don't want to let go of it for fear of it becoming something I don't recognize.