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 |  This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. If it falls this year (2024), then I may stop the whole blogging thing, but that's all a "wait and see" scenario. An index of topics can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. |
| Traditional v Vanity Publishers Another day, another WdC question. Here’s the question from a WdCer (whose name I forget… sorry!): How to tell the difference between a traditional publisher and a vanity publisher. Okay, first, some definitions. Self-publishing is when the writer is in control of all aspects of the work’s publication. They pay for the editing, the cover, the hard copies, the marketing, arranging the e-books, hiring the narrator for or recording the audiobooks, everything. The writer goes out of their way to get the best deal, does all the leg work, everything. They also then keep all moneys made (unless sharing with a narrator), and after costs have been covered, it is all profit, no extra costs. A traditional publisher charges nothing. They need to think a story has a chance of selling, and they then accept it. They will supply in-house editing. They will arrange a cover artist. They will format for e-book. They will arrange audiobook completion (if they do audiobooks). The writer is most often involved in decisions and there are some things that are negotiated (editing and covers, though you should not be charged), but the publisher takes the entire financial risk. For that reason, the publisher takes a larger chunk of the moneys the book makes because they have costs to cover, and then a business to maintain. If a writer does not have an agent, most trad publishers also negotiate for ancillary properties on behalf of the writer (e.g. film, graphic novel, etc.). A vanity publisher charges, but also supplies services, and has a submission process. Yes, vanity publishers can reject books, because, like a traditional publisher, they should see some return for their effort. In the strictest sense, a vanity publisher can start from a reading fee. Any publisher that charges a reading fee is considered a vanity publisher, as they keep your money even if they reject you. A publisher that charges “only” for editing after accepting a work is also a vanity publisher. But, generally, they will supply a contract that outlines what they will pay for, what the author must pay for and what is a shared cost. Things like cover, editing, formatting, etc. are all things that can be part of a money contract. Usually, it is the marketing where the vanity publisher really gets their money. ADDENDUM: After writing this, I discovered there are some Vanity Publishers that do not have a real submission process, but accept all works. That is getting increasingly worrisome, to be honest. So, I have an issue with Vanity Publishing, and recommend people avoid Vanity Publishers at all costs. I will not – as in never – recommend someone use one. I have seen editing that looks like it was done by a twelve year for whom English was their third language. And in marketing – I have seen someone sign a contract saying they’d cover 50% of all marketing. Great, but suddenly she was hit with bills for thousands of dollars because the publisher claims to have put adverts in magazines, set up stalls at conventions, all sorts of things. And I know many who were ignored when it came to their covers. Worst of all, many cannot get their books on Amazon because Amazon knows a scam when they see one (eventually). However, the writer signed the contract, and so it is all on them. Here’s how the convention worked. The VP had 6 authors, and all had books, all signed contracts to pay 50% of marketing costs. The convention cost the publisher money. They then charged all 6 authors 50%. If the convention cost $1000, they would charge 6 people $500 each, getting $3000. Even after paying the convention fee, they would still make $2000. No cost to the VP, all profit. Yes, the books were on sale, and copies did sell, but not enough for any one author to get their money back. I will not talk about self-publishing. But I will say this: you know how much it is going to cost, and you are in charge. Self-publishing, in the long run, will be cheaper than Vanity Publishing, no matter how much the initial VP offer is enticing. If choosing between the two, go self-publishing over Vanity Publishing every single time. So: How to tell the difference between a traditional publisher and a vanity publisher. If they charge money and also say they are going to supply some of their own money into a publishing venture, and they make you submit first, they are a vanity publisher. If they charge you nothing and give you a royalty, they are a traditional publisher. If you pay everything yourself and are aware that is the case, it is self-publishing. Hope that makes sense. |
| Author Website More questions from the WdC blogosphere! What should an author include on an Author Website? Now, this information comes from a short course I did in 2021, the first in-person writing course held by the state’s writer centre post-lockdown in our state. Here’s the list of things. To start with, find a free website host. You can pay if you wish, and this can be offset against tax… but you need to earn enough from your writing to pay tax in order for that to be the case. On page 1, put a photo. Some writers do not like their photos being out there (me!), so have a picture of something to do with your writing. Your latest book is a good second choice, if you have no books or no photo, then make the picture writing related (say, a picture of your dog typing). Make sure there is a clear navigation area on the first page, and a bit about you, about your writing, the sort of general introductory information to let people know what they have come across. There are two schools of thought on if you put links to your available books on the front page. First is that it means people can find the works quickly; second is that it makes the front page way too cluttered. I tend to opt for the second, but there is no reason why you cannot list the books on page one with an explanation links are on page 2. So, yes, page 2 is links. Books, use the cover images as the link portals to where people can buy the books. If you have an external blog, link that. How many books you have or appear in could make this stretch over more pages. Don’t get carried away; older works, make the images smaller. Goodreads author page, Amazon author’s page – link them here as well. Oh, this is not where to link your social media. If you are self-published and are selling your own writing on your website, then page two should be your shop page, not a page where people link out to get the books. Get the shop as close to the opening page as possible. The general thought about blogs is that there should be one in your author website, and that comes at the next page. And the blog should be updated at least fortnightly. Let your readers know you’re alive. Now the next bits are personal. Some authors have a page of photos – pets, where they’ve travelled, from cons they’ve attended, panels, things like that – some authors have a page where they plug the publishers who have published them and their writer friends, some have a Q&A page… and some have more than one of these. But do be careful how large your website is, or else potential readers could be put off. And the final page is normally a contact page. This is where you link your writing social media. Be careful of linking personal v professional socials. Most webhosts allow you to have a contact portal so you do not have to put your email address online. NEVER put your personal telephone number, address or any bank details on your webpage! I hope that helps someone! |
| Using Real People In Fiction Another request from the WdC community. When can we use real people in fiction? Great question! Before I begin – I am not a lawyer. This comes from my dealing with publishers, doing writing and the law in both my professional writing diploma and my creative writing bachelor’s degree, and a formal meeting with the legal centre for writers in Australia. If in doubt, contact legal advice in your own jurisdiction. First, let’s look at living people. There, the simple answer is: if the person is in the public eye, then you can use them. It really is that simple. It has been tested in courts in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia. What is the public eye? Literally anything where they have put themselves into that sphere. Movies, TV, music, politics, YouTube, sports, anything where their photograph or video footage is willingly included, or where they share their real life. Also, convicted criminals are fair game. A few phrases to be noted there: put themselves – the person has to have made the choice to be a public figure willingly – there has to have been no coercion share their life – even without visual, if a person is active on any public social media. In the case of convicted criminals, they may be used, but cannot be depicted committing crime unless details of their case are public. This is official details, not newspaper reports. If, on the other hand, a person goes by a name only and has not released a picture or any personal details to the public, just their art (as it is usually artists who do this), then they are not fair game. You can mention their art, and the fact they created it, but not use them as characters. Banksy has, though lawyers, successfully sued a few writers in the UK. Details have been made private, but I believe at least one was a fiction work. Now, here is where you have to be careful. Even in a work of fiction, if you portray a person as something they are not, then you can be done for libel. This gets murky. In Australia, it is based on “the pub test” – what would a person at the local pub think or believe. If you wrote a story where David Berkowitz (the ‘Son Of Sam’ killer) kills someone, the pub test would not count that as libellous; if you had him mastermind the September 11 attacks, then, yes, that would be libellous because no-one in the pub (“in their right mind”) would believe he did that. Note, can be done. If I wrote a story where Barack Obama became a superhero and stopped an alien invasion, then he could get me for libel, but the chances are, because he is portrayed as heroic, he would not bother. Like I said, murky. There is another caveat. If you portray a convicted criminal as doing something, and then the conviction is overturned and they are exonerated, then they can do you for libel, even though it is retroactive. It has not happened to a work of fiction, to my knowledge, but the legal recourse is there. The only way you can get away with it is if you call it parody, and it can be proven as such. For example, Team America; World Police. Sean Penn tried to get them for defamation; he failed. Alec Baldwin, on the other hand, offered to dub in his puppet’s lines himself. That did not help Penn’s case, by the way… The only way to get around libel laws is to have written permission from the person. A classic example is Ben Elton’s book Chart Throb, where Prince Charles is a central character. He gave his written permission to Ben to include him in the work. Where he is a singer on a reality TV talent show. Seriously. It is a great book. Now, this is only for works of fiction, and so only covers depictions of real people. Non-fiction works have their own set of libel laws which vary not only from country to country, but jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I am not going to even begin to look at non-fiction here; please consult a legal professional. Okay, dead people. Talk about murky! If a person is long dead (antiquity through to Georgian era), then use them to your heart’s content. However, if you use a famous person and it goes against what people know of a person, even if in parody, then most traditional publishers will send you on your way, and a place like Amazon has been known to refuse to stock books like that. One that springs to mind was a book portraying Joan of Arc as a literal prostitute. Self-published, no website would carry it and I am guessing the writer has a fine collection of unsold books in their attic. This was not a work of pornography, by the way. Porn has its own rules and I have not looked into them. And won’t. Don’t ask about it. More recent dead, where there are still family members in direct lineage alive, then assume everything for a living person holds, although the portrayal would have to be very off for a case to fit. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter never copped any flack for using the former president. Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood had a few complaints, but no legal action was raised. I could only find one case where a book was find to have libelled a dead person – an Australian book that depicted former PM Gough Whitlam as a Communist assassin who killed Harold Holt was self-published 2 years after his death, and two of his sons sued and had the book pulped. The defence was that it was a work of fiction; the court found that was not good enough. Maybe a case of too soon, but who knows? In fan-fiction, see "20240303 Writing Fan Fiction" for general guidelines, but there are so many real-life ships going on in ao3 and ff.net that lawyers could have a field day. However, it seems that so long as it stays on the fan-fic sites, it is ignored. However, US legal advice is that if someone does decide to go after shippers, then they would win. But the Streisand Effect and fan backlash could make it completely not worthwhile.On a personal note, I used WWE wrestlers as characters in 2 fan-fiction works that I have sold. I received permission from WWE at the time. But that could be murky as to if it was based on real people, because it was based on the characters portrayed – the wrestlers, not the real people behind the personae. So, basically, if using a real person, be very careful. Or get their permission. Or, in my opinion – don’t do it. |
| Words: Cultural Differences/Neologisms Sticking with suggestions for the blog from WdC users! This is about using different words. I have already covered using foreign words ("20240516 Using Foreign Words" ), so what is this about? Two things.Cultural Differences People who read my newsfeed posts are often confused by the way I put things. This is because (in case you weren’t aware) I am from Australia. As I have put it before, we are two nations separated by a common language. And add UK English into the mix, and the same words can mean three different things, especially when it comes to slang. Now, I am not going to list the specific differences here; they are too numerous to bother with. However, you need to be aware of it. For example, a biscuit in Australia is a cookie in the USA, and is a baked cookie in the UK. One word, three different things. We don’t use the word cookie. The UK uses the word cookie for US biscuits. The only place you see cookies in Australia is in a Subway. What you in the US call a biscuit we call a savoury scone. The British tend not to have savoury scones. In Australia we have a pumpkin scone which has no comparison anywhere else. One language… Now, because Australians are inundated with UK and US pop culture, we understand what these things mean. It does not work in the opposite way, so when USians try to write Australian characters, they often get so much wrong it is actually embarrassing. If you are writing another English-speaking culture, do not assume that we are all the same. Would someone from New York like to be called the same as someone from Salt Lake City? Really? Well, it’s the same with us. Don’t be afraid to ask. It becomes even more interesting in countries where English is a second language and the way English has evolved over time in those countries. Hong Kong is a great example. HK English has a lot of differences that come across as idiosyncrasies, and yet are simply cultural differences. As a final thing, if looking at an international audience (which I do), try to avoid local words and phrases unless in direct speech. And, I say again, do not be afraid to ask. Most people from other countries don’t bite. Neologisms A Neologism is when you coin a new word. Shakespeare did it. A lot! Many science fiction writers do it. So… why do some seem right and some not? Okay, I am going to sort this into four fields: Nonsense Words Made famous by Lear and Carroll (think Carroll’s Jabberwocky), nonsense words are whatever you want them to be, and their meaning could be anything, sometimes gleaned through context and sometimes left hanging. Whatever sounds right can be used. Or not. It is nonsense, after all. Contemporaneous Words I have done this in a published story and got away with it. How? Because for a word to be accepted it has to come from three bases: 1) an indo-European language; I use Greek and Latin and the words tend to make sense; 2) an Asian language adapted into a more Anglicised form (a lot of scifi neologisms come from this base); & 3) named after a person or brand name (e.g. band aids). For the word to work in a contemporaneous setting, the meaning of the base words needs to make sense. For some examples, see "St Patrick's Day Celebrations" , and at the bottom I have explained where the words come from.If using a person’s name, it must make sense in context. In Australia, a furphy is a bad rumour; this comes from the family name Furphy because they owned water trucks around which people would talk and gossip. There is nothing etymological about it, but it makes sense in the context of Australian culture. Future Words This is, of course, for those with a science fiction base. First, adding “star” or “space” to something is not going to happen; we have space stations, but we just have artificial satellites, not space satellites; Voyager and Voyager II were interstellar communications craft or man-made satellites, not space bots. There is a good chance that the culture which develops the future tech will name it, or it will be named after the company. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the vessel that takes the people to space was the Pan-Am Orion II Spaceplane (yes, space, but it was the 60s). But it was first named Pan-Am… a company that no longer exists (be so aware of that!). There was a craze for calling things like plexiplas for see-through plastic in science fiction in the 50s and 60s (and, let’s be honest, 70s and 80s as well). Looking at what we call things now, it would be clear plastic. Plexistrong was the name given to spaceship glass in a Lionel Fanthorpe novel; today it’s called toughened glass. So, don’t be too different. I did mention already that more and more science fiction writers use Asian language-based words, especially from Japan and, more and more with their expanding space programme, from India. All of that makes perfect sense. Having said all that, there is no reason why your space opera can’t have adapted names to make it futuristic. Personal drink dispenser became PDD or Personal DD in the space shuttle programme. It was basically a water bottle with a straw that directed the water to the back of the throat. Important tech, but the fancy name was not anything out of the ordinary. Oh, and space programmes use initialisations all the friggin’ time. Fantasy Words While some people take these as nonsense words, and that can be fine, there must be a rhyme and reason to the use of words if it is based on a language you have created. Give your towns a common ending or beginning or even syllable, for example. This not only gives an in-world reason for the names, but helps the reader identify if something is a town or person. If a word means something and a person’s name means the same thing, then a variation of that word should be there somewhere. It’s little things that make your world feel more fleshed out. Personal example: In a recent novel, the family of scribes all have a name starting with Zac, which tells you not only are they related but when a word for communal story came up, I called it a zacal. In the world’s context, it makes sense. So, yes, you can make up words and languages, but languages do follow rules and have an internal logic. And I can point you nowhere better than Tolkien’s languages in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. He developed entire systems, with vocabs and declensions and conjugations. Not everything he created was included in the books, but it was all there in the background. So, I think that covers cultural differences and neologisms. Just some things to make your stories come more to life. |
| Readers (Of Your Work) So, when I asked for suggestions for this blog, these two questions came up: The difference between alpha and beta readers and when to use which How to get and instruct alpha and beta readers to get the results you are looking for Now, these are readers people use before publication. It might be before posting it on WdC (Wattpad or ao3 or whatever), before self-publication or before sending it off to an agent or traditional publisher. They are trusted readers who offer feedback, but they are also very different. Okay, first and foremost – I rarely use alpha readers. Very rarely. In fact, out of the 50-odd novels and novellas I have floating around the world looking for homes, one had an alpha reader. On the other hand, I would suggest that a beta reader is essential before any form of publication. While I tend to use them only for longer works and poems, I probably should use them for short stories as well. Anyway, that is all well and good. But… what are they? Alpha Readers An alpha reader looks at the work in all its first-draft glory. The work is filled with typos and formatting issues and is as it has come, either from the plan, from the mind or a mixture (plotter, pantser, plantser – "20240120 Plotting and Pantsing" ).An alpha reader does one thing and one thing only – does the story make sense? They find plot holes, they find places where the character’s name has changed, they find areas where the bad guy clipped into a situation they couldn’t have, when the people get from Adelaide to Melbourne by foot in three hours, things like that. They have a knowledge of the genre, a knowledge of the world and a knowledge of tropes. An alpha reader does not do any editing. They don’t tell you you spelt hammer with three m’s on page 351. That is not their job. They are there solely to tell you if it works as a story. They should also tell you which bits work really, really well. There are two issues with an alpha reader. The first is that, as I said, they need to know the world you are using. That means an alpha reader should also read any ancillary information, especially in the case of created worlds. That takes dedication. The second is that if you use multiple rewritings and drafts and tend to add information, an alpha could create confusion when it comes to future drafts. Basically, though, an alpha reader will tell if the story works before you hit editing. Alpha readers do not need detailed instructions, just ask them, “Does this work?” Beta Reader A beta reader comes in right at the end point. You’ve written your drafts, you’ve had the work edited, and you think it might be close to ready to be set loose on the world, so you get a beta reader to go over it all and see what you missed. A beta reader looks for things an editor might have missed. I have discovered my editor has a problem with lay/lie because of beta readers! So, spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, etc. But they are not there to be line editors. Their main job is to read the book or story and see if it works as a whole. And it is always good to ask beta readers questions. Is character X too two-dimensional? Are character Y’s actions in chapters 12-14 in character? Is the pacing right in chapters 8 through 15? Does the ending drag on too long? Does the world make sense? Does the start of chapter 2 come across as an info dump? These are the sorts of things a beta reader can help with. Beta readers also tell you factual errors or things that do not make sense from a world point of view. I need to be aware of this because Australia is different to the USA, and I tend to sell in the USA. And they are supposed to tell you when things work, and when things hit them emotionally and stuff like that. They do look at the positives as well as providing maybe not so flattering feedback. On a personal note, I prefer to use female beta readers. This gives me an idea if i have female characters portrayed realistically. If I have gay characters, then I use gay beta readers. And I have used Indigenous beta readers for a few stories were Australian Indigenous people were main characters. But nearly all my IRL beta readers are female. I am male and straight; there are things I am not going to know or understand or get right. I cannot see any downsides to using a beta reader. However, if you don’t use a beta reader, then I feel you are not allowing your writing to be all it can be and you are letting yourself down. Critique Partner Now, the thing about beta readers, is that they often do it for free or you pay them something (I tend to pay mine with chocolate IRL). Alpha readers I assume are the same as beta readers. But then there is the critique partner. A critique partner is someone you swap a manuscript with and you give one another feedback, and this feedback is expected to be more on the writerly side of things. As well as doing exactly what a beta reader does, they will also question word choice, passage details and even where passages could be. It is done from a fellow writer’s point of view, not a reader’s. I haven’t used one for a long work, but used to use one for short stories, back in the late 1990s, early 2000s. Then he got huffy because I criticised his work “too much”, he started just criticising mine for the sake of it and, well… I’ve had over 100 pieces traditionally published, he self-published a short story collection and lost over $1000 (this was pre-e-books). I am not alone there, by the way. Critique partners can be a great way to end a relationship or friendship. I would recommend not using the same critique partner over and over. Maybe once a year for short stories, and once a decade for longer works. End-Reader There is one more, and that is the end-reader. This is the person who leaves that one-star review on Amazon. But that reader is out of your sphere of influence. You have put your work into the world and they read it of their own volition, not because they want to help you. An end-reader has paid good money to buy your work. They are entitled to their opinion and owe you nothing. They don’t even owe you a review or feedback. And if they hate it, then that’s bad luck for you. And, this is going to be easy for me to say, but don’t read reviews unless your publisher wants you to read certain ones, or the reviewer is a professional (even then…). You cannot make changes and negative reviews can really shatter the ego. Having said all that, the End-Reader is the most important one. That is your ultimate audience. And hopefully you have crafted a work of art that will give them some enjoyment for at least a while. And that is readers. There are a few. I would thoroughly recommend beta readers, and the end-reader is the ultimate goal. But it is your choice, your call, as to which ones you use. Hey, you might not even want an end-reader, and just write for yourself. I hope this helped. |
| Agents I asked for some ideas for blog topics that might be of interest to writers and received a heap of suggestions (but more are still needed!), so it’s time for me to hit them. The first is a series of questions: To get an agent or not Pros and cons of seeking an agent. How to find a good agent What to do if you don't like your agent and when to jump ship These come from different people, so clearly there is some curiosity out there. Okay, first and foremost, the USA has the best system for agents anywhere in the world. If the agent is a member of the Association of American Literacy Agents, then they are bound by a series of guidelines and expectations that, if they break them, can see them removed from AALA… and you do not go for an agent who is not in that group. Make sure you use https://aalitagents.org/ as the Australian Association uses the same initials. Basically, the agent only charges you if they sell your work, they tell you in writing as soon as a sale is made or money comes in, they help you with finances, they guide you to make choices that benefit you and your career. If they are in the pay of a publisher and push their clients that way, this is against the guidelines, and will see them removed. In Australia, for example, an agent can charge a flat fee whether they sell your work or not. In the UK, agents can not only charge flat fees but can be associated with publishing houses. As a sideline, Canadian agents only take Canadian authors (unless they are affiliated with a US agency). If you want to go for an agent, then you need to read this blog post from Writer Beware! Using an agent from a registered governing body will make it less likely you will have issues. This offers better written advice than I, someone who has been rejected by well over 20 agents in the past 4 years alone, could ever give: A Writer Beware blog post. Read this! Seriously! There are some cons about getting an agent. First, you pay them 20% (or thereabouts) of your income made through writing. Even if you sell it yourself, and not through them (which, with some agent contracts, is not allowed), you must give them 20%. This also covers if you are paid to go to a conference, give a paid talk, anything. And it covers if you sell and make money from other media adaptations. Next, depending on the contract you signed, they might be able to sell to whoever they want, even if you are not happy with a publisher. Finally, they all demand exclusivity, but may not want to represent your short stories, or all your novels. If your contract allows you to also represent yourself in these cases, you will still owe them. The pros, however, are huge. You have someone advocating for you because they only get paid if you sell, giving you more time to write/edit. They can employ editors of their own (which you can read about the legalities of, and their obligations if doing so, here ). They can organize marketing and publicity, and they must do this in line with your beliefs or wants. So, if you have an issue with Playboy magazine, they will not be allowed to sell a short story of your to that periodical. They also encourage you to write more, especially if the first work sells well. They can handle legal claims against you or for you, especially if someone plagiarises your work. They will also negotiate to get the best deal if they have competing offers.I think all the questions are answered in the two blog posts I linked to. I will continue to try to find an agent (I use QueryTracker, FWIW), and if I ever succeed  , I will let everyone know how I go.Sorry I am passing the buck here, but why reinvent the wheel? |
| Overcoming Writer’s Block It seems that nearly every writer goes through a period of Writer’s Block. Nearly, not all, let me be clear on that. And it seems that nearly every writer who has been through it and come out the other side has their own way of dealing with it. Now, I am going to be brutally honest here – I have never suffered from Writers Block. But I have successfully helped a few writers get over it. This is different to Writer’s Malaise (see "20240517 Combatting Writer's Malaise" ) in that there are no ideas there, the well feels dry, and the motivation is completely gone. It is a combination of everything, resulting in even the concept of writing holds no joy for the writer, maybe even dread. I have been told that you stare at a page and it stays blank. There is not even a hint of inspiration; and there is nothing internal to encourage searching for it. It is also often coupled with a sense of loss; it can be very draining mentally.So, how did I help the people I helped? In a few cases, I convinced them it was okay to go through it, that time didn’t matter, and if they didn’t go back to writing, it didn’t matter because they had already created a body of work. That was me putting on my counselor hat, and all of them returned to writing eventually (one it did take four years or so). It was just acceptance that these things can happen, and I think relaxing out of the mode of feeling they had to write helped relax them enough to eventually return to the writing. In my opinion, this is not something you can do by yourself, however. This requires a person to be there to help you, to be there when those negative feelings start to become overwhelming, when you feel you have more to say, but don’t know what or how. In two cases, I got them to try a different art form. One did go back to writing, the other kept on doing the oil painting he’d found and he became rather good at it. I was probably wrong in insisting on an art form though. Idea 1: Find something else to do. Let’s start here. I just mentioned I told people to try another art form, so their creativity still had an outlet. But what if they don’t want to do an art form? Or if it is a creative block? Then it seems rather counter-productive to push that. Why not take up walking? Going to the gym? Joining a sporting team? Listening to music? Cooking? Gardening? Sewing? Crochet? Gaming? Anything? The idea is that you just give the mind something else to focus on. And sometimes that time away will just let the creative juices recharge. Idea 2: Write your way out of it. Some people really want to keep writing. In that case, everything in the Writer’s Malaise blog post holds here. But these are especially effective: use a prompt; write literally anything, even if it makes no sense; write in a different genre (reviews are always good to fall back on); & transcribe a conversation, TV show, movie, etc. Idea 3: Write for an audience of one. This requires you have a friend (so no good for me, then). Simply write whatever they want written. A letter to their accountant? What happened in the footy on the weekend? A recipe for almond prawns? Write it for them! Idea 4: Read. Simple, really. But make sure you read fiction and non-fiction and across genres. Just take it all in and let your subconscious find its own inspiration. Idea 5: Avoid distractions. Social media, computer blogs, videos, TV – these are all distractions that occupy the thinking process. Staying away from them, sitting in silence, can let the mind wander. Idea 6: Stay put. I found this one in a Reddit forum – stay at your desk, and do not move until you have written at least ten words. Like I keep on saying, it doesn’t matter if they make sense, but force yourself into a position where you have to write. Idea 7: Pretend it doesn’t exist. Same Reddit threat, this got the most up-votes. Not sure how that works, but it is recommended. Look, writer’s block is generally borne of the anxiety that you are not living up to the expectations you have of yourself as a writer. So, with that in mind: Idea 8: Don’t beat yourself up. Be kind. Give yourself a break. Treat yourself well. I hope this has been a help to someone. |
| Combatting Writer's Malaise Lack of motivation amongst artists became a genuine problem during lockdown. This is the lecture notes from a talk I gave in 2022 to help people get their creativity back. This can be used for any of the arts, by the way. 1. Making Writing Normal Overall, the best way to get into writing mode is also one of the more difficult. For general, non-professional writing, writing as a hobby that is more than an occasional “thing”, writing needs to become a part of the everyday normal. How do we do that? 1) Setting. First, find a place to write. This needs to be somewhere that is set aside for writing and writing alone. It could be anything from a writing desk to a small corner of the kitchen table, a table at the park down the road to a chair under the verandah. But you cannot do anything else there. It is your writing area. That gives it a meaning. And, yes, it should be a place you are comfortable. Now, some people actually travel and move around a bit. In this case, their spot can even be the back seat of their car. Make sure you’re comfortable and make sure you don’t sit in the back seat at any other time, but that is perfectly acceptable as a ‘writing spot’. The problem there is that, even at home you need to use the same spot. Of course, the back seat of a car can potentially guarantee a greater degree of solitude. Another alternative is that you have a deck chair that is your “writing chair”. Take it with you. This will come up later, but you do need family support for this, and explaining this to your loved ones could help. 2) Time. Next, set aside time each and every day to write. The same time is important, or same time on weekdays and a different time on weekends. To start with, it only has to be short, say fifteen minutes, but also at the beginning, it does need to be every day. No game-playing, no social media, just writing. One extra thing here – do not hide this from your family/people you’re living with. They need to know what you’re doing and why, so they will leave you alone. Oh, turn off your phone to make sure you are not interrupted. 3) Accoutrements. Next, you need to ensure you have stuff to write on/with, and this needs to be organised beforehand. Again, in the beginning, it should be the same thing each time. Computer, laptop, a notebook and pen. But it needs to be the same thing, again for that habit-formation. Also, make sure you have a drink on hand, and, again, if you can do the same thing each time, it does help get into that habit. This does seem like it’s very basic, but to overcome the mental impasse that many writers go through, going all the way back to the very basics to get back on track is a good first step. This is every art. Playing an instrument, painting, drawing, scrapbooking, knitting, tapestry, sculpture – if anything has fallen by the wayside, then this 3-step back-to-basics approach is a good beginning. There is also some discussion over time versus word count. Should you write for 15 minutes or write 300 words? The thing with word count is that if you are struggling, then that could take a lot longer than 15 minutes, and because word count is nebulous time-wise, then it is hard to form the writing habit. Also, a time is easier to apply to other arts. 2. Other Options There are some other methods to help overcome the malaise, ones that might not interfere with life quite so much. 1) Write for an audience. Tell some-one you are going to write something for them. A poem for a friend’s birthday. A short story for a young relative. An essay on why the Police Academy films are higher art than anything by Jean-Luc Godard for your local film appreciation society. But you need to tell them you are going to do this, so that there is some-one to keep you accountable to force you to complete this one writing task. 2) Set public goals. Much like the previous one, this is making yourself accountable to others. So, tell some-one who is going to be supportive that you are going to write 1000 words this week, and then make sure you show them you have. Weekly goals work best as they are long term enough to give you a chance to work on them without feeling rushed, but not too long that everyone forgets and it falls by the wayside. 3) Use rewards. This is linked, sort of, to the other two. In this case, the goals are personal, but when you complete the goal, you give yourself a reward. Finish a poem, allow yourself a chocolate. Finish a short story, buy a new book. Little things. But this does take a fair bit of discipline to hold off if you don’t make it. However, that does not mean some-one else can’t be involved, giving the reward when you achieve the goal. Some people take this one step further and reward others as well. One I was told about was that every chapter finished of the first draft of a novel the writer took his partner out for a meal; when he finished the whole thing, they had a weekend away. Yes, that can be expensive, but it could be anything, not that particular reward. That way you are looking out for some-one else, and your actions will affect them as well. Some people see this as using guilt as a motivator. That is possibly true, and so you would have to make the decision if that would work for you. 4) Get out. Getting outside and just seeing some different scenery can rejuvenate the neurons, get them firing. Look at things, take mental notes, let things flow through your mind without focusing or concentrating on anything. Even just leaving the house and sitting in the back corner of the yard, giving yourself a physical change of perspective is something that could help the creativity. If you want, take a notebook with you and make notes. They don’t have to be expansive, but notes are still writing. 3. What To Write So, then comes the next question – what do I write? Inspiration is more than just making things consistent and creating a habit. So, to start with – write literally anything. Getting personal for a second: One thing I did when I was in high school and feeling stressed and not being able to write was that I simply wrote random words on a page. Completely random. Just words. No sentences, just words. If you have set yourself 15 minutes in your “make writing normal” programme, then spend 15 minutes writing words. Do not look for patterns, do not look for anything akin to sense – just write. What does it mean? Nothing. That’s the point. It’s just the act of writing. Again, to reinforce this, it’s helping with that habit forming. However, if a pattern does emerge sub-consciously, then go with it. There is another level of this which is to write a stream of consciousness piece. In this case, there are sentences used but nothing needs to make sense. You just let everything flow out of you as it comes. Do not read back over what you have written, just write and get it out of your system. Quick thing here – if you write something and it goes nowhere, it does not matter. This is because at least you have written something. But I will also say this – keep everything. Do not throw out anything, no matter how bad you think it is or how disappointed you are, because every scrap could come handy later on. Okay, other ways to get ideas. 1) Fan-fiction. If a writer is stuck, then take a favourite character and write them into an adventure. Watch TV and pick a character and make something happen to them. Write a poem about them. Write a description of them. Write yourself into a favourite pop culture setting. (My thoughts on fan-fiction: "20240301 An Academic Essay On Fan Fiction" , "20240302 Some Fan Fiction Negatives" , "20240303 Writing Fan Fiction" )2) Conversation. Listen (eavesdrop, whatever) to some-one’s conversation and then take it where your imagination will let you. 3) Description. Pick something and describe it. Simple, really. It can be a person, a pet, an animal, an inanimate object, something on TV, your own hand – it does not matter. Just write a description. 4) Retell. Pick a familiar story and rewrite it in your own words. It might a fairy tale, the plot of a movie or TV show, a myth or legend, but it should be a story you know well. It is that simple. Afterwards, you can use it for something else, sure, but, again, you don’t have to. Just writing that first retelling is writing. 5) Write a letter. Pick someone you know, someone you don’t, a real person, a fictional character, and write them a letter. Something in the news angering you? Write a letter to the Editor. Something on TV needs praise? Write a letter to the Radio Times. Another common one is to write a letter to your younger self, giving yourself hints and warning them of things to come. By the way, I know it seems obvious, but this letter is not to be sent, it is just writing. 6) Write a review. Seen or read or listened to something recently? Then write a review of it. Why did you/didn’t you like it? What was good about it? What was bad? All the standard sort of review things. Another version of this is writing a fake advertisement for something instead of reviewing it. 7) Write a list. What are your favourite 10 books? Is that too hard – how about 5 or 20? List them and write a sentence or two explaining why you like them. Songs? Albums? Movies? TV shows? Recipes? How about a list of movies starring Tom Selleck you’ve seen and then try to rate them? A list of songs about trees and why they work (or don’t)? Lists are a way of putting your own thoughts down and you also get into the habit of organising if you are one who plots longer works. 8) Plan. Write the plan or story beats for a novel, short story, trilogy of epics. Add things to it. Add sub-stories, side-quests, whatever. You are not necessarily going to write this, but this exercise gets the imagination sparking. 9) Listen to a song. Use the lyrics of a song to base a story on. Rewrite them as a poem. Use the tune and write new lyrics, either parody or serious. Take an instrumental and write lyrics to it. Just base a piece of writing on the music. 10) Write to a picture. Get some-one to select a picture and write something based on it. Literally anything – poem, story, description, impression, anything. There are also online sites that give writing prompts, visual, aural and written, and that could also help. Also, don’t worry about finding the right words. Just get things down. Second drafts and revisions are for the right words and fiddling with technique. Some people I spoke to say that research is something they do as well. I agree, but with the caveat if you are researching, then you cannot just read – you must take notes. No copy-paste, but put what you are researching into your own words. The research can be for a writing project, for a personal interest, for study – literally anything, but to make it a writing task, you need to write and write from your own head. 4. Too Many Ideas One thing that I have seen is that people feel they have too many ideas and don’t know which one to work on. While that may seem to go against the malaise thing, it is something that can happen when people are in a downward spiral – the brain goes into overdrive as it over-compensates. The problem comes with having so many ideas and feeling you have no way of utilising them. The issue comes when the artist feels they need to utilise every idea. Especially if there has been a period of no creativity, the ideas can come thick and fast, and they all feel so very good and perfect and you want to work on them all right now. However, simply put, you probably won’t be able to use every idea, and you have to accept that. But which ideas do you use? How do you know which ones are going to work? Well, you have no idea.  So, write every idea down. It might be one word, a sentence, a paragraph, a series of bullet points, a quick sketch. Just get the ideas out of your head onto paper or into a computer. Then come back to them. If you can’t remember what the idea meant, then it probably wasn’t going to work. Otherwise, the ideas are now there and you can work on them at your leisure. Like I said – throw nothing away. However, that can be a difficult mind-set. You have to accept that nothing needs to be done “now”, but it is also true that many artists with ideas and inspiration like to work in the now. That’s what creates the issue of over-crowding the mind. It can be hard to let go of the concept that it must be done now, but so long as you have the ideas written down, you can come back to them even years later. If you are comfortable, you can work on more than one, but do not overdo it. It’s not necessary. The ideas, once on paper, are not going to go away. What if you don’t use them all? Does it matter? The thing is, writing down just ideas is a form of de-cluttering the mind, which makes creativity flow much easier. Hope that helps someone out there! |
| Using Foreign Words Back to my list of topics for writers! This topic is one that does not seem to be needed as much as it used to be, back in the twentieth century. A part of it is that there are a number of publishers who don’t like it, and a part of it is that it just does not seem necessary. This is the use of foreign words in your fiction. The modern feeling is that when someone is speaking a language other than English, you write their words in English, but indicate elsewhere that the language is not English. e.g.”I have the bomb,” she said down the phone in Russian, so Bill didn’t understand what she was talking about. Yes, it’s clunky, but that seems to be what more and more publishers are pushing for. However, the traditional way is to have the person say the phrase in their own language, then supply a translation. e.g.”Veni, vidi, calcitravi sus nates!” Caesar declared. (I came, I saw, I kicked its arse!) Note, both the foreign words and the translation are in italics. There is also a trend amongst some publishers to have foreign language translated, but to indicate through formatting that it has been translated. e.g.”[I saw a flying saucer!]” the German boy cried, but none of the Americans understood him. Note, this is in italics and surrounded by square brackets. At least 2 publishers I have worked with prefer this. So, that’s what happens when a person uses a whole sentence in a foreign language. What about if they just use a word or phrase? In that case, the foreign word should be in italics, and, especially if it is a common word or phrase, there does not need to be a translation. e.g.”Ciao, Fred!” Donna called from across the pool. Marilyn Monroe has a touch of je ne sais quoi about her acting. When my school bully was beaten up, I couldn’t help but feel a little Schadenfreude about the situation. I hate it when I get a feeling of déjà vu for no reason. Note that only one of these examples uses direct speech. At any time in a written work, when using a foreign word that has not been absorbed into English, it should be in italics. The exceptions to this are words from European languages. So, French words, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German, are all in italics. If an Australian word, however, has become a part of English, then it does not need italics. Kangaroo definitely has become English; wadjita has not. They are both from the same language group, but one is in common use, one isn’t. Why European words? I have no idea, but that is the way it goes. This includes Latin, by the way. And that is the use of foreign words in English. Generally. |
| Two More Questions So, two more writerly questions to be answered! 1. Does a sentence containing the word 'how', ‘why’, ‘what’, etc. always denote a question? Does it always require a question mark? Let's look at some examples: I saw how big the whale was when I stood next to its skeleton. I understood why the sky was blue after the science lecture. I know where the shop is. She saw who had stolen the bread. Cows know what they can eat so they don’t get sick. No, they don’t always need a question mark! 2. When you have a difficult time finding descriptive words to use in your stories, how do you get around it? Okay, this is a case where every writer is different. Some will have their own ways of doing this. In that light, this is what I do. I start with swearing just to fill in the gap. The f'ing murderer held his f'ing knife above his f'ing head. No! Seriously. This tells me two things - one if a word is actually needed, and two that I really need to find a proper word to fill in this gap. Then, if I decide an adjective or adverb is needed, my next step would possibly be to use a word that’s close, but no cigar. The murderer held his stained knife above his disfigured head. Then, in the editing process, I use Roget’s Thesaurus, which I trust more than the online thesauri, to find more appropriate words. The murderer held his bloodied knife above his misshapen head. Notice I got rid of the "f'ing" before "murderer"? That's because, if you cannot find the right adjective or adverb, you generally don't need one. Most editors will tell you the same thing. That's why I look at that first. Basically, in the case of this question – it is completely a personal thing whether you use descriptors or not. But I will say that if you find yourself getting get hung up on one specific word, then there may possibly be other issues with the story at that point, so restart from a previous different point or rewrite that section from a different angle, and see how that works. |
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