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Why Write During the Holidays?

December 27, 2019

For a long time, I wasn’t a very consistent writer. I figured whenever inspiration struck, I would write. Until then, I preferred to do other things with my time.

As a consequence, I didn’t get much better at my craft.

However, several years ago, I started forcing myself to write a little every day, and I was shocked. Pages that once took three hours only took thirty minutes, and my writing got much better.

It became my new mantra. If I wanted to get better at my craft, I had to write every day.

Even during Christmas? You might think, “Oh, it’s okay if I don’t write today. It’s a holiday.” But, I think you’ll be missing out on a huge opportunity, and here are three reasons why.

You’re Going to Be Around a Lot of People
Good creative writing is always about people. During the holidays, many of us spend more time around people than any other season. What better time is there to study their mannerisms and actions?

You’ll be talking to many people, so ask them questions. Pay close attention to the details of their actions. Paying attention to people this week could inspire dozens of new stories.

Holidays are Transformational
The holidays leading up to the New Year are periods of liminal space, which means it is often a period of transformation.

How does this apply to writing? The easiest way to put it: fiction is almost always about watching a character change.

For instance, Elizabeth Bennet (in Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice) starts the story prejudiced…and ends up in love. Jean Valjean (the protagonist of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables) begins as a criminal and ends a saint.

The idea is the same in either case. We love reading about people who change, and the holidays are all about change. So, pay attention and see how people around you have changed this Christmas.

This includes you!

You Pay More Attention to the Details During the Holidays
For instance, the other day, while watching the bird-feeder outside my dining room, I saw several little birds on the railing of my deck. There was also a blue jay and red-headed woodpecker.

I watched for a long time as they seemed to take turns at the seed-filled block of suet on the bird-feeder pole next to the deck.

It’s been there all fall, but I always chose to ignore it. I realized it wasn’t that I had more time now to notice these things. I just finally took the time to breathe in deep, sip my coffee slow…and look.

You should give it a try and, if you’re smart and lucky, you’ll even take a little time to write about it.

Happy Holidays!

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Gentle Readers, my books have all garnered some terrific reviews. You can see all of them by using the Amazon link below. Check them out. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

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You’re invited to visit my author’s website, BROKEN GLASS to hear the remarkable radio interview about my novel “Blood Lake” on The Authors Show, or see my three local television interviews. You can also like my Book of Face page, find me on Goodreads, or follow my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:award-winning author, award-winning writing, storytelling
Posted in Independent Publishing, Storytelling | 2 Comments »

Do You Know the Most Important Thing About Storytelling?

November 25, 2019

reader Photo Courtesy of Pexels

As I get ready to go full tilt into the holiday season with my family, I thought I’d mention one more time, to every wanna be writer out there, the most important thing I’ve learned about being an author.

It’s important to understand there is a difference between a good writer and a good storyteller.

A good writer is focused on the literal qualities of writing, but a good storyteller is someone who tries to see and appreciate the story in everything. As you can imagine, when you have a more open mind towards what is a story, your skills associated with storytelling improve, because you’re challenging yourself.

Write Often
The truth is, you cannot become a good storyteller unless you practice writing and telling stories often. How often you should write is up to you, but it should almost always be more often than you think you’ll be comfortable with.

For instance, I write a little almost every day. If writing every day feels like a challenge to you, please keep in mind one of the key benefits in writing often … whatever that might mean for you … is making a conscious effort to think about your stories. One of the biggest benefits I saw in my writing life came from writing daily.

Fairly quickly, I realized I didn’t write daily because I had inspiration, or always knew what was happening next … but because I was forcing myself to think about my stories. This, in turn, led to me thinking about my work and finding solutions in my subconscious. So, first and foremost, I suggest you ask yourself if you’re writing often enough.

Read a Lot
No matter what type of writing you do, you absolutely need to be reading. I’ve said this before, too, and it’s not an option. In studying the prose of others, you can learn how to craft a beautiful sentence, to pace a story, and create abstract meanings with personification, paradoxes, and other literary devices.

Finally, good prose teaches storytellers how to break all conventional rules and structures, and still tell a believable story, which is why you should always be reading regularly.

Look for the Story in Everything
As a writer, you should look for the story in everything. In doing so, you’ll often find solutions for your characters that didn’t seem to be available at all. You will discover they really are out there, waiting for you to find them.

Take some time to people-watch. Listen to the way they talk. Not only will it help you craft believable dialogue, I’m convinced you’ll find, within a few minutes, you can create an entire scene just from two people together.

Once you learn to pay attention and discover these everywhere stories, you’ll never be short of ideas, and your readers will find it hard to put your stories down.

Keep writing, and have a safe and happy holiday season.

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I will be joining other local authors signing books from 10:00am-4:00pm at the Rochester Hills Public Library Author Fair on Saturday, November 30, 2019.

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Gentle Readers, my books have all garnered some terrific reviews. You can see all of them by using the Amazon link below. Check them out. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags:award-winning writing, self-publishing, storytelling
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Independent Publishing, Storytelling | 6 Comments »

What is a Writer’s Ego?

October 11, 2019

Even when I was little, I dreamed of being an author. In 1965, the year I turned seventeen, I submitted my first short story, and I imagined myself being the next Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451).

By the time I entered my twenties, I wanted to make people think of me as some sort of “great” writer, like the one making headlines at the time, Michael Crichton (Andromeda Strain).

While this fantasy faded with age (or maybe it was just reality closing in), for a long time I still held onto a specific image of myself, imagining my work would someday be studied in college classes, while young people wondered how anyone could write something so good.

Talk about an ego.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad to want those who read your work to enjoy it. Nor is it bad to hope that someday your work is good enough to be associated with the greats you’ve always admired.

But that only comes through dedicated effort, and if you obsess about people’s admiration, winning awards, and your persona as a writer, that thing called a writer’s ego will take over your life.

It happens when you become more focused on yourself than on the stories you tell. It’s not a bad thing, just a regrettably human instinct.

You become afraid to step out of your comfort zone.

However, if you want your stories to be read forever, you need to challenge your writing in new ways.

If you started writing thinking it was for the money, perhaps you’ve already discovered the fact you picked the wrong career. Wanting to live off your writing isn’t a bad thing, but only a relative few ever succeed that way (just ask my wife).

Besides, as writers, we produce better work when our goals are rooted in self-fulfillment and not money or awards.

I’ve won several awards and received a lot of positive reviews for my work. I won’t lie to you. It’s hard not to get caught up in such things.

But ask yourself this – if your story was one day incredibly well-loved and highly regarded, would you care whether or not your name was on the project?

Even now, I’m not sure I could pass that test.

Many stories are remembered before their authors because readers become lost in them, and that makes those stories special. If someone likes you as a writer, they like the stories you’re turning out.

Think about that a moment. They like the stories.

It has little to do with you as a person. It’s part of the odd relationship between an author and their reader.

Good stories reflect real emotions and paint realistic narratives about life’s events.

So, the better you get at banishing your writer’s ego, the better you’ll be able to serve those readers and create stories that thrill them.

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I will be attending the Rochester Writers’ Conference at Oakland University on Saturday, October 19.

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I will also be joining other local authors signing books from 11:00am-5:00pm at the Leon & Lulu Books and Authors Event in Clawson on October 20, 2019.

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Gentle Readers, my books have all garnered some terrific reviews. You can see all of them by using the Amazon link below. Check them out. Better yet, buy one and read it. You just might like it.

**********

Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.