Tuesday Takeover: Writing as a Career by Rita Stradling

Is it okay to treat writing as a career (even if you’re not making a living)?

I can’t speak for everyone’s experience, but as a self published author, I often find a pressure to always give an impression of success. Yet, in the years since I published my first novel, self doubt frequently rides along with me as an unwanted passenger. It lingers in so many spaces, an invisible specter that as a self-respecting writer I probably shouldn’t acknowledge. Even now as I’m attempting to legitimize feeling insecure as a writer, I feel pressure to reassure you of my successes (but don’t worry, I won’t). For this guest blog post that Sarah so kindly invited me to write, I want to shine a light on some of the questions that have plagued me along my journey, and likely other writers as well.

What if the outside world doesn’t consider me a professional?

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

― Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

So, I realized something recently, often people take it personally when I tell them I have to prioritize writing over social activities. This seems a little odd to me because, say, if I had a job scrubbing messages off public restroom stalls, and my friend asked me to lunch and I responded, “Sorry, no, someone wrote: ‘call Rita for a good time’ on the right-most stall and I have to scrub it clean.” I’d expect my friend would say, “Oh, no problem, next time.” But, say instead, I say, “Sorry no, I have to write.” That’s when I get that look. You might know the look, but in case you don’t, it’s halfway between ‘you’re just making an excuse not to hang out with me’ and ‘I’m not saying writing isn’t a real job because I don’t want to be rude.’

But, let’s be honest here, what every writer at every level knows is the biggest thing that writing takes is time, lots of time.

Should my quality be judged on my success?

Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

– Ella Fitzgerald

I’m pretty sure that a writing career feels basically the same as any other career in the arts, in that you have a choice: get a job making what someone else wants, or leak your heart, dreams and talent through your own creation and wait for the world to judge it. Unfortunately, being an artist of any art form can be discouraging when you’re not (yet) successful. Van Gough is an extremely talented example of this; he was an artist with a family already in the art scene who was rejected by critics and the ‘who’s who’ of his time, all of which sent him into an infamous depression. Meaning, an artist’s life at any caliber can be very discouraging when the gatekeepers don’t legitimize them. Yet, thank goodness, we live in an incredible and unique time where art (including books) no longer needs to be first approved of by ‘the professional elite’ to be accessible to the masses. The downside to this, however, is that we are swimming in a much bigger pool, all trying to climb our way to the hot tub. So, while we might have a go-around when it comes to the gate-keepers, quality doesn’t always mean success.

How fast should an author be successful to legitimize their work?

I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life’.

― Maya Angelou

So, I don’t know how fellow authors feel about it, but when I finally began breaking even, it felt like a pretty big deal for me. That is to say as an self-published author who has to pay her own support staff, i.e. cover maker, editor, promotion companies, etc, breaking even felt like I was finally getting somewhere. But, it definitely didn’t sound like a big deal when I told my relatives, “Guess what, I can finally afford to pay everyone who works for me without dipping into savings!” But, when you think about a lawyer or a doctor (or a small business, which a self-pubbed author basically is), when they’re finally breaking even, as in paid off and no longer depending on loans, that’s a really big deal for them too. Anyway, my point is, being successful in any career isn’t instant, so why do we expect it to be with writing?

If you’re not getting paid (much, or even at all), is writing a profession or a hobby?

I always treated writing as a profession, never as a hobby. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.

– Laurell K. Hamilton

What is the difference between a profession and a hobby?
If we get to the nitty-gritty Merriam-Webster definition, a career is: “a job or profession that someone does for a long time.” And a job is: “the work that a person does regularly in order to earn money.”

And, the definition of a hobby is: “a pursuit outside one’s regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation.”

Which does your writing sound more like?

How much work does a novel take? I’ve heard some authors say years, but as I’m using myself as an example, let’s for the point of this piece say months. And, is that work hard? Definitely. Is that work fun? Absolutely. But, is that work always fun? Um, definitely not. Is it always relaxing? Are you kidding? Nope.

Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and realize that I have to work on a project, and even though underneath it all I love writing, I’d rather bang my head repeatedly against a wall. Do I work on that project? Yes, yes I do. Why? Because even before I made a penny, I decided that writing is my career and it will continue to be until it stops being my passion. Does that make me crazy? Probably, but I’m in good company ;).

What if I’m continuously overlooked and rejected?

“I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it”

― Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson says it way better than I ever could, but, many agree that luck is a huge part of success in any career. A good example of this is fantasy writer Christopher Paolini, who published his book Eragon ‘privately’ when he was barely more than a kid and promoted it by going bookstore to bookstore in a medieval storyteller costume. While book sales were good, his family put so much into his book that they had to consider selling their house near the end of the year. Luck stepped in and the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen bought the book while on vacation, loved it, and the rest is internationally bestselling literary history (You can read more about his story here: Link). Was Paolini’s book different before luck stepped in? Probably not. Did he treat his work like a career before he was successful? Yeah, he did. Was it a career before he was successful? That’s up to you to decide. But, I think that yeah, it was, just as much as it was after success.

What if it really is a question of quality?

The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.

― Robert Cormier

Let’s talk about the elephant in this guest blog post: There’s the whole: “but what if I actually do suck?” Question.

And, it’s a pretty good question, because somebody might think your (or my) writing stinks (hint, hint: 65,000 people gave Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone a one star review on Goodreads, so even if you write better than J.K. Rowling, some people STILL might think you stink ;). Whatever, screw it. Make it your career anyway. No matter what, whether you start out as the best writer or the worst, you’ll be a better after working hard at it for 5,000 hours.

So, I’ve tried to use quotes from smart people along with my words to basically affirm this:

yep, it’s our careers, keep chugging along :).

Want to know more about me?

My Bio:

Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.

Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

My Links:

My Website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Goodreads Author Page
Amazon Author Page

Tuesday Takeover: Write Where It Hurts by Alycia Christine

It’s 6 a.m. and I’ve already been up for two hours. I’ve sent my husband off to work, finished a few house chores, and dressed for the day. Sitting in front of my computer with a steaming cup of tea and a half-eaten bowl of cereal by my side, I open a document and skim the last four pages of yesterday’s writing. I have a few precious hours of quiet in which to work before heading off to my regular job. I can’t waste them. Today starts me off in the middle of a scene in which one of my characters has been abducted and the other characters are still reeling from the shock of losing her. The tension couldn’t be higher—for them or for me.

After writing six books, you would think that book seven would be easy, but it isn’t. The newest novel has proven persnickety so far. Beginning a book in the right place is one of the trickier parts of writing for me. This means that I’ve written three different drafts of the Fireforger prologue before finally getting it right. I’ve been working on this manuscript for months now—living with it day in and day out. Dreamdrifter might be new to the eyes of the world, but it’s already 30,000 words behind me. I’ll sit at this desk for the next two hours refining and writing. I still have a lot of marketing to do today since Dreamdrifter just came out, but that will have to wait until I’m finished with my day job this evening. For now, I put aside all of the other worries and distractions. For now, I just write.

So far, life as a writer has been anything but easy or affluent. This is a full time job for me which pays less than minimum wage in exchange for long hours of emotionally exhausting work. This may not be my only job or my easiest job, but it is my best occupation. Writing is the career that I feel called to do because it allows me to be a triumphant survivor by profession and to share my stories of encouragement with others.

I am a survivor and an adapter, and I always have been. I’ve dealt with three disabilities since early childhood to make it this far in life. In the past five years, I’ve buried three loved-ones, watched a fourth slip beyond sanity, and lost half of my belongigs to fire, electronic failure, and financial downsizing.

As painful as life can sometimes be, there have been two constants to help me slog through all of the mess: my loved-ones and my writing. The blessings of true love and friendship have helped me overcome every obstacle—no matter how small or large. We cling to each other for support as we swim these turbulent seas. There are those I know who have endured lives far harsher than mine and I remember their stories as I write.

Like so many of us, my characters are all survivors of something—broken homes, broken hearts, broken hopes. Each has had his or her share of tragedy or catastrophe. Katja, the main character of Skinshifter, Dreamdrifter, and now Fireforger, lost her entire clan in a single bloody night. While she managed to survive the sudden massacre that destroyed her family, it took her much longer to relearn how to live. Her friends helped her find hope again just as my family and friends have helped me.

When I write, my yearning is to remind readers not to wade through this wonderful and terrible life by ourselves. Yes, sometimes the waves are gentle enough that we can make it a stroke or two on our own without drowning, but we don’t have to wade through it alone. We need each other to help celebrate each other’s successes and help to buoy each other up through all of the upsets.

My words help keep me swimming toward that new dawn peeking just over the dark shore, but they do no good for you or anyone else unless they are shared. I write not just to survive life, but to understand and overcome it. I write to hope. I write to thrive. My dearest hope is that my words help you thrive too.

Alycia

~

Thanks so much, Sarah, for inviting me to share today! Thank you, readers, for taking part in a bit of my writing journey. If you would like to read more of my writing, please see my links below:

Free Stuff!

The Dryad’s Sacrifice (Free only for today and tomorrow!): https://www.instafreebie.com/free/HG1o2

Samples:

Skinshifter sample chapters: http://alyciachristine.com/books-and-stories/fantasy-books/sylvan-cycle-series/skinshifter/

Dreamdrifter sample chapters: http://alyciachristine.com/books-and-stories/fantasy-books/sylvan-cycle-series/dreamdrifter/

Social:

Website: http://alyciachristine.com/

Facebook, Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alycia-Christine/102673903123325

Facebook, Sylvan Scribes book club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1695736057307543/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7046533.Alycia_Christine

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alyciaczs/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlyciaCZS

Book Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alycia-Christine/e/B00MT9IG92/

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/author/alycia-christine/id881250279

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Alycia%20christine%22?

Kobo:

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/search?query=Alycia%20Christine&fcsearchfield=Author

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/PurpleThornPress

Art Purchase Link:

Gifts: http://alyciachristine.pixels.com/

Author Biography:

Alycia Christine grew up near the dusty cotton fields of Lubbock, Texas, with a fearless mutt for a dog and a backyard trampoline that almost bounced her to the moon. She fell in love with fantasy and science fiction books when her father first read them to her at age ten. Her love of writing them blossomed during her time at Texas A&M University. The Sylvan Cycle, the novel series begun during her college career, has received wide praise for its unique characters and vivid world. Her award-winning art photography has been featured in Times Square. When she isn’t writing or shooting photos, Alycia enjoys long walks with her husband, drinking copious amounts of tea, and coaxing her skittish cat out from under the living room furniture. Don’t miss her latest book Dreamdrifter due out in September 2016!

Tuesday Takeover: Creating Memorable Story Worlds Using the Five Senses by Christina Rozelle

Remember the last time you were so sucked into a story that you felt like you were there? You were so consumed in that world that you lost track of time; you felt what the characters felt, saw what they saw, heard what they heard, and so on?

This is the magic of great storytelling.

But what is it this magical thing that makes a story draw you in like this? Chances are, when you’re deep in the belly of it you aren’t stopping to look at actual word usage and mechanics. So here we’ll discuss what exactly it is that makes the magic work. I’m going to give you a little behind the scenes, so you’ll be able to improve your own writing, better painting that story picture for your readers. And readers, this’ll show you some secrets behind the magic. 😉

A few years ago I received a beta reader’s notes on an early novel, pointing out where my imagery and world building were lacking. What a jerk. How dare he imply that I needed any such improvement? After all, I’d been writing since the moment I picked up a crayon and chose a random wall to scribble my brilliance. It didn’t matter that I had never before written a novel; I didn’t need criticism of my obviously top-notch work. Right?

Wrong-O.

After I pouted and stamped my baby writer feet for a few days, waving in my naïve pride and arrogance flag around like nobody’s business, I surrendered and took another look at the notes. Once I had oiled the squeaky trap door of my mind and allowed it to open, I was stricken with an overwhelming yuckiness. I stood face-to-face with the ugly truth: my story needed more meat on its bones.

Though I bucked it at first, I soon realized how much fuller and richer and just better the story was with these added morsels. To remind myself of the important aspects of imagery/world building, I pasted a sticky note on my desk that read:

What do you: Hear? See? Taste? Smell? Touch/Feel?

A few months of burning these words into my mind and I had trained myself to slow down and daydream. Yes, daydream—one of the most important aspects of writing, in my opinion. Because some of these answers didn’t come right away. That’s when I knew the story hadn’t fully incubated in my mind yet. To paint the perfect story picture for the reader, I knew I had to give them important details to draw them in, yet without “info-dumping,” or tossing in every boring and meaningless detail. It’s a delicate balance, a dance, a volatile experiment, an alchemy. Too much bogs down the reader or puts them to sleep. Too little and the story is flat, lacking.

So how do you know when and what to add? How do you know what to leave out?

As a general rule of thumb, if a detail doesn’t move the plot forward or enrich the story, it’s unnecessary. If a detail fleshes out a scene, character, or setting, brings it more alive for the reader, or plants tidbits of foreshadowing and/or clues, then it’s necessary imagery, in my opinion. But it’s important that these details be balanced. You don’t want your characters smelling something in every paragraph, obviously, but if smelling something moves the plot forward and fleshes out the story, then it should be used in conjunction with other sensory details.

Here’s an example of a scene that lacks in world-building:

Dana opened the tank and stepped out, realizing she was all alone in the lab. Where had everyone gone? She crossed the room, shocked to find the door that had been bolted shut for two years standing wide open.

Here’s the same scene with added imagery/world building:

With a shaky hand, Dana opened the glass tank and stepped out onto the cold marble floor. She was all alone in the lab. The hum of the generator that had once been a murmuring white noise, a lullaby to help her sleep, was now silent, dead. A metallic odor hung in the stale, thin air, and she couldn’t breathe deep enough to fill up her lungs. Where was everyone? Her heart pounded as she crossed the room to the heavy iron door that had been bolted shut for two years. A red light blinked slowly beside the exit sign on the low ceiling. The door was open. The darkness beyond it beckoned her.

Do you want to know what happens next? I do!

*jots notes for future story*

The right adjectives are an important part of showing world-building through the five senses. See how the scene comes alive with those extra details? It’s the difference between a “good” story and a “great” story which hooks the reader.

I’m happy to say I don’t need the sticky note to remind me anymore, as this now comes naturally to me. It took time, lots of practice, and patience to get there, but it was worth every second. Many readers have mentioned how much they love my world building in reviews, so it’s something I take a lot of pride in today. I encourage you to critique your own writing to see where you can add some more sensory “meat” to its bones. You’ll be glad you did!

Thanks so much for inviting me to be here today, Sarah, and thanks to those reading. I wish you the best of luck with your writing and all of your other endeavors. If you’d like to check out my books or follow me on social media, all of my links are below. And if you’d like a taste of my writing, you can download the first two books in my Mature YA Dystopian Scifi series, as well as my YA Fantasy Adventure novelette for free for a limited time at the following links:

Book 1, “The Treemakers”

https://www.instafreebie.com/free/sqCDC

Book 2, “The Soultakers”

https://www.instafreebie.com/free/7cFOa

“The Truth About Mud”

https://www.instafreebie.com/free/tPO8r

Stalker Hotlinks, fresh from the web

The Rozelle Army Mailing List: http://bit.ly/RozelleArmy

Christina’s Website: ChristinaLRozelle.com (Currently under construction)

The Official Christina L. Rozelle FB Fan Page: http://bit.ly/CLRFanPage

FB Author Page: http://bit.ly/CLRozelleFB

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/CLRGoodreads

Instagram: http://bit.ly/InstaCLR (ChristinaLRozelle)

Twitter: http://bit.ly/CLRTweet (@CLRozelle)

Spotify: http://bit.ly/ChristinaonSpotify

Purchase Links:

 Amazon.com: 

All books: bit.ly/CLRAmzn BarnesandNoble.com:

The Treemakers and The Soultakers: http://bit.ly/CLRBAN Walmart.com:  The Treemakers- http://bit.ly/TTMWAL The Soultakers- http://bit.ly/TSTWAL Jet.com: The Treemakers: http://bit.ly/TTMCLRJET Books-A-Million:

The Treemakers and The Soultakers: http://bit.ly/CLRBXAMIL

Christina is a mother of four currently hiding from the sun somewhere in Dallas, Texas. You may find her out on rainy autumn days narrating her life in her head. You’ll also find her taxiing her children around in traffic, or stopped in random places, like your local produce section, to take notes before her ideas flitter away into the Great Beyond. Though her current series is YA Dystopian, she has many stories in the works in various sub-genres of speculative fiction (including NA and Adult) for the near future. You’ll definitely want to stick around to see what she comes up with next.

Tuesday Takeover: A Reader’s Perspective by Colleen Cosgrove Maliski

Each time I open a book, whether it’s tangible or digital, it feels as though I’m stepping through a magical doorway. What lies beyond is always a mystery. When I first open the door I always feel a little nervous. Will this book disappoint me or will it be a new favorite? I read synopses and look at the book cover before actually picking up a book but even books which pass the first few tests can let me down on the third and most important test- the actual story. This last step’s fail or pass result is determined by several factors.

What I look for in a book- Does it have a strong opening? Does it capture my attention within the first few paragraphs? If it doesn’t is it still intriguing enough to continue on. I think most readers can decide on whether they enjoy a book or not based on the first chapter. Sometimes first chapters or prologues fall flat but if my interest is peaked I may at least give it till I’ve read the next chapter.

So what piques my interest? I love having an action scene, a mystery, a first day with nervous anticipation or an internal struggle open up a book. If an author seems to drone on about scenery or something mundane and they don’t do it in a way that captures my imagination then they’ve lost me.

Reading is subjective. What I find enthralling may be a snoozer for others and vice versa. We all have our favorite reads and preferred genres. For me, I enjoy YA, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and romance. I’m a fiction fan and very seldom do I enjoy non-fiction. However, I have read several books outside of my favorites and have thoroughly enjoyed them. It’s all in the delivery.

What are my biggest book turn offs? Firstly, build your world. Develop your characters. Without these deeper delves, the book will come off flat with no depth. Another thing I really dislike when authors try to be something they clearly aren’t. I read a book awhile back that was full of flowery, poetic writing but it was done so poorly it came off as unauthentic. Stick to what you know. I feel authors should write because they have a story to tell. I think writing for fans and expecting a payout are often what give a book a forced feeling. Write what you love and I think that everything else falls in to place after that.

Colleen Cosgrove Maliski is an avid reader, a humanitarian, and a jack of all trades. She’s always right about everything. And this reader doesn’t tolerate hypocrites, racists, and jerks.  She costars in the upcoming new release Ren: A Monster’s Adventure because cool people make great characters.