Writing and publishing in the digital age

Transition to Writing

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

writingWhen I first thought about writing, I read about it a lot. I read about writing, about how to write, and about how one goes about becoming a professional writer. While there’s a lot of good advice out there, the magnitude of the task seemed overwhelming.

Based on my studies, I learned I would have to study even more, write daily to a specific word count, pile up rejection after rejection (is this a confidence building exercise?), and persist year after year until I succeed. That’s a lot to process mentally as a beginner. I think some people will need to ease into it a little less dramatically.

I wrote about a minimal effective effort approach, and I think that’s a good place to start. Unless you’ve got plenty of time on your hands and don’t have to worry about money, you probably have to learn about writing in your spare time.

I don’t have any statistics about how many people start writing and then give up after a few weeks or months. What I do have is my own experience of giving up on it, and also watching others start a blog that quickly fizzles out and dies. I get the impression that a lot of people are wooed by the writer’s lifestyle (you know the fictional imagery I’m talking about), and then quit because it gets hard.

I quit writing once. It was liberating to not have to worry about word counts, output, style, and failure. But…I enjoy writing, so I came back. If you’re thinking about writing, or becoming a professional writer, my advice is to ease into it.

Start by writing about what interests you the most. If what interests you the most is raucous sex, then write about that. Interest is key to success when you’re first starting out. Write regularly, but don’t worry about how much you write, or about the quality. Just get used to writing.

Once you do that, you can start developing specific skills, experimenting with daily word counts, and publishing to critical audiences. Becoming a writer, whether you want to be a hobbyist or a professional, is a transition. Start with what and where you are now, and become, over time, what you want to be. There’s no flipping a switch. It’s all in the transition.

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One Paragraph is Better than None

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I don’t even know how many times I’ve read published authors give the same advice to aspiring writers.

Hit your word count every day, no matter what, otherwise you won’t finish.

That phrase comes in many variations, but they all mean the same thing. Make yourself write to a set limit, each day, or you’re not going to finish your book. That’s excellent advice, but it’s not for me.

You see, I don’t really like rules. I don’t like regimented guidelines for completing a task. I’ve tried to write to a specific word count each day, and it’s just not for me. I’ve experimented with 2000 words per day, 1000, 1500, and I think even 800. While I think the advice is a decent idea from the perspective of “generally talking to everyone,” the practice of said advice doesn’t work for me.

Instead, I prefer to use a running expression.

One mile is better than no miles.

I exercise regularly, so this resonates with me. Not everyone is the same, and not everyone response favorably to what might be generally good advice. Since I don’t like to be boxed in with numbers or time frames or alarm clocks or anything similar, I go for a minimal effective effort approach.

I don’t set any goal for my writing. All I need to do to feel like I’m being productive with my writing is crank out one paragraph. Writing a book a paragraph per day isn’t the way to get the work done in a timely manner, but it will still get done. I start with one paragraph, and then keep going. If I wait too late in the day, or if I have to suddenly leave, or anything else keeps me from writing past one paragraph, it’s OK.

As long as I get that one paragraph in, day by day, I’m making progress in my writing. I usually write more than one paragraph, but with such low expectations, anything I write above a paragraph is awesome. If I write a small three paragraph scene, then I got out a whole scene. If I write three pages of action, that’s awesome. 2000 words per day is nice round number, and quite doable, but I’m not going to hold myself to it.

I have a day job. I have a family. I cook, I exercise, and I have to let the dog out to poop so there are no surprises on the carpet. Sometimes I don’t have a block of three hours for writing. Sometimes I have 15 minutes.

Yesterday, I finished one story and wrote the introductory paragraph to my next story. This evening, I cranked out over 900 words of the new story. It felt great.

Tomorrow, I’ll write again. At least one paragraph.

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The Trap of Modeling

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The trouble with modeling is that you just end up looking like someone else. At least that’s how it is with me. Just so we’re clear, when I say modeling, I’m not talking about Tyra Banks and a reality show for runway models. I mean replicating traits from successful people and practices. What I’ve noticed about myself with regard to modeling is that I end up copying who I’m reading at the time. If I immerse myself in someone’s writings, my writing ends up being like that.

Some old ladies say that imitation is a form a flattery, but my reality is that I just end up being a copy. And who wants a copy when you can get the original (for free in many cases)? Besides being an unoriginal git, I’ve noticed something else about my modeling habits. I start to think like what I’m modeling. That’s a good thing, right?

Not really. Because in the process, I lose myself. I will unconsciously push aside my own thoughts and desires for those of the person I’m modeling. I won’t drop any names here, but the end result was that I ended up being what I thought people wanted — what I thought would sell.

I suppose that now that I’m aware of this interesting copycat trait, I can do something about it. Chasing success online has made me copy successful people, and that’s resulted in nothing interesting.

Also, watch my latest YouTube video: Metro 2033 High Graphics Settings Test

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The Great Blogging Slowdown

January 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

After taking most of December 2011 off from blogging, I have decided to blog less. Before that, I was publishing daily, and before that three or four times a week (if I’m remembering right). I think it’s time to stop that for now.

Here’s the thing. I’m not trying to become a professional blogger. Blogging is a good outlet and writing device, but it’s not the end I’m looking for. Blogging isn’t how I want to write. Not exclusively, at least.

I want to spend most of my writing energy on other writing projects. I’ll still blog, but it won’t be every day. Right now, I’m working on a short story collection (fiction) that I’ll publish to the Kindle and possibly via Smashwords. Then I might work on a novel, or a non-fiction book. Blogging will be there, but not the focus.

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Don’t Limit Yourself to One Kind of Writing

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you consider yourself a writer of any kind, don’t limit yourself to just one kind of writing. Writing has mechanics to it, sure, but it’s also a creative act. Creative activities benefit from doing other creative activities. It’s the whole “get your creative juices flowing” thing.

If you write fiction, consider doing a long non-fiction research piece. If you write the news, try branching out into something that flows naturally instead of punchy bullet-like writing. You get the idea.

When you primarily do one type of writing project over and over again, you can get into a rut. It’s like hitting a plateau when exercising the same way for too long. The results you get just won’t be as profound, and you’ll have to work harder to get the words out.

I find that fiction writing is a great break from all the other kinds of writing. The important thing for you to consider is taking time every once in a while to write like you don’t normally write. It’s good for the brain.

And if you’re not a writer, apply this same principle to what you do.

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Looking Around at all the Change in Publishing

November 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Change is abound, especially in the publishing industry. If you want to make your mark on the web, you might want to look into this area. I spent most of last night researching into this topic, because it’s going to be interesting for the next few years.

An industry is changing, and I want to be a part of it. I’ve always liked publications — books, magazines, and so on — and have bought many over the years. Moving was always a pain, because I would use boxes that were just too big for books. Then the boxes ended up being too heavy. As part of the change in this industry, I sold most of those books to move to digital formats.

Part of the reason I got rid of the books was to pare down a little. The other reason was to start using only digital formats — mostly the Kindle. I still have some printed books, and even received two new ones on my birthday. But for the most part, I’m moving to ebooks.

Did you know that magazines are changing, too? I’m guessing that eventually all of the bookstores will disappear, except for the occasional book hobby shop, where collectors can buy books made with paper and ink. Old magazines, too, because I think printed magazines are going to also transition to being mostly electronic.

With quality indie publications showing up, like In Treehouses, I can see the entire industry moving that way. Even Adobe, one of the top design and media software companies around, has released software to help you create content for tablet devices.

Books, ebooks, electronic magazines, and digital media are all evolving. I like the idea of being there, riding that wave as publishing evolves. What about you?

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Make Your Writing Easier by Doing Good Research First

November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you do most of your research before you ever sit down to write, you’ll be in a better position to deliver quality content. I remember back in the days of college when I would write something, and then have to search around for research material that supported what I had already written.

Don’t be backwards like I was. There are two reasons. First, you might be missing out on some direction-changing information by writing and then finding supporting material. If you had learned what you could first, your writing might have taken a different direction.

The second reason is that it just makes writing easier. There’s no sitting and staring at a blank screen while you wonder how to approach the subject. You already have an idea where you’re going to take the reader, because you have read and looked over various information sources, and compiled the data.

Not only is the writing easier, but it’s also faster. There’s no need for you to bang your head on your keyboard while you try to think of the next section to write. It should be all right there in your research.

If you write about anything other than what’s in your head, do yourself a huge favor and do your research first. I’ve tried both methods, and researching first makes it all easier. It’s funny…when I was younger, I didn’t research first because I thought it would just mean more work. Turns out I had it backwards.

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Sit on Your Idea

November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you have what seems like a good idea, sit on it for a day. After you write down a few notes about it — just getting your thoughts out — wait.

The idea might look differently in the morning, and it might be more fleshed out. Or you might look at it again and decide it’s not worth the time.

Today was a good day for ideas for me. But I didn’t do anything. They sit, and I’ll revisit them in the morning.

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Surrender

November 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You can’t control everything, so don’t waste your time trying. You need to learn to let go…to surrender to what’s happening and what you do.

I had a pretty good weekend. I watched a couple of good movies, got some rest, did some yoga, and spent time with my family. I wrote a little, too, but not with any specific purpose in mind. It was refreshing.

While I was doing some yoga (beginner’s yoga, with a dvd to instruct me), I heard something that rung out inside my head. I was doing some stretches, per the instruction, and the host of the program said to “surrender.”

Then a little light went off in my head.

You see, my insomnia is back. It’s back because I’m stressed about my writing business. I’m worried about direction, output, publishing schedules, and juggling my writing while working a full time corporate job. It keeps me awake at night, because there’s always something else I can be doing.

I know I can’t work all the time, but my stress keeps pushing me to do something — to create results, and do it fast. I need to put all that aside, and quiet my mind. I need to surrender to what I know I must do.

While my mind is barking — and keeping me up at night — about creating plans, objectives, schedules, and profit, my heart is telling me one thing.

Just write.

When I look back on my life, my gut feeling has never been wrong. So I need to surrender to it. It’s time to stop trying to make things happen, and to simply be.

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Embrace Creativity to Fuel Your Business

November 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for an extra edge for your business, bring your creativity to the table. Good, fresh ideas are what we need today, and it’s hard to do that without some level of creativity.

This doesn’t mean you have to be an artist, but you need to think about things in a creative manner. Look for solutions that haven’t already been done by “the entire industry.”

Many things you can or should do have been done before. So you need to come up with new things to do, and creative ways to implement the older ideas. It’s going to be hard to move ahead by doing the same thing as everyone else.

Break away from the pack and create something special. Be creative.

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