Talent versus Endurance

I’ve been writing since I was fifteen years old, staying up late so as not to be bothered, drinking tea and and eating Pop Tarts. Ten years later and the only things that have changed are that I now drink coffee, and write early in the mornings with toast.

In all this time, I’ve never learned if I have any natural talent or not.

I’ve met people in workshops who effortlessly weave a paragraph together that makes me want to cry it is so good. I’m not sure if other people can say that about me.

What I do have, though, is endurance, and dedication. I show up, caffeine and carbs in hand, and I write, and write, and write, until I get it right. I learn the hard way, I learn the fun way, and I practice what I learn.

John Donne wrote about two types of writers, the Ox and the Cat. The Ox is the writer who lumbers along every day, ploughing the field of pages. The Cat is the writer who lounges and lazes and sleeps in the sun, then in a fit of natural skill leaps up and catches a bird, and that bird is a masterpiece.

I guess that makes me an Ox, and I’m madly jealous of Cats, (and with that sentence I wave away the remainder of my sanity) but more than anything, I am just grateful to be a writer at all.

I would not ever want to be anything else.

Photo by Jos van Ouwerkerk on Pexels.com

Knowing my writing style has helped me write better, to accommodate my own needs as a writer, and to make use of my strengths. I know what I need to write, as an Ox, so now I turn the question to you:

What are you, Ox or Cat?

Writing Resources, or, You Are Not Alone, or as well, Have You Heard About Libraries?

 

So right now I’m plundering the 2018 Writer’s Market for agents and publishers, and also helpful articles about setting up query letters and even ways to make money as a writer. The book has been beyond helpful, and I haven’t even paid for it because I borrowed it from the library. The whole situation got me thinking about the many and invaluable resources I’ve been lucky enough to experience. I’ve been a part of workshops with a winner of the Governor General Award, a Poet Laureate, and a widely successful fantasy author who I won’t name. Sounds Nordic though. I’ve known writers at my level banding together, reading each other’s work, trying to boost each other up. I’ve been to master classes and had coffee with editors at publishing houses, or magazines. All of them have been incredibly helpful and encouraging, and I am so grateful to have met the people I have. And you know what? It’s never been hard to get into these situations; usually all it takes is to show interest, and to ask.

Here is a true statement: every writer I’ve ever met, no matter how successful, has always been willing to help out another writer. The degree varies, sure, but a cup of coffee with someone who really knows the industry, or the craft, is every bit as educational as getting a full manuscript read through. All it takes is a smile, and a polite request. Don’t bombard people with expectations and pleads for miracles, but see what they’re willing to offer, be grateful for it, and I’ve always been pleasantly surprised how much help people want to help.

Which brings me to my next subject. Libraries. Have you heard of them? In this day and age, where everything you need is online, it’s easy to never go to a library. But the great thing about libraries is that they have things you don’t know you need. They have writer in residence programs, plus some have monthly readings and information sessions, or even editing services. The internet is great, but there’s nothing quite like a flowing conversation with someone who’s been where you are.

I have nine journal or anthology publications, two of them are directly because of networking with people behind the scenes, and four of the pieces I’ve had published I had edited by writers at the same level as myself. I think, as a ratio, that sounds about right to me. Nobody can do everything on their own.

My very first creative writing professor told me the difference between a writer and an author is a writer works alone, but an author accepts the influence of others into their work. And, well, being an author has been my goal since I was teenager. The one thing that never helped me was being too proud to ask for help.

 

Hook, or, the blessing of informative rejection

So, I’ve been sending my book around to literary agents. I went through all the guides, and how to’s for writing query letters, synopsis, and submission tips (don’t start with TODAY’S THE DAY! Which is too bad, because I was totally going for that cheesy radio announcer tone) and then the second agent I had queried wrote back, saying she wasn’t hooked from my query letter, and so was passing.

This is one of those rare and beautiful rejections that is actually advice. The message was clear… I need more hook. So, I scraped that letter, which was about two hours of work by the way but I’m not bitter, and wrote up a whole new one, trying to be just as hooking as I could be. Think the one sentence synopsis all over Netflix, or the corny phrase on movie posters, then try to do better because it’s a book and people don’t fall into reading it the same way people fall into watching movies. Another two hours down, and I have what I hope is far hookier query letter. Lets just hope I’m not too hooking this time.

I don’t want to name the agent who gave the advice, honestly I don’t know if it’s cool or not, but thank you, Anonymous Agent, for taking the fifteen seconds to write me back and tell me why you passed. It really mattered to me that you did that.

New writers, bad stories, and judgement

In general, our society prizes story tellers. Also, it despises aspiring story tellers. Why is this?

Stories are a bias, or lens, to view the world with, and there is nothing more frustrating than a cracked pair of glasses. Or perhaps now days the line should be “there is nothing more frustrating than a cracked iPhone.”

Likewise, if a story disrupts a readers view of the world in a way that is neither pleasant or enlightening the result is either anger, resentment, or scorn. This makes it even harder for developing writers to succeed, because besides the self esteem blow of harsh criticism, learning from ones mistakes becomes much harder when the mistakes are treated harshly.

So what is there to do? Find an intimate group of writers to lovingly tell you when you suck. Online or in person, a good workshop group can make all the difference.

Failing that, take strength from your work itself. If you believe in your writing, and truly value what you write about, then the conviction becomes more important than the criticism, and the haters can’t keep you down long.

Everyone likes you better with a book in your hand

It is true. Holding a book, or even better yet reading it, you more likely to experience the following:

Being hit on

Being smiled at

Asked how your day is

Offered  a seat

Having a door held for you

Well wished

Excused from having to participate in aggressive or unpleasant conversation

 

The older, more engraved, classical looking book the better. Don’t believe me? Try it.

A true secret about books.

If you let them – if you do them the smallest grace of reading them- they can change everything.

A brief note about life

Never forget how long it really is.

Never take for granted how easy it is to regret the whole damn thing.

Cracking the code of “Show don’t tell” or, voice voice voice!

Have you ever been told “show don’t tell?” by some helpful critique group? I have. I’ve even used the phrase once or twice myself, much to my regret. The problem with “show don’t tell” is that the phrase itself does not tell you anything. We are writers, not painters. (Granted, I am sure many of those reading this are artists as well.) It is impossible for us to “show” anything. So really, the phrase just means they want you to write better. Great. Real helpful, right?

Alright, so let’s see if we can unpack this ubiquitous bit of advice a little further. What the phrase “show don’t tell” really means is that we are looking for more compelling language. And what does that mean? It means we need a stronger voice.

Voice is the manifestation of personality within language.

In a way, all writing is an exercise in voice. Voice is what separates writers. If none of us had voice then all writing could be written by the same person, and where would be the fun in that? Voice is possibly the most basic requirement of a good story teller, though it also takes the longest to develop. Voice is what transforms reading into a conversation between a reader and a narrator. With a strong voice, you can take your reader anywhere and they’ll believe you.

I think the strongest example of good voice is in stand up comedians. Good comedians will have their audience hooked not by what they are saying, but by how they are saying it. It is not the content of a joke that makes the audience laugh, it is the delivery. Just so with narrative, too. The reader can only “see” what the author is describing when they feel a connection with the narrator.

Now… how does one develop a voice? I wish I could say that every writer develops their voice differently, that it is a unique path and impossible to predict. I would love to say this, but I cannot. A writer’s voice is developed by reading, finding another author that the writer identifies with, trying to imitate that author, adjusting, finding another author to imitate, adjusting, and so on. In the end the writer sounds like themselves. I’ve seen this happen many, many times, and no one wants to admit they are doing it while they are doing it, but when the process is finished it is rather blatant. For my own part I spent quite a while trying to sound exactly like Neil Gaiman on the page, but I was never satisfied until I finally sounded just like the voice in my head does.

Voice can be used to control the meaning of the a story, sarcastically describing tragedy for instance, or dulled down to a whisper, so the characters or the plot can take center stage. It can be used to take the reader beyond the realm of the possible, and it can be used to “show, not tell.”

As always, I’d love to hear what any of you have to say about voice, and “Show don’t tell.” What was your record for hearing it in one day? I think mine was seven. And as always, don’t let your pen get dusty!