NOVICE, AMATEUR, ASPIRING

Which is it?  Novice Writer, Amateur Writer, Aspiring Writer

I can say I'm a novice when it comes to building a blog (in fact I'd rather that title than digitally illiterate).  An example: Just recently I wondered if anyone would follow my blog by subscribing, I thought it would be nice if that happened.  I had an email from a dear friend saying she would like to know when I've posted so she could visit the blog on a regular basis.  I blithely said, 'you know you can subscribe simply by putting your email address in the right spot on the blog', then, 'hang on and I'll do it for you'. 

Oooppss.  I'd forgotten, or didn't know, there were steps to take to make this function happen.  So, some hours later I was able to let her know I had registered her to receive updates.  Thanks Barbara for raising the question that sent me on the path.  I'd like to think that was simply being a novice.

Just recently at a Christmas celebration someone introduced me to her friend as an 'amateur writer'.  Somehow that didn't seem quite right, and yet I wasn't sure if 'professional writer' was correct either and someone played around with the term 'published writer'.

Then just this afternoon I was reading an interview with Matthew Riley in the back of one of his books and he talks about the word 'aspiring'.  He was asked "Any other tips for aspiring writers?"  

And he replied. "Yes.  There is no such thing as an 'aspiring writer'.  You are a writer.  Period.  I was told that once and I have never forgotten it." (An Interview with Matthew Riley: The Writing of Area 7)

I agree with Mr Riley, we write so we are writers. Even when we are learning the craft we are still writers.  What do you think?



 

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

Our second guest contributor is Kate Lance.  Kate is a member of our book club, more importantly she is a published author and you can see her books here. When I asked some of the people I know who love to put pen to paper (or should that be hands to the keyboard) to send me some material as a guest contributor, Kate provided the following, I think with tongue in cheek:

First there was a link to the website of Jonathan Franzens about tips for writers, which you can see here and then the list of tips from one of Jonathan's followers (this is the tongue in cheek bit).  Kate writes.....

So there were various cruel responses, but the list that made me laugh was this, especially no. 10 - and let me apologise in advance for the absurdity:

  1. Don't use nouns in your writing. Nouns are bad to use. Replace them with
     adjectives.

  2. LOOK! AT!! TURTLES!!! every day, this is crucial.

  3. If you aren't talking to your agent on a rotary telephone, they WILL NOT
     represent you.

  4. No shoe should ever touch your foot without a barrier. Socks and crocs are
     the professional writers' way.

  5. There's no such thing as a novel. No one has ever seen one in real life.
     That word doesn't even make sense. Get out of my house.

  6. Sit in a chair sometimes, unless the chair can read, in which case, skip a
     turn.

  7. GAZE INTO THE ABYSS FOR THE ABYSS HUNGERS AND ONLY YOUR EYES WILL MEET ITS TERRIBLE APPETITES.

  8. Sign your books "Tomjamin Franzia" to let readers know you're serious.

  9. MONEY is for SHOW PONIES and CABINET-MAKERS, okay, you better be doing this  writing for the sheer suffering of the revision process.

  10. Use vowels sparingly, for they come at a price, and there will be a reckoning. Oh yes, a terrible reckoning is nigh.



I thought No. 2 was the point that made my day...it would be great to say to someone, "sorry I can't talk now...I'm off to look at turtles!!"

Thanks Kate for your contribution.❤

COMPETITIONS AND CHALLENGES

SISTERS IN CRIME SCARLET STILETTO SHORT STORY AWARDS
I'm very proud to have been shortlisted for my very first entry to these awards and came away from the Awards night dinner with a 'special commendation' award.  I'll definitely be entering this competition next year.  It was too much fun to miss out.

NANOWRIMO
I love that word of course it means National Novel Writing Month and from a previous post you'll know that I took up the challenge again this year.  I succeeded in reaching 50,000+ words with eight hours still to go.  I'm not sure I'll register again next year, the month of November seems to disappear very quickly, especially when you're grabbing every spare minute to write.  Perhaps it will be a biannual challenge?  I'm pleased to have at least three quarters of a novel, it will need HUGE editing before I can take it to it's conclusion and I think I'll wait a few months before I open up the file and take another look.  Again, it was a fun program to be involved with.  Think about taking the challenge next year.  Even if you don't think you have a story waiting to be told, you could be surprised what emerges as the days progress.  After all this is 'writing fiction for fun'.

 

THE GETTING OF KNOWLEDGE #2

In the last post on the 'getting of knowledge' I talked about reading and how that helped in learning how to write.  This post I'd like to talk about writing.

I subscribed to a number of writer's blogs until I found one or two that were written well and had useful information.  You might like to browse around the writer's blogs like I did and choose one to your taste.  This post is about looking at other writers and seeing how they do what they do.  I'm not sure that's grammatically correct (I know someone who will probably tell me) however it does convey the idea I want to get across.

To start you off here's a link to the Top 100 Writing Blogs which is updated regularly and worth a look now and then to make sure you're not missing anything.  Click here.

I decided to spend my time with Fiction University because the information on this blog (by Janice Hardy) although from the US is all about writing.  Janice has guest bloggers who also share what they are doing and how, plus she has what I would call 'lessons' on specific topics.  The material posted is definitely 'how to' rather than 'talking at'.  Janice has written books on the subjects of plotting, planning and structure.  The posts come in daily and some of them have activities to do and others are information based.  I've archived the posts that interest me.  I remember one day saying that I had a problem knowing where to take a piece I was writing and that morning a post came from Janice that answered my unspoken question.  I would recommend this blog for anyone who wants to learn about the art of writing fiction.

Early in the piece I looked at Writer Unboxed this one also comes in daily however I didn't find it instructive enough for my needs.  You might think differently.

You can think about writing, you can read about writing and you can talk about writing, but it's only when you are writing that you learn how it's done.  Over most of my professional career I wrote commercial material.  Newsletters, articles for newspapers and magazines, reports, proposals, training manuals; all things that were fact based.  Writing fiction is very different the techniques are different, plotting is important, characters (good and bad) need to be developed, back stories, descriptions of places, behaviours and emotions need to be conveyed to the reader.  All this comes from your imagination, not a pool of facts.

It's only when you sit staring at a blank screen (or a blank sheet of paper) that you realise how different it is to write fiction.  It isn't something that comes easy for everyone.  I know people who have no trouble, they sit facing a blank screen and the words just flow.  Others, like me, need to know the plot and structure of what I'm writing and how one scene leads into another.

Practice is the answer (isn't that the answer to almost anything worth doing?).  Short story competitions are the best form of practice.  Of course you can write short stories and leave them in a file (or a desk drawer) this way no one can have an opinion of your work, except you of course.  When you put your work out for strangers to look at you could get some productive feedback that will help you develop your skill.  You might have seen an earlier post by our first guest contributor which said something along the line "who are they that judge my writing?"  'They' are probably writers who have worked through the same issues as you have to get words on paper.

Another form of practice involves joining a writing group and this can be a great way to get feedback from people you know and who like you.  I sometimes think it's more productive to get feedback from someone who doesn't know or like you.  Horses for courses.

Look for blogs that tell you about short story competitions and send off your work (with your fingers crossed of course) be brave and see what comes back.  You could be surprised.




 

GUEST CONTRIBUTORS

I sent an email to friend writers and asked if anyone would like to be a guest contributor.  I've had a couple of acceptances and one said - perhaps later, just not now.  I'll keep asking those I know who are interested in writing fiction (especially for fun) and they will appear from time to time.

Guest Contributor - Una Harding

Una is a prolific writer of poetry and short stories, although I know at the moment she is deeply entrenched in a novel.  Here is what she sent me.

Dear writers, I am wondering if you share my frustration with writing competitions.

Who are these anonymous judges who set themselves up to assess us? And why don't they do this in light of the criteria they set! And don't they know that form and content have moved on since the 19the century?

 

On a happier note, if I can secure a grant I will be curating an exhibition 'Poetic Posters' which will feature local work. Watch this space. But don't expect too much for a while.

 

May your muse be with you. 

 

 

 

 

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NANOWRIMO - UPDATE

I'm into the second week and the struggling with the words, however the team at NaNoWriMo are always ready to give you support and a pep talk if you need it.  This is the one I loved, I'm sure Andy Weir won't mind me sharing it here.  If there's anyone else working on a novel, even if you're not registered on for the challenge, I think his words will help.  Here's what he posted.

Pep Talk from Andy Weir

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One of the most common questions a writer gets asked is, “Do you have any tips on writing?” Unfortunately, that’s a very broad question. It’s like asking a mechanic, “Do you have any tips on fixing cars?” It’s their whole job and it took a long time for them to learn it. It’s hard to impart any useful information quickly.
But I will say this: The key is keeping your motivation up. You have to actually sit down and put words into your word processor. And, usually, that’s not fun. It’s hard work. So how do you keep yourself coming back to that document day after day?

First off, you have to accept that you’re not going to be blazing away in a creative euphoria all the time. In fact, you’ll almost never be in that state. Usually, it’s a slog. So make your peace with the fact that it is a slog, but that you’re working toward a goal. Writing isn’t like playing music, where the act itself is rewarding. It’s more like gardening, where the work is hard and unpleasant, but the result is beautiful.

Next, you have to accept that your story will change as you write it. Something that’s perfect and awesome in your mind will often be stupid when you write it down. This is not a failure on your part, and it doesn’t mean you suck. It means you’re a writer, and you have begun phase one of making your story better. The moment you try to put things into words is when you find all the problems. That’s natural and normal, and every writer faces it.

And then there’s “flow.” Sometimes, when you’re writing, things come together easily and you can crank out 2,000 words in an afternoon. But other times, it’s torture just to crap out 300 words. In those rough patches, here’s something to keep yourself going: When you read the pages later, you won’t be able to tell which ones you wrote with good flow and which ones were hard. You’re creating the same quality of work in both cases. You might not believe me, but the next time it happens to you, check the results later. You’ll see for yourself. So when you’re having a rough patch, it helps to remember that you’re making progress toward a goal. The words you’re putting down aren’t wasted. They’re just as good as the rest.

And, finally, I have this advice: Resist the urge to tell friends and family your story. I know it’s hard because you want to talk about it and they’re (sometimes) interested in hearing about it. But writers have a dirty little secret: We are mainly motivated by our desire for people to experience our stories. We want an audience. We need it.
Telling your story to friends verbally satisfies that need for an audience, and it diminishes your motivation to actually write it. So make a rule: The only way for anyone to ever hear about your stories is to read them. You can still give it to them chapter by chapter—so you get the sweet, sweet external validation that you crave during the process. But no telling the story outside the pages.
If you do that, you’ll at least finish the book.

Loved Andy’s pep talk? Let him know!

Andy Weir is the bestselling author of Artemis and The Martian. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail.

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH - NANOWRIMO UPDATE

Yesterday, November 1st, I began the challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel.  I remember doing this in November 2016 and even though it was a challenge it was also great fun, so I'm expecting to enjoy this experience as well. And here's the badge from the organisers to prove I'm on the way.

My greatest challenge is to write without editing.  I find myself editing email before pressing send and text messages as well.  In fact I've been known to send a second text if the phone has changed a word......ggrrr.

Yesterday ended well with 1677 words registered on the NaNoWriMo site.  With everything that's happening this weekend it will fun getting some words on paper, it will mean playing catch up over the following days.

Tomorrow, Saturday November 3rd I'll be at Phillip Island partnering on an outside broadcast with David from 3mFM Community Radio.  Phillip Island are celebrating 150 years...should be fun.  Getting up at 5.00am to arrive on site in time won't be fun... 😍

I'll report in as often as I can over the rest of this month, given that most of the words I'll be writing will be for the 50,000 challenge. 

You will definitely hear from me after the Awards dinner for the Sisters in Crime Scarlett Stiletto Short Story Competition on November 24th.   

SISTERS IN CRIME

 
Sisters in Crime is an organisation that supports and encourages female crime writers.  I first heard of the organisation when listening to Dr Sue Turnbull speaking at an author event around 2008.  I became a member and found many new female Australian authors to follow and read.  Sisters in Crime hold regular events and Dr Turnbull is featured frequently as an interviewer.  As well as regular speaker events, Sisters in Crime foster two awards:  

The Davitt Awards, for best crime books by Australian women to provide some much needed – and overdue – recognition for Australian women crime writers.  Six Davitt Awards are presented annually: Best Adult Crime Novel; Best Young Adult Crime Novel; Best Children’s Crime Novel; Best Non-fiction Book; Best Debut Book (any category); and Readers’ Choice (as voted by the 600 members of Sisters in Crime Australia).

The Scarlet Stiletto Awards is a national award for short stories, written by Australian women and featuring a strong female protagonist.  The purpose was to support and unearth new talent.  This has been achieved in spades. In the 24 years to 2017, 3270 stories have been entered with award winners – including category winners – going on to have novels published.

For more information about Sister in Crime click here.

THE GETTING OF KNOWLEDGE #1

Learning something new is an exciting experience, it doesn't matter what you're learning if you listen carefully you can hear the new synapse pinging and the neural pathways zooming around in your brain. This is what happens when you learn something new.

To learn how to write fiction you need to read fiction, stories that people have made up from their imagination.  There are many genres and many authors, if you're serious about learning to write fiction then you might want to consider reading across the board.  And these are the reasons why. 

In all fictional stories there are made up characters and situations.  In the works of people like J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett you'll also find made up worlds.  Even J. K. Rowling constructed a world for Harry Potter to live in.  If you read science fiction and fantasy (sometimes called speculative fiction) you'll see the richness a writer can find in their imagination to build worlds where their characters can act out their story.  Some speculative fiction writers to look for are Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Stephen King (of course), Brandon Sanderson, Kate Forsyth, Neil Gaiman and local writers Janeen Webb and Jack Dann.

When you read crime and mystery stories you find plots that sometimes defy solutions and yet the writer manages to bring it all together at the end.  Sometimes you'll like how it ends and sometimes you wont, whatever the outcome, the writer has worked this through when they plot the story.  In crime stories there is a good guy and a bad guy (protagonist and antagonist) and the writer's task is to shape those characters so you can see which is which and sometimes when the writer is very smart they can leave you wondering which is which!  Some crime writers you might like to look for are Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell, Peter Temple, Candice Fox, Kerry Greenwood and Kathryn Fox, Kathryn Ledson and local writers Sue Williams and Kate Lance.  And you could put Stephen King here too (well I would).

Romance and relationship stories have their place as well because they usually follow the building and sometimes disintegration of relationships.  Whilst some people might think romance fiction is light weight, you can learn much from the descriptions the writer will provide about emotion and how this has an effect on people and their relationships.  You'll also find a rich supply of how to describe people.  Again you will find a protagonist and antagonist, some times more than one of the latter.  The plots can be as rich and complex as those you will find in any of the above genre.  Writers to look for are: Nora Roberts, Diana Gabaldon, Nicholas Sparks, Liane Moriarty and Australian writers Helene Young, Margareta Osborn, Jennifer Scoullar and Kate Belle.

And of course there are other writers of fiction that don't fall cleanly (for want of a better word) into a clear genre and we'll cover those at another time.  I think there's enough here to keep any budding fiction writer busy for a while.  And remember....there is always plenty of time to read!

 





 

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH - NOVEMBER

Every November all over the world there are people,like me, who take up the challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of November.  National Novel Writing Month is commonly known as NaNoWriMo, there are many writers in Australia and over 100 in Gippsland who take this challenge.  Maybe not every year, but regularly.  I think it's a way to stretch your writing skills, it is certainly a time to try out new writing techniques and if on the 30th November you have 50,000+ words registered then you 'win'.  What you win is up to the individual, it can be the fact that for 30 days you wrote words every day, and that would amount to 1,000+ each day, which is a great achievement in itself.  You do get a 'certificate' and yet it's the stimulation that hooked me.  In 2016 I took the challenge and finished up with 50,000 words which finally translated into a 34,000+ word children's middle grade novel, that's for children around 9-11 years.  It was great fun, although the many drafts and edits since then probably didn't rank as fun.  The manuscript is currently with two publishers and who knows it might get published.

This November I'm taking the challenge again because I want to try writing a different genre.  In August I entered a crime short story competition and have been shortlisted.  I won't know the result until the award dinner late in November.  I will keep you posted.  I learnt I can write crime, well in a short story length (under 5,000 words), so I thought I'd take the challenge with NaNoWriMo and see what happens.

The plot is drafted, that characters have been fleshed out, research has been done on the era and I'm just about ready to roll.  NaNoWriMo allows you to prepare, as you would before you started writing at any other time.  However at 8am on November 1st I will be sitting here writing the first chapter.  Most of it is in my mind because most of it has been written whilst on the treadmill at the gym.  I do some of my best scene writing on that dastardly  treadmill.

Here's the link in case you want to check it out.  You'd need to start pre-planning soon otherwise you won't be ready.  And bye the way there's a junior NaNoWriMo, so if you know a young person who can't stop writing introduce him or her to the website for next year.

 

 

Welcome to the first of, I hope, many posts about the pleasure of writing, particularly writing fiction.  I've come to this joy rather late in life and I'd like to share what I've learnt along the way and what I hope to keep on learning..............my theory is........if you're not learning you're dead!
Janxx