Slow your roll, Author

If no one hates your book, you probably don't have enough people reading it. 

Following all the whackadoodle nonsense of authors fighting with readers about critical reviews, Goodreads has instituted this screen that authors see when they click on a less-than-stellar review of their own work. (Don't ask how I know this.) 

This is pretty hilarious, isn't it. The tone of the warning is wonderful. The calming, head-patting nature of the post itself cracks me up.

You Can Quote Me

by Holly West

I'm not a big fan of quotes about writing or "writing rules." Sure, Elmore Leonard's rules are useful, and occasionally, an inspirational quote strikes a chord. But in general, these platitudes about writing I see so often on Twitter and elsewhere just bore me. I'd rather hear what you had for lunch, or better yet, see a picture of your puppy.

See, isn't that better than a tired old quote?

That said, there are there are three writing principles that resonated with me early on and have stayed with me.

1) Just do it. ~Nike

2) Finish your shit. ~Chuck Wendig

3) The best marketing tool for your book is your next book (or something like that). ~Don't remember where I heard this

The first two "rules" helped me cut through the romantic notion that writing is some mystical thing that requires muses, copious amounts of booze, and an MFA to accomplish successfully. Once I realized that the only way I was going to be a writer was to write, all of my previous excuses kind of fell away and I got to work.

The third reminds me that I'm in this for the long haul. It doesn't so much inspire me to sell books as as it does to continue creating and working hard. If I sell a few books along the way, well, I'm certainly not going to complain about that.

Distilling my writing philosophy down to these three principles keeps me focused. When I start to waver or doubt myself (which is pretty much every day) I go back to these basics. Simple as they are, it actually does help. And sometimes, I need all the help I can get.

What's your strategy for keeping focused on the work? If it includes inspirational quotes, don't worry, I won't judge (but the puppy might).

The Moments That Make Up A Dull Day

 

Recently I came across a piece of advice from one of my favourites, Rosalind Russell (even if just for His Girl Friday). She said that what makes a great movie are the “moments.”

So, not the big themes, not the intricate plots or the twists or that incredible originality – but the moments.

That seems about right to me, what we remember most, what we talk about most in a story (movie, TV show, book, play, whatever) are the moments.

The big Olympic coverage going on now was another reminder of how the small moments make up the big picture. In this huge, overblown, media circus what everyone seems to be looking for are the small moments.

I don’t really have anything to say about this other than to offer it up as a reminder that whatever story you’re working on is made up of the moments. One moment at a time till you’re done.

And it made me think of this:

 

So, I’m trying not to fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way because it’s been more than ten years since I realized that I missed the starting gun and no one told me to run (that’s not really true, lots of people told me to run and I ignored them) and now when I try to catch up to the sun it’s sinking and I’m shorter of breath and one day closer to dea…

Wow, I never realized how depressing Pink Floyd songs are. I should have gone with something about The Beatles 50th anniversary on Ed Sullivan.