The creature is indeed alive, and I wrote 17 pages yesterday. I’m fast and prolific, but that’s still a really good day. I’m still following my outlining-from-inside (bat sense) list of scenes that I have up to the next major plot point, so I won’t need to pause and look for the next one for a few days.
Time for the Offspring! And remember that NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. Get somebody else to bake the turkey this year and sign up!
I’m rocking out to the Offspring this morning. My theme song for two current projects is “Want You Bad”. “Behind the Wall of Sleep” by the Smithereens is the musical trigger for another. I could only find the unplugged version on mp3, which is unfortunate, but I hear the electric version in my head just fine when it plays. (Side note: I love that companies are finally getting smart and selling mp3s for individual download. Why make people buy the whole CD if they only want to buy 1 or 2 songs?)
I don’t know why, but I don’t think I’ve ever written anything that didn’t have a theme song I listen to to get into writing mode. I can’t listen while I write, it’s too distracting, but the right song sets the stage every time. I’m not the only writer who does this, but I wonder how common it is. The creative process fascinates me, I’m always wondering how productive creative people do what they do.
A lot of it is simply the right frame of mind, bravery with no holds barred. Rollo May wrote a good book about this called “The Courage to Create”. I call it driving with no brakes.
I wasn’t feeling very brave yesterday, but I found the Offspring, I lowered my sights, I remembered it was only a book, and suddenly the missing pieces snapped into place and just like that, the thing is alive. I love that moment when lightning strikes and the creature stands up and walks. Good stories write themselves, I just get out of the way.
*sings along* “Your one vice is you’re too nice…I want you to be bad, bad, bad, bad, bad…”
This morning I was feeling a little stressed. I read my post-it notes of quotes on my screen, and Julia Cameron’s leaped out at me: “Keep the drama on the page”. Wise, wise Julia. What do the other quotes say? “It’s only a book.” Lawrence Block. And aother Block quote (I didn’t meant that pun, honest) “If you’re blocked, lower your sights.”
So I’m destressing, lowering my sights, remembering that it’s only a book and getting ready to read somebody else’s.
What’s on my list? That Familiar Touch, by Dara Joy, novellas of the Matrix of Destiny. If you didn’t know this book was available, either (I found out by poking around her website), you can order it here: That Familiar Touch
And I really, really have to read the last Dark Tower installment. I can’t believe I haven’t read it yet. I want to read about the field of roses. I wonder if it will be the fire of roses from literary sources past. Probably, because Stephen King is literate in spades. I have loved his work since I read “The Stand” and realized he was quoting T.S. Eliot. I said, “This man is the greatest writer in America”. That was about 20 years ago, and now he’s finally getting the recognition he always deserved for his contribution to the body of American literature.
Which means that Kathleen Woodiwiss can take his place as least appreciated American literary genius. Her prose is gorgeous. A friend of mine said, “It’s like she writes in color and everybody else is black and white”. Why is it that genre writers have such a hard time being seen for the literary quality of their work? Just because a book is bleak and depressing does not make it Great Literature. And just because it’s horror or romance doesn’t mean it isn’t.
But this post isn’t about literary recognition, it’s about reading. Why do we read what we read? It entertains us, amuses, uplifts, encourages, distracts, gives us food for thought. People going through horrible times find a place of mental rest in a book, and they reach for romance, horror, science fiction, something that will take them to another world and let them forget about trouble for a little while. It’s a wonderful thing to have a good book on a tough day, and it’s an honor to have the chance to give somebody else something that might distract them, too. Writing fiction is the greatest job on earth. If I can make somebody laugh on a dark day, then my life will have had meaningful impact.
I’ve had several recent posts about e-publishing phenomenon Ellora’s Cave, so I thought I’d even things up a bit by talking about Scheherazade Tales, the e-publisher of my first book, Yule be Mine, and the e-publishing revolution in general.
In order to understand the e-publishing revolution, the state of things in traditional publishing has to be understood. Namely, that there are fewer publishers today because publishing companies have been bought up by giant corporations with an eye to the bottom line. Wanting to make a profit isn’t a bad thing, because a business that doesn’t make a profit can’t stay in business. But condensing the publishing world to 10 options with an eye towards commercially viable proven commodities means that a lot of good books and good authors are falling through the cracks.
Consider, for instance, that traditionally good books have gone through as many as 30 rejections before finding a publisher. Books like Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. Books like A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l’Engle. 30 rejections. 10 publishers. You don’t have to be very good at math to see what this means. I can’t even begin to guess how many good, well-written, important books are languishing in desk drawers and file cabinets for lack of more options.
Welcome to the revolution. E-publishing is stepping in to the gap and buying up those books. Electronic format means lower costs and the ability to take more risks without going out of business in the process. The internet provides a powerful medium for distribution. Print on Demand technology means that it’s possible to get a book into print without breaking the small, independent publisher’s bank account.
Everybody wins. Readers have more choices. Good books find markets. Writers are able to reach an audience even after the big 10 say no.
And for me, personally, it means that a wonderful story I’ve always loved is going to reach an audience this year because e-publisher Scheherazade Tales was willing to take a chance on an unknown writer. Yule be Mine is a book that had no potential market at all outside of e-publishing, because the three traditional publishers for short romance that exist had already turned it down and trying to sell a short single-title romance is harder than trying to sell thermal underwear in hell.
So thank you, Deborah, for your vision for Scheherazade Tales and your willingness to take risks. And for writers with good manuscripts that have no traditional market, what are you waiting for? Join the revolution.
Took a trip to Waldenbooks in Silverdale, WA today to see Ellora’s Cave books on the shelves and talk to them about my upcoming releases. Those books are flying off the shelves! They can hardly keep them in stock. I got two from the incredibly picked over selection, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re out of stock tomorrow.
They assured me that they would be delighted to stock extra copies of my books and arrange for me to do a formal signing if I like, or I can just come in informally and sign the copies on the shelves. Everybody in the store is very enthusiastic about E.C. Clerks are recommending them to customers, and customers are hauling them away.
It’s easy to see what the enthusiasm is about. There’s something about a trade paperback that says “not your ordinary paperback” to begin with. And the stories are not just steamy reads, they are fully three-dimensional books, full of action and emotional complexity and rich characterization. This is not your mother’s romance novel! And for those of us who love speculative fiction, it’s very female oriented. Much as I adore SF/F, it is largely male oriented and the female empowerment in speculative romantica is tremendous.
On a less happy note, I’ve had to turn off comments on the blog because I kept getting spammed. This is also why I haven’t added a forum. I simply don’t have time to monitor the site for spam and obnoxious posts. But I welcome comments and would be pleased to hear from anybody by email. Just use the contact link on the site to send a message.
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