Writer's Companion

It’s said that writing is a lonely craft. We sit and try to pull the images from our mind’s theater and imprint them on the page. We often do this at a quiet desk, away from the intrusive world, alone. Even if we’re forced to walk among the living and write in cafes, libraries, or park benches, we’re still alone. We tune out the noise, the reality.

Yet, for many of us, we lucky few, there are writing companions. Mine sits in my lap as I my fingers brush over my other laptop. His name is Jeeves and he’s pictured above. No matter if I’m working on an edit at my desk, or pecking away at a story on the porch, he’s there by my side. He cocks his head as I try out how sentences sound when they enter the air. But he doesn't criticize.

Stephen King

It seems that most writers prefer dogs or cats. There’s much to be admired about both. For the most part, the cat is a silent partner, content to share a warm spot with you and not be bothered by your pecking at the keyboard or scribbling on a pad. Although, they do have a tendency to think of your computer as their personal heating pad.

Dogs are just content to be around you. They’ll take whatever space that you give them without too much fuss. They’re just happy to be part of the pack. Although, if someone knocks on your door, your concentration might be tested.

Earnest Hemingway

They’re our closest friend. They listen to our confessions without judgement. You can tell them your deepest fears and they’ll keep your secrets. Read them your worst prose and they’ll still stare with adoration. They’re our biggest fan.

Mark Twain

Virginia Woolf

We’ll most likely outlive them. It’s a cruel rule of nature that animal’s lives are short like the seasons. Yet, we’re writers and they are our companions. As such, their memory will live on in our words. Even if their name is not mentioned, their life essence will still permeate our prose. Our knowledge of love and loss will be earned through their passage in our lives.

George R R Martin

If you have a writing companion, please feel free to share how they enrich your life. If you don’t have one, consider heading down to your local animal shelter and adopting a new friend. I guarantee it will help your writing. If it doesn’t, well, you still win.

Take care and be kind.

Jeeves

MY DAY JOB

Very few writers make a living at writing. For every Stephen King, there are thousands of unknowns, plugging away in obscurity. Even those writers who have a few publishing credits still need a day job to pay the bills.

I’ve been in bookselling for about 30 years. I’ve completed the Hat Trick of working for the three major chains (Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books-A-Million). Granted, Borders has become the retail Dodo bird. Now, I work for an Independent Bookstore.

Working for a bookstore is great training for a writer. Even better, I’m also the Local Author Coordinator. Also, I’ve worked as an assistant buyer when I was with Borders. So, I’ve seen the process that writers go through from the start to finish.

Also, being a bookseller, I’m expected to read more than the average person. I’ve got to at least know a little about every book that we carry in the store. Granted, my actual reading will always be based on what I like to read. Still, I can direct a customer to the latest popular romance title just as easily as my favorite historical mystery.

All this exposure to literature informs my writing, just as everyday life does. I read the other day that natural writers never stop writing. Even when we’re away from the keyboard or pen, we’re still thinking about and planning our stories. Even my daily commute is not wasted. I’m either listening to an audio book or tapping away on my phone. Thank you Scrivener for having an IOS app.

Will I ever be able to quit my “day job” to write full time? Maybe. However, the odds are not in my favor. Still, as a bookseller, I not only see the great books being published, I also see the crap out there as well. So, I have undying hope.

Either way, I’ll never stop writing. I wrote my first short story in elementary school. There’s no stopping now.

Have a great writing week. Please leave a comment or say hello.

WRITER'S BLOCK (DOES IT EXIST?)

I’ll put it right out there. For me, there’s no such things as writer’s block. I’m never at a loss for ideas or projects. There’s not a minute in the day that I don’t wish I could be making stuff up.

There are, however, lots of things that get in the way of my writing.

• WORK - I work in a bookstore. Very few writers actually make a living as a writer. With a 50 minute commute both ways to work and 9 hours there, that’s 10 hours and 40 minutes that I can’t write. Add onto that the fatigue after working retail, and it’s hard to get motivated to put the butt in the chair.

• PROCRASTINATION - Even though I’m thinking about my stories and characters constantly, I often make up excuses to avoid actually sitting down to do the work. Creating something from nothing isn’t easy. Oh, it’s easy when it’s knocking around in my mind. But translating that into screen time takes discipline.

• LIFE - The world doesn’t stop so that you can sit down and create. There are bills to pay, family to keep in touch with, groceries to buy, meals to cook, etc. Every minute spent on the daily grind of life steals time from writing.

So, those are the three main things that I have to contend with while I try to write. None of them are writer’s block. They’re all just adjustments. I don’t have the magic key to solving them. Instead, I get up each day and try to do better.

The most important thing for a successful writer to do is to not give up. If you didn’t write today, then write tomorrow. If your story got rejected, tighten it up and send it out again. If you don’t know where your story is going, set it aside and work on something new. But above all, don’t stop.

If you keep writing, you’ve done better than 90% of anyone who’s said they want to write. If you don’t write, 100% of the trash that gets published is better than your best intentions. Don’t compare your writing to anyone else. Write what makes you happy. If you keep working on it, there will be a reader for it. Hell, there may even be a market for it as well.

Tell me what you think. Do you believe in writer’s block? What keeps you from writing?

Thanks for reading. Have a great writing week.

-James

Time Off For Comic-Con

Last year, I attended my first Comic-Con. Thanks to a short story I published, I was granted a Professional badge. I went all four days, including preview night. At the end, I was exhausted and wondering if I wanted to ever do that craziness again.

This year, I mainly focused on making the most of Comic-Con as a professional. The panels I attended were mostly related to writing. I also allowed myself to relax and try not to do everything. I even took off Friday and didn’t go back on Sunday. As a result, I got more out of my effort this year.

Fiction writing is a lonely art. Most of my time is spent with the characters running around in my head or down some rabbit hole of research. It’s good for the filling of the creative well to get out amongst other creative people. Any time I attend a writers meeting or workshop, I come away reinvigorated and renewed in purpose.

I’m very much the introvert. However, I need to be around other writers from time to time. I need the encouragement and also to the reality check. My advice to all writers is to push yourself to break out of your shell for at least short bursts. Writers need the company of other writers. Only we understand the madness. And to those extroverts among us, please help us out and pull us into the conversation once in a while. We have much to say on the paper. It’s just hard to speak it.

Have a great writing week.

The Waiting Games

Writers are always waiting. We write. We edit. We submit. And then, we wait. Most of the time, we are disappointed in the answer. Writers get more rejections than a leper on Tinder. Yet, we wait because we hope. Stephen King said he had to buy a bigger nail to impale all of his rejection letters. JK Rowling was rejected by everyone and ended up at a publisher that had never had a hit novel.

Hope feeds the writer.

I currently have a fun short story up for submission at a forthcoming anthology. Publication there would be a big step in my writing career. And so I wait.

However, I keep busy. Every two days, I post another freshly edited chapter of my southern gothic novel, Haunting Annabelle, on Wattpad. Yesterday, I finished outlining the current historical mystery novel that I’m a quarter of the way finished.

This week’s writing will be shared with going to Comic-Con. The writing panels will give me fresh energy. It will help with the waiting.

Now, I have to go walk the dog. Even Stephen King has to do that.