Having enjoyed reading your
biographical, They
can't take that away from me... I
would love to post your article (for my) course for
seniors entitled Autobiography and Journaling ... and
let them read your article as a good example of what
I call the reader's writer, clearly expressed and easy
to read. (Howell)
The French language has
always appealed to me ... so I enjoyed Lavinia's
experiences en
France! (Di Sullivan, Perth, Australia)
I am an American and an
expat here since 1990. I have been a subscriber to Writing
Tip for a few years now and look forward to the Friday
editions. I archive by creating topics of the tips
relevant to me and often refer. (Mary, Lagos, Nigeria)
WRITERS!
Write
Your Own Best Seller!
This
year, don't just read a best-seller ... Write
your own using the software program that works
in the same way J K Rowling writes her Harry
Potter novels!
Who said Aussies would
bet on two flies crawling up a wall? Now I know
better! (Bill Denham, Chicago, USA)
I enjoy reading your page
every week, Jennifer, it's never boring and there's always
something to bring a smile to my face! (Kenny Dima,
Tenerife, Spain)
Great newsletter -
originally found this site after searching for
clarification on a contentious
point amongst work colleagues. Just had to look at old
issues and now look forward to Fridays (Juliet Wallace,
Manchester, ENGLAND)
It has been said, that whilst writing a short
story is like engaging in a brief affair, writing a novel is more like a
marriage; compromise, and long-term commitment, for better or worse.
Over the years, my approach to crafting The Great American Novel has been
filled with meaningless and generally unsatisfactory one-night stands.
(And, I really do think someone should bring out a novel called The Great
American Novel, just in case their career choice ever comes up in
conversation. "You don't work do you?" they'd be asked.
"No," they'd reply. "I took time out to write The Great
American Novel..." You get the picture.)
I get a good idea. I get very excited about it. I start fantasizing about my
good idea, which manages to elevate itself to a great idea. I spend
time gazing out of the window, imagining what I could do with this very great
idea.
Time passes. I drink a lot of coffee. I put the music on, dim the lights,
arrange myself meaningfully...and then I start typing. Sure, a blank page is
frightening, that step into the unknown, and then I get into a rhythmic
pounding, and the music gets more intense, and my breathing gets faster,
and...
Was it good for you? Hell, most of these brief encounters don't even
have a name.
You see writing, much like sex, has an agenda. One-night stands, quickie
liaisons, full-blown relationships all come with an emotional list; will it
last? Do they love me? Is a contract involved? And whereas True Art and True
Love demand a certain selflessness that transcends the ordinary, writing is a
very selfish thing.
You have to lock yourself away for hours at a time. You ignore the 'phone. You
never visit anyone. You never see daylight. You become an obsessive, manic
depressive, socially inept word junkie.
You can't hold a conversation with anyone without wondering whether you could
use that conversation in your book. Events become scenes. Friends become
defined only in terms of their grotesque characteristics; ones that you will
use to comic effect later on.
"On the steamer from the Hook of Holland to Harwich," wrote Erica
Jong in Fear of Flying. "I stand in the mist and cry, thinking of
myself standing in the mist and crying, and wondering if I will ever be able
to use this experience in a book."
The trouble is, I don't like being this selfish. All this
objectification of Life just sucks. But, the problem with being a
writer (or, at least being perceived as having the talent or the ability to
write, which is often more of a curse) naturally leads people to assume that
you're going to churn out a novel, and probably TGAN, at some point.
"When are you going to write that novel?" they intone, much in the
same way and tone of voice that mothers enquire when you're going to get
married. They are, as I've said, one and the same thing.
You are not a serious human being unless you settle down and wed, and
you are not a serious writer unless you produce a tome or two.
Preferably two. The first is always a fluke. And once you've written the
second, which is usually 'critically acclaimed' after the 'promising
first novel', you inevitably enter the arena of The Difficult Third
Project. After that, it's a lifetime of alcohol abuse and madness.
Maybe that's why so many writers stumble on the Altar of the Novel. It's a lot
nicer to have potential than to be exposed as a failure, as a Could-Have-Been,
or a Might-Have-Been.
I'll admit there was a certain cachet around Christmas when I decided to Write
My Novel (Finally). Friends spoke of me in hushed tones. There was an air of
excitement about the place.
But now, faced with a daily grind of X-number of paragraphs + rewrites I'm
starting to daydream about the odd clandestine poem, perhaps a bit of prose
after work. My book has taken to drinking during the day and calling its
mother.
Anyone know the number of a good Novel Guidance Counsellor??
