My take on "When anyone can be a published author"

I think this article, When anyone can be a published author, fromSalon is interesting, but focuses too much on hand-wringing about the poor, lost readers who will have to wade through the slush-pile of "bad writing" without the gatekeepers (editors, book agents) to guide their way. But there's one thing the  writer does not take into account: Not all readers care about "good writing." And speaking personally, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing.


In fairness, the article does touch on the fact that new gatekeepers -- bloggers, aggregator sites and social networks -- will take the place of traditional editors and agents (something that is already happening). Regardless, many readers -- I'd say the majority -- are only looking for something they think is entertaining, or interesting. If a reader thinks they can get something of value from a piece of writing -- regardless of how well-written it is -- that reader will plunk down the money to download the piece to their laptop or e-reader.

For example, I've plodded through dozens of poorly-written e-books and articles, as well as printed books and articles -- misused punctuation, no spell-checking, low production values -- to find information I can use to help my older son with autism. The "bad writing" drove me nuts, but the information was coming from the most credible sources I could find: other parents who had tried some of the therapies I needed to learn about. (In the world of autism, with so little known about the causes and treatments, other parents/caregivers usually offer more useful information than doctors and scientists.) These were books and articles that would have never made it past the slush pile of a traditional publisher, but I was so grateful to find what I needed, and was glad the writer's information was available to me -- even if they did forget to spell-check.

It is the same with fiction. Most readers care more about story, and less about the prose. Writers who care about their craft might be put off by that statement, but it is a plain and simple fact. Stephen King is not a bestselling author because he is renowned for his sentence structure and original phrasing (although I think he is underrated as a writer.). He is a bestselling author because his stories are consistently entertaining.

The challenge for all writers -- the good and the bad -- will be finding their niche and learning to how to market themselves to showcase their strengths. Readers who care about good writing will seek out those writers. Readers who care about story will seek out storytellers. Readers who care about getting credible, useful information will seek out experts. And writers who care about both -- writing and readers -- will do their very best to create entertaining, credible stories and articles that stand out from the slush pile as "good writing."

Punk Writing

Maybe it's because I'm in writer-mode today, but I just finished reading What is Punk? on Flavorwire, and couldn't help mentally replacing "punk" with "writing" or "creative writing" for many of the quotes. Since I've been writing more fiction, and spurred on by friends who've reminded me that writing should -- first and foremost -- be fun, I've been less concerned with writing for an audience (at least in the first draft) and writing 'punk,' The creativity flows, and the rules don't apply:

•  “I think writing especially for me, was a big middle finger to this whole talent thing.”
• “Creative writing was defined by an attitude rather than a writing style.”
  “A guy walks up to me and asks ‘What’s creative writing?’ So I kick over a garbage can and say ‘That’s creative writing!’ So he kicks over a garbage can and says ‘That’s creative writing?’ and I say ‘No, that’s trendy!’"
• "Creative writing is writing freedom. It’s saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster’s terms, ‘nirvana’ means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that’s pretty close to my definition of creative writing."
• “The popularity of creative writing was, in effect, due to the fact that it made ugliness beautiful.”
• “At its best creative writing represents a fundamental and age-old Utopian dream: that if you give people the license to be as outrageous as they want in absolutely any fashion they can dream up, they’ll be creative about it, and do something good besides.”
• “The whole creative writing ethic was do-it-yourself, and I’ve always been very literal, especially as a kid. When they said that anybody can do this, I was like, ‘OK, that’s me.’”
• “Undermine their pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but don’t let them take you alive.”
• “Creative writing is just another word for freedom.”

Take 2: Blogging Reboot.

John Lennon was writing about his son in the song, 'Beautiful Boy,' which includes the lyric "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Kids have a way of upending the best-laid plans, which is why this is the first time I've blogged in two months.

Shortly after launching this blog and its companion website site, (wordnerdgirl.com, for all your writing and editing needs), I got hit with a series of family-related dramas and traumas, including -- but not limited to -- my 8-year-old's broken toe and my 4-year-old's week-long hospital stay for asthma-triggered pneumonia. Between all the minor domestic catastrophes and major craziness, I have been writing, but it has taken me a while to fully reboot the business and the blog. Which is a shame, because I had so, so many things to say about the Lost finale. Heck, I still might. I've had a number of blog-worthy writing ideas I wanted to share,so I am recasting my last business-and-blogging attempt as a dress rehearsal. The real show's opening starts now.

Robert McKee talks about storytelling

This is an interesting interview with screenwriting guru Robert McKee. I read his "Story" year's ago and it changed my focus from focusing on how well something is written to how well the story is told. I especially like what he says about stories today evolving so that they are better executed, but content-wise, more shallow. Read it here ...

Screenwriting guru tells all - Charlie Kaufman - Salon.com

The 'Flash' of Inspiration

I had a difficult time getting much work done last week after my 8-year-old broke his big toe. By Friday, I was fried and practically jumped for joy when I scored a rare tandem nap for my baby and 4-year-old. I had two precious, completely quiet hours to use any way I wanted. I had a list of potential clients to contact, 8 loads of clean laundry to fold, and an empty bed that begged to be napped in, but I decided instead to take a shot at writing a "flash fiction" story.

If you're unfamiliar with flash fiction, it is basically a very short story -- usually around 1,000 words or less. The idea is to write a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. A very famous example would be this six-word work by Ernest Hemingway:

"For sale: baby shoes. Never worn."

Not to knock Hemingway, but most of the flash stories I've read seemed more like they should be scenes from a larger work. The few I've seen that read like "complete" stories varied wildly as far as how satisfying I found them to be. But as a writer, with so much competing for my time, the idea of a small project that maybemightpossibly be finished quickly was appealing. And, weirdo that I am, the challenge of writing in so few words sounded like fun.

I decided my story would be about -- drumroll please -- a woman deciding what skirt to wear to a job interview. Zzzz. Snore. (I'll be the first to admit it falls way short on The Excitement-ometer.) To avoid the trap of writing a scene, and not a story, I knew I had to be able to clearly state what she wanted at the beginning of the story, and if she got it at the end. But to do that --, and without a clear idea of who this character was -- I zeroed in on what led to her decision to wear that skirt for this interview. I focused on her emotions -- how wearing the skirt made her feel versus another wardrobe option -- and tapped into my inner Carrie Bradshaw describing the details of the clothing. I enjoyed writing it, and discovered that by taking such a tiny moment and magnifying it, I got to know a great deal about the character, Annabelle, and -- in the process -- located my story's beginning and end.

I finished the story (and after some editing, in under 1,000 words -- Snoopy Dance Time!). But after getting to know Annabelle, I felt inspired, and wanted to know more. Does she get the job? What happens with the boss? What happens with her family? And her kids? I can easily see way more (and more interesting) story beyond the skirt. This story could easily become a short scene in a larger, longer story -- a story that never would have been inspired if I had not written the flash.

I'll definitely be writing more flash in the future -- for fun, for the challenge, and for the inspiration that comes with it. Or to sum up in six words:

Write flash stories, then write more.

... Of the Day, April 15, 2010

Quote of the Day

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." Charles M. Schulz (1922 - 2000), Charlie Brown in "Peanuts"

Word of the Day

bloviate \BLOH-vee-ayt\, intransitive verb: To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner

'Urban' Word of the Day

"It pays the taxes." The replacement saying for "It pays the bills" in reference to writing off a job as merely a means of income, and in no way an enjoyable or lucrative way of making a living

Scrabble Word of the Day

Alvine (9 points): pertaining to the abdomen and lower intestines

"That" Drives Me Crazy

I'm sure this has happened to everyone. I often get songs stuck in my head. It's great when it's a song I love. Today, it's the hook from Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter." But then there are those earworms that make you want to perform a do-it-yourself lobotomy so that you can pleaseGodmakeitstop. This usually happens when one of my kids is OD-ing on The Wiggles. But last week, it was a song that I otherwise enjoy -- John Mellencamp's "I Need A Lover." Here's the hook:

"I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl to thrill me and then go away
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of
Hey hit the highway."


I love John Mellencamp. Somewhere in this house I have a picture from waybackwhen of me getting his autograph. And it's a fun song. Hey, who among us has not wished we could do the deed then be left the hell alone? The content is not my issue. My issue is that ... I mean, "That." It should be "I need a lover who won't drive me crazy." The "that" is what drives me crazy. Lovers are a 'who.' If the lover is a 'that,' then the song takes on whole different (somewhat disturbing) dimension.

I'm not a tight-ass buzzkill. Or a 'fun vampire.' Depending on what I'm trying to accomplish, I play fast and loose with words, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure -- All. The. Time. Some of the greatest, most-quoted song lyrics ever written are anything but grammatically correct. The Rolling Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" would be ruined if the grammar police came along to change "no" to "any." Pink Floyd's "We Don't Need No Education" is a lyric that plays right into the whole theme of The Wall. When proper grammar is bent and broken to conform to the needs of the music, it usually leads to great, new and original expressions.

But "I Need a Lover?" That drives me crazy.