Tag Archives: Writer’s block

Pushcart’s COMPLETE ROTTEN REVIEWS AND REJECTIONS

Posted on January 14, 2010 | Comments Off

I think what I love most about Pushcart’s COMPLETE ROTTEN REVIEWS AND REJECTIONS, edited by Bill Henderson & Andre Bernard, is that it lifts the veil of mystery between writers and the publishing world, and shows us just how human we are all are despite our attempts to become omniscient.   Mistakes get made.  Critics and editors get cranky and misunderstand an important book.  Writers insult other writers.

Any writer who is feeling timorous about submitting his or her work should consider reading this book.  Reading the nasty reviews and rejections other writers have received was an excellent antidote for self-pity.  The book also provides a peek into history, since Bill Henderson made an effort to include rotten reviews going as far back as 411 BC.

I don’t want to spoil the fun of what is inside, so instead I’ll quote from the back cover:

…Alice in Wonderland was greeted with “a stiff overwrought story.”  Reviews of Moby Dick cited Melville for “tragic-comic bubble and squeak.”  Classic rejection slips were delivered to John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold: “You’re welcome to Le Carre–he hasn’t got any future,” and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita: “I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years,”…

My one gripe is that the book has no index, and since the excerpts are not arranged chronologically or alphabetically, I have to randomly flip around to find the author or quote I’m looking for.

This book combines the three separate Pushcart editions of ROTTEN REVIEWS, ROTTEN REVIEWS II, and ROTTEN REJECTIONS.  So you’re getting three books for the price of one.  A great bargain.

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Posted in Agents, Business of writing, Craft of writing, Editors, History of writing, Psychology of writing, Publishers, Submissions block, Voice, Writer's block

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Dealing with Submissions Block

Posted on November 21, 2009 | Comments Off

As I’ve talked about before in previous posts, I’ve had trouble with writer’s block and submissions block, which is why I like to post about them in the hopes of helping some other writer down the road.

The writer’s block problem I was able to successfully deal with a couple of years ago.

My final steps in dismantling submissions block only happened about a month ago.  Until then, I could count the number of submissions I’d done to fiction editors over my entire life on my fingers (no toes needed).   This blockage continued for years despite getting requests to see more of my work from former editors at Asimov’s and Tor.   Instead I ran away as fast I could.

The truth of the matter is that I had a phobia about showing my work to other human beings, and until it was dealt with, I wasn’t going to go anywhere.

In the end, it took what psychologists call “desensitization.”  Like someone afraid of spiders, I had to to develop a detailed campaign to slowly dismantle the submissions block.

And so I did.   I started this blog as a way to deal with the problem, and as the block fades away, I suspect this blog will change.   I fell silent here for almost two months as I dealt with the severe stress of getting queries out in an organized determined manner for the first time ever.

I find that rejection itself is okay, and I can deal with it fine.  The mundane reality of rejections is much less frightening than the bizarre phobic fears I once had.

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Posted in Admin stuff, L. M. May, News, Psychology of writing, Submissions block, Writer's block

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Laura Resnick’s REJECTION, ROMANCE & ROYALTIES

Posted on November 18, 2009 | Comments Off

I think what I value most about Laura Resnick’s essays in REJECTION, ROMANCE, & ROYALTIES: THE WACKY WORLD OF A WORKING WRITER is her brutal honesty.   This is not an essay collection for the faint of heart.

Let me provide an example from her essay “Passion” in the book:

Editors have told me that my advance is more than I’m worth; my work isn’t that good; I should write more like so-and-so; my work is “shit;” I don’t know how to write; my work is an “insult” to them; and I don’t “appreciate” them enough.   Agents have told me that I’m “not worth” their time; my query is an insult to them; I’m “self-destructive” (based on my choosing to fire that agent); they “hate” my work; and I’m lazy (I wrote a mere 1,400 pages that year).

Resnick covers a variety of topics in her essays, such as writer’s block, editors & agents, contracts, readers, horror stories about publishing, horror stories about book tours, nerves, cash flow, rejections, etc..

Because this is a collection of essays, certain thoughts get repeated over and over.   This becomes a mild irritant if one sits down to read the book in one sitting.  I found it better to stop for the day after reading four to five essays.

Resnick makes her living as a fiction writer, and she does not spare the reader details about the ugly side of the business.  However, she also has a wicked sense of humor.  Here’s a sample from “It Can Happen Here–And Often Does:”

Trish Jensen, writing under the pseudonym Trish Graves, sold them a novel called Just This Once in which the hero, among other things, mentors a teenage boy, steering him away from street gangs and toward organized sports.  So you can imagine the author’s shock when, upon reading her galleys, she discovered that the editor had changed the boy into a raccoon.

(I think I speak for everyone here when I say, “What?”)

You’ll have to read the essay to find out if the novel was published with the raccoon character change.

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Posted in Agents, Business of writing, Contracts, Craft of writing, Editors, Learning the craft of writing, Markets, Psychology of writing, Publishers, Reviewers, Writer's block

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Posted on November 4, 2009 | Comments Off

It’s National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo.  If you have writer’s block or trouble with an internal editor voice that interferes with your writing a first draft, this month-long activity can be a fun way to deal with it.

Participants are encouraged to write 50,000 words or more in one month.

Out of curiosity I went to the website to see if one can register after November 1st, and registration is open.   So if you want to try it this year, you still can.

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Posted in Craft of writing, Learning the craft of writing, Psychology of writing, Voice, Writer's block

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Janet and Isaac Asimov on HOW TO ENJOY WRITING

Posted on July 18, 2009 | Comments Off

I stumbled across a hardback edition of Janet and Isaac Asimov’s HOW TO ENJOY WRITING: A BOOK OF AID AND COMFORT (published 1987) at a used bookstore.  The book is out-of-print, so you’ll have to buy a used copy or go to a library if you wish to read it.

This book is not written for beginners.  It does not discuss how to write science fiction or how to get published.  Readers will get more out of it if they’ve been writing for a few years and have a basic understanding of the publishing industry.  Janet Asimov chooses to focus on the psychological aspects of writing (which makes sense since she was trained in psychiatry).   The writing style of the book reminds me of long rambling talks with a favorite academic adviser.  If you don’t enjoy chatty talks, you’ll probably get restless reading this book.

Despite having read many books on writing, I found fresh insights in Chapter 3:  Coping, Ch. 5 : What Writers Go Through, Ch. 8: Words vs. Pictures, and Ch. 16: Integrity.  Here’s some advice Isaac Asimov gave a young writer from Ch. 3:

And most of all, to be a writer means to write whether there is any reward or not.   That is why a writer finds it so difficult to overcome the feeling of annoyance at any interference with his writing whether from a friend, from an editor, or even a person whom he loves above all else….

Write for the pleasure of writing only, and never think of whether of what you write is “good” or “bad.”  Do you wonder whether the echo of your footsteps is good or bad, whether the blink of your eye is good or bad?  Writing is a bodily function for a writer and it is what it is.

It may be wise to give up the illusion of being a famous writer, a renowned writer–but it is never an illusion to think of being just a writer….

ISAAC  (at the top of his voice):  Please don’t help me!  Happiness is doing it lousy yourself.

For over a century, the publishing industry has debated if books will disappear due to each new development in the entertainment industry (vaudeville, radio, movies, VCRs, video games, internet, etc.).  In Ch. 8 Words vs. Pictures, Isaac Asimov talks about this debate in depth.  Even though the chapter is over twenty years old, he brings valuable insights to share about writing as a form of communication in human history: 1) writing has been around for thousands of years and still provides a way to get certain information across that no other form can, and 2) the percentage of humans who are intense readers has been, and probably always will be, small–but those readers are loyal.  I’d rather not summarize his arguments here; better to go read the chapter to get his thoughts straight from him.

Their book also has cartoons about writing done by Sidney Harris.  My favorite is the one about Hemingway’s dog meeting Faulkner’s dog.  :)

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Posted in Business of writing, Craft of writing, Editors, Ethics, Psychology of writing, Voice, Writer's block

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Elizabeth Berg’s ESCAPING INTO THE OPEN–A Great Beginner’s Guide to Writing

Posted on March 19, 2009 | Comments Off

Take a moment and try to remember how it felt when you decided you wanted to try writing fiction by yourself for the first time.   You don’t know anything about point-of-view, story and character arcs, acts and beats, query letters and synopses, etcetera.   You had no experience with conferences or critique groups.  Everything about fiction writing was new and strange.

Elizabeth Berg’s ESCAPING INTO THE OPEN: The Art of Writing True (ISBN 978-0-06-092929-9) is a great book for those making their first tottering steps on the road of writing.   It’s the book I recommend to people who’ve expressed an interest in doing fiction writing, but have no clue where to start.

What I love most about the book are the chapters on voice (Ch. 3 ), writing exercises (Ch. 4 ), and writing with passion (ch. 5).   The book gets the reader writing on a regular basis–which is half the battle right there, since writers must write in order to get better at their craft.  I’ve seen new writers get distracted in reading too many books and sitting in too many lectures, and not doing enough writing.  I’ve been guilty of getting distracted myself, and this book got me back on track.

If you’re a more experienced fiction writer, most of the book will be “old news” to you.  However, I think Ch. 3 & 4 & 5 still have advice and guidance useful to the semi-pro (which is probably why they’re my favorites).  Struggles with voice never go away.   Here’s a favorite quote from Ch. 3 In Your Own Words:

I believe that one of your most important jobs as a writer is to be true to yourself, to honor your own notions of what you believe is important to your life and to that of others….I’m sure you’ve heard, countless times, “Write what you know.”  I would change that to “Write what you love.”  The knowledge can be learned; the passion can’t be–it’s either there or it isn’t.

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Posted in Business of writing, Craft of writing, Editors, Markets, Psychology of writing, Publishers, Submissions block, Voice, Writer's block

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Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY-Recovering from severe creative block

Posted on March 2, 2009 | Comments Off

I just finished doing the whole 12-week program in Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY (ISBN 0-87477-694-5). I’m always interested in finding a good book that can help people with writer’s block, so when I heard about hers I knew I’d have to try it out so I could blog about it.

Her book is specifically geared towards helping all artists, not just writers. Also, she tackles dealing with the worst creative blocks–the kind where the artist is the equivalent of a blasted building. Many of the exercises are ways to clear out the rubble and figure out what is to be built on the foundation that is discovered.

What this means is that if you are further along in the journey (you know what kind of art you want to do, you do it regularly, you’ve taken classes, you’ve read other books on blocks such as BREAK WRITER’S BLOCK NOW), you may find yourself getting restless at times. There were a few times when I felt like the book was dragging. But other chapters helped me to clarify attitudes and behaviors that were holding me back (such as Week 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance, where I had to deal with my feelings about money ). The twelve weeks were all worth doing despite my restlessness.

The book divides itself into twelve chapters, one chapter for each week. Each chapter tackles a different issue that can block an artist, as well as providing exercises to help readers figure out what they might like to try, explore their past, and act on insights.

One is required to write morning pages each day to help get in touch with one’s feelings. Mine tended to yo-yo between insights and utter tedium. The weekly Artist’s date was fun to arrange, but the requirement to do it alone was frustrating at times.

Overall, this is a great book to give to someone suffering from a massive creative block, or anyone who wants to explore their inner artist. I’d encourage the reader with a severe block to do the book, if possible, with an Artist’s Way group instead of alone.

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Posted in Psychology of writing, Submissions block, Writer's block

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One CAN recover from a horrible bout of writer’s block

Posted on January 31, 2009 | Comments Off

I had a severe case of writer’s block that lasted for about eleven years. Though a more accurate term in my case might have been “writer’s anorexia” since my specific problem was that I wouldn’t let myself write.

I wanted to write fiction, and I would force myself not to. I had come to the conviction that writing fiction was a selfish and wasteful act on my part (however, fiction writing was to be admired when done by others), and that I had no right to be doing it. So I told myself it was forbidden to me.

So what followed was eleven years of me denying the urge for months on end (usually around five or six), until I couldn’t take it anymore, and then I’d grab a pen and paper and write for a page or two. And then I’d make myself drop the pen and shove the paper away–and that was that until the pain got too great again. I’d tell myself 1) that I was being selfish and it was time to get back to work on more important things, and 2) the last thing this suffering world needed was another fiction writer.

I was finally brought face-to-face with my own self-punishment after I began a theology program for laypeople (Education for Ministry, run by the University of the South). We had to do personal autobiographies and essays, study Scripture in depth, and learn how to do theological reflection under the guidance of a mentor.

It takes time to undo a block; the worse the block, the more effort required to break it. The kind of virulent block I describe above typically takes therapy, a support group, or a program like ARTIST’S WAY to get out of. (Note: I am reading and doing ARTIST’S WAY right now to see how it is, and will blog on it when done. So far, there are parallels between the book and the theology program I was in.)

Healing does not happen overnight. In my case, it took years to undo the damage, but with time my block went from being the “anorexic” kind to the more traditional “I want to write but can’t” kind to the “I’m scared to death to show my work to other human beings” kind.

There are great books out there for the latter two types of blocks that I’ve blogged about already. Make sure to explore 1) Ralph Keyes, THE COURAGE TO WRITE and THE WRITER’S BOOK OF HOPE, 2) Jerrold Mundis, BREAK WRITER’S BLOCK NOW, and 3) Dorothea Brande, BECOMING A WRITER. I made sure to categorize and tag them under “psychology of writing”.

I’ve found that a block can come back, but if you keep aware of the warning signs and take action to treat it, it can be shortened to a few days.

Right now I’m in the very last stages of dealing with submissions block. One of the reasons I started blogging was to deal with it on a regular basis. Doing the thing you fear most in small manageable steps tends to drain the terror away with the passage of time. When I started this blog, I was so nervous I thought I’d pass out. And I did get a bout of blogger’s block and had to learn to work past it.

Anyways, if anyone suffering from writer’s block finds this blog post, here’s a message for you:
Don’t give up, it can be treated.
Be gentle with yourself.
There are teachers and therapists you can turn to for help if the block is nasty and has lasted for years.

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Posted in L. M. May, Psychology of writing, Submissions block, Writer's block

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What matters most to you as a writer?

Posted on December 4, 2008 | Comments Off

As you can see, I went on hiatus from this blog for about two months.  Part of it had to do with major writing commitments I made in early October, and part of it was an old-fashioned case of writer’s block brought on by putting too much pressure on myself on what this blog had to provide.

There are only 24 hours in a day.  You have to decide which writing is most important to you, and do that writing first.  My first love is fiction writing, and I spent my available time rewriting a 553-page novel manuscript down to around 400 pages.  But for someone whose passion is writing blogs, blogging would come first in the time available.  Figure out what you care about most, and write that first; the rest is just gravy.

Writer’s block often comes about when we demand perfection from ourselves.  Even though I started this blog with the intention of just having fun, after awhile old bad habits reasserted themselves, and I put pressure on myself to get things “right” (the rightness being defined in such a vague way in my mind that there was no way I could reach it).  And then I started feeling guilty about not blogging, which made the block worse, and so the cycle continued until now.  We’ll see if I’ve finally got this blog block under control.

I have a half-finished commentary on WHISPER OF THE HEART to come.  This time I’ll just have fun with it, instead of turning it into a class assignment for a grade in my head.  I am also going to open up this blog to anything in the arts (as it relates to writing or the writer’s life) that catches my interest–such as musician Jonathan Coulton’s making a living as an artist using the internet.

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Posted in L. M. May, News, Psychology of writing, Writer's block

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Dorothea Brande’s BECOMING A WRITER–helping writers overcome behavioral problems

Posted on September 19, 2008 | Comments Off

I found out about Dorothea Brande’s BECOMING A WRITER (ISBN 0-87477-164-1, published 1934, reprinted in 1981) the same way I did Ueland’s IF YOU WANT TO WRITE, by looking in the bibliography of Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY.  And I’m so glad I did, for this book tackles several core behavioral problems that can plague writers.

The 1981 reprint also includes a forward by novelist and creative writing teacher John Gardner as a bonus. Here’s what he has to say about Brande’s book:

It’s an astonishing thing that Dorothea Brande’s Becoming A Writer should ever have fallen out of print, and a lucky thing it is now back in the light where it belongs.  The root problems of the writer, whether the writer is young or old, just starting out or much published, are no different today than in 1934….

Brande’s book is mostly about the psychology of writing, not the craft (except for finding one’s voice as a writer) or business side.  Her focus is to help the writer improve in productivity and originality.  To do that, she has the writer do numerous exercises, write morning pages, and practice meditation techniques.

Here’s a quote from Chapter Two, What Writers Are Like:

After you have begun to see what it is to be a writer, after you learn how the artist functions and also learn to act in the same way, after you have arranged your affairs and your relations so that they help you instead of hinder you on your way toward the goal you have chosen, those books on your shelves on the technique of fiction, or those others which set up models of prose style and story structure for emulation, will look quite different to you, and be infinitely more helpful.

This book, combined with Mundis’ BREAK WRITER’S BLOCK NOW, helped me this past spring to come up with a specific plan to conquer my submissions block problem once and for all.  Neither book mentions submissions block by name, but their techniques work for any sort of behavioral problem a writer is facing.

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Posted in Craft of writing, Psychology of writing, Submissions block, Voice, Writer's block

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