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

ORGANIZING A NOVEL

Since I write Historical Mysteries as well as horror, I belong to the class of fiction writers known as “plotters”. I want to have the framework in place before I let my detective work his way through the puzzle. I know where the beats need to hit and how the structure of the acts follows a classic detective narrative.

Now within that framework, my characters have full license to take me on surprising tangents and often do so without my knowing what they might say or do in a particular situation. So, in that part of the process, I become a bit of a “Pantser” (seat of your pants).

A couple of years ago, had the extreme privilege of spending a couple of hours with the late horror master, Dennis Etchison. Aside from being a little awestruck of being in the presence of a master story teller, it was a an unexpected pleasure to learn that we both received, “The Muse” in a similar way. We both described the experience of watching a movie play out in our minds and working like crazy to record those images on paper.

So, within the bare erector set of my novel, I record a movie that runs across the screen behind my eyes. As such, I’m never quite sure what my characters are going to say or do until it’s done.

I’ve attached a photo that shows a small part of the framework I use. I borrowed a lot of the elements from J.K. Rowling. With it, I’m able to know where each character is at any given time. Along with that paper, I also use Aeon Timeline 2.0 software to maintain a proper chronology. It syncs perfectly with my Scrivener writing program.

Please let me know what works for you in the comments. If you’re in the mood for a free scary story, check out my Southern Gothic Horror, Haunting Annabelle, over on Wattpad https://my.w.tt/YIQ0icvCJY.

Have a great week of writing and thanks for reading.

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.