The Writer’s Priorities. Part 2

Portrait of Samuel Johnson commissioned for Henry Thrale's Streatham Park gallery (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Timing, they say, is all. An odd coincidence occurred today. I was due to write this post, as a follow-up to last week’s effort. But, I’d also determined I would enter at least 4 writing contest during the month, and I’d only managed 2 entries by yesterday. In preparing for the other two, I went online and discovered at the top of my emails an alert to the Writers’ Village blog I follow for its excellent advice and content. The subject matter was ‘A Simple Idea That Can Sell a MillionBooks’. Bearing in mind what I said last week about money as a motivator, I thought I should at least read the piece. If you click on the title, it’ll take you to it.

It was one of those posts, of which there are many these days, promoting the idea that money can be made from writing by doing a great deal of it and getting it published, more or less regardless of the quality. It’s a persuasive argument for a lot of would-be writers and there’s evidence that this approach does, indeed, earn its better practitioners money. I had to make a comment, of course.

So; back to the theme of this post. Priorities. Do you know what yours are? Are you driven by money? James Boswell, in his Life of Samuel Johnson, wrote, ‘No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money’. However, Samuel Johnson himself wrote, ‘The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it’.

My own primary aim is to increase my number of readers. It’s been suggested that the easiest way to do so is to charge nothing for the books. I do have a short story offered free; But, Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a bit of seasonal cheer to make readers smile. But it’s been proved, many times, that in general terms, people place little value on something that has no worth placed on it by the producer. So, I compromise and price my books at what seems a fair cost for the piece on offer. Before I place a piece to market, I spend as much time as is needed to make it the very best I can. My priority has been quality at the expense of quantity.

Perhaps I’ve been too concerned with this aspect, since it’s clear that many readers are not really concerned with the quality of the writing. I’m not sure, to be honest. But, in the interests of discovering whether my writing can stand the rigours of quantity and remain both accessible and readable, I’ve decided to devote this year to more in the way of quantity.

So far, I have 7 books available, published over a period of 5 years. This year I aim to produce a further 4 titles. Nothing like the quantity that many of the genre/formula-fitting writers produce, of course. But a challenge, if quality is to be maintained.

So, my priority for this year is to write, and publish, 4 new titles. This means that certain other activities will necessarily have to be curtailed. Much less time with Twitter, Facebook and the other social networks to which I contribute. But not a complete cessation, of course. I will still need to let people know about my writing, after all.

Last week, when I wrote the first part of this post, I had little idea where I would end up. I’ve now set my aims. Do you have targets, aims, priorities in your writing life? If so, please share them with us here.

Oh, and I will try to maintain a post each week here on the blog, of course.

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The Writer’s Priorities. Part 1

We’re creative souls, we who write stories, not generally the disciplined and single-minded types for

whom regulation and habit overtake our free spirits to the exclusion of all else. No, those for whom self-discipline and ultra-focus are paramount are, generally speaking, business-minded; people for whom money is the primary concern. That’s not to say that these qualities are undesirable, simply that they’re not the most important elements of our make-up.

As artists (sorry if that term makes you uncomfortable, but perhaps you should be looking at your view of your role as a creative spirit?), we’re more organic, less easily defined by rules, more open to the bending and even the ditching of external influences on our behaviour.

So, where am I going with this?

Let’s face it, if we call ourselves writers, our first love, our primary drive, is writing: yes? If your answer to that is not ‘yes’ then I suggest you examine your reasons for placing words in specific order on pages. It may be that you’re an entrepreneur who’s spotted an opening in a market that just happens to involve the skill of writing. Perhaps you’ve seen the zillions paid for certain best-sellers, and identified a niche you could fill by writing the same story with different names and locations. It works. It’s been done countless times. But it doesn’t make you a writer; it makes you a businessman/woman.

Writers of fiction are more concerned with the words they present, the stories they tell, the effects of those compositions on their readers. Money, fame, success are all viewed as ancillary to the craft and inspiration of actually setting the right word in the right place. Imagination is the primary resource of the storyteller and the emotional punch of the story is the reward.

I’m not making judgments here. If the business approach suits you, that’s your choice. If, on the other hand, the role of the storyteller, the ancient role that started around the fire in the mouth of the cave as a way to explain the world and its wonders and terrors, drives you, then that is also your choice. Unfortunately, for those of us so inclined the world has moved into an era where the majority of the advice, help and support for writers is aimed at those for whom money is the major mover. Talent, it seems, is less valuable.

It’s very easy to be drawn into the world of marketing, promotion, advertising and generally concentrating on making ‘a living’. And, of course, we live in a world where making a living is paramount to mere survival, so the pressures are intense.

The issue then, for those of us who are essentially creative beings, is achieving a balance between making enough to allow us to survive and giving ourselves the freedom of thought and action that will nurture and develop our talents as tellers of tales.

I write this post as a taster only. As a way to introduce the idea that we may need to examine our priorities if we’re to lead full and rewarding lives as writers. For my personal approach, watch this space. I’ll provide my answers soon; just as soon as I’ve reached an actual conclusion, in fact!

And, for the time being, I ask you to consider just one question: 

Why do you write?

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy, Reviewed.

A prose poem of a novel, with bite. This Indian tale of love, loss, class and betrayal starts, against all the literary school advice, with the weather. But the language is so engaging, so intriguing, that the reader is drawn into this strange world at once.

I love well-rounded characters and this book explodes with them. I love the use of good and entertaining English and this book drips with it. I won’t bore you with a synopsis; there are plenty of those around if you want a truncated version of the story. Suffice to say that the story centres on the relationships within a middle class business family and those that family loves and relies upon.

I learned a great deal about Indian life during the read. The chaos, out-dated traditions, values, iniquities of the caste system, attitudes to authority, God, and religion are all exposed in the narrative. The climate and the landscape become added characters, playing their parts in this complex tale and bringing even more life to a story already teeming with it.

There are flaws, for a reader from England. There are references to Indian culture, tradition and history that arrive unannounced and leave without explanation, often failing to reveal their origins or meanings in the process.  And there are very short, occasional, passages in an untranslated language I could not identify or understand. How much of the richness of the novel I failed to appreciate because of these flaws, I have no way of knowing.

There are a couple of chapters that, for me, appeared to serve no purpose in the story and I confess to skipping through those.

The book is written in a way that keeps the reader engaged, not through action or tension necessarily, but through the exquisite combination of words. This is poetry presented as prose. And the final chapter is so brilliantly drawn, so brutally emotional, that it left me feeling raw; the empathy imposed is such that I doubt any sensitive reader could leave it without tears.

I loved this book, and read the last half at one sitting, reluctant to put it down even though there were fairly pressing reasons I should do so. Thoroughly recommended for those readers who love literature in its accessible form and for whom a story of people in love matters. It’s no surprise this won the Booker Prize.

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New Group Blog Up and Running

As a member of a writing group celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year, I'm proud to announce that Hornsea Writers now has its own blog.
We'll be using this platform to announce news, achievements and events. It's a central point for our writing activities and allows readers to discover what other group members are up to.
We're a disparate collection but have in common that we're all published, professional authors. The site is simple, so there are few widgets. But, should you want to keep track of us there, please scroll to the foot of the page, where you'll find the opportunity to follow by email.
This venture marks the start of a new phase for us all. Always a supportive gathering, we're moving forward with the times and ensuring we have a proper web presence.
In case you missed the link above, here it is again.

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The Mark of the Mage, by R.K. Ryals, Reviewed

This is fantasy, with the usual components of magic, dragons, swords and sorcery, but made special by the use of a female lead protagonist and good writing.

The Mark of the Mage tells the story of Stone, illegitimate daughter of a high ranking noble who has lost favour with the evil king. She’s a scribe in a time when knowledge is made suspect. There are echoes here of the terror of reigns like that of the Khmer Rouge but the reader isn’t lost without familiarity with such parallels. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think I can reveal that there’s a burgeoning love interest, which gives the story a more rounded feel than I’ve come across in some fantasy novels. This is the first in a series and I look forward to the follow-ons.

The characters are well drawn and have their faults, making them believable people. The writing is sharp and sympathetic enough to engender empathy. Descriptions are built into the action, so that settings are truly part of the story rather than the add-ons that interrupt less well-told tales. And the lesser characters are presented with as much care as the main players, so that they also become people to care about.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to all those who like a little more than the usual elements in their fantasy fiction. A good read that kept me entertained and engaged throughout.

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