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?

A Pleasure to Burn, by David Bain, Reviewed.

I read this short on my Kindle. It has references to Ray Bradbury, which I didn’t fully get until I discovered Ray wrote a story with the same title (one I haven’t read). I felt the style was closer to some of the US detective stories I read in Ellory Queen, when I was younger, than to the sublime style of Bradbury.

The tale is told from two points of view; the ‘hero’, a celebrity returning to his home town, scene of a family tragedy, and the young female reporter following him and intent on getting a unique story. The writing is tight and moves the action along well. I felt the ending was predictable but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story.

This was one of those books that held my attention whilst I was reading but left me with no after-impression. So, an entertainment rather than a deep piece of work. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this work of horror/ghost story and would recommend it as a way to spend a short spell of time alone in an old house, especially if you’re of a suggestible nature.

Related articles

• Ray Bradbury on Characters
• "You fail only if you stop writing" Ray Bradbury
• The Bradbury Approach to Writing and Life, Part One
• Ray Bradbury: "The Things That You Love, Should Be Things That You Do." "Books Teach Us That"

An Offer of Mentoring for Writers

I was sent the following by a professional contact on LinkedIn Terrence Brejla is described as
A Visionary Communications, Social Media, and Marketing Professional.  Although I don't know Terrence personally, he came well recommended. 

Subsequent to the initial information, I received suggestions that he may not be all I was originally given to believe. I have no knowledge of the man or his work and only passed the information on because of the link through LinkedIn. However, I have no wish to either endorse or denigrate the man or his services. The easiest thing for me to have done under the circumstances would have been to remove the original post completely. However, I've decided to remove only the 'advert' such as it was and pass this on to you for you to investigate and proceed as you will.


I have no connection to this, other than my link on LinkedIn, a professional networking community I strongly advise you to join.

Taking The NaNoWriMo Challenge

NaNoWriMo is short for 'National Novel Writing Month', an annual event that started in the USA and has become international.

Okay, so I'm mad. Nuts, perhaps, but a touch of insanity never did anyone any real harm. The challenge, for those who don't know it, is to write at least the first 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. This requires an average daily word count of 1,667. It's generally considered good going to produce between 500 and 1,000 words per day; James Joyce once famously admitted to having written only 1 word on one day whilst writing, I think, Ulysses, and Hilare Belloc took 13 years to write one of his novels. On the other hand, Antony Trollope was pretty speedy, and he's not alone.

I've been known to write a complete short story of up to 4,000 words in a day and, whilst writing my fantasy trilogy (still a work in progress, by the way), I've managed between 2 and 3,000 words a day fairly frequently.

I start this challenge tomorrow. A Tuesday. Tuesday is my long day at work (I'm employed part time, doing 18.5 hours over 3 days), the rest of the time, my writing is my work. I've created my characters and have a basic framework upon which to hang events. I know roughly where I intend to go with the story and I have a theme and a style I wish to use. With this book, I want mostly to entertain and amuse; so I'm aiming primarily for comedy. Having previously written only short spells of funny stuff, I've no idea how I'll perform on a longer work. But, hell, that's the whole point of this: to set yourself a challenge.

It's a self challenge. You're not in competition with other writers in this forum. The idea is for each individual writer (and it's estimated there'll be over 250,000 of us!) to set out to do the very best they can in the time allocated.

So, I invite you all to join me as I make this journey. If you're a wannabee novelist who has never had the courage, determination, will or opportunity to begin that opus you've carried in your head, I suggest you use this as the stepping stone to completion of your dream. The link for the supporting site is http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard  and it's a five minute job to register. You have until midnight tonight to join in the fun.

If you're a reader with no pretentions toward writing, then I invite you to follow my progress and ask for your support in the form of comments as I feed you the daily progress.

I'm making a public declaration of this aim, and I stand to make a fool of myself if I don't manage at least the 50,000 words, but I'm taking the risk in the hope that something good and useful will come out of the effort.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it!