Ten Reasons I Can't Get Around to Writing

Writing can be pretty lonely. I write at night, sometimes late into the night or the next morning. I read many blog posts that focus on, finding your best creative part of the day. Morning seems best for most - not me. Not sure why I was never a great morning person. Seems about eight in the evening until 1 or 1:30 in the morning is best for me.

That doesn't mean I don't work during the day, I go from 10 to noon or maybe one, that's about it until the evening hours.

So, how do I spend the hours of a day when most, non-retired people are working?  

1.   I get up late (Embarrassing, but relaxing) 

2.   I play golf (Even in winter when it is 50 degrees or better)

3.   I work in the garden (Seed starting this weekend – indoors)

4.   I work in my wood shop (Many projects and a great mess)

5.   I ride my bicycle (As long as the snow and Ice are absent)

6.   I hike the trails of Guernsey State Park (Love this)

7.   I take photographs ( I average about 800 a month, and no, I don't save them all)

8.    Yes, I do work some. I work five to eight days a month as a substitute teacher in the local school district. (After being in front of the class for 42 years it is a hard habit to break).

9.   I play my harmonica (love the haunting sound, it reminds me of times past and the old west. I’m not too bad either).

10.   I watch old movies (if it’s in Black and White I will probably like it, I also DVR the old B&W Gunsmoke episodes).

There you have it, a day in the life of a procrastinating writer. I still write about 20,000 words a month, not much to some, but pretty good for me.

Fort Laramie

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well". 

Mark Twain

Re-Write and Do It Again

The toughest part of writing is writing until its good enough. Writing until the pickiest critic, yourself, is satisfied.

I had someone recently ask me why I have not attempted to publish the four, yes four, books I have written. Easy, they are not good enough. I am continually working on them. When I get rejected I want my best stuff to be rejected, not something I wrote in a few hours.

I actually have enough short stories to put together three more books, but who’s counting?

"Books aren't written, they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it..." - Michael Crichton

And if I need inspiration I take a quick trip to the park.

I Only Know Three Things About Editing

First - Print it out and edit from the paper copy

Editing from the screen has become the method of choice for many writers, and will work if you plan to send it off to a professional editor afterward. If you do not have the time, or money, for a professional editor, you must edit from paper.

The last time I posted about not hiring a professional editor I got quite a few comments from writes saying a book should never be published without proper professional editing. This is wonderful advice if the writer can afford the over $1,000 needed to get a good job.

As I have stated here before one of the problems in editing, and the writing business in general, is finding a good editor. Book doctors and editors need only to advertise and they are in business. Sad, but there are some real scam artists calling themselves editors who may or may not run your works through a quick editing program and pronounce it edited and ready for publication.

Second - Read it aloud

Reading out loud will let you find, bad punctuation, poor word choice, awkward sentences and sometimes tense changes. The good news here is that programs are available that will read your work. They will sound like a computer reader, odd, but maybe not so odd since it is the computer reading.

I like to read it myself and listen to myself, which sounds a bit full of myself, but it works. Wives, husbands or friends reading your words to you works great.

Third – Look for overuses of easy/lazy words. Here’s my list.

That, stuff, things, very, got, all, every, seem, almost, sometimes, big, little, have got, just - and the dreaded, was-is-are-am

It is simple to use the find and replace editing function to pick up these and at least, attempt a fix.

There you have it the only three thing’s I know about editing, not much.  Must be why I am looking out my window at a foot of new snow instead of writing today.

Oh- don’t forget to spell and grammar check, often.

Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman has been one of my favorite authors for many years. I am now reading his autobiography, Seldom Disappointed – A Memoir, like his books, it is turning into a fascinating read.

Mr. Hillerman followed the old author advice of writing what you know and then finding an audience, not writing what is popular. He wrote mysteries, mysteries set among the Navajo’s of New Mexico. He knew New Mexico and he knew its people.

He was one of the all-time greats at writing modern adult westerns. Interesting that his books are often listed as mystery only. For my reading, he writes in my favorite genre, western mystery.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Seldom-Disappointed-Memoir-Tony-Hillerman/dp/0060505869

"You write for two people, yourself and your audience, who are usually better educated and at least as smart."

"An author knows his landscape best: he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place."

Tony Hillerman

Orwell's Writing Tips

Like many great writers George Orwell spent quite a bit of time talking about, and writing about, writing. Orwell lovers who also write have probably ran across this before ---

“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 

1.  What am I trying to say?

2.  What words will express it?

3.  What image or idiom will make it clearer?

4.  Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?”

So with that in mind I thought I would take a random, and this is random, short paragraph instead of a single sentence, from a work in progress. With this particular project, a modern day western, I am about 30,000 words in. Here goes.

Detective Ron Hafner, Chief Holliday’s only plain clothes officer, had the site cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape before seven AM. Hafner and Holliday paced around the body, measuring, looking carefully at everything, Hafner taking photos. Holliday stopped for a few moments and smelled the air. He reminded me of a scruffy Calvary scout from some late night black and white smelling the air for buffalo, horses or the enemy. I made a mental note to ask him what in the hell he thought he could smell out there. As I contemplated sniffing the air myself, the Pronghorn Flats ambulance arrived with sirens screaming.

 “Shut off those lights and turn that dammed siren off, we don’t need to hurry with this guy,” Holliday shouted at the two EMT’s as they jumped from the ambulance. 

Now let’s look at Orwell’s four steps and plug them into my few sentences.

Step 1. What am I trying to say? – In this case I am still introducing three of the main characters, the Sheriff, his deputy and the narrator, the novels protagonist.
Step 2. What words will express it? Tougher question. I am trying to play with a bit of small town police work, efficient but small town.Step 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? I like the picture I have painted, might be a bit prejudiced here.Step 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? They are looking at a fresh dead guy, should be fresh enough.
Not sure anyone today will take the time to look at each sentence this way – takes too much time. Writing today often includes deadlines, and deadlines frequently mean the closer it is, the faster the writing becomes. Have any of you read a book you loved, for the first half, and then felt like the rest was rushed to get to the conclusion? Seems I find way too many of these.

If the writing is too bad to fix - put it to a good use

Forward with Your Foreword

Does a book have a forward or a foreword? We all know it is a foreword, don’t we?  While reading a somewhat popular nonfiction book this week I noticed it had a forward – Hum. I looked through a small shelf of books and found another with the wrong foreword and also one (Indi Published) with a foreward, Hum again.

One problem I see with this is forward and foreword, regardless if the words are used incorrectly, will not be picked out by a spell checker. I always remember it as a fore – before, & word, before the words. Works for me. A book can have a foreword, and it will be written by someone other than the author, but cannot have a forward.

This is so easy to mistype that it should always be edited by Santa Clause, you know, “checking it twice.”

Forward can be an, adverb, adjective or verb depending on how it is used.

Foreword is a noun used in a preface or introduction.

With that, I must move forward and get ready to write a foreword for a friend’s history book.*

*Not really, although it would be fun. If any blog readers want me to write a foreword, I am looking forward to your requests. 

Sorry, couldn’t help myself!

Leaving you with a photo I took west of town this morning.

Formatting and Editing

This week I spent all my writing time, editing and formatting my nonfiction book. Formatting a 270 page book with more than 100 photos can be a pain, and it is. Word does not always like to put photos or captions where I want or need them, but I am learning more about how it works. Not sure I will be doing another book with so many pictures anytime soon. I might be reaching a bit with that as I have a finished, children’s book, with 20, or so, pictures.

I am eager to finish up these two books and get on with the two westerns that I have ready for final formatting and editing. I work at a rate of only about four or five pages an hour right now, hope to double that production soon. Who knows? Maybe for an old retired history teacher, four or five pages an hour is the new record.

Back at it in the morning. Hope to finish both of these projects by the end of the months, not a new year’s resolution, but a goal.

Meanwhile I will leave with a photo of my little town from Roundtop Mountain, about three miles away.