3 November 2012 - Writers

Photography copyright Clancy Tucker (c)

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Quote of the day:

"Reaching the crossroads in life,

we must approach with caution, take care,

and continue in the right direction with courage."

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WRITERS

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G'day guys,

Today I want to introduce a swag of odd people who spend hours in another space - writers! Ever wonder how authors, playwrights, illustrators and film makers dream up stories? How long it takes them to complete a first draft? How they imagine or conjure up characters? What inspires and motivates them? Mm ... good question.

Since I began this blog I've introduced you to a variety of people. Some are emerging writers with little or no experience, whilst many are folks who have done the hard yards, spent thousands of hours penning stories - those who have enough rejection slips to wallpaper their entire house. Know the feeling.

Here are some quotes. Questions put to aspiring / emerging writers and authors. They may amuse you:

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"You might want to write a novel sometime.'  And I just laughed madly, had not a clue about writing a novel, or even the faintest desire. I thought of myself as a short story writer. Period, period, period."

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“Oh, you are an author, uh-huh…” (there is a long pause after “Uh-huh”)

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“With this kind of economy, who has the time to read?” (They roll their eyes while giving me the comment.)

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 “So writing is your hobby, interesting… I hope you have a full-time job…”

... when I asked them, “Why?” They replied with an extreme soft voice, as they did not want me to hear.) “Well, unless you are Mr. Stephen King, you can’t possibly live on the salary that you are making.” (I guess they could see through the crystal ball that I usually sleep on the bench in the park or under the bridge with my income.

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How long does it take you to write a novel? Four, five, six years, or may be longer?”(If I didn’t stop them, they could have gone to “next life or afterlife”)

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“What took you so long to finish a book? If I were you, I can publish one book every three months or less.”(Right! I do not think they know what it takes to write a three hundred pages book but I guess they can apparently do that with fifty pages short story.)

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“Why do you have to think so hard? You can write about anything!” (So if someone asks me about my book, then I would just tell him or her that my book is all about anything.)

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“Wow, what a wonderful book!” (I replied to the comment, “So did you read it?”) Then I got my answer: “Yes. I am on the first few pages.” (Wow, people can tell my book is so wonderful even when they are on the first few pages. However, I realize that the first few pages of most of my books, I left them blank then followed by some quotes and an introduction. I do not think they can 'wow' after flipping through several blank pages and introduction.)

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“I wish I can be like you – don’t have to think much, just wandering around and do nothing while you look for inspiration.”(Certainly. As a writer, I do not have to use my brain or I only use ten percent of my brain’s capacity if I have any, and I just turn in three hundred pages of garbage as my manuscripts.)

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“What have you been doing all day? Have you been doing any productive work today or just writing?” (If my answer were yes then there would be another comment to come.)

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“Mom, Korey uses her writing excuse for not doing house chores. I have to get something from the mall. Can you ask her to at least wash dishes?”

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10.  “And?” (This came after I said, “I write for a living.”

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Clancy's comment: Mm ... heard it all before. So, listen up all you emerging writers. Close ya ears and eyes and walk away from negative comments. Keep writing ... and dreaming. Work hard. Think laterally. Find something you're passionate about and write passionately about it!

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