Qualifications, Lists, and Rules. Oh, my!

In Terence Blacker's latest column, he asks "Are you really, truly an author?" And like all those nifty question and answer things I remember from college classes and slumber parties, his "indicators" were much too tempting and juicy for me not to participate.

Since Blacker drags along his experiences as a reviewer, publisher, and published author to his Endpaper columns, I can both trust those scars and savor his outside-the-box style and dark wit.

Most of his "indicators" are pretty standard, but the one that made me pause longest was this:

"You are alone. When you started out, you might have gone on a creative writing course which peddled the myth of teamwork, consultation and 'feedback.' You have discovered, as you grow as a writer, what nonsense that is. Yours is a private project. If anything, sailing your rackety little boat as part of a flotilla actually increases the chance of it sinking."

I have attended two writers' conferences. One had me sailing out the door by the end of the week ready to tackle the publishing world. The workshops pumped me up and my new writing friends padded my writerly muscles. And good, bad, or ugly, I came home and wrote like a madwoman, feeling for the first time in my life that I was truly a writer.

The second conference offered the wisdom of some of the finest bestselling authors out there. Again, I left with a number of writerly friends, but no wind beneath my sails. If anything, I left feeling numb.

Terence Blacker's column finally helped me understand why.

In those years between conferences, I had written a number of short stories and had seen them published. I'd written reviews and news and worked conventions and websites and written, written, written. I've even finished a novel. My personal story as a writer is no longer a right-of-passage experience.Yet, while I've grown up, I'm convinced my best work is still ahead of me.

But it's me in my little boat. Alone.

While I've found I require writerly friends, I know what I'm doing now. I see the devil for who she is.

Yes, I am really, truly an author.

Which means I need to hoist the sails of my current story and catch the wind...

Not Tossin' Baby Out with the Bathwater...

I allow myself twenty-four hours to sulk. To rub my soul raw. To question. To doubt. To throw up my hands in resignation. To stare at myself in the bathroom mirror and say "Damn."

(Actually, I say the F-word.)

Then... Then after sighing a final "Oh, well," I shut it down. Time to move on.

r e j e c t i o n

Really, so I have to explain it? No, I don't think so. If you're a writer and you've never known rejection... well, when did Stephen King begin reading my blog? LOL. (Really, I think even he's been rejected.)

Rejection is merely part of the writing process, and actually I've had some nice turnarounds on rejected stories. Trish Cacek rejected my submission for Bell, Book, and Beyond. She did it with a green letter with a frog. In her notes, she said she liked the story, but it wasn't "witchy" enough. She made some suggestions about it and recommended I sub it to Cemetery Dance magazine. I considered her thoughtful words on the story, but laughed out loud at imaging selling the story to Rich Chizmar at CD.

But thinking I really had nothing to lose, I sent it.

He bought it. It was my first professional sale.

A couple of years later, I subbed a story to Jean Rabe for one of her anthologies. She liked my writing and the story, but already had accepted one that included elements of my story. She asked for some changes. As I considered how to rework the story, the friend who asked to see what I'd subbed advised me he had shown it to a friend of his who just happened to be putting together an anthology of his own. The friend of my friend wanted the story, so I explained my dilemma to Jean, and she said go for it!

Two things came from that rejection: Jean remembered me for her next anthology. And "A Thousand Words" shared the TOC (Table of Contents) with some very fine writers including Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, and my friend, Mort Castle, in Masques V, edited by J.N. Williamson and Gary A. Braunbeck.

Of course, not all my rejections have worked out so well, but then a number of my sales haven't either. A book gets cancelled, a publishing house goes belly-up, or someone changes his/her mind. Things happen.

What is not to be forgotten is rejection, like A C C E P T A N C E, is all part of the game.

Of course, when I make a sale, I give myself far more than twenty-four hours to celebrate. Though I think I still use that same F-word. Just a few more times. It sounds totally different when I'm grinning.

"Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way to do something good." William Faulkner

Read My Lips...

"I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read."
                                                                                                        Samuel Johnson

During the World Horror Convention in Seattle in 2001, I had the honor of serving as the official hostess for the Horror Writers Association's hospitality suite. Thanks to the kind assistance of my friend Monica O'Rourke, we managed to pack in a whole lot of fun in the few days we occupied the host hotel. From the yummy breakfast fare we offered just after 8 a.m. to the overnight Speakeasy (sponsored by San Francisco's Borderlands Books owner Alan Beatts), the flow of convention-goers stayed brisk, and the HWA snagged quite a fair number of new members.

One highlight was the giveaway of new books by Cemetery Dance Publications which included copies of Richard Laymon's The Traveling Vampire Show which won a Bram Stoker Award at that very convention. (Sadly, Laymon, who had been President of the HWA, died of a heart attack a few months before.)

As the convention wound down and most all the books had been given away, I managed to catch a few minutes relaxation in the sunny atrium and share some laughs with friends Brian A. Hopkins and Gene O'Neill. Several anxious attendees drew our attention as they made a beeline out of the suite to our little group.

"Is it okay if we have the rest of the books on the table?"

Since I'd left them there with a huge sign indicating they were free, I merely nodded.

A few minutes later, one of the happy campers barreled back out with Dick's book in his hand. "Is he here? Is the author here?" he asked. "I'd like him to sign it."

I was stunned. Laymon's death had been big news, especially among the fans of horror. You know, people who would be attending this convention. Plus, he'd been one of the Guests of Honor and his picture was plastered everywhere.

When I broke the news to the poor guy, he merely shrugged it off. "Well, I guess I didn't know. I write horror. I don't actually read it."

It's been eleven years now, but his statement has haunted me more than zombies or ghosts (and I could fill your ears with my St. Augustine experiences!).

But this guy isn't alone. Just last year I met a writer who boasts that he doesn't read Science Fiction even though he has published at least one book and is working on another.

How in the world do they know? That's the question that niggles at me. How do they know the definitive works in their genres? How could they possibly appreciate the roads they travel when they haven't taken the time or energy to read the works of not only of the masters, but their supposed colleagues?

How do they grow as writers?

And how do they stay away from the hum and trill, the feather and dance of words conveying some fanciful tale.

I confess I can't imagine life without words. To me, that would not be life at all.

I've thumbed through the notebook where I carefully pencil in words and thoughts and quotes, searching for one I recall where a writer should read four books for every book written. Maybe I can't find it because my honest reaction was "only four?"

Here are some recommendations of books I've read in the past few months:

Roger Rosenblatt's Unless it Moves the Human Heart (a fine, fine book on writing)
Mike Mullen's Ashfall (A super volcano erupts at Yellowstone)
Moira Young's Blood Red Road (a young girl searches for her brother)
James W. Hall's Dead Last (his latest Thorn adventure)
Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts (Two nuns: one younger; one older. Each with a secret.)

That's more than four to one. Let's see, do I owe you a book or do you owe me one?

Keep reading...

Times Flies... ZOOM!

Ah, yes, my poor, ignored blog.

I am sorry, blog, but I have been "wasting" my time in other pursuits. Writing. Reading. Writing. Reading. Uhm, writing and reading. Also, Life! I have one which helps me to write more about people, places, and things rather then about a lonely writer who spends her days reading and writing. Or some voracious reader who yens to be a writer. Or...

Wait, I think I do have one of those stories in my incomplete file. Gee, wonder why I haven't finished it yet?

Because, because, because...

Before I share any substantial updates in the life and times of Judi Rohrig, Ace Writer, let me share what I've been reading: a lot! As I indicated in previous posts, Hank Phillippi Ryan opened my eyes to my lack of reading novels written by women. Then I discovered while I had early on tackled and devoured works by mystery and thriller writers, I had never read anything in the Romance genre. Well, one: Indy Man by Janet Dailey, but a loooong time ago.

No, I am not about to confess reading 50 Shades of Grey. If I do, I will have to approach that one slowly. Friends of mine do not share kind words. Snob, am I? Maybe.

My friend, Kealan Patrick Burke, contends there are way too many books to be read for books to be reread. But if I like a book, I often do just that: reread it. Immediately or whenever I decide. My mother taught me I can think anything I want (though I cannot say anything I want!). I simply carried that over to: I can read whatever I want.Even if that means re reading!

So here's my short list of books I have reread in the past few months:

Gene Wolfe's Home Fires and Pirate Freedom (No, he's not a woman writer. Like Gene, I sometimes cannot be trusted.)
James W. Hall's Under Cover of Daylight (Again, a guy!)
John D. MacDonald's A Deadly Shade of Gold (Yup, guy.)
Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms (The guy!)
Pam Rosenthal's The Bookseller's Daughter
Miranda Neville's Burgundy Club series (all four of them!)
Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale
Barbara Samuel's The Black Angel 

Those are merely the books I was driven to read more than once. And you?

Coming up: But what have I been writing? And what is Life anyway? (The latter for my writerly friends)

And my quote? There was none at the beginning. Here it is at the end.

"A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it." Samuel Johnson

Hunger Games. Yum!

"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."

That's verse three in a song Suzanne Collins' character Katniss Everdeen sings in Mockingjay, the third and final book in her Hunger Games trilogy. Though the series has clearly been aimed at the Young Adult reader, these books should be read by everyone. And, yes, you will need to read all three because they are really one bigfatbook. Really, I would wonder how anyone could read just one.

In a video interview at the B&N website, Collins squirms when faced with how to describe what The Hunger Games is about. That's always my favorite question to writers because I wonder how to describe some of my own novel-length works, so the answers help me. Collins finally suggests just reading the first chapter, contending it will answer that question. Ha! (Bet she hates writing a synopsis, too.)

Actually, before that, Collins compares The Hunger Games to the Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. I would describe it as having bits of those swirled with the edge-of-your-seat action of a Tom Clancy novel and peppered with a healthy dose of several seasons of Survivor.

Whatever Collins did, she did it gangbusters. The plot is compelling, the setting dynamic, the characters well-liked. The whole shebang moves with incredible speed.

But what's it about really? A possible future for the USA.

That statement alone should scare you. We live in times where the steamroller changes at Facebook appear to engender more rage than the fact our nation is re-experiencing taxation without representation. Those bubbleheads in Washington care more about what is good for their respective parties than about the people they claim to represent. Hello! People are struggling out here!

Our retirement savings have gone poof. Jobs? What jobs? Our young people aren't able to find many, and those they do secure are mostly part-time. Walk through the mall. Most of those employees are lucky to snag 20 hours a week. Health care? They don't have any.

People are being forced to retire, leaving some responsibilities in the hands of the unexperienced and poorly trained. And young people are giving a career in the military more than a passing glance.

So could there actually be a Panem?

Why not give The Hunger Games trilogy a look? Then get back to me.

Meanwhile, I'll be slaving away at the keyboard on book two of my own dystopian tale, more inspired than ever.

"May the odds be ever in your favor."

And the Truth Shall Set You Free... to write!

"To write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write." Gertrude Stein

As I was thumbing through old issues of the Hellnotes newsletter I used to edit and publish, I came upon this old editorial column of mine, written in 2006. It's still relevant, so I reprint it here, along with an added note at the bottom.

A Day in Hell

The things writers will do to avoid actually writing truly amazes me. It used to be that merely sitting down at a keyboard might afford that lightning strike of… well, writing.

I mean WRITING could happen IF… (circle one below)

… the music playing was (rain-tinkling piano/eardrum-puncturing guitars/manic-producing violins);

… the "special" cup from the (convention/writers' retreat/mom) was brimming with perfectly blended (coffee/cappuccino/tea);

… the reach of (darkness/moonlight/sunlight) was (slithering/stroking/slapping) its way through the (open/half-closed/nailed shut) blinds.

But wait! A writer should read first, right? Reading; writing; more reading; then writing are the stepping stones on the path toward being a better writer. But, read what? The latest bestseller? Something by a friend? Something classic? How about something about writing?

Of course!

The publishers of WRITERS DIGEST have made a bloody fortune off magazines and books about writing. Authors who have actual books under their belts blog and journal and forum and message about their particular methods and secrets to writing. Some -- Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, David Morrell, Richard Laymon, Tom Monteleone -- even write books about writing books.

Oops! Time to take a break and play a short game. (As is the New Age Writer's Method.) It'll get our writing juices up. Okay, less than a porn break, but indulge me. Would I lie? I'm a writer and an editor and even a publisher. I want YOU, the writer to get cracking, so when I say let's take a break and play, you should trust me. (I'm a Mom, too, did I mention that?)

Let's play a version of MAD LIBS®. Give me these words:

1. A word ending in –ing

2. Book title

3. Number

4. Book title

Place them in the following sentences.

"This is how I go about (1)." "This is where I went before I wrote (2.)" "I did (3.) years of research on (4.)"

Were your words "writing"; the name of one of your novels; actual years; another of your book titles?

Then you trusted that this piece wasn't about writing.

Sucker.

In writing and publishing, you should never trust anyone. Even your parents. Or children. I'm also a former writing teacher who once gave her class a hundred questions in class to which there were no correct answers. Boy, did that throw them!

Sitting down to a keyboard here in the 21^st Century means little. The writer jumps on the Internet, scours the message boards, spews whatever vitriol he cares to because who will hit him and make him stop? His mother? Ha!

A number of those helpful authors in the writing magazine laugh all the way to the bank. "Yeah, that's how I write," they say. The inference is that all you have to do is follow their tried and true method and you, too, can be a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders.

Sadly, it doesn't work that way.

Let me tell you right here and right now that they're holding back. What you read from famous authors in writing magazines and online writing sites is skewed. Yes, that's how THEY write. But THEY are not you. YOU are YOU.

Yes, it may prove enlightening to know how other writers write. On my bookshelf I see books on writing by Bradbury, King, Koontz, Morrell, Monteleone, Gene Wolfe, Joe R. Lansdale, Orson Scott Card, J.N. Williamson, William F. Nolan, Annie Lamott, Natalie Goldberg, Edo van Belkom, and the horror Bible, WRITING HORROR, edited by Mort Castle.

Yet, here is their biggest secret. I'm giving this to you today for free. You don't even have to click a link and read through a lengthy piece.

THEY WRITE!

Writing is hard work. Disciplined hard work. 1500 words a day of actual fiction work. A limit on the Internet. Few posts. Butt in the chair; fingers perched above that keyboard; mind engaged... writing. And when they hit a wall -- everybody does -- they figure out what works best for them and they do it. Then they get back to writing.

There is no magic.

The Roman philosopher Seneca said: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

There's a huge difference between wanting to have written and actually writing. It's thrilling/mesmerizing/fulfilling. And a heck of a lot of work.

Find your own niche/methods/discipline, but do it: WRITE.

ADDED NOTE: I failed to mention writers' conferences in this piece, but must add them here. I've attended two and found each to have been worth the money and the time, but... Nothing is gospel. What works for one writer oftentimes does not work for another. It's important to consider and study and evaluate the styles of others, but it's more important and valuable to simply write.

Well, why are you still reading this? Ferris Bueller has already left the building. He's writing, and so should you.

Likin' De Nook-e

"A book is magical; it transcends time and space." Daniel Boorstin

"Without an enthusiastic reader, a book would die." Henry Miller

Ah, books!

I have a small collection of small books. What is common among these cherished treasures, besides their size, is they are each bound in leather. The oldest is my American Ladies Pocket Book, published in 1825. The frontispiece features two ladies in fashionable gowns. Squeezed inside its few pages are a calendar, selected poetry and prose, songs, riddles, rebuses, enigmas, anagrams, marketing tables, and ruled pages for notations. Plus a pocket for money or perhaps rose petals or a love note. Some previous owner has penciled in several recipes.

The collection also includes four plays by Shakespeare, published in 1898, novels by Hermann Melville, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Sir Walter Scott; a collection of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne; two volumes of letters of Charles Lamb; a Book of Prayer; and Of the Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis.

Of course, I have more books I've collected: signed first editions of first novels of a number of authors whose works I love; Books given to me by author friends; Gold Medal paperbacks; random books I've enjoyed; some that showed up in the middle of the night. You know: Books! Lovely, lovely books!

And I don't know what I'd do without them even if I now own a Barnes & Noble Nook e-Reader.

My younger daughter decided since I was a writer and this was the 21st Century, I should ADD to my book reading proclivity the latest trend. She and her Dad gifted me with such this past June to celebrate my birthday.

I was polite and gleefully accepted. (What pushed me over the edge were the two gift cards!)

It's September now, and while I started off slow, and probably a bit hesitant if not resistant at first, I am now fully hooked. Reading seems faster, easier, and, dammit, just as fulfilling as reading a regular book.

Not that I have foresworn my leather-bound lovelies or my sweet-smelling pulpies, but Mama do be likin' de Nook-e!

My Nook library includes a variety of interesting works: novels and short story collections, and anthologies as well as books on writing. Plus, the jewel: the oeuvre of Guy de Maupassant!

(Oh, and several historical romance novels.)

WHAT?

They gave the first one to me free, they did, and, golly Molly, I'm finding Barbara Samuel and Miranda Neville can word-wrestle just fine and dandy, thank you very much. In short, I had a spankin' good time time reading, and isn't that what it's all about?

Or let me remind you:

"A book is magical; it transcends time and space." Daniel Boorstin

I said historical romances!

"Without an enthusiastic reader, a book would die." Henry Miller

Yup! I'm enthusiastic about... about... about those happy endings. And the manners. Yeah!

Truthfully, the women are strong women and the subjects have included breaking down sex, race, religious, and class barriers and prejudices. But with horses and swords and petticoats.

As for electronic reading, I've surrendered, but in a good way, I think. Words get to live on in this new form and the old form isn't dead at all.

Or as my dear Emily once wrote:

A Word is dead

When it is said
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

And that's all we writers and readers should wish for: Readers reading.

Next up: An extra five minutes!