Wednesday Wisdom - Discipline

It's Wednesday Wisdom, when I pretend to be an expert and you pretend to listen.

A side note - This post is late getting online. It's my fault. And that's quite a coincidence given the topic for this week's Wednesday Wisdom.

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Ask any given writer what the most important part of the writing process is and they’re likely to cite such romantic notions as imagination, inspiration, or coffee. And while most of these things are important in every writer’s life, none of them answers the question.

A seasoned author will tell you: it’s all about discipline.

Too often, we creative types fall victim to distractions or, even worse, procrastination. The muse comes singing her sweet and tantalizing song; but we shrug our shoulders and say, “Go away. I’ve got other stuff to do.” And what do we do?

We browse the internet, Tweet at some friends, watch television, play a video game, read a book, stare at the blank screen with only a few minutes left in the day and say to ourselves, “Darn. Maybe I’ll write tomorrow when I have more time.”

The problem is we never let ourselves have more time.

This is where discipline comes into play. Our time is one of the few things we actually own; what we do with it is a direct reflection of how much we care about ourselves and the projects we hope to finish. When we carve away the day’s minutes, we have no one but ourselves to blame.

Discipline involves more than just saying, “I’m going to write.” Being disciplined means we are strict and we know how to manage our lives in a way that is most productive for the creative process, even if that means you set aside a half hour in the morning or an hour before bed.

The difference between a lazy writer and a disciplined writer is simple: the lazy writer lets time tick away. The disciplined writer makes the best of each fleeting moment.

Your Wisdom

Are you a disciplined writer? How do you avoid distractions and seek out those valuable minutes instead of letting them slip away?

 

Wednesday Wisdom - Does Straight Fiction Sell?

It’s time for Wednesday Wisdom, where I pretend to be an expert and you pretend to care about what I have to say!

This week, I may be treading controversial water. I stumbled upon an article at Io9 detailing the sentiments of agents and publishers regarding gay characters in fiction.

You can head over to Io9 or Publisher’s Weekly for the complete story.  One incident reports that an unnamed agent requested that two authors of a post-apocalyptic YA novel either change a POV character’s sexuality or get rid of the character and POV references altogether. The agent offered one other option: if the series became successful, the character could come out later on.

It’s hard to tell if this agent was truly working out of prejudice or if he was simply trying to make a business decision. But either way, the whole thing is depressing. This agent is essentially sending the message that homosexuality is so atrocious that it can’t even exist in the fictional world.

As you might have noticed from a few of my previous posts, I’m not a fan of censorship. I also consider myself a gay ally, willing and ready to support GLBT culture wherever and whenever I can. And I feel that YA literature is an opportunity to present young readers with a variety of viewpoints, crumbling the divisive walls of prejudice and misunderstanding that have existed in previous generations. When YA literature is censored, we’re simply building walls and denying our own youth the diversity that the world offers.

The incident with the agent, as well as another incident where a publisher literally edited away the homosexual POV without the author’s knowledge, gives a whole new meaning to the term Gatekeeper. They are perpetuating a narrow minded standard by essentially telling GLBT youth that their worldviews don’t matter. This is the kind of devastating message that can cripple a child’s psyche.

Indie authors have an opportunity to thumb their noses at these Gatekeepers by being able to write without someone standing over their shoulders and saying, “That gay kid is ruining your book. We don’t sell to minorities. Make it straighter. And whiter.” The indie author is an outlet for alternative social perspectives, even if they are planted in the middle of an otherwise socially mainstream story.

I recently published my debut novel “Children of Aerthwheel.” There is a character in that book who, for the longest time, seemed quite straight and traditional to me as I wrote and revised. Then one evening, as I was making some final changes to the last draft of the story, something happened quite unexpectedly.

That character came out of the closet.

 It didn’t happen in the book, at least not in a straight forward manner. But I saw clues. There were hints here and there, pieces of a puzzle that I hadn’t yet put together. And on that night, I decided that this character had a new story to tell, a tale of desperate loneliness that would probably inform a great portion of the next book.

What’s important is that I let that character grow and express the emotions inherent in having been part of an intolerant society for so long. They were not a POV character in the first novel, but that will change in book two, which will find this character’s story arc going in surprising new directions.

 Do I wish the character had been gay from the beginning? That’s a silly question. The character was always gay. I’m just happy that this character might help a reader or two understand that they are not alone and, more importantly, that there is always hope.

Despite the efforts of Gatekeepers who might disguise their prejudices as business decisions, indie authors can make a difference and change some minds.

Love is love, in fiction and in life.  

Your Wisdom

What are your thoughts on GLBT characters in YA fiction? Does “straight” sell or is that just an excuse to perpetuate homophobia?

Wednesday Wisdom

Every Wednesday, I will slap you on the side of the head with my Wedge of Writerly Wisdom.

I may not know a lot of things, but for the sake of your entertainment, I will pretend.

This is Wednesday Wisdom #1.

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Persistence.

That’s a word that gets tossed around like a hot potato. It’s the kind of word that belongs on inspirational posters. It’s not just a word we associate with annoying pests like rats, roaches, and car salesmen. Persistence is a super power and it’s a trait that you can identify in any successful person. More importantly, it’s a trait that every writer has to possess in order to succeed in today’s publishing environment.

Here’s a garden variety definition of the word from Dictionary.com:

“Firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.”

A typical indie writer faces a mountain of difficulties or opposition. The inherent nature of an indie writer’s life includes the knowledge that he or she is most definitely going against the grain of the writing and publishing industry; opposition is a way of life. The mainstream publishers have tightened their grips on the contracts and licensing agreements; most legacy gatekeepers approach the digital age of publishing with a brooding attitude and an inability to understand the legitimacy of indie authors in general. As professional writers, indie authors know all too well the amount of opposition that they face.

But an indie author faces other kinds of obstacles. The grueling day job steals time that could be used for writing sessions; personal emergencies dictate when an indie writer can and can’t write. Family obligations limit the amount of time a writer can dedicate to any work in progress. As I've experienced firsthand, the nose-diving economy can severely damage a writer’s ability to finish a piece of work. And when a creative person is faced with this kind of relentless storm of resistance, the imagination can go dry like a sponge. This is essentially the same as bleeding out an animal while it’s still alive; there is a sense of agony, despair, and ultimate acceptance.

Too often, creativity is stomped to death by life’s problems. A great idea, a masterpiece of fiction or a beautiful song can be laid to waste before it’s even enjoyed by anyone.

That’s why persistence is essential for any creative endeavor.

If we give up washing dishes because it’s too hard, then our kitchen becomes a wasteland. If we give up on love because relationships are so difficult to navigate, then we die lonely and unappreciated. If we give up on anything in the face of difficulty or out of a simple fear of whatever obstacles might arise, then we are failures. And that’s no way to live the short lives we have.

I recently heard a wise comedian* say, “Failure is not trying.” That’s a simple philosophy and I don’t know if the comedian actually created the idea himself; nonetheless, it’s a notion that can change a person’s life. As long as you try, without giving a damn about the consequences or the obstacles or what other people might say about your work, then you are a success.

When life offers an onslaught of distractions, don’t give up. Put the pen to the paper, fall in love with the story, and don’t walk away.

Don’t be a person who tried to be a writer and gave up.

Just be a writer who kept trying. And see where it takes you.

Your Wisdom

What daily distractions or obstacles have you faced as a writer, artist, or human being? How do you cope with those obstacles and maintain balance in your life? Leave a comment below and we'll compare notes.

*The wise comedian is none other than Mister Garry Shandling, who is pretty much a modern day Yoda.