Dreams do come true – for some writers
No Comments »19th June, 2006; Category: General
Dreams still do come true – but only for a very select group of writers. A recent story comes from Brisbane Australia and relates how a first time novelist has a one million dollar contract for her book. Not only that, she has a healthy advance on her second novel. I share the sentiments expressed in the following column:
A 29-year-old debut novelist from… Brisbane, Kate Morton, has struck the big time, netting a sweet $1 million for her novel The Shifting Fog, as well as advances on her second novel.
Many writers will feel that same sensation as I on reading this news – while it means there may yet be hope for us plebs too, there is also that ugly streak that makes us go green with envy (or is that just me?).
No – every writer and probably quite a few bloggers, dream of hitting the big time like that. For most of us, we can just dream for a few seconds, and then down to work again. The reality is this: for every $1 million contract there are thousands of miniscule contracts of a few thousand dollars at best. And for every small contract there are tens of thousands of writers with no contracts – just rejection slips papering their walls. And then there are the millions of bloggers who write for nothing except the love of the craft. Blockheads all of us!
The rest of the article I quoted from can be read here.
Walking and writing
Ever been to a writers’ workshop and the instructor asks you to do something you really don’t want to do? I have – and so has Carol Hathaway Scott. In a recent article she writes:
The writing instructor’s announcement messes up my plan to sit and soak up information. “Walk outside for twenty minutes,” she says, “Then write a personal essay based on the experience.”
Walking can often be very useful in a writer’s life. I like to take a break from my writing and go for a walk for the following reasons:
- I need the exercise – and because my doctor says so.
- I need the fresh air.
- Sitting in front of a computer screen for too many hours each day can boring, and it dulls the brain and tires the eyes.
- Walking gives me thinking time and the creative juices start flowing.
- Going out for a walk also involves looking at the birds and plants and flowers, and that gives me material to write about in my birding blog.
Related posts:
Journal Writing and Books
As I said in my last post I have written in a journal for many years. Firstly handwritten in well-bound books, then on a computer file and more recently on my blogs (of which I have three – this one on writing, another on birding and a third on my travels).
I recently read an article about someone who doesn’t keep a journal in the traditional sense. She writes her journal entries in the books she reads!
One reason I stopped lending my books out was because when people borrowed them, they did not return them. I never saw them again. However, since I have become an avid reader, journal writer, and freelance writer, the most important reason of all why I do not lend my books out to others is because in the midst of reading them, they have become my personal journals.
She writes in her books – in the margins, on the top and bottom of the page, between paragraphs – wherever there is space to write. I’ve done a little of this over the years, and I often underline significant passages I want to find again. In longer passages I will run a pencil line down the side of the passage. I will also use asterisks liberally.
To read the whole article click here.
Journal Writing
I have been an avid journal writer for many years. I find the act of journalling to be very worthwhile and quite satisfying.
I journal for the following reasons:
- To keep a record of events in my life. My memory is not too bad; it’s my forgettery that is the problem!
- To clarify my thoughts on events, feelings, circumstances and decision making.
- To leave a legacy of my thoughts to my children (who may or may not be interested in all of my rantings and ravings).
- To make spiritual connections between events in my life and the eternal plan of things. Sometimes the entries take the form of poems or written prayers.
- To practise and hone my writing skills.
This is not an extensive or even totally inclusive list. I’ll probably think of other reasons as the day goes by, but the above list is a starting point, and what came immediately to mind when I thought about it. In recent months, especially since I have started blogging consistently, I have made very few entries in my journal. Sometimes my blog postings have been cut and pasted into the journal file, especially my travel blog.
Forms My Journal Takes
I started off writing down my journal in lovely well-bound blank books. This format filled about seven volumes over the years. I then moved it exclusively to a computer file. (Note to self: print this file out before the computer crashes. Oh, don’t worry – I have backup copies). The major dilemma I face is this: do I type up all of the old hand written entries? It’s probably not worth the effort.
A Different Approach
In the next posting I will relate how someone else has a totally different approach to journal writing.
Increasing your page views on your blog
Darren on ProBlogger has a very useful list of 14 ways to increase the number of your Blog’s page views.
To read the article click here.
Related articles you might like to read include:
Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers