Presented here, are my answers, and the questions, to "Nine Things I Wonder About Other Writers" put together by Kristen, from her blog post over at Navigations (little lodestar). http://www.littlelodestar.com/?p=4759
Brought to my attention courtesy of my friend T. Pascal, who saw it thanks to our mutual acquaintance Shen Hart.
1. Do you share your work with your partner or spouse? Does it matter if it’s been published yet?
I share what I write with my spouse sometimes. Though I've learned what to expect from certain things. If it is an especially rhyme-y poem, then I can expect a standard "Nope, I don't like that" with an accompanying muttering as she walks away that sounds an awful lot like "Fucking Doctor Seuss rhymey whiney bullshit....." My more narrative story pieces get a much better reception from this quarter.
Second half of the question almost doesn't count? As everything that I write gets published, first on the daily blog, then in the yearly collection at the end of the calendar year (or put into a special collection if it is of a theme or storyline)
2. How much of your family and/or closest “friends in real life first” read your stuff…let alone give you feedback about it?
That's both easy and hard to define, in that order. My mother wants hard copies of my books for her coffee tables, though I have no idea if she has ever cracked on open; and I've spared her my more risque publications as well. I receive no comments from my family about my writing. I get the distinct feeling they all might be embarrassed about it all (my wife being the exception).
Friends in real life? I'm not sure I have any anymore perhaps. Of people I interact with face to face, I have nobody I would consider a friend anymore. Defined by: seeing someone outside of work on purpose for drinking/playing/etc. I have people I consider work-circle friends, and none of them have read my writing, that I know of.
I have several people I do not see face to face, whom I have met through the internet, that I chat with almost every single day. I consider them friends in real life. They have all read my writing, and have thought highly off the odd piece here and there. And their opinion means the world to me, as shown by the tears that well up at just the thought of them at this moment.
I don't ask for feedback often. When I do, I truly need it for reasons out of my control. My ego is a fragile thing, and a rejection or harsh comment from a real person can send me into a tailspin that will see me not write anything for weeks as a result. My friends and fellow writers have so far shown a talent for weaving constructive criticism into a comment that does not harm me, only helps. For that I am thankful.
3. What do you do with the pieces that continually get rejected–post on your blog? Trash? When do you know it’s time to let it go?
Clearly, these questions were written by a 'real' writer, who actually submits things to others for publication. I don't do that (see the fragile ego issue from the last question).
I did submit a couple things two years ago to a certain publication. One which I thought I had not one, but two, slam dunks to offer them. Much to my chagrin, they were both rejected.
I was only somewhat consoled by the fact that none of the pieces that made it into their book were poetry based. Serving to cement their bad taste.
Those two pieces ended up in my erotic poetry collection. With a pithy paragraph in the introduction, shaming the rejecting entities.
I guess I don't let things go in the traditional sense. As my version of letting go, is publishing.
4. Are there pieces you write for one very specific place that, once rejected, you just let go of, or do you rework into something else?
See the above question for reference on this. I do write for specific places sometimes. Once, I was asked to write a guest blogger entry or three. But that turned into a bit of a fail. As I took it far too seriously, and threw my personal style right out the window in the interest of writing "Professionally". Turns out, my personal style was the whole reason I'd been asked to submit guest writing to begin with. Lesson noted.
I also write to the weekly prompt in the community group Poets of G+. I should do that every week, as it is a very healthy exercise for me. But I don't.
Incidentally, something I wrote specifically for the Prompt, got rejected right out of there one week. I was tiffed beyond belief. Especially as I had gone to great lengths, gone around the world the opposite direction, etc; to incorporate the prompt in a 1600 word piece (as the last line). It got rejected as "This is not poetry". I was mad about that for about a year. Then I realized that, regardless of the style I wrote it in, it kind of wasn't poetry. This was really hit home when I did successfully write a narrative poem for the same group, which got high praise from people whose opinion I valued.
I took that 'Not Poetry' and it is being incorporated into a section of a novel I am working on. And I am twice as happy that I was prodded by that prompt into writing it now.
5. What is your main source of reading-based inspiration (especially you essayists)? Blogs? Magazines? Journals? Anthologies? Book of essays by one writer?
I am often inspired by what my fellow writers will post online. I enjoy riffing on their ideas sometimes, and have been pleased with some of the results. Beyond that, anything I read could serve as an inspiration, often the most banal things, like Wiki articles, or some five part list article on Cracked.
I am currently dredging everything up in my memory banks about 1800's to early 1900's beliefs about our Solar System. So lots of Red Mars stuff; like Princess of Mars, and The Martian Chronicles. Along with the 2014 anthology "Old Mars". (I've pre-ordered "Old Venus" as well.) Stories and ideas that had us thinking that these other planets were places we could go walk around on.
The question doesn't ask, but I write what I consider to be my best poetry, with music playing. It gives me a rhythm and phrasing to write to. Sometimes one song on a loop will serve as a template for a poem. And nobody ever knows.....(usually)
6. What tends to spark ideas more for you: what you see/hear in daily life or what you read?
(oops, I should have waited) When it comes to poetry, more than anything else, music inspires it. The best, are songs that have particularly good lyric phrasing, that provides a real structure to write to.
My passions inspire writing as well; aviation, aviation maintenance, typewriters, tools, animals in the backyard, even odd stains on the wall.
I never know what will inspire something in me.
7. Who have you read in the past year or two that you feel is completely brilliant but so underappreciated?
Ok, I want very badly to say "Almost everything that T. Pascal writes". But, since he dropped my name as an answer to this same question, that raises moral implications for this answer.
So I must think of another writer.... I discovered someone on Tumblr just recently, who is very much on my wavelength as far as writing, and I loved some of his pieces. And damned if I can recall who it is. (this kind of illustrates how much of a mess I find tumblr is to use when you want to find something specific!)
I guess I kind of failed this question. NEXT!
8. Without listing anything written by Dani Shapiro, Anne Lamott, Lee Gutkind, or Natalie Goldberg, what craft books are “must haves”?
I have to echo a previous answer to this, a little less elegantly, with a hearty "Who the feck are these people we aren't supposed to mention now?" I suppose this utterly reveals my roots as a not real writer/author individual. But I have no idea, as I don't know even what those people write about.
I refer to the Chicago Manual of Style, when I work my publishing end of things sometimes. And I think everyone should reference some manual of publishing style when making a book or ebook, at the very least just to see what you are doing blatantly wrong. Beyond that, I don't consider any book on the craft of writing to be a must have.
I think this is because I have decided upon a course of style for my writing, and I'm tacking HARD into it. Come hell or high water, the what and how I write will be recognized in the long run. Or not. I'm not going to change my craft to suit anyone else, ever again.
9. Have you ever regretted having something published? Was it because of the content or the actual writing style/syntax?
Almost; and it was because of the content.
The first thing I almost regretting writing, and publishing for the world to see; was about some early sexual experiences I had with someone. And when I say 'early', I mean that I was seven years old.
I feel that sharing things like that, in public places such as this, lets it be found by people who may be feeling like freaks for having something similar happen to them when they were young. It is important to talk about such things, so that nobody feels alone.
For context, think about someone with a 'weird' thing happening to their body. If you Google it, chances are, you'll find a group of people talking about just that exact thing. It helps you feel like you aren't alone, and gives you some idea of how to deal with it.
Well, that bit I wrote, got me accused of being a pedophile by one particular, vocal, person. And while this all happened within a relatively small community group; it was one of the most upsetting things I've ever experienced in my life.
It was a real test of my practice of using my real name for publishing things online, as well as my practice of not taking things down, as long as they were an honest representation of who I am in real life, warts and all.
This incident also cemented a few people as real friends in my mind. Are they "real face to face" friends? No, and we may never actually share a cup of coffee together, as it were. But they are real friends to me, as real as it gets. They each defended what I had written, long before I even realized what was going on, and even offered experiences in their own lives regarding similar things. It was cathartic for me in the end.
A real experience.
As another thing on this last question: I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, when it comes to my election as a School Board Trustee last fall for the local school. I kind of can't wait, and am kind of dreading, the day that someone around here discovers my writing.
I'm not ashamed of anything I've put out, and I started actively writing online, and publishing in 2011/12. So this facet of my life was very public knowledge to the voters of my district, long before my election victory. If anyone had bothered to Google my name, everything is laid out to find.
So I sometimes wonder; will it be my erotic poetry book? or perhaps that time I explored racism? or even my series of essays on creating a libertarian/communist society out of America? And let's not forget my short story on a fictional violent coup attempt in the USA.
But I won't back down from a word of it. Not one bloody word. For if you read all the silly things I've written, between the Worries, the poetry, the stories; that is who I am. And if I deny who I am, then I am nobody.
And being a nobody to even yourself, would be the worst thing I can think of.
Cheers
Brought to my attention courtesy of my friend T. Pascal, who saw it thanks to our mutual acquaintance Shen Hart.
1. Do you share your work with your partner or spouse? Does it matter if it’s been published yet?
I share what I write with my spouse sometimes. Though I've learned what to expect from certain things. If it is an especially rhyme-y poem, then I can expect a standard "Nope, I don't like that" with an accompanying muttering as she walks away that sounds an awful lot like "Fucking Doctor Seuss rhymey whiney bullshit....." My more narrative story pieces get a much better reception from this quarter.
Second half of the question almost doesn't count? As everything that I write gets published, first on the daily blog, then in the yearly collection at the end of the calendar year (or put into a special collection if it is of a theme or storyline)
2. How much of your family and/or closest “friends in real life first” read your stuff…let alone give you feedback about it?
That's both easy and hard to define, in that order. My mother wants hard copies of my books for her coffee tables, though I have no idea if she has ever cracked on open; and I've spared her my more risque publications as well. I receive no comments from my family about my writing. I get the distinct feeling they all might be embarrassed about it all (my wife being the exception).
Friends in real life? I'm not sure I have any anymore perhaps. Of people I interact with face to face, I have nobody I would consider a friend anymore. Defined by: seeing someone outside of work on purpose for drinking/playing/etc. I have people I consider work-circle friends, and none of them have read my writing, that I know of.
I have several people I do not see face to face, whom I have met through the internet, that I chat with almost every single day. I consider them friends in real life. They have all read my writing, and have thought highly off the odd piece here and there. And their opinion means the world to me, as shown by the tears that well up at just the thought of them at this moment.
I don't ask for feedback often. When I do, I truly need it for reasons out of my control. My ego is a fragile thing, and a rejection or harsh comment from a real person can send me into a tailspin that will see me not write anything for weeks as a result. My friends and fellow writers have so far shown a talent for weaving constructive criticism into a comment that does not harm me, only helps. For that I am thankful.
3. What do you do with the pieces that continually get rejected–post on your blog? Trash? When do you know it’s time to let it go?
Clearly, these questions were written by a 'real' writer, who actually submits things to others for publication. I don't do that (see the fragile ego issue from the last question).
I did submit a couple things two years ago to a certain publication. One which I thought I had not one, but two, slam dunks to offer them. Much to my chagrin, they were both rejected.
I was only somewhat consoled by the fact that none of the pieces that made it into their book were poetry based. Serving to cement their bad taste.
Those two pieces ended up in my erotic poetry collection. With a pithy paragraph in the introduction, shaming the rejecting entities.
I guess I don't let things go in the traditional sense. As my version of letting go, is publishing.
4. Are there pieces you write for one very specific place that, once rejected, you just let go of, or do you rework into something else?
See the above question for reference on this. I do write for specific places sometimes. Once, I was asked to write a guest blogger entry or three. But that turned into a bit of a fail. As I took it far too seriously, and threw my personal style right out the window in the interest of writing "Professionally". Turns out, my personal style was the whole reason I'd been asked to submit guest writing to begin with. Lesson noted.
I also write to the weekly prompt in the community group Poets of G+. I should do that every week, as it is a very healthy exercise for me. But I don't.
Incidentally, something I wrote specifically for the Prompt, got rejected right out of there one week. I was tiffed beyond belief. Especially as I had gone to great lengths, gone around the world the opposite direction, etc; to incorporate the prompt in a 1600 word piece (as the last line). It got rejected as "This is not poetry". I was mad about that for about a year. Then I realized that, regardless of the style I wrote it in, it kind of wasn't poetry. This was really hit home when I did successfully write a narrative poem for the same group, which got high praise from people whose opinion I valued.
I took that 'Not Poetry' and it is being incorporated into a section of a novel I am working on. And I am twice as happy that I was prodded by that prompt into writing it now.
5. What is your main source of reading-based inspiration (especially you essayists)? Blogs? Magazines? Journals? Anthologies? Book of essays by one writer?
I am often inspired by what my fellow writers will post online. I enjoy riffing on their ideas sometimes, and have been pleased with some of the results. Beyond that, anything I read could serve as an inspiration, often the most banal things, like Wiki articles, or some five part list article on Cracked.
I am currently dredging everything up in my memory banks about 1800's to early 1900's beliefs about our Solar System. So lots of Red Mars stuff; like Princess of Mars, and The Martian Chronicles. Along with the 2014 anthology "Old Mars". (I've pre-ordered "Old Venus" as well.) Stories and ideas that had us thinking that these other planets were places we could go walk around on.
The question doesn't ask, but I write what I consider to be my best poetry, with music playing. It gives me a rhythm and phrasing to write to. Sometimes one song on a loop will serve as a template for a poem. And nobody ever knows.....(usually)
6. What tends to spark ideas more for you: what you see/hear in daily life or what you read?
(oops, I should have waited) When it comes to poetry, more than anything else, music inspires it. The best, are songs that have particularly good lyric phrasing, that provides a real structure to write to.
My passions inspire writing as well; aviation, aviation maintenance, typewriters, tools, animals in the backyard, even odd stains on the wall.
I never know what will inspire something in me.
7. Who have you read in the past year or two that you feel is completely brilliant but so underappreciated?
Ok, I want very badly to say "Almost everything that T. Pascal writes". But, since he dropped my name as an answer to this same question, that raises moral implications for this answer.
So I must think of another writer.... I discovered someone on Tumblr just recently, who is very much on my wavelength as far as writing, and I loved some of his pieces. And damned if I can recall who it is. (this kind of illustrates how much of a mess I find tumblr is to use when you want to find something specific!)
I guess I kind of failed this question. NEXT!
8. Without listing anything written by Dani Shapiro, Anne Lamott, Lee Gutkind, or Natalie Goldberg, what craft books are “must haves”?
I have to echo a previous answer to this, a little less elegantly, with a hearty "Who the feck are these people we aren't supposed to mention now?" I suppose this utterly reveals my roots as a not real writer/author individual. But I have no idea, as I don't know even what those people write about.
I refer to the Chicago Manual of Style, when I work my publishing end of things sometimes. And I think everyone should reference some manual of publishing style when making a book or ebook, at the very least just to see what you are doing blatantly wrong. Beyond that, I don't consider any book on the craft of writing to be a must have.
I think this is because I have decided upon a course of style for my writing, and I'm tacking HARD into it. Come hell or high water, the what and how I write will be recognized in the long run. Or not. I'm not going to change my craft to suit anyone else, ever again.
9. Have you ever regretted having something published? Was it because of the content or the actual writing style/syntax?
Almost; and it was because of the content.
The first thing I almost regretting writing, and publishing for the world to see; was about some early sexual experiences I had with someone. And when I say 'early', I mean that I was seven years old.
I feel that sharing things like that, in public places such as this, lets it be found by people who may be feeling like freaks for having something similar happen to them when they were young. It is important to talk about such things, so that nobody feels alone.
For context, think about someone with a 'weird' thing happening to their body. If you Google it, chances are, you'll find a group of people talking about just that exact thing. It helps you feel like you aren't alone, and gives you some idea of how to deal with it.
Well, that bit I wrote, got me accused of being a pedophile by one particular, vocal, person. And while this all happened within a relatively small community group; it was one of the most upsetting things I've ever experienced in my life.
It was a real test of my practice of using my real name for publishing things online, as well as my practice of not taking things down, as long as they were an honest representation of who I am in real life, warts and all.
This incident also cemented a few people as real friends in my mind. Are they "real face to face" friends? No, and we may never actually share a cup of coffee together, as it were. But they are real friends to me, as real as it gets. They each defended what I had written, long before I even realized what was going on, and even offered experiences in their own lives regarding similar things. It was cathartic for me in the end.
A real experience.
As another thing on this last question: I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, when it comes to my election as a School Board Trustee last fall for the local school. I kind of can't wait, and am kind of dreading, the day that someone around here discovers my writing.
I'm not ashamed of anything I've put out, and I started actively writing online, and publishing in 2011/12. So this facet of my life was very public knowledge to the voters of my district, long before my election victory. If anyone had bothered to Google my name, everything is laid out to find.
So I sometimes wonder; will it be my erotic poetry book? or perhaps that time I explored racism? or even my series of essays on creating a libertarian/communist society out of America? And let's not forget my short story on a fictional violent coup attempt in the USA.
But I won't back down from a word of it. Not one bloody word. For if you read all the silly things I've written, between the Worries, the poetry, the stories; that is who I am. And if I deny who I am, then I am nobody.
And being a nobody to even yourself, would be the worst thing I can think of.
Cheers
