More books please...

There is magic when a writer writes. An alchemy that turns the lead of everyday words into the gold of a story. I cannot, try as I might, explain every part of the process. Sure I make decisions about what words to use and where they should go; about the pattern, the structure, and the flow. It is not all magic but by the same token, it does not work without some magic involved. And that there is some mystery, I think, is a good thing. But there is not just magic in the writing, there is magic in the reading too. Because I know when I read something really good, those stories give me something way beyond the sum of their individual words. The satisfaction, the joy, the way my brain shivers with delight. The way my mind is stretched and grown by each tale. More good books please....

its good advice - write, write and write some more

Like storytelling itself, there is something magical about the process of learning to be a writer. In interviews, authors are often asked what advice they would give to aspiring writers and one of the most often mentioned is to 'write, write and write some more.' I used to be sceptical about the benefits of this. Most jobs require training, followed by hands-on experience in the job itself. But in other jobs this hands-on experience provides external variables which teach us how to handle different situations. But hands-on experience in writing involves the rearrangement of our own thoughts and words. How can we learn from this? Yes you can join critique groups and get manuscript assessments and these can make an enormous improvement but I also believe your writing will improve through the sheer effort of keeping at it on your own. Without external influence or guidance change can happen. Well this is where the magic happens. I write and then i write some more. I send material away and sometimes it gets accepted (yes this does improve my understanding of what a publisher wants and how it becomes a book) or it gets rejected - sorry not right for us, does not fit our list or just a minor range of variation around the simple statement 'no'. Most times there is nothing edifying about a rejection. No, I don't like their brevity, yes I understand why they are brief but the only learning opportunity here is that what I wrote fell into the enormous pool, the structureless amorphous mass of what doesn't work. There is nothing to apply to improve that work. And yet over time I can confirm that through practice my writing has improved. The more I read, the more I write, the clearer my understanding of how a good story is told well. That doesn't mean i always get it right. Some stories don't have it in them. Some are tricky to tell. Sometimes my skills aren't quite at the stage where they can do a particular idea justice. I have to struggle through and nut out how to tell a particular story to learn how. Some of my ideas have to twiddle their thumbs and hum a little song on the sidelines waiting for me to catch up to them but now I feel more confident I will get there. So even if you don't understand how it happens or can't see the process at work, its good advice. Write, write and write some more. Go try it. See?

Those aren't grey hairs, they're stress highlights...

Tomorrow is Halloween. Although Halloween has copped some flak in New Zealand for being an adopted 'event', and is also perceived by some religious folk as a major element of an evil devil-worshipping plot I kind of like it. I like that its an excuse to have fun. And for the price of a few packets of wrapped lollies and some cheap costume accessories from the very cool local cheap costume accessory emporium (Geoff's in Dominion Road) its a low cost bit of fun. Okay, I do feel a little uncomfortable knocking on the front doors of complete strangers and asking for a treat but being on the other side of the door and checking out how much trouble some children have gone to with their outfits, how inventive they've been and realising that it can be a confidence boost for the shy child to go up to the front doors of complete strangers and knock and ask for treats in the name of fun makes me 'want' to give them lollies. I don't like scary movies and I will not be watching old scary movie re-runs. I have my own horror unfolding at home as the second of my three children becomes a teenager on the 31st. Those aren't grey hairs, they're stress highlights!

My SO had his shoulder op on tuesday and is home now. He's walking round with a full time anaesthetic pump on his shoulder. I'm thinking, I'd like me one of those. Looks like the operation was a success and once he's healed up and rehabilitated he'll be almost as good as new. I'm ticking off stressful events at the moment. My cheerleading daughters have their annual international cheerleading competition this coming sunday and once thats over things should be a little calmer round the house.

I'm a bit stuck on my WIP at the moment and there have been so many distractions I haven't been giving it the attention it deserves. Although I thought this comment I saw the other day suggesting that if you are blocked maybe its because you should be, made a lot of sense (sorry i can't remember where I read it) I'm not a great believer in writer's block. Being stuck is me acknowledging that I'm a bit off track and I have to let my brain take its time and figure out how to get back on track and that the station its heading to is a good destination. Sometimes it all comes easy, other times the cogs grind a little slower or need an injection of something you can't identify until you get it. If this sounds a bit airy fairy thats because it is. There is no 100% logical explanation I can think of that describes the writing process. The path I took for the last book will most likely bear no resemblance to the path i take on this book or the next one. I often fear that my ambitions for a particular story are beyond my writing skills (Justine Larbalestier blogged on this a few days ago) but I believe the ambitions are good and drive me to work harder to get the writing right. I know how I want the story to go, but its a little like precariously holding all the pieces of a broken vase together and then needing to apply the glue - it can be a very tricky business. I don't believe any writer ever knows all there is to know about writing. We are striving to improve, seeking a better way to tell a better story.