From the Fiction Desk

Many others ask, “How do you work on so many projects at one time?” At the time of this blog I am working on one novel that is in rough draft, another that needs to be re-plotted and a short story that may turn into a novel. On top of these projects I also am working on poems (several that are ready for submission) and two short stories that need to be submitted and a novella that needs a rewrite. If that was not enough to keep me occupied, I have five blogs I maintain on a weekly basis. None of this includes my normal “bill paying” full time job, spending time with those who are important to me, or dealing with the everyday time bandits that life throws at us on a daily basis. With this in mind, I understand the question. I wish I had an easy answer.

One of the things I do that help to keep things straight and not cross two stories is by focusing each story on a separate genre. If using this pigeon hole technique did not work I might have a pipe smoking detective ninja ridding a mechanical horse (or some kind of hover motorcycle) across the plains of Mars slaying demons while being haunted by spirits that want to posses his soul. While such a story might work, if you break down the elements of that sentence you can see how each of the genres keep a “personal zone” between them—making it hard to crossover.

Another aspect is time and project management. I will not expound into how to do that here, only say that there are several good methods out there that may work for you.

The final trick is realizing it is not that hard. Before anyone argues the point, let me ask you a series of questions:
Do you read?
Do you go to movies or live theater?
Do you talk to others about your favorite show, movie, play, novel, short story and be able to talk about other such stories? As an example: can you describe Star Wars, discuss Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee, what happened on American Idol this week, and what is happening overseas on top of your everyday life stories? Of course you can even if not these specific topics, then others that are of interest to you. This is no different of a mental process than doing that. The only difference is that you are dealing with your own stories.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.

PS: For the record, I do not watch American Idol. I just could not think of a better example of that kind of topic off the top of my mind.

In the art of writing, there are questions of technique and method. Where do your poems or stories come from? Where do you get your characters? How did you compose such a plotline? All of this is part of the art of writing—either fiction or non-fiction. I have been to many lectures held by writers far more successful (published) than I. I get to hear all the questions and it is rare that you hear the one question covering the greatest obstacle a writer faces. The question is: “What keeps you going, inspired to write more, after all the rejections and all the hours you put into your work?”

The answer I believe is different for each writer. For myself the answer is simple and three fold. The first is that I love to write. The second is the bills facing me. (Yes, I want to be paid for my writing. If that is a sin—so be it.) The third I must keep to myself for now. The art of perseverance and patience is something every serious writer has to develop. We may get lucky and begin having publishers buy our work right away. We may publish something and it will be years before another is published. We may wade through an ocean of rejection slips before we can get another thing published. It is a hard and long road trying to walk from the “finished story” to the “published story.”

Oddly, when I get frustrated, I think of baseball. The great hitters only hit the ball three to four times out of every ten time at bat. That means they are only successful thirty to forty percent of the time. Note: This is per time they step to the plate to hit, not every time the ball is pitched. If you count, every missed swing and every foul ball—how what would their percentage of success be? Now add every time they should have swung and didn’t. When you put the success and failure of a new writer to publish in this pool of statistics, publishing once in a while makes you feel better and more successful. (Sadly, the ball player still gets paid when they are unsuccessful and the writer does not.) This helps me maintain the patience and to keep writing, like the ball player going to batting practice.

What keep you writing?

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.

On December 7, 2009 I began this series of blogs on how to keep your muse energized. Tonight, I am going to bring this series to a conclusion with a discussion of writers’ groups. This may seem a bit obvious, but a good writers’ group provides not only a chance to network and learn about how to improve your craft, but it will also enthuse and recharge your muse. To find a good group takes a lot of research and honesty about what you are really looking for. Some groups are filled with “wannabes” and others are filled with the “elitist.”

What should you look for? The answer to this question is unique to your needs. What you should not look for is a group that will teach you how to write or will write your project for you. For the first, need I do suggest trying your community colleges or other schools of learning. Most writers who join a group are writers—regardless if they are published. Which leads to the second statement: While many writers are looking for paying projects, they usually want to focus on their own work—unless they are in the business of being a ghost writer and then you will hire them to write your project. This is not accomplished by just joining a group.

A writers group should offer you a chance to try new things, to grow, and to inspire yourself. I am admittedly spoiled in this regard. I belong to the St. Louis Writers Guild (www.stlwritersguild.org), which has workshops, open mic nights, and lectures—as well as special events. How I learned of them was by word of mouth.

How do you research a group or even learn of their existence? Use the web, but do not limit yourself to that, Ask other writers you may know. Ask the library and the local college English Departments. Simply ask around and then go to a few meetings before you join. See if it is the right fit for you.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on the blogs, stories, poems, and articles I write.

Often a writer can feel the muse or the creative spirit in us slowly fading or burning out. We are so focused on getting our poems, short stories, novels, articles, or whatever project we are working on out the door because our inbox has more piling up or because our editor and/or agent are ringing the phone as they grow nervous about their deadlines. Either way, this is the business we work in. Writer’s block and burn out can occur, but they are a major stumbling block at the best of times and an insurmountable barrier at the worst of times. What can be done to keep this obstacle away?

Over the past few blog entries, I have talked about the importance of physical fitness to the writer and the importance of socialization. A third important prospect to have to keep ourselves going is a lesson from the great sword master (Kensai) Miamato Mushashi. For those who are unfamiliar with whom he was, Musahasi was the greatest of swordsmen in feudal Japan, creator of a two sword style fighting method, a legend of many samurai tales, the author of The Book of the Five Rings and . . . an artist.

During Musashi’s lifetime, the samurai were being encouraged to study other things than martial arts. Musashi found that by studying brush drawing and dedicating himself to the art that he improved himself as a swordsman. To many a reader it may come to mind to question what swordsmanship or martial arts has to do with writing. As a swordsman, a martial artist and a writer, I find that the arts compliment each other. The martial arts, while an art, requires a different creativity and a different focus of thought than writing. As a result, my study of the martial arts gives the creativity needed for writing a break to recover and relax.

A writer does not need to take up martial arts, but rather should have a second art form. This art form should not include the creative juices needed to write your work. Think of another example for a moment—one of fiction, but I cannot help but wonder if the author did not do this himself—think of Sherlock Holmes. When Holmes was stuck on a case or idling time away, he would play his violin. His violin did not require this deductive powers that he needed for his case, so it allowed that part of his mind to relax or to work on the problem without being forced to. What would happen? Suddenly, in mid-draw of the bow, the solution would come to him. Once again, this is fiction. Yet, look at the process.

If you do not already have a secondary art, try one. Maybe it is painting, music, carpentry, or maybe the activity is nothing artsy in appearance. Find something that you can lose yourself in for the moment so that you can keep your creativity alive. You will find that the muse will be happier for the rest and provide you with better stories, poems, and so on because of it.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on blogs, poems and stories I write.