Imagination@Work

Six Ways Writers Invest in Themselves

For some, writing is a career; for others it's a hobby. Either way, one doesn't become a great writer without a little investment. Sure, we invest in computers, software, red pens, and writing magazines, but we also need to invest in ourselves. Here are six of my favorite ways to invest in myself.

1. Buy books to help them grow in the craft.

This includes “serious” books like Cheney’s Get the Words Right to lighter but still very useful fare such as Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty.

2. Buy books in their genre.

Few things get the imagination motor running more than reading books in your genre. During last year’s World Series, a reporter found Steven King sitting in the stands. King is a baseball fan. Those around him held hot dogs and drinks; King held a book. He was reading between plays. He went on to talk about how great the book was. People like King and Dean Koontz devour books.

3. Buy books not in their genre.

To keep your creativity and imagination from becoming ingrown, read books different from what you right. If you specialize in fiction, then read some nonfiction. If you’re a book person, read magazines. If you write romance, read suspense. Doing this will exercise the mind and broaden your horizons.

4. Go to the movies.

Movies are acted short stories. Having a story play in front of your eyes will jumpstart your thinking. I have had many ideas come to me while watching a movie—ideas that have nothing to do with the movie. Being immersed in a creative medium helps me stay on my creative edge.

5. Nap.

Yup, I said nap. Creative thinking is hard work. Working at a computer tires the eyes. I prescribe the occasional nap. Several writers have told me they have a sofa or easy chair in their office just for this purpose. They don’t sleep the afternoon away, but a fifteen minute snooze revitalizes them.

6. Attend a writers conference.

Specifically, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. (Admit it. You knew this was coming.) Few things move a career along better than good writing classes led by experienced faculty, hanging with other writers, and getting away for awhile. It is a true investment.

How do you invest in your writing? Can you add to my list?

Al

Forecast: Brainstorm

 

brain·storm [bráyn stàwrm]

noun (plural brain·storms)

brilliant idea: a sudden, exciting idea (informal)

(Encarta Dictionary)

 

Yesterday, while chatting with a friend online, I said, “I thought about you while I was in the shower.” Granted, I could have started that conversation a little better. Fortunately, my friend knows me well enough to look beyond my literary foibles and continued the conversation. My unfortunate blunder was meant to say, “Something you said got me thinking.” It just so happens the idea came to me while I stood in the shower.

 

Those moments are often called a brainstorm—the sudden arrival of a worthwhile idea. Writers train themselves to be open to such wonderful intrusions. These ideas arrive without warning and can sometimes be jarring. I have entertained ideas while driving, eating, sleeping, staring out the window, and working in the woodshop (when I had time to work in the woodshop). Every time an idea flies into my head and roosts on my brain, I get a thrill. I’ve learned that there are certain areas where ideas spring forth fully formed: the shower, in movie theaters, during sermons (even if I’m preaching the sermon), and Starbucks. I’m sitting in the latter while I write this and I just finishing a forced brainstorm.

 

What’s a forced brainstorm? I’m glad you asked. Writers are creatives. We are an odd, eclectic people who only feel alive when we’re creating. Creativity is a muscle. For centuries creatives have called upon the muses. A muse is one of the Greek goddess of the arts. That’s Greek mythology. Writer mythology says a creative can’t do his or her work until their muse arrives. There’s an ancient Greek word for that: baloney (technically, baloneyos).

 

 Professional writers have no time to wait on the whims of the muse. We track them down, grab them by the collar, and force them to sit on the keyboard. One way to do this is to brainstorm—not wait for a brainstorm—create one.

 

To my right is a note pad. When I sat down in my favorite Starbucks’ chair, I began to jot down notes with no idea where it would lead me. I also looked at notes from previous brainstorm sessions. As always, I found things that are no help at all. That’s okay. When one mines for gold, one must move a lot of dirt. What matters is getting my brain to let loose of all the good ideas it’s been hiding in my subconscious. I don’t know about your brain, but mine is stingy.

 

When was the last time you set a date with a blank piece of paper? When did you last scribble your way to a great idea? If it’s been awhile, then schedule a date with a notepad. Don’t try to be a genius—try to be a conduit of ideas. Give your brain the freedom to pour out good and bad ideas. If I write down twenty-five concepts and only one is good, I feel like I got off easy. Conjure up as many dreams as possible and feel free to throw away as many as needed. Let your brain storm.

 

Al Gansky

 

 

 

 

 

Orwell that Ends Well

George Orwell is best known for his works Animal Farm and 1984, but he also wrote essays, opinion pieces, memoirs, and book reviews. In his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell lays down six rules for writing. Pretty good rules if you ask me. Here's what he wrote:

"One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous."

Clean. Straight to the point. Easy to remember. So often overlooked. Lately, I've been reading books on grammar and writing. After writing 30 books you'd think I'd have it all down pat. Well, I don't. Most days, I feel like I'm just starting. I know a great deal about writing and it doesn't seem enough. So, I've restarted my training and when I'm done, I plan to restart again.

Let's look at them again, this time with a comment or two from me.

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Avoid cliches like the plague.
   
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Obfuscation is the anticipated resultant of calculated attempts to impress readers with polysyllabic terms and is antithetical to the goal of subject clarity and fails to espouse elucidation.
   
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Pretend you have to pay for every word.
   
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Let the subject do the acting.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.The surest way to look stupid is to try and sound smart.
   
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. In the end, make sure your writing matters.

Alton Gansky

In Praise of Amateur Writers

We live in a professional world; a world that distinguishes "real" from "amateur." There are professional ballplayers and semi-pro players. Professional astronomers and self-taught stargazers. There are also professional and amateur writers.

Often we redefine the terms: Professional means real; amateur means unsuccessful dreamer. Recently I had to send off yet another short bio of myself. You know the kind that sums up your existence in sixty words or less. I've done a ton of these over the years but over the last four years I've been able to add the line, " . . . is a full time writer . . ." It took a long time to get to this point, and truth is, I have no idea how long I'll be able to use the phrase.

When I write those words, I always feel a sense of pride. I don't know why. I'm not a better writer because I do it full time. My sales are no better because I spend my days linking one word to another. Truth is, many quality authors hold eight to five jobs. Does that make their work any less important or significant? Not at all.

Over the last few weeks I've been reading short stories of science fiction all written by people who hold down day jobs and I've been impressed by the quality of the stories. I've spoken to scores of writers like those and each one sees himself or herself as a writer even though they spend more hours in an office, teaching, at a bank, or driving nails into 2x4s than they do writing.

We do not become writers because we get paid for it. We are writers because we put words on a page. Every "successful" writer was once an amateur. Dean Koontz taught school, as did Stephen King; Jack Cavanaugh was a pastor; Grisham practiced law. On my shelf are books written by airline pilots, ER doctors, insurance brokers (Tom Clancy), housewives, nurses, engineers, and just about every other profession.

Publication has always been my goal, but it's not the only goal. Writing has its own rewards and those rewards are unique to every wordsmith. Fiction writers know what it's like to live in a world of their own creation; nonfiction writers know what it means to communicate information that might otherwise languish in the backwaters of ignorance.

Amateur or professional a writer is one who writes. Period.

Al Gansky

Yummy Words

Some weeks back I bought an Amazon Kindle, the new digital reader. I'm hooked. Wait! You can relax, this isn't another blog post about the Kindle. However, I do bring it up for a reason. The Kindle comes with a dictionary. If I see a word I don't know, a simple scroll of a wheel and a tap of a button will bring up a definition for every major word in the chosen sentence.

I have a better than average vocabulary. That's not to say there isn't room for improvement. I wish my vocabulary were better, as should every writer. Let's face it, our stock and trade is content and story. Whether we write for magazines, publish novels, pen devotions of nonfiction books, we live and breathe by stringing words together. Writers love words. I get a thrill from learning new terms or gaining deeper insight into words I already know. (I remember what fun it was to learned that a cupboard is a "cup board" and that necklace comes from "neck lace." I know, pretty simple if not obvious, but I had never taken note of those compound words.

I've just finished reading two novels and both sent me to the dictionary a few times. I didn't mind (especially since it only took the click of a button) and the act made me a better writer. Many years ago, William F. Buckley, Jr. came out with a series of novels featuring spy/adventurer Blackford Oaks. Buckley is known for many things: conservative politics, debate skills, editing a magazine, and much more. But when I think of him, I think of his vocabulary. I read every Blackford Oaks novel with an American Heritage Dictionary by my side. At times, looking up words unknown to me proved tedious but it was worth it.

Robert Frost said, "Life is tons of discipline. Your first discipline is your vocabulary; then your grammar and your punctuation. Then, in your exuberance and bounding energy you say you're going to add to that. And your delight is in that power." (Anyone else feel the urge to edit those sentences or is it just me?)

Words are the material we use to build cathedrals of thought, ideas, and understanding. Words are the pistons that drive our creativity. Words are our meat and drink. Many can settle for an average vocabulary but it's a crime for writer's to do so. Take the time to learn new words and use them in your craft.

ON AN UNRELATED NOTE: Today is the birthday of Earle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970), self-taught attorney, defender of the poor farm laborer, and creator of Perry Mason. He wrote 80 Perry Mason novels and 15 nonfiction books. Since there's not much money in defending farm laborers, he began writing for money. It appears he did all right at it. He commented, "I srite to make money, and I write to give the reader sheer fun."

Al Gansky

Book Trailer

My new friend Cecil Stokes has created a book trailer for one of my recent releases ANGEL. Cecil is a documentary film maker and and very creative guy. We began talking about book trailers at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer's conference. In the weeks that followed he has started a new division at his company Tent Makers Entertainment. His work is outstanding. Here's what he did for me.

Let me know what you think.

My Apologies

For some reason, Typepad is not working well for me on this site. No matter how I format the blog post, Typepad changes it, squishes paragraphs together, changes font sizes, etc. I'm sorry for the appearance of the blogs below. Please know that I am working on it.

Al Gansky

Twitterpated

For a little over a month now, I’ve been toying with Twitter. Not familiar with the term? Well, Twitter is an Internet service that allows users to keep in contact with others. In a sense, it’s a mini-blog. Users chose whom they want to follow and their friends, family, coworkers may chose to follow them. For example, Michael Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers. The “tweets” about what he is doing at work and at home (for example, I know the air condition is down at the Thomas Nelson building). I follow other writers, speakers, and the like.

Now here’s the kicker. Twitter only allows a post of 140 characters or less at a time. You have to get your idea across within those limits. 140 characters isn’t much but it amazes me to see how much can be said in such a limited space.

Over the years, I’ve observed that human’s like to press the envelope of restriction. Tell people they have only 140 keystrokes to make a statement and someone will step up to prove they can do more than imagined. Enter Matthew Richtel New York Times reporter and novelist. Matt has decided to write a story using Twitter. That means the story goes out to his followers crammed into 140 character bite-sized segments. It’s like reading two lines of a novel at a time.

Dumb idea. Just plain stupid. Can’t be done. Breaks all the rules. No one will care. So why do I look forward to every installment? He got my attention with the outlandish idea and locked it away with an intriguing mystery.

What kind of story is it? When I learned what he was doing, I went to his Twitter page and read his backlog entries. At first everything looks normal: posts about interviews and newspaper stuff, then the posts get weird. On June 9^th everything changed with this post:

“It should not be snowing. Not now. In June. It's beautiful here. An outer contrast to such internal fear.”

It appears someone “stole” Richtel’s text-messaging cell phone and has been using it to post to Twitter. Each segment of the story is a Twitter post. This is an idea well worth stealing.

One of my great interests in life is creativity. I love reading about those who have a truly unique idea and does something with it. Richtel has done just that. One moment you’re rooting the character on; the next you start believing the guy is an evil man. Which is he?

As writers we often have to work within the guidelines given us. It’s part of the business, but it doesn’t mean we surrender our creativity. Matt Richtel has proven that point.

Alton Gansky

Happy Birthday Professor Strunk

Today is the birthday of William Strunk, Jr., college professor and grammarian. You might recognize the name. Most writers do. Professor Strunk (b. 1869) taught English at Cornell University and wrote a tiny book on grammar meant to ease the burden on professors and students struggling with the rights and wrongs of writing prose. The book was all of 43 pages long. Elements of Style might not have been large in size but it was huge in impact. That was in 1918.

In 1959 a one time student of Professor Strunk revised and published the book again. That student was E.B. White who would go on to make his own name in the literary field as an essayist and columnist of The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine and as author of such books as Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.

I first saw Elements of Style while walking through a mall with my wife. I was still a young man and beginning to rediscover my love of writing. Standing outside a bookstore in the mall I met a woman doing a book signing. She was the first working writer I had met. She chatted with my wife and I and I asked some questions. When she heard that I had a longing writing she reached into her purse and pulled out a well-worn copy of Elements of Style and waved it at me.

“You must have this,” she said. “I carry it everywhere. When I’m in line at the grocery store, I read a few lines. I’ve had this for years.” I could tell.

Of course, I bought a copy I still have decades after meeting her.

The book is longer now because White added material, but it is still the smallest grammar/writing book I am aware of. Ask any working writer if they have “Strunk and White” and you’ll see them smile and say, “Yes.”

William Strunk said, "Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."

Both Strunk and White are gone now, but their work lives on after them—and there is another lesson in that.

Alton Gansky

Blessed with deadlines

I balance freelance writing with creative writing. Truth is, the freelance work support my fiction-writing habit. As most freelance writers do, I try to separate my deadlines evenly over the weeks and months. But every once in awhile, something goes awry. It can be any number of things: I fall behind; material is delivered to me late; travel; speaking; a full moon--anything can derail the best intentions.

I don't complain. Having deadlines is a good thing. It means I'm working. It also means that I have to do some prioritizing. I've been writing this blog for some time and my ability to post has been a tad cyclic. I say all that to say this: This blog is going into hibernation for awhile while I clean my desk of pressing work and reevaluate how I'm spending my time. If you're a subscriber, you know you receive a notice every time I post. Keep an eye out for that.

So long for now.

Al Gansky