Reasons to Write: Meet the Madam

Psssst. C'mere. Yes. You. The one watering your glass of whiskey with bitter why-you-shouldn't-write tears. (Last week's installment.) Put down the glass and step away from questions of half full versus half empty. I want to show you something. We may be the Word-Whores, and you know some things about each of us, but have you ever met our madam? Here she is. In the library. Beautiful, isn't she? Warm leather. Velvet brocade. Silk and soft perfume. Incredibly seductive. She's brilliant. The most skilled courtesan. Succumb to her and you'll never know what hit you. You'll also never regret it. Okay. You will. Often. But you'll keep coming back for more of her razor and barbed wire smile.

Oh yes. Now we pour you a fresh glass of whiskey because you've realized that our madam is writing and she's crooking a come-hither finger at you. Let me explain why you should slam that whiskey and go for whatever ride she has in mind.

1. The voices - just beneath the surface of the critical voices telling you that you can't write are other voices. These are the ones that haunt you when you go still - in the dark just as you're sinking to sleep, in the predawn when something wakes you before your alarm. They aren't monsters under the bed or aliens in the walls or voices from the realm on the other side of your mirror. Those are characters wanting life. You can give it to them. You have that power. And because you do, you should.
2. Revenge - within the confines of story it is possible to say all of the things you should have said but didn't. You know what I'm talking about. Every bully, snippy teacher, patronizing coworker, cheating love interest. It is also possible within the confines of story to award each of those individuals a protracted, painful and/or messy death. So long as only you know who they are. . . not that I, personally, have done this. Nor any of my fellow Word-Whores. We - er - have simply heard tell of the practice. At whore conventions.
3. You are a special snowflake - I know this phrase is used in contempt, but I say this in all sincerity. Anyone who picks up an implement and writes is a special snowflake because of a thing called Voice. You may not know what it is, but you have it, and it is utterly unique. It derives from the sum of your experiences, your upbringing, and from the way you see and process the world. I have a hypothesis - Voice is as unique as DNA. Not that there's any way to prove that until someone works out a way to sequence Voice the way we do DNA. My point is that while you may fear you have nothing new or interesting to say, that isn't actually what anyone is looking for. It is the filter through which you view your stories that draws us in, that hooks us, and addicts us. We need your perspective. Another theory: humans require the same story served up spiced by a multitude of different voices - it's part of how we round out our experience of that story and come to feel that we're a part of the human family. We belong. All because you're take on a story makes you a special snowflake. You owe it to yourself and to everyone else to contribute.
4. Living a millions lives from within your one - once the madam has you in her clutches, you will find that some part of you becomes your characters. You will, for the duration of your drafting process, try on the mannerisms, thought processes, clothes, professions and relationship dramas of your characters. It may last only so long as you put pen to paper or fingers to keys - but it will happen. You will lose yourself and, for that brief time, morph into someone other. You accumulate experience - all without paying their bills or taking their beatings. You can also do things within story that might not be physically possible in this reality. Nothing like defying physical laws. We leave the moral laws to your discretion.
5. Fun - No need to blush. We're adults here. If it weren't fun, no one would do it, would they? Story would die out. There would be no more books birthed into the world. But there are. Why shouldn't yours be one of them? Why shouldn't you cast aside whatever holds you back? Even on the days when the madam is surly and bent on punishing you for slights you never knew you'd committed, you'll still be having more fun than you do with nearly anything else in your life. Admit it. You love our madam. She has you enthralled. Every terrible, nasty, wonderful thing she demands of you  makes your soul sing. It's okay. You'll get used to the pleasure/pain. It only stings a little.

What do you say? Will you go where the madam wants to take you? If so, just sign here. Take this pin. No. That isn't a misspelling. Pin. These kinds of contracts are only writ in blood. Why do you think we ply you with whiskey?

OPTIMUS' TOP FIVE REASONS TO WRITE

OPTIMUS'

TOP FIVE REASONS

TO WRITE

by Linda Robertson

 

**I may have

purposely misunderstood

this week's topic

just a little.

 

 

1

You there.

Yes, you.

You have a story to tell.

 

 

2

You have something

to say through that story

that the world needs to hear.

 

3 

You know how

to grab people's attention.

 

4

Just setting up how that 

amazing scene in your head

might actually happen 

spawned a whole novel.

 

5

You are a mutha-fuckin'

unstoppable semi-load of

creative Hellfire mixed

with a savage strain of pixie dust

aiming to rain bad-assery down on the

entertainment-deprived masses.

 

Pens, Papers, & Penchants: 5 Reasons to Write

This week we're celebrating the release of...what's that? No new releases this week? I have to stick to the blog topic?

~clutches chest~

Allllllllrighty then, to the topic at hand:

The Optimist's Top 5 Reason to Write

1. Thinning the Pen Population: First there were five: black, sleek, gel-grips fresh from a childproof pack. Then there were fifty. Now five hundred. Rainbows. Logos. Glow in the dark. Ink pens. Gel pens. Jesus, is that a permanent marker? Crusty nibs. Cracked cases. Jet-propelled click-tops.

Your kingdom for one. pen. that writes.

Only way to find Excalibur is to scribble something on a scrap, a permission slip, or last week's errand list. It starts as a swirl, then becomes a statement. By the time you find that one magical still-working pen, you have a hook and 250 words.

Six dead pens are in the trash.  494 more to go.

2. Rejiggering Journals: Once people learned you are a writer, the go-to gift became...journals. Blank ones. Lined ones. Graph paper. Jacquard and Ikat. THG, HP, and GoT. Celtic knots, Pentagrams, the Triquetra, and Yggdrasil.  Leather. Paper. GrandMa's quilt.

They're taking over your TBR shelves. 

It is wonderful to be loved and encouraged. A gift given with good intentions is enough to warm your heart when your coffee turns tepid. Yes, it's the 21st century and 95% of your writing happens on some sort of computer. Gods help you if an unused journal is discovered. Gods help you if a used journal is discovered. Really, no matter what, you're getting more journals.

Good thing you have a lot of pens.

3. Practicing Peculiar Penchants: People watching or staring into the ether? Distracted by a daydream or eavesdropping on nearby nattering? Plotting a character arc or the or the demise of unwanted company? Swatting at invisible insects or staging a fight scene? Grab a journal and a few pens. Signal the world: yes, you are busy. No, you do not need to be committed. You are working.

You are writing.

4. Making Crazy Compelling: For every conversation that veered to the weird. For every odd obsession you researched in minute detail. For every if:then that stretched your imagination past impossible into the realms of plausible. It all has an opportunity to make sense in the world you create. You will allow yourself to hate it and love it. It will be glorious and hellish. You will care about your characters more than your word-count; then you care about net gains and losses of words, themes, and tangents. You will cheer and weep, and feel powerful for evoking both.

YOU ARE A WRITER.

5. Finding Your Tribe: When you write and make whatever it is public, you're sending up a flare. Some people will find their way to you. Some of those people will be the sort who like your style, your vibe, your weird. Some of those people will become your fans, championing you through the chaos of millions. Some of those people will become your friends.

Some of those people will give you a pen, a journal, and a reason to be as crazy as your dreams demand.

Five Reasons to Keep Writing

The cholla are starting to come into bloom here. Love seeing the desert pop with the pink and yellow.

So, last week we all did our best to talk ourselves out of writing. Some of the posts were pretty damn funny, too. I particularly liked Linda's and Marcella's.

But what are good reasons to keep writing? Here are mine.

1. Simple logic: continuing to write = producing stories

Okay, it's not a guarantee. But this is kind of like proving a hypothesis. I can be certain of the reverse - if I don't write, then there are no stories. Also, one of those most brilliant aspects of writing - maybe of creativity in general, I don't know - is that the more you do, the more there is. Writing more means I'm able to write more easily. That's the number one reason to write. Writing is an act that opens the gates. Getting that flow is one of the best feelings in the world. Maybe the flow won't happen. It doesn't every time. But it *definitely* won't flow without the act of writing in the first place.

2. Excuse to stalk authors

I've said this before, but one of the best perks of being an author is getting to be friends with people who write the books you love as a reader. The friendships I have with other authors are some of the best ones of my life. Having published books gives you a pass that changes creepy stalking into a professional exchange. Of course, having published books only happens if you keep writing. See #1.

3. Tax-deductible books, free books, early books

 Did I mention books?? Yes, I deduct all of the money I spend on books. I'd buy them anyway, but being an author transforms book buying from indulgence to professional research. It's one of the best gigs ever. Also, my friends give me their books. We trade. If I want to read the next book in a favorite series early, I need only ask. It's amazing and my bookworm younger self have never quite gotten over how sweet it is.

4. Reduced chance of insanity

Writing might make me feel crazy in some ways and at some times. (See last week's post.) But not writing absolutely makes me feel crazy. I can feel it creeping in when I take a break. There's an ideal space of time in there. I take a break between books or revisions, to allow the well to refill. It helps to do this, but I have to do this judiciously. Too long and it's hard to get the flow going again. (See #1.) Worse, once the well has refilled, it begins to overflow, which means I feel like I'm filling up with this stuff that has nowhere to go. I become bloated and stagnant with it. It feels like depression. It might end up there if I let it go too long.

5. Best freaking job in the world

Seriously. It might not be the easiest way to make money. Certainly many writers may never make a whole lot of money. But I find it pretty awesome that I can get paid to write stories. I get to write what I love, play around with ideas and characters, romp through worlds that I create and make be exactly how I want them to be. AND I get money for this??

BEST FREAKING JOB IN THE WORLD!