Kill Your Darlings (maybe I misunderstood)

“Kill your darlings.”

If you’ve been in the writing game for any length of time you’ve heard this quote. Some people attribute it to Allen Ginsberg, others to William Faulkner, some believe Stephen King said it. The earliest known use of the phrase actually came from Arthur Quiller-Couch, who used it in his 1913-1914 Cambridge lectures “On the Art of Writing.”

Regardless of who said it when…the context of the quote is the need for writers to be relentless in the editing of their work…to eliminate unnecessary fluff…to get rid of every paragraph, sentence and word that doesn’t contribute something essential to the story.

Given the work of King, Faulkner and the others, I’d say it’s advice worth following.

I think I may have taken it a bit too literally while working on a short story this week. The story will be included in my upcoming anthology tentatively titled The Path of a Bullet. The stories in the anthology will focus on my anti-hero, Ike. Most of them will be written by me and there will be a few written by other writers who happen to be fans of Ike.

As I was writing this particular story I decided to kill one of the characters who has appeared in all of my books.

The killing wasn’t necessary.

I could have made the story work without having a good character meet their demise.

It also wasn’t gratuitous.

I think the story is much better because of it.

Either way…it’s still tough to kill one of your darlings.

When I wrote my first novel, Living the Dream, I created what would inadvertently become a cast of characters who worked together to right wrongs perpetrated upon innocent people.

The unlikely band of Samaritans is led by the aforementioned Ike, an ex-Navy SEAL who has a tendency to bend the rules a bit in order to see that order is preserved. As one reader described him in a review… “Robin Hood on a Harley.”

Ike is the right-hand-man to a wheelchair bound bookie named Ralph Donabedian. Despite the fact that Ralph is, for all intents and purposes, a criminal, he is the unofficial mayor of Flagler Beach. Nothing happens in the small beachside community unless he allows it.

Whenever Ike needs help he calls on his best friend, and resident bad-ass, Brewski. With ties to a local motorcycle gang and a bit of an attitude problem, Brewski tends to lean toward a shoot first, shoot again, have a cigarette, and then ask questions policy. Fortunately, Ike keeps him reined in…most of the time.

Perpetually perched on the back of Brewski’s Harley is Didi—a wise-cracking, chain-smoking, no-nonsense biker-bitch who would like to slap the stupid out of everybody (because everybody is a dumb-ass).

Making fewer appearances than the others, but nonetheless an important member of the group is Bob Butler. Another close friend of Ike’s, Bob Butler (who is always addressed by both his first and last names, never one or the other) is an honest family man who turns a blind eye to some questionable tactics out of respect for Ike’s motives.

So, as I was saying…I recently wrote a short story for my Ike anthology and I decided that it was time to kill one of my darlings.

I’m not going to tell you which one, you’ll have to read the book to find out. For now I’ll just call them “X” (pretty dramatic, huh?).

I will tell you this—it’s not Ike – that would be like Elmore Leonard killing Raylan Givens…Robert B. Parker killing Spenser or JK Rowling killing Harry Potter.

Moving forward I’ll have to figure out what, if anything, I should do to fill the void left by X. Fortunately writing books is not like cooking. If you don’t have a key ingredient required by your recipe you could end up tipping a driver for delivering your meal.

With books, the loss of a character does not have to be the end of the story. In fact it could lead to a new, maybe even better story.

I guess we’ll find out when I write my next book.

Between you and me, I’ve already got an idea of how to move forward and I’m pretty sure it will be a seamless transition.

In the meantime, The Path of a Bullet is scheduled to be released before Christmas. My beta-readers have enjoyed all of the stories so far, so I’m sure you will too.

This is not the cover of Path of a Bullet…it’s just a cool picture.

 

As always – thank you for reading

Every Writer for Him/Herself

Reading the blogs of other writers is something that most writers do – call it professional courtesy, an act of reciprocity or the opportunity to learn something from a peer – it’s part of the job.

When I first started reading the blogs of other writers it sometimes left me feeling a little confused.

Regardless of the topic (editing, publishing, marketing, style, habits, tips, techniques, etc.) it seemed that each blog was giving me different information. At first I wondered who I should believe. Writer “A” picks his editor according to price while writer “B” picks hers based on qualifications, and writer “C” doesn’t use an editor.

So who is right?

It took me a while to figure it out, but the answer is “D” – All of the above.

When it comes to writing, the only right way to do it is your way.

Okay…settle down…before you call me an idiot – let me finish…

When I say “your way is the right way” – it is not without qualification, and of course this caveat is strictly my opinion.

Quite simply, before you choose your methods and develop your habits you’ve got to ask yourself one question…

(How many of you were thinking “Do I feel lucky”?)

…well as cool as it is to quote Clint – that isn’t the question.

The question is – “Why are you writing?”

Is your goal to produce a cute children’s story that will only be read by your grandchild?

Do you want to eclipse JK Rowling in the “rags-to-riches” category?

Or are you looking for a Nobel Prize in Literature?

Before you answer – remember that your answer will determine your methods.

It’s sort of like me with golf.

I own a set of golf clubs…and I play once or twice a year…and, quite bluntly, I suck at it.

I’m sure I could improve if I practiced more or maybe took a few lessons, but I have no desire to be better. I’m happy with my golf game, such that it is.

Now if beating my brothers was important to me, I’d have to take appropriate measures to improve my game, but it isn’t, so I don’t.

I don’t mind that my brothers can destroy me on a golf course, and my brothers don’t seem to care that I can write books while they can’t.

So it’s all good.

Back to you and your methods…if you’re writing for fun, it’s okay if you don’t use an editor, or market your books aggressively or pay $500 for a cover design.

On the other hand, if you envision yourself sipping wine, and calling your agent from your yacht to discuss the terms of your big Hollywood movie deal – you may want to rethink your strategy.

It’s this simple – you will never get more out of writing than you are willing to put into it.

This is why I rarely offer advice on my blog. My methods are just that…my methods. They seem to be working for me…for now…

…your results may vary.

 

As always – thank you for reading

JK Rowling Has Every Right to Enjoy Her Celebrity Status

Recently a woman named Lynn Shepherd wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled “If JK Rowling Cares About Writing She Should Stop Doing It.”

One might think, judging by the article’s title, that it is a shred fest on Ms. Rowling’s abilities as a writer, but it isn’t…at least not in the strict sense. I’m sure the title was carefully crafted for its potential to go viral more than anything else.

Be that as it may, Ms. Shepherd’s main point is more about JK’s “star power” than her writing ability. She (Shepherd) even admits to never having read any of Rowling’s books or seeing any of the films (she doesn’t say whether she’s been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando or not).

After her introductory paragraph, where she attempts to rationalize the title, and the second paragraph which is a confession of non-participation in the world of Rowling, she proceeds to complain about how the attachment of the Rowling moniker to a book seems to instantly drive sales into the stratosphere.

While her claim is true, I can’t say that I agree with her issue.

Basically she claims that Rowling’s celebrity assures her success in any future endeavors and that she has made it that much more difficult for other unknown authors (like me) to catch a break and be the next rags-to-riches story.

Okay – before I tell you why I disagree with Shepherd, let me say this…

It is true that the novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, which was originally released under a pseudonym, was not breaking any sales records until it was re-released with JK’s name on it. The same can be said for The Casual Vacancy. After the name was changed the sales soared thanks to Rowling’s reputation – a matter that doesn’t sit well with Shepherd, who insists that it was obviously not due to the quality of the work – even though she has never read it.

As an independent author who is only minutes away from mega-stardom, I can honestly say that I totally disagree with Shepherd’s complaints – even though my sales numbers are not exactly getting me invited to black-tie events or providing me with red carpet photo ops.

Why?

Because Rowling earned every bit of her celebrity status and how she chooses to use it, or not use it, is entirely up to her.

Any complaints about it are sour grapes at best…

For all we know the name game may not have been her idea. I can picture a commission-based agent demanding it in order to finance his new boat.

I know quite a few indie authors, but I can’t think of one, off the top of my head, who would complain about having half the name recognition as Rowling…or King…or Grisham…or Patterson.

Hell – I’d settle for being as well-known as Richard Castle and he’s not even real!

The point is this…it is the goal of almost all authors to reach that point in our career where we can sell our grocery list for six-figures…that’s the name of the game.

The thing that is wrong – is for those of us who haven’t made it yet to have contempt for the success of somebody who, before becoming famous, was living in her car.

 

As always – thank you for reading

The True Secret to Being a Successful Writer

Shortly after I began writing my first book (the one I was really serious about, not the one I started in 1988 and never finished) I naturally began networking.

Since then, through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a variety of writing oriented websites I have met many, many writers. Some were working on their first book while others had dozens of releases. They represented all genres from action to zombie (see what I did there?) and for every different style and level of experience, there was also a different attitude toward the craft.

Every writer, or at least the vast majority of them, has one thing in common…the desire for success. Some see success as a number one best-seller, others will consider themselves successful if they can manage a steady income and some define success as simply holding that first novel in their hands – and most will do whatever it takes to reach their goal.

That’s right, I said most.

Believe it or not, I have met a handful of people who like to call themselves writers, but aren’t even remotely interested in putting in the work.

Every writer reading this post knows what I mean by the work, but for the others let me tell you this; writing is work – lots and lots of work. This is not the place to go into detail, but ask any serious writer, they’ll back me up.

As I was saying, I have met many people who claim to be writers, but they are just not dedicated. They tell you they are working on a novel but that’s about as far as it gets. They spend lots of time on the internet hanging out in writer’s groups talking a good game, but that’s the end of it.

It’s the equivalent of me knowing a handful of chords, hanging out with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton and calling myself a guitar player.

I’m not trying to be demeaning. I’m not calling anybody a fraud and I am certainly not saying that these people have no talent.

In fact, I can think of a couple I have known who were very talented, but for whatever reason they were unwilling (or maybe unable) to go that extra six miles.

There’s an old saying…”Be wary of giving advice; Wise men don’t need it and fools won’t heed it.”

I’m going to ignore that bit of wisdom for the time being.

I’m going to give some advice to anybody who wants to be a writer – and here’s the kicker…if you aren’t willing to take this advice seriously, you might as well pack it in now.

It may sound harsh, but somebody has to tell it like it is.

Are you ready?

Here it is…

Stop talking about it and do it.

It’s just that simple.

There is only one way to become a writer…you have to work at it. You have to work at it when it’s fun and when it sucks…on the days when it comes easy and on the days when you feel like you’re trying to rewrite War and Peace, in Sanskrit.

There will be those days when putting together a cohesive paragraph is more painful than taking your teenage daughter to a One Direction concert. Too bad – sit there and work through it.

You know those days when you just want to sit on the couch and watch TV? Get to writing.

When you get tired of working you can use this guaranteed shortcut…sit down and write!

That’s the real bad news here…there is no shortcut, no miracle cure, no magic bullet.

Which means don’t pay for a seminar or a book that promises to teach you how to write a best seller, if anybody knows that formula they wouldn’t need to sell a book about how to do it.

It means don’t keep telling everybody you have writer’s block and don’t say you’re still working out some of the details.

Be honest with yourself…

If you really want to write a book, you won’t let anything stop you. If something stops you – it’s because you let it stop you.

I am not saying that following this advice will guarantee you a best-seller. I’m not promising you a movie deal, a boat or a cup of coffee – but I will promise you this…

You will never get ANY of those things until you get serious and write.

Now if you’ll excuse me…I’ve got a book to write.

As always, thank you for reading