Month: November 2006

I’ve reached the conclusion that writers are insane. We really are.

Think of it this way, we are job hunting from the moment we first decide to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. We job hunt with an 80,000 (+/-) resume that we spend months putting together, editing, re-editing, and re-re-editing. We send that huge honkin’ resume to one job opening at a time. Not to a bunch at a time, but to one. And we wait. And wait. Not two weeks, not four weeks. But often 6 months (+/-). When we are turned down, we send it out to another job opening. But did we learn our lesson the first time? Nooooo. We send it to just one.

Some writers send the huge honkin’ resume to a head hunter. With those, for some reason, we send to several at once. We keep little spreadsheets and/or databases of who has the resume when.

To further prove that writers are insane, we often have more than one resume going. And yes, it can be as large as the other.

We spend a lot of time and effort (and eat a lot of chocolate) while we job hunt. One good part of this adventure is that moonlighting with the job we are pursuing is not only perfectly acceptable, it is the norm. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs actually demands we moonlight. (How else do we afford our chocolate?)

Then there are those writers who are not too insane. There are those who write for their own pleasure, a form of catharsis. The concept of getting a job doing this is gravy on their potatoes for what they are already doing: writing.

Does pursuing publication take away the pleasure of writing? Does the reality of it take away the joy of it?

Lorna wanted to run her own campground. For several years, she researched, attended classes and workshops on how to run a campground. But the more she found out about it, the less appealing it was. It was work! Running a campground is a far cry from vacationing in one. She would have been so busy running it, she wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it.

Does writing with the goal of publication steal that joy? Do deadlines and contracts kill the fun?

Wikipedia, the ghod of information, has an entry for Writer’s Block.

Word Web (an excellent thesaurus/dictionary program) defines Writer’s Block as:

n. An inability to write

That definition can be loosely translated to refer to someone who is not a writer by trade or hobby. A “type of” that Word Web lists was “mental block”.

n. An inability to remember or think of something you normally can do; often caused by emotional tension

So merge the two together and it’s a definition I can live with.

I do wonder, however, how much stress has to do with writer’s block. It seems like such a cop-out. I’ve experienced writer’s block, per my merged definition, and it’s not been because of stress. Mine was just pure apathy (aka give-a-shit-itis). Writer’s block also has a lot to do with the book being worked on. Sometimes, truly, it just stinks and you don’t want to admit it. Saying you have writer’s block is easier–and carries less stigma–than saying your book stinks. Fellow writers will flock to your side and give you chocolate, fully understanding how you feel.

We all react to stress differently. Some get all hyped up. Others freeze in place. Others, like myself, shut down. Any of these will effect our writing. Apathy, brain-freeze (seize?) is a big hindrance to creativity. So how to counteract that?

I feel it depends on how long the block has been in place. If I catch it soon enough, I can get around it by skipping that section of the book and going to another. But if I pay too much attention to it, or don’t catch it in time, then skipping ahead doesn’t often work. Sometimes I do little bits at a time. Or I freewrite. Or I move to another project altogether. But I have to want to deal with it.

And that’s when the trouble really begins.

How do you deal with writer’s block? What do you think it is; meaning, what is your definition of it? Does it really exist or is it a pretty term used by writers to get chocolate?

OJ Simpson’s If I Did It has been causing quite the stir among the writing/publishing world.

From Shelf Awareness:

11/17/06:

If They Sold If I Did It

Distasteful is perhaps not strong enough a word to describe how some booksellers feel about selling a book by O.J. Simpson, particularly one called If I Did It. The ReganBooks title is scheduled to be published November 30 and will be promoted on Fox TV in two segments featuring Simpson interviewed by Judith Regan.

As Nancy Olson, owner of Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, N.C., put it: “Do we take a ‘stand’ on such a book, thereby sending our customers who want to buy it to our competitors? Is this a form of censorship? Or do we make it available without displaying it other than having it on the shelf?” She added, “I’m disturbed to be put in such a position. Freedom of the press notwithstanding, the way they’re marketing the book raises huge ethical questions. We all know the publishers are desperate to make money on commercial books, but this takes the cake.” Late yesterday, Olson said, the store decided to sell the book but donate proceeds “to Interact, a nonprofit here that shelters battered women and children.”

11/20/06

The outrage about the book has not abated. Some 96% of booksellers who sell through Abebooks.com and who answered a query about the book said they would not stock the book. Among the responses from 979 booksellers: “It lowers the book industry to a new depth.” “O.J. and whoever publishes this crap should be imprisoned.” “I do not believe people should be able to profit from their crimes.”

Even some Foxes are appalled by the actions of their own company and other News Corp. companies. According to the Guardian, Bill O’Reilly, whose new book is Culture Warrior, has called for a boycott of advertisers on the shows in which Judith Regan interviews Simpson. And Geraldo Rivera called the deal ‘appalling’ and said he would oppose it. Likewise a handful of the 200 Fox affiliate TV stations across the country have said they won’t air the show.

Maybe in the end, few people will buy If I Did It. AbeBooks.com polled visitors on its site about whether they would buy the book and 97% of the 371 respondents indicated they wouldn’t do it. Among written responses: “What a mockery of humanity. I hope no one buys this book.” And “he and his publisher have no sense of decency.”

11/20/06 Special Edition:

News Corp. Won’t Do It After All

News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch announced this afternoon that the company is canceling publication of O.J. Simpson’s book If I Did It as well as the broadcast of the two-part interview with Simpson that was conducted by Judith Regan and was to air on Fox News.

Murdoch commented: “I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project. We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

Regan’s imprint ReganBooks was to have published the book, which she called a “confession,” on November 30. The deal was estimated to be worth $3.5 million.

As most of you know, booksellers across the country were among the many people who were revulsed by the project. Many booksellers decided to donate proceeds from the sale of the book to appropriate charities or not to sell the book at all.

11/21/06:

Widespread relief and cheer greeted News Corp.’s decision yesterday to cancel O.J. Simpson’s If I Did It and the Fox TV special that would have featured Judith Regan interviewing Simpson. E-mails we received yesterday after the announcement included the following comments:

* “Hip hip hooray.”
* “What a hopeful sign and a testament to the power of, not only freedom of speech, but of the power of the marketplace to respond to the speeches offered.”
* “The cancellation is delicious.”

Reportedly some books have been shipped, but are supposed to be returned and pulped. This means, of course, that it’s likely a few copies will slip the net. Simpson’s tome isn’t listed on eBay yet, but Amazon’s boilerplate following the announcement of the book’s cancellation reads: “If you would like to purchase this title, we recommend that you occasionally check this page to see if it has become available.”

See today’s New York Times for the basic information about the cancellation and the important role of the Fox affiliates in New Corp.’s decision.

11/27/06:

We had hoped never to write again about O.J. Simpson and If I Did It, but if we didn’t, we’d miss apparent confirmation of one of the many questionable aspects of a questionable project. Over the weekend, Simpson told the AP that he participated in the book and TV interview solely for personal profit, which he called “blood money,” and said that the book was not a confession, which is how publisher Judith Regan had justified the work. The AP quoted him telling a Florida radio station, “I made it clear from the first day I met the writer that I wasn’t involved. I said, ‘I have nothing to confess.’ ”

A few copies of If I Did It are showing up for sale, but HarperCollins is working to keep them from being listed, saying that all titles are Harper property and will be considered stolen.

In a recent article, Fake Gay News (because real gay news is too damn depressing) has reported about a new book If I Did Her:

Michelle Rodriguez Pens New Book, “If I Did Her”
by bad machine 11/27/2006

LOS ANGELES, CA – To fill the vacuum left by O.J. Simpson’s book If I Did It being pulled from release, publisher Judith Reagan announced at a recent press conference that Girlfight and TV’s Lost star Michelle Rodriguez would be releasing a book of her own entitled If I Did Her that would describe a romantic relationship between herself and BloodRayne costar, Kristanna Loken, if they in fact, had one.

“I consider it her confession,” Reagan said to reporters.

An advance copy of If I Did Her was obtained by Fake Gay News through Reagan’s office. In the book, Rodriguez speculates how she would have flirted shamelessly with Loken when shooting BloodRayne in Romania, creating a sexually-charged atmosphere only the two of them could feel.

link to article

Heh. “sexually-charged atmosphere only the two of them could feel.” I keep laughing over that one.

Speaking of both laughing and Shelf Awareness, I just had to share this from today’s issue:

Robert Gray: Black Friday ‘Based on a True Story’

Take a deep breath. Black Friday weekend is over and now the plot thickens. You already know the story because it doesn’t really change much from year to year: consumer mob scenes, absurd discounts on “limited quantities,” stock shortages, crashing superstore Web sites and 24/7 coverage of this peculiar cross between the Oklahoma Land Rush and shark attacks.

For the 15th straight year, I worked the sales floor at Northshire Bookstore during this extremely busy (though seldom busiest, despite the media hype) shopping day.

On a national scale, Black Friday is always what it pretends to be, influencing consumer behavior the way The Da Vinci Code manipulates religious prejudice by suggesting that it’s all “based on a true story.” That this happens only a day after the annual debut of Santa Claus in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade should be a clue that we love to have our myths shaken and stirred.

(snip)

The buzziest book of the day was the one that didn’t get published (O.J. Simpson’s If I Did It, heretofore known as If We’d Sold It). I had more conversations with customers about this non-starter than about any other title.

An on-line friend, Irysangel, talked about being a “momentum writer”.

I’m totally a momentum writer. Someone pointed that out to me the other day, and it’s sooo true. The more I work on a book, the more I want to work on it, and the more I get done. The more time I spend away from said book, the less I do, the less I’m interested in it. The less story reveals itself to me. Right now I’m back in the thick of things with THE ISLAND, and it’s fun and I can’t wait to write more tomorrow. I think this explains why I have a hard time with ‘orphaned’ books. Where I leave off somewhere in the middle and then somehow never get back to it. It also explains why I like to edit immediately upon turnaround of the completed manuscript — I like my ideas fresh and jumping around in my head like jumping beans, not cold on the page in an outline.

link to her post

I am the same, except for one part: editing as soon as the manuscript is finished. I can’t do that. I have to set it aside and separate myself from it. Else, when I edit, I am overly critical and hash and slash whilst playing “kick me”. By putting distance between The End and The Edit, I am better able to see the story for itself. Hard to explain.

Other than that, yeah, I am a momentum writer too. I get started and if I stop for too long, I lose all interest in the story. I’ve had it happen before. I was hell bent for leather (whatever that means) on what became known as BG2 when I stopped for NaNo two years ago. That’s when I wrote BG1. When NaNo was over and I spent a few more weeks saying The End, I tried to get back into BG2. Blech. Couldn’t do it.

What about the rest of you?