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How the Writer Survives

by: Seth Mullins

So it�s your dream to write novels? Be a freelance writer and make a living off of your articles? Or maybe you nurture an ambition to write and sell enough short fiction to put bread on the table, like those writers of the golden age of the pulps?

Well, those are all noble dreams to have. I�m smitten by the writer�s glamour myself. Also I�m grateful for the others who were, those authors whom I love to read and return to time and again. I�m grateful that they possessed not only their artistic vision, but also the sheer stubbornness and will to persevere and see their dreams become reality.

So we�ve settled on the fact that we want to be writers, and that no other dream will do. Now let�s take a look at what this is likely to mean in terms of the sacrifices we�ll have to make along the way.

1. Misunderstanding.

Make no doubts about it � even those closest to us may not understand or even sympathize with our dream. Young authors still in school or living at home should prepare themselves for the advice of well-meaning but frightened parents; which typically will be encouragement in ANOTHER direction. With all that time spent on the computer, you could build a career as a typist. How about data entry? Web design? They have a lot of great courses at the college for that.

Adult writers can oftentimes expect a similar reaction from their significant others; though in this case, the motivation might be someone different. Why don�t you pursue something that there�s a FUTURE in?

People who give this sort of advice are doubtlessly well-steeped in all the lore of the suffering artist. Parents don�t want to see their children go through it; husbands and wives aren�t all that eager to see their spouses get caught up in that trap either.

But the real question here is this: are YOU ready to believe in yourself enough to persevere even in the face of this negative (though well-meant, perhaps) feedback?

2. A social life? What�s that?

To finish a novel could easily take up a thousand hours or more of your time. That means almost three hours a day if you want to get it done in a year. And this is a modest estimate. Now maybe you�re willing to give up T.V. time, leisure reading, evenings out with your sweetheart, etc. You want to be a novelist that badly. But wait! The trials don�t stop there.

Your friends and family will want explanations. WHY can�t you go over to Lucky�s and hang out tonight? Why do you never pick up the phone at night (or in the morning or whenever you write)?

Now it�s one thing to have college papers to write, or mid-terms to study for, or overtime hours at work. Those are all socially acceptable obligations. But tell your friends that you�re staying in every evening to write and probably the best reaction you can hope for is a blank stare.

Are you ready to say: �Too bad if they can�t understand�?

3. Rejection upon rejection.

Let�s say we pass the first two hurdles. We don�t listen to people�s attempts (however well-intentioned) to dissuade us, and we plug away at our stories even though it means we can�t enjoy the leisure and down time of �normal� people. We put those thousand-odd hours into our work, and when it�s all done we�re proud of it. We write query letters, mail submissions, and sit back and dream of that fat advance, the book signing tour and the movie offers.

Then the unthinkable happens. We get one return letter after another, and all of them are variations of this: �Thank you for sending us [our work]. It was indeed interesting, but not quite what we�re looking for at this time.�

This happens to everyone. It has happened to me numerous times, and if it never happens to you then you will be entered into the history books of publishing. You may reach the point where a PERSONAL rejection letter instead of a pre-printed rejection feels like an accomplishment.

Remember the dream. Remember the passion that drove you to devote all those hours to writing in the first place, at the expense of your social life and leisure. Then send your work out again, because you didn�t pass the first two tests for nothing. When and if you get feedback, see if there�s anything constructive within it and learn for next time. You�ll be another rung up the ladder to success.

We writers survive and find our way because we weren�t meant to BE anything else.

Seth Mullins is the author of �Song of an Untamed Land�, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins

This article is free for republishing

Seth Mullins is the author of "Song of an Untamed Land", a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. His nonfiction includes dissertations on the craft of writing, as well as the inner meanings of mythic and fantasy stories.

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More Article Pages 1 - 2

Creative Writing Tips - Have You Established Your Main Character At The Start?
by: Nick Vernon

In the beginning of your story you have to grab your readers� interest and sustain it till the end. Our hook is our character. Readers keep on reading to find out more about the character. To see what he�ll do in the story; how he�ll solve his problems. What his goals are and whether he�ll achieve them.

And because our character is the reason readers become hooked on our stories, establishing him at the start is a must in a short story. And it is essential to establish him at the start because we don�t have the capacity in our limited word length to introduce him at our leisure.

The bond between readers and character has to be developed almost immediately.

You might have a few characters though. How do you decide who your main character will be? A main character is one that drives the story.

Think of it this way� If we were to take him away, there will be no story because it�s his story we are telling. The story will unfold by what is happening or what has happened to him.

When you establish who your main character will be, the next thing to do is to find which of your characters is in the best position to tell the story. Will your main character tell his story or will you give that role to another character?

This is what we call Viewpoint and what we�ll see in more detail in proceeding chapters.

Your main character isn�t necessarily the one who is telling the story; he might not even appear in our story �physically� but will be there through the thoughts of others. So the viewpoint character might be a secondary character.

Whoever is telling the story is the viewpoint character.

The viewpoint character gives the coloring of the story. Whatever this characters says, we will believe. It may or may not be true, according to the main character, but because he isn�t there �physically� to voice his opinions, we will have to take the viewpoint character�s word for it.

In a novel you can play around with viewpoint. You can have several viewpoint characters. In a short story it works best with one.

So your main character, whether he�ll be telling his own story or someone else will be doing it for him, has to be established at the start of your story.

Having said that, let�s see the reasons why the main character may not be telling his own story...

Perhaps our main character is one that readers won�t sympathize or empathize with.
Or the main character will not view highly with our readers
Or the viewpoint character knows all the facts and can tell the story better
Etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me give you an example of a secondary character telling the story of a main character�

Let�s say your secondary character is a psychiatrist and the main character is the patient. Depending on what�s going to go on in the story, we�ll have to choose who�s in a better position to tell it. In this case, I will choose the psychiatrist.

I�ve done this because the patient is confused, being the one with the problems. The psychiatrist knows all the facts and his opinions will make things clearer to readers.

So, as the secondary character (the psychiatrist) unravels the story, we�ll become involved in the main character because it�s the main character�s story that is been told.

This may get a little confusing to the beginner writer. As they write they will have to keep in mind that the secondary character, although he�s telling the story, is NOT our main character.

The secondary character is there to do perform a task. He�s only the voice. It�s the main character we�ll become involved with.

A secondary character doesn�t play such an important role as a main character does. Therefore, information about secondary characters should be kept to a minimum. It�s not his story � it�s the main character�s story and the spotlight must, most times, be kept on the main character.

Take the above example for instance. It�s no relevance to the story how the psychiatrist started his career or where he received his diploma � what�s important, is what he has to say about the main character, his patient.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Introduce your main character straight away, as close to the beginning of the story that�s possible. Enable your readers to form a bond and that will keep them hooked.

Is your main character established at the start of your story?

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