The Masochism of Writing

Here I sit, wiping tears from my face and blowing my nose. I am in emotional distress.

Why? Because someone who's opinion I value called me a "VERY talented" writer. Another person who I admire says I "have it together."

If they only knew.

Writing is just this side of masochism... or a mental disorder (no disrespect to the non-neurotypical peeps out there - I literally mean the medical definition).

Writers are, by and large, introverts. Many of us have bullying, abuse or just plain shyness in our life histories. We aren't the in-your-face types. We don't brag about ourselves. We tend to have self-derogatory senses of humor, and a whole lot of empathy.

When you publish a book, 99.99% of the time, you are responsible for marketing that book. That means - getting into the spotlight, pushing the book, telling people how awesome it is, using ourselves as a brand...

Writers tend to be uncomfortable getting attention. Many of us are incredibly insecure about our writing. Some of us even have imposter syndrome. We often have very real anxiety when our work is critiqued.

The number one way to sell a book is to get reviews. You get reviews by pretty much begging, pleading, and otherwise shoving your book into as many hands as possible and hoping they type out their reactions somewhere online.

It's like a sick joke.

I have to brace myself just to send an email to a publisher with a query. I close my eyes before I click "Send." I am brought to near-tears just knowing that someone has given an opinion about my work. No, it doesn't matter what that opinion is. The anxiety is about the fact that there IS AN OPINION.

And I'm not alone in this. Many, many authors go through the same thing. Most of us find ways to logic out the better responses, but we still often have the discomfort about the entire process.

So, I have someone who is really excited to read my book. She asked for a copy so she can read and review it.

I want to curl up on my bed and die... right up until it's over. Then, I'll do the whole thing again.

Stereotypes are Not Character Creation

I participate in a lot of writing groups - support groups, networking groups, etc. It's part of the life of an author. Many of these groups talk about the writing process, which is always an interesting insight into how others approach writing.

One thing that I've noticed recently is a string of questions about characterizations. These questions are many and varied, but generally come down to this: "I'm writing a character that is gendered/racial/LBGT. What do you think about the character being XYZ stereotype?" Except they don't admit that what they are asking about is a stereotype.

Too vague? Well, some of them have been about how "hard" it is for men to write women and for women to write men. Why? Because men writers have to be careful not to masculinize women, and women writers have to be careful not to feminize men.

I ask for clarification, cuz I'm just begging the querier (shut up, spellcheck, it IS a word - the google says so) to take back the -ism. I've gotten responses like "women aren't as aggressive as men in the way they think", or "men don't look at the directions when putting things together".

These are stereotypes, my friend. And they make for bad writing.

I'm sure some of you are thinking I'm being pretty harsh. After all, we all know those guys who try to put together IKEA furniture without the paperwork, or the woman who backs down from a kitten. Yeah, I know those people, too.

So?

Those are individuals, with individual quirks. One of these stereotypes isn't going to break your character, but when you have a guy who never "thinks or acts feminine"... well, I don't even know what that means, first of all. Secondly... never? Never ever? Never has a single thought like "damn, that's a fine looking furniture set!"? Nada?

Characters like that are, quite frankly, one-dimensional and boring. It's a boxed-cake method of character creation, and the reader can tell. The really sad thing about it is that it is so easy to fix those characters!

The truth is, people are people... are people. To make awesome characters, think about the people you know. Think about the things they do, what you know about their emotions and thoughts. Use that.

Make a cheerleader character. Make her blonde and petite and pretty. Make her not very into school. Maybe she's a little boy-crazy. Then give her a twist - she's a super-powered chosen one who is destined to save the world from vampires and demons with her strength, speed and high-kicking ability. (Yeah, you know who I'm talking about - but there's a reason that character works.)

Using a stereotype and standing it on it's head in some way gets people interested. People do embody stereotypes to a small degree, but there's always something deeper. People are nuanced, characters should be nuanced, too.

I have two LBGT characters in Too Wyrd. The truth is, I didn't create them to BE LGBT characters... they just were. In other words, they are not **GAY CHARACTERS**. They are characters who, as their nature/personality/characterization came to my awareness, were gay.

I'm currently working on a character who is black and from New Orleans. I knew she was Southern, but it wasn't until I started thinking about her appearance and personality did I realize that she's black and Cajun - and ends up pulling Nicola out a a pretty tough situation.

These characters are not their characteristics. They are not stereotypes of these characteristics. They are just people facing issues - sometimes those issues are about discrimination, which lends even more nuance to the characters. It's a fascinating exploration of humanity to find all the ways that people can just BE people.

So don't spoil the people by making them a stereotype. If they have a stereotypical characteristic, have a reason for them having that characteristic. Make it a part of THAT CHARACTER.

Book Review by The New Podler blog

I got a new review in!

This one is particularly in-depth. What do you think?

The New Podler Review of Books: Too Wyrd by Sarah Buhrman

Nicola's Interview on The Protagonist Speaks

Nicola got her own interview - talk about meta!

My thanks to author and blogger, Assaph Mehr, for hosting these interviews on his blog, The Protagonist Speaks.

Nicola Crandall (of Too Wyrd by Sarah Buhrman)

Dear readers, tonight with me is a simple woman, living a quiet life – a single mother, a herbalist, and a heathen witch. When she discovered her step-sister disappeared after joining a cult, she went after her – and was not quite prepared for what she found out.

She is here to tell us of her adventures, and all the things she found out becoming an accidental hero. 

Writing Dark

Image by David Ho

I've been struggling with my writing this month. I have a great outline. I have plenty of time. When I sit down to write, the words come easily.

So why do I struggle?

The piece that I'm working on - Fluffy Bunny, book 2 of the Runespells series - is really dark. There's physical abuse, mental abuse, psychological torture... And the character arc is all about overcoming what's in her own head, first and foremost.

I love my main character, Nicola. She's a great character.

So, I sent her to be brainwashed by a cult and killed her.

Yeah, she was brought back, but she experienced death. And her self-identity has been under fire. Her pro-active nature has been suppressed. Her love and loyalty has been co-opted.

I've been struggling to write because my characters are going through such a hard time, I can barely hold myself together in the face of their hopelessness and anxiety.

It isn't often that people really talk about the psychological effects of writing from a personal, in-the-moment perspective. I'm sure that my natural empathy for characters (mine or others') isn't helping my plight. In a way, I'm losing myself right alongside Nicola.

The thing is, I write what I experience, even if the experience in only in my own head. So, to write this psychological suspense, I have to make myself experience it. I have to create the situation in my head and figure out the emotions and the details of how that works.

It's draining me, little by little. But I think it will be worth it.

NaNoWriMo begins!

I will be engaging in the frustration and joy of NaNoWriMo, once more. I invite all to join me in this and write, write, write!

Also, check in and find out how I'm doing with this awesome word meter:  

Author Interviews for Twisted: A Horror Anthology – T.S. Dickerson

Once upon a time, a few weeks ago, I saw a thing of wonder on my Facebook feed. All authors know of this treasure - the submission request.

Yea, though I saw the submission request, and it was for... HORROR!

A horror anthology by and about women... Hey, I can do that! So I looked through my WIPs (works-in-progress) and my ideas spreadsheet (oh, yes, I do), and I found the perfect thing.

Coming out on Halloween, "Mirror, Mirror" in Twisted: A Horror Anthology!

I am participating in a blog hop type of thing with the other authors involved in this anthology to spread the interviews far and wide. So check out the interview below, as well as the other interview posts!

Name: T.S. Dickerson

Short Bio: T.S. is living a dream one day at a time. She loves blogging and reviewing books. She enjoys participating in the Collaborative Writing Challenge's projects and is the Story Coordinator for their sixth novel. She is currently finishing up her first full length novel which is to be released in February.

Name of Story Included in Twisted: "Initiations"

Describe the mood of your story/stories: Unsettling. I think my character is sort of darkly, deliciously ambitious and that colors the story as well.

Where did you get the inspiration for this piece? It was actually born from a prompt for a writing competition in an online writer's group.

What is your favorite thing about writing horror? Giving a nod to the darkness that exists within us all and coming face to face with the grim corners of my own brain in the process.

What are you working on now? Finishing up my post-apoc romance (The Scarring Underneath), CWC projects, and two projects that deal with hauntings.

Other published works? I had three chapters accepted into CWC's The Map. And The Scarring Underneath will be released in February, but nothing is available quite yet. Check out my blog at www.tsdickerson.com or catch me on Facebook or Twitter for updates!