Tag Archives: author life

You Ever Do That Thing…

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Writers, do you ever do that thing where you start writing at some random point in your story because you’re feeling it, and it’s the fun and exciting part, only to realize there’s not an organic way to actually get there, so now you have to re-write everything you wrote? Asking for a friend, of course.

Picture from Unsplash by Benoit Beaumatin

Seriously though, after five completed projects, you’d think I’d just start plotting. I say I will and then some exciting epiphany of a scene won’t be ignored and I find I have 15,000 words of a book that hasn’t really come out of the idea phase. It’s possible I just spent the last three days re-working the front quarter of my current project because of this. I just really, really, really wanted the story to get to this specific place, but it just couldn’t. It wouldn’t. Not without being forced. Because it was forced, and you (I) could definitely tell.

I did a lot of sitting and staring. A lot of but what if I did this… Eventually, I had to accept that it wasn’t happening. These characters do write themselves and my simple-mindedness was not smart enough to outwork them. It just means a little patience (okay, a lot of patience) and some extra work. I’ll get to that point I really, really want to show. It’s just going to take a few more (many) pages. And who knows, maybe when I get there for real, there will be an entirely new place there.

Where Do They Come From? Part I

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In the middle of writing a sentence in the first draft of my current project, I have the thought that I should just stop, erase it all, delete it all, unpublish my five self-published works and forget I ever thought this could be a thing.

What?!

Then my stomach starts balling into knots. Is this a panic attack coming on?

Not quite. I can still breath though my stomach has this lead ball filling it up.

What is happening?! I haven’t skipped a workout. I haven’t eaten any sugar. What evil spell is someone casting?

I walk away from my computer. I attempt to stay passive with the thoughts, not over-analyzing but neither ignoring. Let this moment pass, whatever it is, let it come through and out and away.

But it doesn’t pass. So what do I do?

My instinct is to go into hiding. Bury myself in a favorite book with headphones around covering my ears to create a wall that makes the world seems a distant dream.

But I’m supposed to make new choices this year. I’m supposed to stop being a cowardly fuck.

So, I dip my toe, test these swirling feelings centered in my gut, consider where they might have come from.

Maybe I did just eat something weird…

Ugh! Fine! I’ll analyze…

Do We Like ‘Happily Ever After?’

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Working towards finishing up draft one of this new project, I’m caught by the fact that I haven’t decided on the ending. Very easily, I can give each character a fantastic end to a long journey, a place in their world that makes it all worth it, that makes their sufferings and losses culminate to finality in contentment.

But is that a good ending? I loved HUNGER GAMES because of the harsh edges Katniss‘ life left her with. I appreciated Tris‘ death because I believe ultimate sacrifice is necessary for the big changes. To give less cheapens the story and teaches a certain lackness in our real lives. It’s more real, more visceral for my heart to break than to simply smile, close the book, and move on. These stories left me numb, unable to put the book out of my head after the last page was turned. THAT is what makes something spectacular over great.

This was what was missing from Maas‘ THRONE OF GLASS series IMO. That everyone, especially as there were several characters to receive it, got their happy ending was cheap. Cassandra and Brannon reconciling was lame. Some things you can not take back, and the unsatisfied longing for something creates a more lasting impression than giving it.

But I feel public opinion sways more towards handing out this latter ending than the formers. While I don’t want my words swayed by popular opinion, I do want to make money from my work, which suggests leaning towards how the masses might more like something. This is pressure I’m unused to, and unsure how to handle. Pressure I try not to let leach into my brain, but find impossible to ignore one-hundred percent.

In this case, I’m sure I’ll end up writing both endings and leave it to my beta team to decide, or at least allow their opinions to weight my own.

What do you think? How much weight do the fans (or just a general public) get in manipulating the path of art? How do you deal with this in your own work, or how might you expect an artist to react?

Tell me your thoughts! Leave comments or email me directly. I’m so curious to hear how you handle this! 🙂 cindy_martens@ymail.com.

featured image painting by Sage Barnes; “Self Portrait #3”

Vulnerability in Art

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I wrote this right before I published STUMBLING, and apparently decided not to post it. I have changed my mind on that. At least it might give you a smile. It did me, though it still holds true. My third book will release in a few days so there’s a panic thing going on at this time, too. Serendipitous? Does it matter?

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Avoidance as a Motivator

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The Business of Art

Whatever thing you create, sculptures, bath toys, book marks, outfits for lizards, it has to be seen; you somehow have to let people, the more the better, know that you made that thing.

Learning the Business

There are so many webinar’s and books and classes and YouTube videos on how to effectively create marketing strategies to make money on your creation. I’ve sat through many. I’ve spent a little bit of money on a few, but still, I’m daunted by it.

I attribute this intimidation of the business side of my craft for the reason I finally finished one of my products. While I should have been mapping out a strategy for pre-sales, I was editing. Sure, editing was a thing that needed to be done, but in my allotted time for business, I was doing something else.

Avoidance a Motivator

I’m sure I should be researching marketing while I wrote this post. A lot of “learn as you go” seems real. Even the “maps” and “tools” anyone can give still comes down to us creating copy that grabs attention. As a writer, I’d hope that come naturally, but if you’ve ever read one of my book synopsis’ you might see that my knack for summing up still needs work.

Basically, I have nothing more to say but I don’t feel like figuring out ads…

So, what’s for dinner? Should we stay in, or go out?

………………….Netflix anyone?

Photo by Tonny Tran on Unsplash