Author Advice

Ursula K. Le Guin and Self-Censorship

But our censors are not just the publishers and editors and distributors and publicists and book clubs and syndicated reviewers. They are the writers, and the readers. They are you and me. We censor ourselves. We writers fail to write seriously, because we’re afraid — for good cause — that it won’t sell.

The Language of the Night
by Ursula K. Le Guin

There will be plenty of people out there who want to silence your voice. Who will have a problem with what you have created no matter what it is. We call these “bad faith readers”. These bad faith readers will always be able to find criticism, always find a reason why your book shouldn’t exist, why you should be ashamed of yourself for creating it, and why it needs to disappear.

Don’t let yourself become one of these bad faith readers. And certainly don’t write for the bad faith readers.

Self-censorship can be hard to spot, but it’s vital for any artist to push back against it whenever it rears its ugly head. True art, good art, can only come from when we explore those things that scare us, that titillate, that provoke and enthrall and yes, sometimes that are censorious. But try to imagine a reader, a good faith reader, that will thank you for your work. That needed a light to be shone in dark places. You and your art will be the better for it.

LESSON LEARNED: WRITE YOUR TRUTH. SHOUT IT OUT LOUD. LET NONE SILENCE YOU – NOT EVEN YOU.

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Pop-Up Submissions TODAY!

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Litopia’s Pop-Up Submissions!

Don’t forget! Today, October 29th, starting at 9am PST, I will be joining literary agent Peter Cox on his fabulous program, Pop-Up Submissions! I am really looking forward to returning to the show and reading some more wonderful work from authors around the world and hope to see some of you on the stream. Stop on by, won’t you?

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Author Advice

Anne Lamott and Characters

Knowledge of your characters also emerges the way a Polaroid develops: it takes time for you to know them.

Bird by Bird
by Anne Lamott

Creating characters is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. It can also be one of the most frustrating and most mysterious. After all, you’re crafting a fully formed human being from thin air. Someone who didn’t exist before not only has to exist now, but must do so in a complex and believable way. Where do you even start?

The important thing to remember when building any character is that it’s a slow process. Characters rarely (I almost want to say never) pop fully formed into a writer’s mind. We may have certain aspects of a character very clear in our mind (they hate being told what to do, they love soft jazz, they’d give anything to achieve X goal, etc.) but other things will be hazier. And we often won’t know what’s in those hazy areas until we have to go exploring in them. Just like the undeveloped sections of a polaroid picture, we can guess what might come into focus, but ultimately what does may be a complete surprise.

That’s what makes it so fun.

LESSON LEARNED: HAVE PATIENCE – CHARACTERS WILL REVEAL THEMSELVES TO YOU WHEN THEY ARE READY.

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The Check-In

Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Dirty Drinks – Progress! Progress again, however slight! It was really hard for me to get going on this anthology project again after taking a unscheduled break from working on it, but I am so pleased that I have gotten back on track with it. I am really liking the way this novella is shaping up so far. Fun to write hopefully means it’ll be fun to read!
  • As you can see, not much progress in any other projects, though many projects have left the chart over the past few months because they have been completed! Next up, I have decided to turn my attention to the third book in The Night series, Lonely is the Night, so look for some movement in that final column soon!

My health has started to turn around and boy, does it make a difference. Writing when you’re not feeling well is hard, y’all. It’s hard. But being well means that I can get back to doing what I love more than anything else. I have also been enjoying the stops on my book tour – Kirkland, Northgate, and Tacoma, I’m coming for you next! Cant wait to see you all!

LESSON OF THE WEEK: ANY PROGRESS IS GOOD PROGRESS!

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Author Advice

Stephen King and Where to Write

You can read anywhere, almost, but when it comes to writing, library carrels, park benches, and rented flats should be courts of last resort — Truman Capote said he did his best work in motel rooms, but he is an exception; most of us do our best in a place of our own.

On Writing
by Stephen King

There is a romantic image of a writer scribbling furiously on the back of napkins in a crowded cafe, hurriedly taking down dictation from inspiration on high having escaped the humdrum existence of their normal flats and normal lives.

This is simply not the reality.

The humdrum, the normal is, in my opinion, where a talented writer does their best work. You need to be comfortable to create, physically if not emotionally. If you do not have space that is entirely your own, that you don’t feel safe in, that does not exist to serve you and you alone getting any serious writing done is going to be difficult.

It doesn’t have to be a lot of space. It can be the corner of a living room, or an attic, or a kitchen table. But it does have to be yours.

LESSON LEARNED: DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE UP SPACE. GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF A ROOM OF YOUR OWN.

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