Keep Writing

“The first draft of anything is shit!” - this quoted by the late, great Ernest Hemingway.  What an inspiration to us all.  Ernest that is - and his quote.  Many of them in fact.

I said “Continue forth”  in a recent quote to a fellow writer.  He had just started the first draft of his first story only hours before.  When asked whether or not I thought it was good - I told the truth.  It WAS good and it WILL be better!  

It’s all about perspective.  The same old adage, it’s so worn out is it not? - Is the glass half full or half empty?  Well…. it IS half FULL of course!

Should this apply to every scenario, however? - For the writer, yes!  It is imperative that the writer continuously view his or her work as priceless from the beginning.  Shit as it may be.  There is precise reasoning behind this.  It is a masterpiece in disguise.  Art can be made out of anything.  Dare I say it, well, yes, including Shit.

Herein, one must recognize the story waiting to be told even where the bullshit piles up.  Either in your thoughts or on your paper.  Once you can remember to remind yourself that every word thought up is important enough to write down - you will continue to write.  This again, is the key to any good writer as any good writer will say - keep writing.  Every day.  Set the time of day that works best for you, may it be only five minutes?  okay - do it for five minutes at six o’ clock each night.  Whence Upon a time comes when you may feel that you need to dedicate more time to the craft, you will.  

In the meantime, write it down.  It is NOT too blended and so what if the main character has blond hair today and black hair tomorrow.  Perhaps she has a doppleganger after all?  You just don’t know it yet because you haven’t written everything down.

Keep Writing - the rest of the story needs to be told.

 

Getting Paid

Tastes good, that first dollar in your pocket after writing something for someone else.  Makes you crave more dollars.  Like a tattoo - imbedded in your skin forever.  Still, the addiction surges through you for more - more tattoos… Soon you may be completely covered in ink -

The analogy fits here, don’t you think - the INK?! -

There is a new fixation within your writing.  You become immersed.  Writing about everything you see.  Everything you hear becomes a new story.  Every dream is more elaborate than before.  Continuously finding yourself with a pen in hand, the artist within you scrawls out upon the pages scattered about your desk.  All of them.  Every scrap of note, every draft document, every piece of poetry lying about.   The ink sinks into the pages like the needle to your skin.

This craving, you see, has everything and nothing to do with MONEY.  

Getting paid is about the instinct to survive.   Or might one say “instINKed”.  Ha!     

It is about sustenance.  Bills getting paid, car repairs getting taken care of. ...  Maybe there is a little left over for that new tattoo.  A permanent illustration of the ink on your paper which provided this image - placed just ever so delicately upon your largest living organ as a noticeable embodiment of your being.  Just as those words left impression enough on your client(s), whom paid you enough to even survive IN this skin.

That first dollar goes on the wall and the rest will go to the budget.  For none other than ink, and other supplies that every writer needs.  It will simmer there, leaving room for the want... the NEED for MORE.  More clients.  More content.  More tattoos.  More Success!

Cha Ching!

Becoming One

One day, I will be a writer, I said to myself… as I wrote.  At the time, I was writing what has become a manuscript, and what I did not understand at that moment was that one does not become a writer.  One writes, or one does not.

However, becoming a successful writer does require certain detail and intense research.  

There are plenty of genres in which to focus one’s work.  I have chosen to outline my work within the genre of opportunity, whereupon my writing takes on many different hats, if you will.

Today for example, the research is not quite as intense as some days.  Though, I am starving and therefore my brain is deprived of nutritious goodness which may assist in accomplishing a better piece of content.  This happens sometimes - I forget to eat.  I forget to use the bathroom.  I forget to walk the dog.

As I sit here now with no less than five documents open, I’m working.  I’m playing.  I’m writing.  Guess what - me - this makes you a writer - duh!

I’m a writer for crying out loud!

Furthermore as these words come so easily from my fingertips - or not - (writer’s block hits more often than thought) - I am here to share with you that BECOMING a writer is a tedious, yet exciting life.  Actually BEING a writer, can be quite lonely, while still tedious.  Can you really imagine this type of life?!

It’s great!  I’m here to tell you that if there is an inner writer screaming at you to come out - you really should try to write.  Otherwise, there are other avenues you might manage within the idea of your project(s).  You could always hire me, the writer, or any other writer for that matter to write your story.  Or you could sit down to your computer like I do every day and night and research what it takes.  Read every book you can find.  Scan every blog.  Don’t forget to read the newspaper!

And then…. WRITE - you can do this.  

I did.

Seize the Day!

Over the course of ten full years, I have researched, and read, and filtered, scanning websites for content on how to be a great full time writer - from home, freelance style. I have practiced. I have read some more! This day hath arrived. Its like meeting Mr. Right - over and over again until you realize the real Mr. Right was staring at you the entire time. Do not be mistaken, becoming a freelance writer is no easy feat. Sure, it sounds so glorious and carefree - all the articles say how nice it must be to work from home in your pajamas. The truth of the matter, however really goes more so something along the lines of overeating in the afternoon and forgetting where the last day ended, and when this new day will ever begin. Not only did it take years to educate myself enough to understand the filters, first of all, secondly, how to use them, it has taken these several months of sitting down to my desk to type each and every single day to actually accomplish this dream. What the other writers don’t tell you - or otherwise they do and you just don’t pay attention to that part, for the glory! --- The pajamas start smelling bad after a few days of no showers. The coffee never tastes as good heated up in the middle of the night (or the next morning) - otherwise dubbed as ‘yester-coffee’. The dog wants to go out to play, but you’re so wrapped up in your latest project, and after all it’s cold outside - Yes this is what we call procrastination. The writer’s worst enemy. What the other writers don’t tell you is how scary becoming a freelance writer is. Rejection lurking at every turn - going stircrazy at your desk trying to quit day dreaming about the word you just accidentally created and how it can make you famous. Passion must flow from your fingertips regarding every topic you touch. If there is no passion, there is no love, where there is not love, there is no connection. To the reader, you must be an astonishing and accomplished individual … Right?! What about writers block - this shit is real people! For example. I have been trying to write this very piece to make a minimum of eight hundred words for over a week, while earlier today I wrote on another topic and made out a cool 1500 words throughout the day. And because this document did not reach the desired length... Now, I write -

Short Story(s)

John Muir said “The Power of Imagination Makes Us Infinite”.

If that should be so then I just may live forever.  

Please take note:  If you do not know who John Muir is, it would be suggested that you do some research.

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

I have been working on a short story for this month’s update but instead this [aforementioned] quote came to mind, and everything else seemed so trivial.  So, the story was erased, and now I have begun again here.

In putting together ideas for a short story, I realized some things.  I could write about whatever I want.  

I could write about a meek girl that writes with a purple pen that is not good for cursive.  Yet she loves to write in cursive script.  

Or, I could write about that - script vs. print and the beautiful art of writing itself.

I might decide to write about what it feels like to break up with a boy and furthermore, from a writer’s perspective, including deep emotion and visualizations.

I could use big words.  Big words that people don’t usually use.

Damn.  I realized, it feels good to be a writer.  

The really great thing about being a writer is writing about writing, and other writers.

So many before us, and currently, had/have so much to say that deserves accolades in the purest fashion...  The truly rewarding stories to tell are the relative tales of stories already told.  

The truly awesome part about being a writer is writing like Mark Twain or April Deakle.  

You get the point here, right?  Writing is about writing like other authors, no matter their surnames.  There is reading involved - fiction and non fiction, poetry, reading and writing, research and studies.  Writing is all about these things and most importantly it is about writing... and writing, and writing, and writing.  In other words, lots of practice, no matter the plot or outline.

Henceforth, this story need be nothing more than a tale about a goldfish named Harold that moved from one pond to another and was forced to make new friends.  We could go on to discuss the future of the goldfish based upon his parents’ decision to up-root him in the middle of his most crucial schooling years.  The really fun part about this story is metaphorically speaking about school.  

This goldfish, Harold, never made friends easily and now he is forced to switch SCHOOLS.  Get it?  - - - Fish swim in SCHOOLS… but this is a story about a goldfish switching schools.  Haha.  That would be a lame story though.

Instead we could go more along the route of the original tale I had set to tell about a meek writer that loved chocolate.  She loved chocolate so much that she had no self control and every time she completed an accomplished piece of work she would eat chocolate.  She became so successful that she grew obese and henceforth, depressed.  Her stories became dreary and sad and nobody loved her books anymore.  

Her chocolate cravings eventually ceased as her accomplishments grew less and she lost all the weight she had gained and became the most beautiful princess in all the land.  

Wasn’t that a fun story?  Way better than a goldfish named Harold - sorry to all of you that were looking forward to the ending on that one.  We could say (again, metaphorically) that Harold fell in with a bad crowd and ended up too close to a fisherman’s net.  He was caught and flayed up for dinner at the King’s table.   The point is, the practice is done.  It is written.  And that is good.

See also, this other great voyage into storytelling.  Notice how I have incorporated the King and the Princess from two separate stories?  Furtheremore, If you read Charlottezweblog.blogspot.com, you will learn more about the Queen (Charlotte the Turtle).  There you may learn more about the rest of the ‘court’ as well… including the King (Trapper the Dog), and the two cats, the jester and the prince.  Obviously, the fish tale is over and done… but there are plenty more tales to tell.  This princess has yet to finish this quest.

 

As always,

Stay Tuned!

P.S.  

… Is it obvious that I’ve been reading children’s literature lately?

Response!

Empire Music Co. responded!

Unfortunately, I am a day late (as the saying goes).  Mr. Stone - the kind gentleman that provided me his contact information years ago - has recently retired and therefore closed the doors on this one query.

Usually, no news is good news.  In this case, well so it goes that I did receive bad news upon the news that I did receive.  Although, I tend to watch over these type of circumstances to be just another tangle in the web before the final release.... Success!

Business is Moving

And...drum roll please! Query letter just sent off to Empire Music Co. in New York. Working on a deadline, October 20. Chicken Soup for the Soul Series. 'Thanks to my Mom'. Only 101 stories are accepted out of thousands queried. Other deadlines will soon follow. If you're looking for services - you know where to find me. If you don't - click here:  www.scarletnathaniel.com