I heard every word that you wrote. Although I started actually writing last year, it took many procrastinating years to actually sit down and start. Now that I have started, kinda wish I hadn't :)
A wonderful read, Elnora. I'm so happy to hear of your success with the workshop and so pleased that you've written about it.
Did you make a decision on the September course? As you say, at least you have the notes (along with this post) to reassure you about what was working and where you can go from here.
"If I post the pieces of this yet-unfinished story here to Substack, what happens if I am not able to finish it?" -- personally, I would be totally OK with this because I would have gotten to read and enjoy whatever it is you put out on this platform. Plus, I'd have every confidence that you *would* be able to finish it.
I wish I had the answers about publishing and marketing etc, but I feel as much in the same boat as you, so I will read with eagerness anything you post about this in the future. I was going to like the Counter Craft article, but then saw you had already included it :)
Thanks Nathan! I've decided to go ahead with the course. I still have Much Trepidation, but it's paid for and I could learn some cool stuff! I'm not exactly going in with an open mind.....but some sort of halfway-mind where we don't say "yes" to the cult but we do appreciate some of the cult's more enlightened ideals. 😉
Aww, thanks for the confidence. I think I'm feeling my way around this one by posting shorter pieces and finishing longer ones before posting. At least that's my initial idea before I'm ready to throw caution to the wind!
I'll definitely have more to say about marketing, as I try to figure out what sort of strategies actually feel like fun. The Counter Craft article is really well-done, if sad to read.
Hello Elnora, my appreciation for your explorations of these concerns. It's not enough that we writers work to develop our ability to express, work to learn the craft, labor to at the ability to entice and devise lovely sentences, no we must THEN contend with Gate keepers, corporations, competition, and the challenge of getting published, and so much of that is daunting - yes indeed.
One frankly brilliant person who I take inspiration from and who is not known for writing is Simone Giertz. Simone says that her success came about because she choose a very specialized field and then worked hard at it. So we'll add determination and enthusiasm to her recipe for success and recognition.
Yes, there are many people writing but no one will write exactly like you. You have a particular voice and particular things to say. You have specific insights, concerns, obsessions. expressions. Yes, it's easy to be daunted, and yes if the existing models of publishing don't work for us - we may have to make new ones - or participate in newer emerging models which offer us more hope.
To address your writing class and the uncertainty of whether to continue, I'll share a recent realization about writing that I had for myself. There is no limit to Art. By this I mean that as I learn more about writing, I improve and yet I discover there is always more to learn. It's like swimming out into the ocean and finding that the depths and richness continue to grow - as does the challenge. My preference here is to keep learning.
If I were to speak of Science, in Science the knowledge gained and the new technologies devised enable more discoveries - but the discoveries lead ever to new mysteries which tantalize with what we don't understand, comprehend and can only theorize about. So at present - the quest for discovery in Science seems as infinite as the quest for expression inherent in Art.
How you get your stories into the world remains a good question. Each of us will have to find that balance for ourselves. Having crafted a story we want to launch to readers - just which mode could be the best one to reach our audience ? Cheers for your efforts !
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Marcus! Indeed, I've ultimately decided to take the course and see how it goes, thought to be cautious against "this is the Way" statements....they should only apply to Mandalorians! 😄
Writing is so much more of a journey than I'd ever thought it would be.
Holy cow you're in my brain. I've been writing for more than 40 years. Not full time, here and there. I have been a journalist. I have written 3 novels, 1 biography, published 3. I live with the pain of not being famous and a kajillionnaire. But I simply don't write that kind of fiction. And that's ok. I've also learned recently, on Substack actually, that the kinds of books that sell feature a very traditional 3-act structure and heroes journey and I don't even read things like that (this is not a judgement on anyone who does). Why would I want to write them? That means that I have had to make money in other ways, and I don't need to get too overwhelmed with perfecting the story. That's the beauty of only having 5 readers. You can write whatever you want and screw the rules. Nietzsche says (1880) that even poets have put constraints around their creativity with all their rules of rhyme and meter. Why do we do that? Perhaps if we really really want to make money and be famous from writing we will need to compromise. If we're unwilling to compromise, then get a job and enjoy writing for the joy of it, of seeing a printed book with your name on it (yes, from Amazon). I tell you, it's a thrill.
Well, first off, I'm really sorry you are in a brain that also panics 😉.
But seriously, thank you! This is the realization I have ultimately come to, that I *do* have an audience here on Substack, and it's delightful, and they are who I am writing for. And that's an amazing thing to be able to do. And instead of listening to my risk-adverse brain frighten me into immobility, the thing to do is my best to make the greatest stories I can for them! It's really nice to hear from you how rewarding that ultimately can be. 🤩
(And yes, especially if you are talking about genre fiction, hero's journey and 3-act structure is overwhelmingly popular. It's also most of what's taught in the US.)
I feel this deeply. And I am awful at marketing and sales. I’m a creative without a heart for the business side. At my age, I don’t want to try it. So, I’ll write here and maybe a few people will read what I have to say. Maybe no one will. But that dream of 45 years that I will have a writing career? I have to let it go. And that has to be okay.
It's such a thorny artistic trap, the need to create balanced on the need to share. I don't have an answer, but I just can't see anything wrong with sharing your work with the world in whatever way you can. Perhaps letting go of the idea of a writing career and writing and publishing on Substack will lead to a better response than you could ever have dreamed! ☺️ I've finally realized that for me, it's most important to create for the audience I already have then to worry over the one that might or might not show up later. So much of art is letting go!
I heard every word that you wrote. Although I started actually writing last year, it took many procrastinating years to actually sit down and start. Now that I have started, kinda wish I hadn't :)
Thank you!
Ha! Writing is a fickle mistress! Welcome to the joy and pain of it 😉
A wonderful read, Elnora. I'm so happy to hear of your success with the workshop and so pleased that you've written about it.
Did you make a decision on the September course? As you say, at least you have the notes (along with this post) to reassure you about what was working and where you can go from here.
"If I post the pieces of this yet-unfinished story here to Substack, what happens if I am not able to finish it?" -- personally, I would be totally OK with this because I would have gotten to read and enjoy whatever it is you put out on this platform. Plus, I'd have every confidence that you *would* be able to finish it.
I wish I had the answers about publishing and marketing etc, but I feel as much in the same boat as you, so I will read with eagerness anything you post about this in the future. I was going to like the Counter Craft article, but then saw you had already included it :)
Thanks Nathan! I've decided to go ahead with the course. I still have Much Trepidation, but it's paid for and I could learn some cool stuff! I'm not exactly going in with an open mind.....but some sort of halfway-mind where we don't say "yes" to the cult but we do appreciate some of the cult's more enlightened ideals. 😉
Aww, thanks for the confidence. I think I'm feeling my way around this one by posting shorter pieces and finishing longer ones before posting. At least that's my initial idea before I'm ready to throw caution to the wind!
I'll definitely have more to say about marketing, as I try to figure out what sort of strategies actually feel like fun. The Counter Craft article is really well-done, if sad to read.
Thank you as always for reading!!
👏
A halfway cautious mind. Wary of cults.
This is the way to do it for sure 😁😁
Hello Elnora, my appreciation for your explorations of these concerns. It's not enough that we writers work to develop our ability to express, work to learn the craft, labor to at the ability to entice and devise lovely sentences, no we must THEN contend with Gate keepers, corporations, competition, and the challenge of getting published, and so much of that is daunting - yes indeed.
One frankly brilliant person who I take inspiration from and who is not known for writing is Simone Giertz. Simone says that her success came about because she choose a very specialized field and then worked hard at it. So we'll add determination and enthusiasm to her recipe for success and recognition.
Yes, there are many people writing but no one will write exactly like you. You have a particular voice and particular things to say. You have specific insights, concerns, obsessions. expressions. Yes, it's easy to be daunted, and yes if the existing models of publishing don't work for us - we may have to make new ones - or participate in newer emerging models which offer us more hope.
To address your writing class and the uncertainty of whether to continue, I'll share a recent realization about writing that I had for myself. There is no limit to Art. By this I mean that as I learn more about writing, I improve and yet I discover there is always more to learn. It's like swimming out into the ocean and finding that the depths and richness continue to grow - as does the challenge. My preference here is to keep learning.
If I were to speak of Science, in Science the knowledge gained and the new technologies devised enable more discoveries - but the discoveries lead ever to new mysteries which tantalize with what we don't understand, comprehend and can only theorize about. So at present - the quest for discovery in Science seems as infinite as the quest for expression inherent in Art.
How you get your stories into the world remains a good question. Each of us will have to find that balance for ourselves. Having crafted a story we want to launch to readers - just which mode could be the best one to reach our audience ? Cheers for your efforts !
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Marcus! Indeed, I've ultimately decided to take the course and see how it goes, thought to be cautious against "this is the Way" statements....they should only apply to Mandalorians! 😄
Writing is so much more of a journey than I'd ever thought it would be.
This thread has been so encouraging!
I’m so glad! 💖
Holy cow you're in my brain. I've been writing for more than 40 years. Not full time, here and there. I have been a journalist. I have written 3 novels, 1 biography, published 3. I live with the pain of not being famous and a kajillionnaire. But I simply don't write that kind of fiction. And that's ok. I've also learned recently, on Substack actually, that the kinds of books that sell feature a very traditional 3-act structure and heroes journey and I don't even read things like that (this is not a judgement on anyone who does). Why would I want to write them? That means that I have had to make money in other ways, and I don't need to get too overwhelmed with perfecting the story. That's the beauty of only having 5 readers. You can write whatever you want and screw the rules. Nietzsche says (1880) that even poets have put constraints around their creativity with all their rules of rhyme and meter. Why do we do that? Perhaps if we really really want to make money and be famous from writing we will need to compromise. If we're unwilling to compromise, then get a job and enjoy writing for the joy of it, of seeing a printed book with your name on it (yes, from Amazon). I tell you, it's a thrill.
Well, first off, I'm really sorry you are in a brain that also panics 😉.
But seriously, thank you! This is the realization I have ultimately come to, that I *do* have an audience here on Substack, and it's delightful, and they are who I am writing for. And that's an amazing thing to be able to do. And instead of listening to my risk-adverse brain frighten me into immobility, the thing to do is my best to make the greatest stories I can for them! It's really nice to hear from you how rewarding that ultimately can be. 🤩
(And yes, especially if you are talking about genre fiction, hero's journey and 3-act structure is overwhelmingly popular. It's also most of what's taught in the US.)
I feel this deeply. And I am awful at marketing and sales. I’m a creative without a heart for the business side. At my age, I don’t want to try it. So, I’ll write here and maybe a few people will read what I have to say. Maybe no one will. But that dream of 45 years that I will have a writing career? I have to let it go. And that has to be okay.
It's such a thorny artistic trap, the need to create balanced on the need to share. I don't have an answer, but I just can't see anything wrong with sharing your work with the world in whatever way you can. Perhaps letting go of the idea of a writing career and writing and publishing on Substack will lead to a better response than you could ever have dreamed! ☺️ I've finally realized that for me, it's most important to create for the audience I already have then to worry over the one that might or might not show up later. So much of art is letting go!