You ever have so many things to blog about you don’t know where to start? On the craft front, I want to talk about Lilith Saintcrow’s controversial “Write Every Day” blog post on Fangs Fur Fey (which I agree with, btw, because it’s not about “writing every day.” It’s about being a pro). I want to talk about Holly Black’s recent post on writerly joy translating into readerly joy, too.
I’m also in the midst of planning from very special blog content for the coming week. Stay tuned!
But spring has sprung here in D.C. The cherry blossoms are waving merrily in the breeze, it’s sunny as heck outside (if cold, today), and I’ve got a nice fresh batch of purple tulips on the table. I love tulips. I thought that white ones were my favorite, but you know, these purple ones, in a lovely purple vase I got for my wedding? Just as nice.
And I’ve been catching up on reading? In the mad deadline rush of the past few months, I have let my to-be-read pile languish away. And now I’ve got heaps of books I’ve been dying to read and hadn’t. I’ve already read two. I’m switching back and forth between two more, trying to decide which one captures me first.
And I’m gearing up for my third book release, which happens in SEVENTY DAYS. Lots of stuff on the docket for that.
So you can see why I may be a bit distracted from the blog…
April 14th, 2008 at 9:05 am
my third book release, which happens in SEVENTY DAYS
w00t!!! I can’t wait!!!
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Congrats on the upcoming release, Diana.
I as a new writer was miffed at that post… since I’m still developing my discipline and consciously take Sundays off to spend at church, does that mean I can’t call myself a writer? Pfft. I get that it’s about being a professional and doing the work, but the tone/choice of words was a bit provocative.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I don’t know, Jess. I certainly don’t write every day, but I wasn’t miffed at all. What she was talking about was a matter of professionalism. Professionals take weekends off all the time. They take vacations, too. That is NOT Lilith’s problem.
To argue semantics on the subject of “write every day” is to ignore the real issue she’s talking about. People who work office jobs talk about “going to work every day” even though really, they don’t. They go to work five days a week. I don’t take it literally when someone says to me “Oh, I make that commute every day.” I don’t get upset and complain “You do not! You only do it Monday through Friday!” I understand what they mean.
The attitude of “we’re all real writers, no matter what” is what inspired Lilith’s post, and I am with her completely. I get frustrated when I am in a situation with writing hobbyists and am simultaneously lumped in with them (“she doesn’t have a real job” — yeah, tell that to the IRS) and then yelled at because I want to talk about the profession as a profession, not as a hobby.
I understand that the thing I do for a living is what some people do for fun. But I don’t think it follows that I should only be allowed to speak of the thing I do for a living in terms of someone else’s hobby. And that is the expectation. Anything else is viewed as “pretentious” or “militant” or “unfair.”
And it has nothing to do with publishing status, either. I know unpublished pros as well. And they are the ones that view writing as a job they aren’t yet getting paid for. And that means writing every day — or every weekday, or every weekend, or every morning from 5-8 a.m., or whatever else it takes.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I haven’t read the post (and don’t have time) but I do write everyday. It’s the only way I can stay in the story. It’s also the only way I can make concerted progress. Even if it’s only fifteen words, I write every single day once I have my story and characters fleshed out.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 10:57 am
70 days. Wow. I’ll be going crazy when I get that close.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
You have good reasons to be distracted. read away, Diana!
Teri
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
70 days!!! WOOHOO!! SO excited for you!!
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
The way I look at it, there are people (like you, Diana) for whom writing is obviously a career, and other people (like the people who have written the first 3 chapters of 25 different manuscripts but never finished a book) for whom writing is clearly a hobby. It’s the vast expanse of people in the middle who are hard to classify (and often easy to offend). Especially because the career/hobby classificatios overlap. A person can devote a great deal of time, energy and money to a hobby and that hobby can even generate income — but it’s still a hobby, or is it? Another person could be seriously pursuing that same activity as a career, but actually spend LESS time, energy and money on it than the avid hobbyist — and not have generated any income from it yet.
I will never be a full-time writer (except maybe when I retire) because I have more than 20 years invested in another career that I love and don’t plan to leave. However, I write almost every day, have finished two complete manuscritps, belong to professional writing organizations, have entered and won writing contests, attend seminars and conferences, am looking for an agent, and am seriously pursuing publication. Does that make it a second career for me, or a serious hobby? And since I’m in that gray area, does it even matter?
I think the problem with the post beging discussed was that it attempt to apply objective standards to something that cannot be altogether objectively defined. For lots of people in the gray area between the clear cases of career vs. hobby, the difference comes down to how they perceive themselves and their writing.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
70 days!! That’s so exciting, Diana! Personally, I wish it were sooner…I can’t wait to get my hands on Amy’s newest adventure.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I agree with writing every single day if it’s something you’re viewing in a professional manner. Hobbyists are fine, but I want this to be my job. I’m not there yet. I do it just like I do my day job, every single day. Sure, I miss a day every now and then like my real job. But it’s important to me to take it seriously because this is what I want to do with my life full-time one day. I want others to take me seriously as well. If I only wrote once every blue moon, they wouldn’t.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Ehh.. I can’t tell if that was supposed to be a motivational kick in the butt or whining of “Don’t call yourself a writer if you don’t take it as seriously as I do.”
Either way, it really wasn’t what I would call controversial, unless you are bothered by someone calling you ‘not a writer’. But then, that’s not really controversial, just personally offensive.
Who cares what you are called? Do you enjoy what you are doing? Is it working for you? (insert more rhetorical questions here)
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Use of the word ‘you’ was not directed at anyone in particular in my previous post.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
So … no “Read in 2008″ list in the blog sidebar yet … Now we know why.
[Reply]
April 15th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Yah, I was mostly upset about the tone and word choice – I think it skewed her points, which as you’ve laid out and what I had thought they were, I do agree with.
[Reply]