No more news junkie

It's amazing to me, since I'm still working (though only part-time) at a newspaper, just how little I know about current news.

My old job, and most of my jobs before that, included doing a little bit of everything that an editor does at a newspaper. Through the job I was able to keep with local, national and international news even if I didn't particularly want to. I was always reading stories, writing headlines, laying out pages, etc. etc.

But my new job is not like that. I have a much more limited job as far as the tasks I am expected to perform. I'm a page designer. I no longer write headlines. I don't edit stories. Heck, I don't even have to READ the friggin' stories. I just have to get the stories and photos on a page and make sure the page looks good. I don't even have to decide where stories and images are placed on a page, let alone deciding for the whole newspaper.

So, my new job isn't about keeping up with the news.

Oh, if I wanted I could still scroll through the wire every day and keep up on events, but honestly ... I've found I don't care. I feel I'm constantly bombarded with news anyway, from TV to radio to the Internet to late-night talk shows. And most of that news isn't all that important.

So, after being a news junkie most of my life, I've kicked the habit. Maybe that's a bad thing to say, especially considering the state of the world, but in a lot of ways I feel liberated.

Forget the slobs

I recently found out a new co-worker of mine has been working on a drama/thriller novel for several years now. I was delighted to discover this and asked him to share some of his work with me.

He wouldn't.

Why? Because he was frightened.

Fear is a normal reaction for budding authors, but when I found out why this guy was afraid, I wanted to scream.

He has no support system. He tells me his friends think his writing is silly, his parents think it's a waste of time, and his wife say it's stupid.

I had to grit my teeth to stop sharp comments about his family. Instead, I suggested he take a few creative writing/short story courses at our local university. At least it would allow him to get some feedback.

Having seen none of his work, I can't judge for myself his level of talent, but he's been a newspaper editor for about 20 years and he says he has studied the elements of a novel and how to write fiction. I have to guess he at least has some skill, even if it's in early stages.

All said and done, I told him not to worry about his family, to push ahead with his dream, and to "forget about the slobs."

"What are 'the slobs?'" he asked.

My answer: "The slobs are the ones who waste their lives in front of a television while belittling the ambition of anyone wanting to do something besides wasting away in front of a television."

I won't go into a long diatribe about the evils of television, because I too enjoy it from time to time.

But the truth of the matter is this: Television kills writers. Worse, it kills readers.

Don't let it destroy you. And don't let others with no ambition get away with destroying your dreams. Even if you spend your whole life trying to be a novelist, and you NEVER get anything published, and least you TRIED. Which is more than can be said for millions of others who are glued to a TV or computer screen for long, boring years of their lives.

Neverending patience

One thing I've learned over the years about writing is that you have to be patient if you ever want to be published. Editors and publishers take weeks or months, sometimes even years, just to glance at your manuscript. And then there's a high percentage chance they are just going to slip your story into the trash and mail you a form rejection letter.

I don't blame editors and publishers for this. They receive hundreds, if not thousands, of short story or novel manuscripts each month. And they can't spend all their time dredging through the ole slush pile. They have other things to do.

But sometimes it becomes frustrating for the writer. And sometimes being patient can work for the author. Of late, for example, I have been way too busy to do any writing (and only a little editing of the third novel in my trilogy). So, in a lot of ways, I feel unproductive as a writer. But ... I have a novel at Baen; it's been there for months, and will probably be there for months. While this could seem frustrating, for me it is a bit of relief. Why? Because while I know I can't do a lot of writing work right now, at least my manuscript is still out there working it. Even if it's just sitting on a desk, or in a file on a server, each day means it's getting closer and closer to being considered.

Meanwhile, I'll keep doing the little bit of editing I can accomplish. When my life gets straightened out again, then I'll get back to writing more.

Until then, I can always dream.

Memory and books

As my other half is fond of pointing out, I don't have the best memory. I can remember general concepts and themes (for example, I know lots about ancient Roman government and how it worked), but I'm awful at remembering details (example, I couldn't tell you how or on what date Emperor Augustus died).

While unloading hundreds and hundreds of books from boxes during my recent (and STILL ongoing) move, it has dawned on me how little I remember from many of the books I've read. Again, I remember overall themes pretty well (ex., Bilbo goes on an adventure), but not the details (ex., how many dwarves were there in the Baggins party?).

And I've noticed that the novels about which I remember the most are novels that have been made into movies. I remember "The Three Musketeers" and "Man in the Iron Mask" quite well, but I can't for the life of me remember hardly anything about the book that comes between those two, "Twenty Years After." (Note for you Dumas purists before I get nasty e-mails: As most people aren't aware of it, I'm not mentioning the overall "Vicomte of Bragelonne" on purpose, just "Man in the Iron Mask" because most readers have at least heard of it.)

Now this movie-remembering thingie isn't always true. I remember many details of "Wizard and Glass," the fourth book (and my favorite) of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

But often it is true. I remember "Starship Troopers" as if I read it yesterday, but I can't remember hardly anything of "Stranger in a Strange Land."

I'm not sure if any of this is good, or bad, or even worth pointing out. But I found it of interest.

What does irk me however, is when I remember that I liked a book, but I can't remember WHY!

Tor enters the modern age

For the longest time, Tor publishing has been one of my favorites. They've not only published many books I love, but they had good things to say about the novel I submitted to them (though they didn't accept it, unfortunately). I've always liked Tor, and they have always been THE publisher I've wanted to publish my books.

But despite all the good things I have to say about Tor, for years they have had a pretty lousy Web site, with just basic information and no interaction with readers.

But that is changing. Tor has unveiled their new Web site, over at www.tor-forge.com.
So go check them out. They're just starting out with the new Web site, but it looks as if they'll have some interesting things in the future.

Gender Genie

I found this online a while back ...

www.bookblog.net/gender/genie.html

You go to the Web site, paste in 500 or so words of text from one of your stories, and it guesses whether the text was written by a male or female. So far it's about 50/50 with me. Maybe that says something about the lousiness of the software. Or maybe it says something about the lousiness of my masculinity. Or my writing. Who knows? Enjoy.

I love books

The title of this post says it all. I love books, in all forms and sizes and colors and genres and fictions and non-fiction. I feel comfortable with books, and they helped me through a lot as a kid and teen, and even as an adult. I can disappear into them for hours and hours (though mentally that's a little harder to do as an adult than it was as a kid or teen).

I especially like hardbacks, really old hardbacks, with real leather covers and that thin, onion paper. But any kind of book will do.

I love spending hours just wandering through bookstores, especially little mom'n'pop stores, but any will do. The latest big hit won't impress me as much as finding a forgotten treasure from an old, maybe forgotten master, but any book will do.

Sometimes I buy, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I just like to go from cover to cover, title to title, author to author. Sometimes I take something home and spend weeks devouring it with my eyes. Other times I don't purchase a darn thing. But I still enjoyed myself.

I don't buy books as a financial investment. I buy books as an emotional investment.

Sometimes, after a few years, I will get rid of some books. Maybe those particular books didn't mean much to me, or maybe they didn't mean as much to me as they once did, or maybe they didn't mean as much to me as I had hoped they would.

Still, I will keep reading, writing, buying and all that comes with the book biz.

I love books.