We'll Have a Lot More Energy to Write if We're Good to Each Other

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By Gayle Francis Moffet

The first draft of this opinions post was an extremely ranty, blunt, somewhat swear-filled diatribe against some habits writers have been known to have. However, as I started writing it, I sent an e-mail to a friend asking for a list of things she does not like about other writers (she's one herself). She sent back a thoughtful, detailed e-mail that broke down that she doesn't like to think of other writers in negatives because the amount of negativity writers throw at each other is already bad enough.

You ever have a moment where you realize you’ve maybe been approaching what you’re doing from the wrong angle? Because that happened to me with this e-mail. I read this e-mail, and I looked at my previous post, and I saw all of my negativity staring me in the face, and it wasn’t nice to look at.

This flower is pretty to look at.
Though I don't love how it's
creeping at my window.

I’m a highly competitive sore loser workaholic. I get frustrated with people who I feel aren’t making an effort, but my level of “making and effort” and the definition of  “making an effort” are pretty different things. You shouldn’t work yourself to the bone if it’s not how you work. You’ll do better work working at your own pace then trying to match someone’s (my) sometimes obsessive writing patterns.

And, that, really, is bare bones of my newly appreciated opinion: Hold your own standards. Respect that other people have their own. Seek out advice if you want it. Feel free to disregard advice that doesn’t apply to how you work.

And please, for the love of the craft, stop using each other as ammunition against each other. I’m as guilty of this as anyone, rolling my eyes or mocking a writer I think I trump somehow. I try not to do it publicly or otherwise, but I still do it, and it’s a waste of time and possible resource. Maybe I don’t like the way that writer writes, but that doesn't make that writer necessarily bad, and maybe that writer is doing something else that I can learn from. Maybe that writer can introduce me to people who can help my work. Maybe that writer is skilled at marketing and does something interesting I can use for my own purposes. Maybe that writer is actually a really good, decent person, and being a judgmental pain in the ass is hurting me way further than I realize because I’m too busy trying to be superior.

We have got to knock this off. All of us. Because we all do it. It’s Twilight vs. Pride & Prejudice. Do you know what I’m talking about? There are these stories that get passed around by writers, and they go like this:

Twilight got rejected by X number of publishers! I can’t believe someone actually bought that book!

And then, of course, there’s the other version:

Pride & Prejudice got rejected by X number of publishers! But someone saw how great it was! Keep trying!

We do this all. The. Time. Using the same standard to make two different points--one that makes us feel superior to someone else’s hard work; one that makes us feel like we should keep trying. Whether or not you have anything positive to say about Twilight, we can all agree on one very basic principle: It got published. It doesn’t matter if it got rejected X amount of times; it doesn’t matter that it’s personally disliked by many people. It got published. And if that is your goal, there’s something to be learnt from that process.

So, why do we do this? Why do we, as writers, who understand the importance of community and collaboration (or else there wouldn’t be writing groups and message boards and blogs and websites and facebook pages all dedicated to working as a group), fall into being negative towards one another?

I don’t have an easy answer for this. I’ve got an answer for why I do it (highly competitive sore loser workaholic, remember?), and I’m also blunt as a brick to the head. But you aren’t me, and we aren’t each other, and I think it could do us good to remember that sometimes; that we’re individuals who have chosen to be part of this group we call writers, so maybe let’s not be dicks to each other all the time, huh?

Before I sign off, I want to make clear that I’m not saying we shouldn’t have discussions. I’m not saying we shouldn’t stop giving advice or constructive critique, and we shouldn’t stop sharing our personal stance in our personal voice about this work we do. What I’m saying is, I think we can do all of these things and take off the layer of ever-hovering negativity we can have towards one another and all have more time and energy for writing.

Let’s stop wasting time and energy on the useless pursuit of knocking each other down. Which was, actually, the final point of my original post, but looking at that post and this one, I’d much rather this one have my name on it.

I’m probably not gonna lose all my bad habits in one grand gesture, but I’m gonna try, and I think you should try to.

Gayle Francis Moffet writes. She will probably always be a highly competitive sore loser workaholic, but she’s going to try not to demand those same adjectives attach to anyone who doesn't want them. She’s got a writing tumblr, three comic projects in the works, and she's pretty sure she's gonna surprise a librarian this weekend. She really liked Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie. You might, too.

A Short Collection of my most Controversial and Opinionated Observations on Writers

by Carrie Bailey

If you suck as a person, you will suck as a writer and everyone who reads your work will be granted great insight into exactly how you draw into your mouth by contracting the muscles of the lip and mouth to make a partial vacuum. 

 I’m not saying great writers are great people. Some are the emotional equivalent of a tar pit or a new strain of bird flu. They are very much themselves when they write and happen to be jerks.

What I am saying is that if you have an obvious fault in your personality, it will come out in your writing. I say this thinking about an aspiring YA writer I read with teenage characters having dark jaded and sophisticated sexual relationships that screamed PEDOPHILE to me. I know teenagers can be complex emotional creatures, but this writer was clearly drawing from his own sophisticated sexual

"Hi, I've just finished reading your first draft. I realize
these are unusual circumstances, but I have just sent
a copy to a mental health professional and the authorities. Also,
there were numerous typos on page 6 and 27."

confusion. Most writers aren't as transparently cringeworthy as this man, although published fantasy author, Piers Anthony, certainly is.

How Not to Write a Novel is a book with a lot of examples where writers just get creepy. I recommend reading it.

Creepiness is only one obvious fault that a person can have. Some authors are shallow, overly idealistic, racist, timid, boring... and that's why they suck. Sure, they can still get published. People do, but a writer has to balance out their negative repulsive qualities with enough good ones to tip the scale in favor of attraction.

Bookishness does not make you a superior form of life anymore than wearing glasses makes you more intelligent.

A lot of farmers don’t have time to read, although many listen to a great number of audio books. A lot of poor single mothers don’t have time to read. Many worthwhile people have lives that don’t involve reading books. Time to read is a privilege. It irks me when writers pat themselves on the back for having a noble hobby as if we've all forgotten that there was an era when reading was considered an immoral distraction from responsibility. Humanity can survive without books, but we can’t live without food. Respect the hardworking people who don't read, they may just be catching your book when it gets released on film.

Shocking! It is possible for someone to follow an "author" on social media and not be their adoring fan. 

I bubble over with revulsion whenever an author I friend on Facebook, adds me, and then posts a “Thank-you for friending me” message on my wall. Why don't they thank me privately? Because, they want my friends to see that I made the choice to friend them. Bastards! My Facebook wall is not for you! People I know personally are more considerate about posting on my wall than these authors I've just met.

Real fans are not numbers on social media. Authors friend each other as colleagues not as fans. We inflate each others numbers to make each other look more popular. Sometimes we do read each others work. We share technique, stories and industry information, but we are rarely fans.

Fans are people who are in awe of a writer's work. It can be very uncomfortable to get your first real fans, because you may never have experienced that sort of un-tempered and unreciprocated adoration. While some people may be impressed that you wrote a book, they don’t necessarily plan to read what you wrote. Authors who treat every social media contact as a fan need to recognize the difference!

Being a successful writer is a group effort and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to be led into the forest and left there for 20 days with only saltine crackers.

People, who I know offline, come to me all the time and say that they would like to be a successful author. Can I make that happen? No. I cannot. I have only single digit book sales each week myself and that great trickle of dimes has taken me three years to unleash. People who believe that anyone wields the power to make them successful overnight are naïve. It is kind of cheek-pinching cute though.

However, there are arrogant pricks among writers who knowingly perpetuate this mythology of the author. One day, we click the last button and place the final period on the last paragraph of our great masterpiece. There it sits. Moments later, fans are pounding on our door. Why? Because, authors either have it or they don't; that elusive something that drives sales. It's magic!

Do you agree? Better not. I will come. I will find you and we are going out for a little walk in the woods. We'll have a nice chat. I will leave you there.

If I do take the time to give a writer advice, I expect them to either show me some support by reading one of my books, promoting me, or turn around and mentor someone else. A writer’s time isn’t free just because we aren’t paid hourly. But, we give a lot of it away, because a lot of people gave their time away to us. Now, there it is. The connection between writing and success is a lot of time invested and a lot of help from other people. We have to learn about the industry, make connections, and promote our work. No magic. Just time and the hard work and time of other people.

Giving blanket advice to writers is wrong and dumb and mean and thoughtless and a generally bad idea.

There is no advice that applies to every writer. We’re all at different points in our artistic development and career. But, sometimes people get stuck in a herd…of writers, which they find comforting and validating. And then. They get cultish. It happens.

These rabid and blind writers start to believe they have found absolute knowledge about being an author. They begin to form rules. And that isn't criminal. But, someone of these creatures with laptops and pens, go after the young and those new to writing. They attempt to validate their rules by forcing others to follow them. They oppress creativity. They crush the artistic spark. They douse the fires. They trap the muse in a small cage and poke her with a stick.

Having said that, I would like invite you to read a copy of The Handbook of the Writer Secret Society. It's free when you follow our site and connect with us. While there are no oppressive rules to follow, authors do benefit from the company and companionship of encouraging and unoppressive writers and we've captured that in book form. This handbook holds the epiphanies, experiences and humor of many new authors progressing in their careers within our changing industry.

There are only two types of writers.

Idiots and fools. No! Kidding! We are engaging in a difficult process with uncertain reward or benefit, but there is nothing foolish about it. The benefit of writing is unique to each person and infinitely meaningful to many.

However, I personally classify writers into two categories: the hopeful and hopeless. Some writers add hope to my life and some take it away. It's that simple. I try to avoid the later. I try to identify them early on during our association and keep my distance. It's my overly simplified opinion that this distinction exists and I am proud to say that it has helped keep me writing. But, more than that. It is my opinion and not one I adopted from someone else.

Having and knowing and articulating my opinions is grand. I'm not sure I do it often enough. This month at Peevish Penman, all the authors and I are being opinionated just to practice opening up and saying what we really think without worrying about offending or alienating people. If you have a very opinionated post on your blog about writers, please link to it in the comments. I'd love to read it.

Just a bunch of SELL-OUTS!

by Rob Hines

Yeah, I said it.

You're just a bunch of sell-outs.

Peevish Penman is Selling Out
on YouTube!

Carrie shared this idea in a recent podcast, which you can view on our YouTube channel. Just because I'm insulting you doesn't mean I can't promote our stuff.

But don't go there yet. Wait until I'm done calling you names.

By the way, Carrie was much nicer when she brought up the notion on the podcast. I, on the other hand, am choosing to paint with the broad brush. So there.

I really believe it's true, though. We writers are all resigned to sell out in at least one part of our lives in order to be "happy" and/or "successful." The life of an author requires a certain amount of fecal material that we're forced to plod through with a big smile because we're LIVING THE DREAM MAN!

No, you say? Well, you're wrong.

"But Rob, I love to write and I get to write everyday so everything is wonderful!"

Excuse me while I wait for the unicorns to finish flying out of your rectum.

Admit it. There's something you're forced to do on a regular basis that allows you to write, but you'd love to not have to deal with it.

Maybe it's marketing (personally, I dig that stuff, but some people don't). Maybe it's dealing with editors. Maybe it's that damn day job that is supporting your writing pursuits.

And maybe it's the writing itself. If you're being paid to write, you're producing for a specific market. This market is now your boss, and you're committed to writing for them, not for you. Sure, it's better than a life sentence in a cubicle, but you're still giving up a little bit of yourself when you put those words on the page. Congratulations, you're selling out.

Can't deal with that idea? Good, that's what the comment section is for. Just promise you'll read the rest of this first. I can't stand commenters who don't read an entire article.

For those who stayed (I like you), I'm not trying to dissuade an entire community of writers from pursuing their dreams. It's just a fact of this life that we all have to accept, and it may help you determine what your writing path is going to be. Currently, I'm a tremendous sell-out because I'm working a full-time job for the paycheck and benefits, freelancing as a voiceover artist for some extra cash, AND attempting to become a professional writer because I want to write. None of these pursuits are going to bring me intense personal happiness because I'm simply serving someone else in each case. However, I choose to sell out so I can satisfy the one part of my life that brings an endless amount of joy: my family. If I get to do some writing for myself on the side, then that's a bonus.

"Well, just quit your job and write from home."

Who are you and what planet kicked you out?

Sure, that's the romantic version of the story. The writer with a dream gives it all up and lives as a hermit to pursue a career, and yeah, that might have worked for me 15 years ago. But the dream didn't show up until a couple years after I bought a home, and just before my son was born.

Romance be damned! I have mouths to feed, so I'm going to sell out with a smile on my face. Besides, selling out lets me come home to this every day...

That's not fair. He's usually pretty happy.
I'm the one that's crying all the time.

If you don't like the idea of being a sell-out, that's fine. Just come up with a way to become a financially independent, million-selling author without giving up a little time or money in the interest of others. And once you figure that out, please share with the rest of us in the comments below, 'cause I got nothin'.

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