My Career As Novelist

dgiharris

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My Career As A Novelist

Oct 24, 2008
Word Count: 0
Novel Title: Silly-con Valley (working title of course:) )
Subject/Blurb: Dilbert-like Humor Piece about a Silicon Valley company's struggle to stay alive and change the world despite Enron-like leadership.
WIPs: 50+ short stories
Pubs: 3
Book Ideas: 4
Outlines: 1

For as long as I can remember, i've been filled with stories. Be it making radio shows with my friends at age 9 or writing plays, poetry, and short stories in high school. I've always wanted to be a writer. I mean, who wouldn't? Being a writer means having dumptrucks deposit money on your front lawn while a harem of playmate bunnies fight over giving you a sponge bath...

And so I started the great American Novel back in 1998, a brilliant work sure to bring my dreams into fruition. Somehow, I stumbled onto a "How to Write" novels book. I don't know why I opened it, surely, one as talented as I couldn't possibly benefit from a lesser being. But opened it I did, and it changed my life.

First, it utterly destroyed my above belief about a writer's world and the ease onto which I could ascend a writing throne and carve out my kingdom.

Second, it described in brutal honesty the hard work, commitment, and dog-eat-dog world of writing, publishing, acceptance, etc.

Third, it gave me a challenge. Get some short stories published first, produce commercially viable work in which someone 'pays' you for a story, then start that Great American Novel.

I took the challenge, wrote a short story and was paid handsomely in the form of 5 bleeding red rejection letters. I wrote another short, and recieved more pay (7 rejections). But then life happened, so I took a few years off, writing a little bit here or there, nothing serious until 2006.

In 2006, I made a commitment to become a writer, to hone my craft, and though I still have lots to learn, I did find a few magazines stupid enough willing to pay me profesional rates $0.15 per word.

So now that i've paid some writing dues, I've decided to use NaNoWriMo as my jump off point. Hopefully, I've got the chops to be a writer. NaNo will be my trial by fire--the ultimate test.

My preparation.
I've read about 4 different "How to be a writer books"
I belong to a writer's group and meet every Tuesday with like minded crazy peoples
I have over 50 short stories-- great fodder to fuel my fuel :)
I have books on my weakest areas that plague me to no end: Big Blue Book of Grammar, Elements of Styles, several E-zine writing links
I've been averaging about 10 hours of consistant writing per week for the last two years with peek averages of 20 hrs per week on good projects.
I've read up to post 2,400 in the Uncle Jim's thread (with 15 pages worth of notes)
I read about 2 books per month
I've Beta read and edited 2 manuscripts for fellow authors
I belong to AW and crit 1 story per day.


I anticipate that I will post about once every other month with an update. If you'd like to post encouragement or questions feel free. I've found these types of threads are a great source of inspiration for me as I am now accountable and must put my 'money where my mouth' is.

Well, I am off. NaNo HEAR I COME!!!!

Mel...

p.s. To Yeshanu's point. Writing does have to be about more than being rich and famous. In my case, it is not really fun. It is something I just have to do or go insane. I have way too many stories in my head and if I don't get them out, the thing on the top of my shoulders will explode. Whether I sell a book or not, I will write until I die.
 
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Yeshanu

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I've always wanted to be a writer. I mean, who wouldn't? Being a writer means having dumptrucks deposit money on your front lawn while a harem of playmate bunnies fight over giving you a sponge bath...

:roll:

Yeah, I have those dreams too, sometimes. Then I wake up to depressing reality, and realize that the real reason I want to write is to say something. A secondary (and sometimes even more important) reason to write is to simply have fun, but I pretty much forgot that in the shuffle.

That's my goal in NaNo--to recover my sense of play and have fun whilst putting words on computer screen. Let's have fun next month, shall we?

And if you want to have that fun whilst still being held accountable for pursuing your goals, why not give the Weekend Progress Report over in the Humor forum a gander? You sound like you'd fit right in with us.