Why “I” Would Sell Out Like Paolini
Apparently the community of Eragon haters is increasing throughout various avenues of the literary world. I’m sure many of you have already noticed this, and many have jumped on the wagon. Some of you are like me where you just don’t care what the rest of the world thinks because you take it as a personal attack on your integrity when people question your ability to like or dislike a book. There are still others that truly battle to the end with people who have apparently spent the ridiculous amount of time to analyze a book that they apparently hate with a passion–a group of folks that continue to baffle me. I’m not a fan of the LOTR books, but I certainly have not taken it upon myself to analyze the living crap out of the novels just to simply get my point across that I don’t like the books. It’s a personal opinion, nothing more. Generally speaking I consider myself a critic, and like all critics, I have a select cast of people who like books like me. I offer an avenue to perhaps find new books that fit into the mold for such people to peruse, since most of us are not magically connected to the hip of big SF/F publishers and don’t have the option of getting advanced reading copies of all the latest releases.Having rambled sufficiently enough now, I’ll get to my point. This all came up on TeenageWriters during a very similar Eragon bash fest as I have seen in various other avenues all over the Internet. Granted, it is not nearly as thorough or hateful as the anti-Eragon websites where people that apparently have nothing better to do with their lives sit down and read the book cover to cover, over and over again, and then resort to actually digging up statistics from ancient times to apply them scientifically to a universe that can’t exist in the real world in the first place. If you can’t see that as insanely absurd, then you probably shouldn’t read further.Now, one of the things that came up was a discussion of Paolini’s success and the overall impression I get is that he basically sold out to the market or some such. It involved plenty of hate for the cliches and such.I’m here to say that I would gladly sell out in much the same manner if it means that I’m going to be read and admired by fans across the world. If selling out means I get a best selling novel, or two, or three, or hell twenty, and have a following of devoted fans who, while very much as absurd as the haters, spend their lives analyzing and learning every little niche of my world, then by all means I would gladly sell out. If selling out means I get to sell 8 million books and get a magnificent opportunity to see my work put on the big screen, then you better believe I would jump on that opportunity. My dream is to be a published writer and someone who can make a living as a writer. But if selling out means I get to write something I enjoy, that others enjoy, and makes me successful, then I am more than willing to do that.And for the record, this is not directed at any individual, but something that has been swimming around in my head ever since I saw that anti-eragon site on the net. I’ve been thinking of writing this rant for some time now, and the TW thread pretty much gave me the spark to do it. A further note, I doubt any of the members on TW actually did the extensive reading as the anti-eragon sites have, but likely took much of their information from such avenues. I don’t believe anyone at TW would waste that kind of time because I get the impression that most of them have adequate lives and can leave a book they dislike well enough alone in the end.Okay, now that is all.
John Scalzi on Teenage Writing
For those that don’t read Scalzi’s blog–I peak in on occasion–there has been somewhat of a controversy going on there between he and all those Teenage Writers out there. Read it here. So, I started to think as I was writing earlier about this. Scalzi is essentially correct. All teenage writers are in that phase where generally speaking their writing will suck. Of course, there are exceptions, and this has some bearing on the fact that I am editing the TW Anthology. I want to find those gems. And there will be some because TW has quite a few talented writers. As it is, I find it interesting that there seem to be phases in a writers life. I would place the phases as follows: Phase One–Birth: This is that phase where you start to write and someone comes along and says “that’s pretty good”, or you come to the revelation that you really like writing. Most people never get out of this phase because they quit.Phase Two–Adolescence & the Teenage Years: This is the point that Scalzi is talking about. It’s that part of your life where you love writing and you do write, but it’s not professional caliber. It’s utter garbage, essentially.Phase Three–Starvation: This is that phase where you’ve developed your craft so it doesn’t suck, but at the same time you’re not going anywhere with it. You haven’t hit that sweet spot yet. This is where I’m at. Nobody is biting yet.Phase Four–Charitable Relations: Success! You’ve been published. And that’s it. You’ve got a real publication under your belt. A lot of writers stop here, or publish a couple more and stop.Phase Five–Golden Age: If you get lucky to be here, and yes, it is entirely luck, then you are one of the chosen. You are now making a living writing. Scalzi is here! Congrats Scalzi!Phase Six–Fallout: Alas! You’ve been writing so long your ideas are getting tired! Welcome yourself among the ranks of Stephen King and the like. Granted, the writing isn’t crap, but it’s not Golden Age anymore. You’re falling off the wagon. This happens towards the late period of someones’ career.Phase Seven–Death: You just stop writing. End of game. You’re done. This implies retirement of course.Phase Seven Alternate–Rebirth: It’s rare, but this happens. Sometimes you’ll fall into the Fallout stage and then BAM you create a rare gem! And then you’re right back in the Golden Age again! So, what do you all think about it? Any thoughts?
Things That Irritate Me When I’m Writing
First, is anyone going to take me up on the offer I presented here? Pretty please? Just ask anything at all. Please please please! Okay, enough begging. So I was writing today and I think I have addressed this before, but figure it is high time for me to have a list of things that piss me off when I’m writing. And I mean when I’m actually writing, not sitting down and thinking, but typing out sentences. Here we go: 1) I suddenly have to go to the bathroom really bad. We’re talking to the point where I have to stop or I’ll pop. This irritates me so much because it often happens right as I’m getting into a writing groove.2) Somebody comes out and bugs me while I’m writing. This includes friends, family, and the like. I hate being interrupted because it takes me forever to get back into a groove again.3) Being suddenly overcome with a hunger or thirst.4) Having something fall on me in the middle of writing. Yes, this has happened. I’ve had magazines fall on me while typing from the top shelf of my computer table. It was, needless to say, an irritating moment and completely disrupted my writing.5) Having that sudden moment when I realize that what I’m writing is actually complete garbage.6) Some song playing in the background comes on that shouldn’t be there, but is, and suddenly annoys me beyond reason. I’ve had this happen too. Somehow a rock song ended up in my classical list. I listen to very mild classical music in the background sometimes because it tends to sooth my mind. So when some hard hitting screamo song that I thought I had deleted shows up it ruins the whole process.7) Having bizarre windows pop up when they shouldn’t. Such as that stupid weather.com program. I don’t know how it keeps getting on this computer, but every time it does I get annoying windows. Realplayer does the same thing even though the program isn’t running.8) Excessive noise from the other side of the house. You know, things banging, people yapping, that sort of thing.9) Someone calls me. Now, hold on. I know what you’re thinking. “Why not turn off your phone?” Well, sometimes I have important calls I have to answer. So, in theory that someone calling me would be someone of value and interest. Then again, sometimes it’s somebody calling me to know what the weight of processed cheese is.10) Running out of time! I HATE IT! Now, I’m sure this list will actually grow over time when new things bug the hell out of me, but for now that’s it!So what bugs you?
The Beginning of the End of Something or Other
Some quick blog notes. I’ve added a Shelfari Widget to my sidebar. It will show all the books I am currently reading. Right now it is quite a few, a bunch from the reading list. Also I have a friend who may be creating me a really cool new banner for the header of the site, which I am really excited about.That same person did a really cool fanart drawing of the attack on the assassins in Chapter Nineteen. Take a look!I like it because it is fanart for my novel. I’m sort of incapable of disliking it because it is quite cool looking. Fanart is of course welcome here :). In other news, we are drawing so near the end of this novel it is actually scaring me. I am curious how everyone else feels about finishing novels. This will actually be my first completed novel–albeit not necessarily the first novel that is perfect in any sense of the word. I’ve written a lot of novels and stopped. I think what is keeping me going on this is the fact that I have fans. There is something really fantastic when a fan tells you they love your work.Regardless, this is a scary thing. I realize that the story is not finished, since there are other books in the works, but my goodness, it’s like sending a child off to college or something of that nature. It’s strange that I feel this way. I suppose you could say I have become attached. The characters resonate with me. And they are all so very different and unique from each other–at least in my opinion. So, for the sake of random interest: Do any of you get a sort of fearful feeling when you are about to finish a work–regardless of length? How do you handle it? Tell me about it. I’d like to hear your stories of emotional attachment to, well, stories!
New Continents in the Works
Yes, the title is correct. I am working on adding new continents to my world. As of right now I have one in mind and it is giving a hell of a lot more trouble than Traea ever did. Traea seemed to flow from my mind without much of a thought, but geographically speaking this new continent is too complex to seem real. I have to bring it down several notches now just to get it to where I like it. So what does this mean for WISB? A lot. First, the second book already is looking to be off of the mainland of Traea to begin with–though that can change as I progress through the story. A second continent is needed simply because I have way too much in my head for there not to be. I can’t put it all on Traea. That would make for a severely compressed batch of ideas and concepts. This second continent I think will incorporate some aspects that perhaps are not so prevalent in WISB as we know it, as well as drawing on some things that I think are quite intriguing but don’t get much play in the first book simply because there isn’t room for it. And since we know what the title of the second book is–the tentative title anyway being The Spellweaver of Dern–that should give quite a few clues as to what to expect for the second book. But first, I have to get through book one, I have to put together a portfolio so I can get into the creative writing program at UCSC, read a hell of a lot, keep writing short stories as I am horribly behind now, and try not to get overly annoyed with my grandma as she bugs me left and right to clean and clean and clean so we can sell the house while trying desperately to do all the things that are of the most value to me–basically anything that has to do with writing. Oi. 😛
My Silly Mistake
I’m an just as prone to mistakes as everyone else. Why? Because I’m a human being and thus am not born with the almighty powers of God or a god or a demigod or some such infinitely perfect being that is incapable of being fallible.My silly mistake was this. During the entire course of writing WISB I have not once taken any notes on the world that I have been building. I’ve not written down extensive information about the characters, the cities, etc. Why is this important? Because I have so much information in the novel itself that it is actually getting a little difficult to keep track of it all. So I’ve started keeping a database of information using EverNote, a nifty little note taking program. I’m still far far far behind, but so be it. At least now I will be able to keep track of everything. It will all be written down neatly! In a strange way it will be like a personal wikipedia site! Except it’s not online, obviously. I am way behind though in regards to everything that has happened in my world. I’ve only just begun to brush the surface and I think once I finish the first novel I will take about a month off to do two things:1. Get everything written down in my EverNote file so that I have an amazing reference guide not only for myself but perhaps for my readers. We’re talking extensive stuff here beyond what is actually written. Yes, I’m a Tolkien wannabe, but I’ll be nice enough not to cloud all of you with mindless dribble in the actual story because, well, you won’t need it. My main focus in WISB is the characters and how they interact and develop in this fantastic and altogether unimaginably bizarre world.2. Prepare to write book two, which is tentatively being called “The Spellweaver of Dern”. I’m not sure why, but I thought of that title and long time ago and it just stuck. I think originally I had intended it to be some sort of offshoot series of WISB, but I liked the named “spellweaver” so much that I incorporated it into WISB and ultimately into this set of books (whether that be two or three in total). My goal is no more than three books right now. I don’t want to have some massive series that could potentially run into time problems. But, this is all for a later discussion. So, this is something that will be happening towards the end of summer, which would put me at about the one year mark for when I started WISB if I manage to get everything written by October. In theory I should have it all written and up on this site by August, assuming nothing horrendous goes wrong–you know, like my car explodes or something of that nature. This also assumes my family will give me the time to actually finish writing this novel without me having to explain why I need two weekends out of the month to sit down at my computer. Then again, my family is crazy and will never understand that aside from wanting to become an English teacher I also want to be a writer and doing so requires excessive amounts of time not only to read, but to write and practice the craft. This is why I started WISB in the first place–as an experiment. Fortunately, this experiment has been mildly successful from my viewpoint and therefore has been kept on for over half a year now.Anywho, I am rambling.More to come this weekend 😛