My Idea

No, I'm not going to tell you the idea. That would ruin the fun. But I will tell you a few other things.

The books I've read usually have a section on where authors get their ideas. Often, these books will talk about how ideas are everywhere, but it is often a secondary idea or meaning that helps propel that idea into an actual story. Furthermore, to arrive at that secondary idea or meaning, many of the books discuss ways your conscious and unconscious minds talk to one another.

Well, the first idea came from a dream I had years ago. Probably close to 15 years ago, actually. There was an image in the dream--one of self-sacrifice--that stuck with me. However, the more I thought about the image, the more the characters seemed too simple: one was good, and the other was bad. Neither had any ambiguity to them. This past weekend, I was lying in bed, in that lovely state of not-quite-awake, so I started to review the image. And miracle of miracles, my minds started working with one another--instead of a good guy finishing off the bad guy while also doing himself in, what if the good guy wasn't so good, the bad guy wasn't so bad? And instead of some pyrrhic victory, what if the good guy does something horrible but with the full knowledge of how bad it is, feels terrible doing it, but does it anyway? (Yes, I realize how unclear that sounds, but I'm trying to talk around the details for now) It sounds more like a potential story.

I'll let you know where it goes.

Timing is Everything

I found a writing group that meets in my neighborhood and looks like a great group: writers at a variety of experience levels, writing in many different genres, giving and receiving criticism. Sounds perfect, right?

Not quite. It meets at 7pm, and the meetings last until 9pm or so. If I get off work at a reasonable hour, if the bus is running on time, and if traffic isn't bad, I get home at 7pm. That's a lot of ifs. Furthermore, I'm an old man at heart, so I go to bed at 10pm and get up early to work out. The group would swallow my entire evening one night a week, but maybe it's a fair trade--give up one night a week and in return, feel like part of a community, give and receive criticism, etc. But that assumes I would make up this lost time by writing more on other nights. But that's just it--I'm not writing at the moment. I need to use my time more efficiently and effectively.

So here's the deal I made myself: finish the "how to write" books that I've already started, and no more. As I finish them, use that newly freed up time to write more. Hell, write period.

But here's the good news: I've got an idea for a short story.

What Else Am I Reading?

A piece of advice I hear over and over again is that writers should be readers. No problem there. I have been a big reader nearly since I could read. I finished my summer reading early, loved the local library young readers clubs, and scored so many pizzas while participating in the Pizza Hut Book It program. More recently, I brought four banker's boxes of books (essentially one bookshelf) to my local second-hand bookshop before I moved in with my wife, and I even read four books on my honeymoon (in my defense, I had just finished taking the Bar Exam and had not read for fun in months; there were long flights; and we spent a lot of time on a beach).

So part of this blog will be to describe what I am reading for fun. Hopefully, you will see that I will read as widely and deeply as I should. Odds are (especially during the summer and since I started working at a law firm), you will see that I do not read as much nonfiction as I should. Feel free to comment on my choices.

Currently, I have subscriptions to three magazines: The Economist, Wired, and The Atlantic. Wired and The Atlantic are fairly inexpensive and are great reads. Wired covers all sorts of tech and science stuff, as well as pop culture. The Atlantic covers travel stories, a cocktail column, politics, and various other stories, including regular articles by Andrew Sullivan and Mark Bowden. The Economist covers news from around the world, as well as science stories, and book reviews. However, it is the priciest of the three, and it can be hard to get through it all every week. Nevertheless, their Technology Quarterly pieces are great for sci-fi writers.

As for novels, I am currently reading Cherie Priest's Boneshaker. Not only was this my first Kindle purchase, but it is my first exposure to steampunk. I have been enjoying it very much. It's a great summer read: fun and action-packed with detailed world creation. I would recommend it to others. And if you like audio books, Wil Wheaton lent his voice to the recording.

As I wrap up the "how to write" books (I just finished Storyteller), I will keep y'all posted as to what enters the rotation.

Learning to Write & Writing Groups, cont'd

First, a quote from Kate Wilhelm's Storyteller:

"You can't learn how to write a novel by reading a how-to book or two or attending a novel-writing class. The only way to learn to write anything is by writing, including novels" (p. 156).

I think that is largely true. However, I want to pick up a bit more of the mechanics of writing (particularly short stories) before I finish reading. That being said, I get the point, and will start working on fleshing out a few ideas while I read.

Second, I found a writing group that meets right in my neighborhood. Even better, it looks well attended, offering a number of different activities such as critiquing members' writing and informing them of upcoming contests. The downside? It may be too popular--meet ups fill up very quickly (according to the group's calendar, just about every meet up has a waiting list of attendees). I need to get in touch with the group and find out more details. But I will keep you posted.

Can Writing Be Taught?

I am sure it can on some level. I would hope that creative writing programs at universities around the world are at least somewhat successful. Certainly, the Clarion Workshop has produced many published writers.

But for writers like me who are unable to pursue a creative writing education or too inexperienced to qualify for groups like Clarion, where should we turn? Are books on writing valuable?

I would argue that some books surely are. For example, The Elements of Style is great. Short, too the point, and surprisingly entertaining if you are a grammar nerd like me (and I would wager that any writer needs to be something of a grammar nerd--if only to prevent a potential editor from rejecting a story due to an impression of lazy writing). Other books, like On Writing, have great tips such as be ruthless about eliminating adverbs. But at what point should I stop reading about writing and actually write? When do I know enough about character development, plot structure, or world creation? If I write, submit, and then receive form letter rejection letters, how will I learn what I did wrong and what I did right?

Maybe it is like doing legal research. At some point I will need to make a decision about diminishing returns and decide enough research is enough. When I start finding the same things again and again, I know it is time to stop. Maybe that is how I will know when it is time to stop reading. But that seems like a lot of reading and very little writing. Maybe just a few rules are enough to get me going, earning experience a page at a time.

So, until I think of a better plan, I will try both reading and writing. I am currently reading Storyteller, Creating Short Fiction, and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. I have also started a notebook for capturing ideas for short stories and maybe even a novel. Next step: look for a writers group that will welcome an amateur interested in science fiction and fantasy?

I will keep you posted. Until next time, I will leave you with this bit of advice for newbie writers:

(Image originally posted here, and the always wonderful Neil Gaiman's blog can be found here and followed on Twitter here)

Getting to know me

I am a lawyer, and like many lawyers, I have wanted to be a writer for years. And here I am, thirty years old, and still not a writer. So I started this blog to chronicle my steps from “I want to be a writer,” to “I am writing,” to (hopefully) “I am a published writer.”

Oh sure, law school will teach you how to organize your thoughts, choose your words carefully, and make an argument. I have learned to write like a lawyer, edit for an audience of lawyers, and I have even been published in a legal journal. But I think we have all seen many examples of legalese that makes your eyes glaze over and your attention wither. Law school may teach you how to write well, but it does not teach you to be a storyteller.

So when I say that I want to be a writer, what I really mean is that I want to be a storyteller. I want to engage readers, fire their imaginations, and make them wonder what happens next. And there is only one way to make that happen: write, edit, and write some more. So here I begin.

I am sure this will be a long journey, but so long as I am writing, learning, and growing, then I will be happy. I will post my thoughts, my lessons, my successes, and my failures. I hope you will enjoy the journey as much as I will.