F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Books

Does Novel Writing Get Harder With Each One?

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You Gotta Want It. (By MC1 Leslie Long [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
You Gotta Want It. (By MC1 Leslie Long [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
I read this Franzen interview the other day and thought, true or not: does novel writing get harder the more you put out?

Of all the novels I’ve written, Psychic was the most difficult. All my first drafts came out easy except for this one. It was like pulling teeth. And the couple of newer works I’ve begun didn’t go as easy as my previous efforts. Stories didn’t just flow out of the fingertips like they always had.

So, I had to give this statement some consideration.

Maybe Franzen’s statement is true. Maybe, like Franzen says, initially you’ve written all the “low hanging fruit” and later in your career you have to dig deeper into those eye-poking branches…create more depth to your stories, make them more meaningful. Think more complex.

Or maybe just find something interesting to write about.

I write commercial fiction…but I do try to have an eye for the literary. I try to give my stories extended and layered depth and meaning. Try to make the writing itself go beyond the words and story itself…while simultaneously trying to keep the writing as “transparent” as possible to the story…which I feel is king. Perhaps a contradiction, but I try to make the mechanics as well as the plot meaningful.

But.

As I’ve tried to create some new work the past couple years, I have found that those have not been as easily started as all of my previous efforts. I used to call writing “easy” for me, while others continually called it frigging hard. The act of doing it…sitting down and putting fingers to keyboard to generate stories…not that there aren’t aspects of writing that make you pull your hair out. I don’t feel most things worthwhile are meant to be “easy.” But the longer I do it, it does seem that some aspects of writing are getting, well, “harder.” My ex-agent told me this is totally natural in writers who stick around, because you’re getting better…and writing does get harder, because you’re pushing yourself. Your limits. And if you’re not pushing yourself, you’re not getting better.

So, Mr. Franzen, I guess (for now) I’ll have to agree with you. But, I’ll let you know once I get started on my next effort.

The Pink Elephant in the Room

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The Pink Elephant in the Room. (By RANDY PRITCHETT [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
The Pink Elephant in the Room. (By RANDY PRITCHETT [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
All the time I’ve been writing my current WIP, in the back of my mind is this little niggling voice wondering about how believable a story is this. This may not be of concern to many, but to me it is, because I like to write fiction that is so real I’d like my readers to walk away from my work and think…Yeah, that could happen….

We’ve all heard the statement “truth is stranger than fiction,” and I feel that applies in this case.

People are strange.

We really are. Out in public, most of us seem pretty normal.

But how are we in private?

What weird little things do we all do that we hope most never see?

The more I learn about people the weirder it gets.

I was recently talking to some guys who used to work in commercial Internet/satellite provider work. What they told me totally changed my mind about what I wrote. About the private, in-the-darkness actions the characters in my WIP do.

These ex-installers told me they’d been called to homes that were in utter filth. Dirty underwear thrown behind dressers and couches…underwear that literally had feces in them.

Sex toys found around and behind furniture.

Women in various stages of undress…flirting and going after them.

Stupid and annoying “parents” who let their stupid and annoying progeny harass them, messing around in their tools (even stealing them).

Dogs let loose to bite and go after them as they worked.

Now, throw in all the stories you’ve ever read about the weird and perverted proclivities of Humankind I’m not even going to write about, it so disgusts me. I’d read about ancient Rome and what some sexual practices were. Some things you just can’t unsee. Unread. It sickens me and I really wish I’d never read it. I was actually stunned that Publisher’s Weekly had put it in their article!

So, as I wrote my current WIP’s sex scenes…as I let the manuscript sit while I receive my beta reader comments, I think about all this and realize…what I wrote is nothing compared to real life. Yes, my sex scenes are intense…are explicit…but, they are not unrealistic interactions between two seemingly normal people (or “lost souls,” as Edie called one of them—I so like that term!) hiding in the dark and trying to deny their connections. Apparently 50 Shades gets pretty graphic, and my work is apparently nothing like those books…but I can still give her a run for her money!

But all the above notwithstanding, my book is about the lives of several individuals and how they’re dealing with the situation within which they find themselves entangled. The scenes are explicit for me…but they are not unrealistic. Not over the top. When I hear about how others of the Human Race apparently run their lives…shit, sex toys, idiot progeny, heinous historical sexual practices and all…my novel stands in perspective just fine.

Say “Hello” to the pink elephant for me.

Related Articles

Write A Review!

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Strength and Protection In Cooperation! (By Deep silence (Mikaël Restoux) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
It’s a Team Effort! (By Deep silence (Mikaël Restoux) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
I don’t like to prod readers into doing this every time I talk about books, but I think doing a blog post about it is okay.

Writing reviews helps authors!

Reviews help get the books out there, and if you really like the work, give a great review, that only helps more (though an argument can be made that even bad reviews gets your work out there: “there’s no such thing as bad press“…). It’s all about word of mouth…passing on information through your own personal network. When you love a movie or book you talk about it, and that’s all we’re doing, here. But in writing this stuff down you preserve it for future and continued use. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

It helps keep authors afloat!

People do read them. I even read them. It’s what can initially get someone to buy a book…and buying books keeps authors in business. Sure, you can pass books on to others, but if you don’t buy books…authors don’t get paid—especially Indie authors who do not get advances.

Now, this next part will sound a bit odd…but, if you like a book and write a great review it can balance out negative reviews. I know, sounds self-serving, but I hadn’t even considered this part of reviews until I read a post by ex-agent on the topic. Buuut…it’s true.

You’re not going to please everyone.

When I read reviews I always compare the ratio of poor reviews to the good ones in anything I’m researching. Bad books notwithstanding (of which your book very well could be but hope it isn’t…), negative reviews are written for different reasons…not just because a book is “bad”…some people are just mean-spirited. Some people are jealous. Some people are the competition and perform less-than-savory practices (some business competitors—I’m not saying authors would or have done this, and I certainly hope they do not—but some business competitors have actually paid people to write negative reviews; Amazon does crack down on this practice whenever discovered). Some people just trash everything…are always looking for ways to beat down another in any way possible…it’s the only feeling of power they feel they have. That’s a sad thing. I’m not even sure most of these people are even aware of their behavior.

And all that said, as authors, we need to avoid responding to such negativity, as Craig Stone discusses, and let the readers handle those negative reviews. So, please resist the temptation to respond to the angry and the negative. Let it go.

But…if you truly enjoy something…write it up! On Amazon, Twitter, Goodreads, et cetera! On your own blog! Just write it up anywhere public! Don’t let the mean-spirited squeaky wheels get all the attention And if you do write up a review, please pass the link my way (see contact info below). If you’d like a copy of the cover to go along with your review, contact me and I’ll send you a file of the cover art. As long as you properly attribute the work and cover art, you can freely send it to anyone and everyone!

It’s hard to get your name out there loud enough in today’s world. It’s even harder for Indie published authors who have even fewer resources and “brand name appeal.” Don’t get advances and promotional budgets. Anything you can do to help your favorite author is a Godsend. Get your friends to write reviews…get them to post blogs, do interviews. Send e-mails! Tweet it up!

Again, thank you all in advance for everything!

Contact me: I may be contacted at fpdorchak at fpdorchak dot com for cover graphics to include on reviews, for interviews, or speaking engagements. Do you have a favorite radio station? Contact them about interviewing me—I’ll give away free books!

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