F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Writing

The Misunderstood Writer

by

English: The rock band The Misunderstood.

Yesterday I posted a reblog about a “few words from Stephen King.” And…I made some comments. Well, as I thought more about what I wrote there, it weighed on my mind some, until a decidedly male voice in my head said “All right!” early this dark morning, as in “enough!” (Yes, it really was a voice I heard–not me speaking, as I lay in bed this morning…).

I am sensitive to people’s plights. About having difficulty in one or another area of one’s life. Of continuing to do your damned best, yet nothing seems to come from it…but what set me off on my comment to the post was the whole “I’m so different nobody understands me” piece. Sob stories. About how writers are so different, so “out in the ozone,” that no one can relate to them so “they” have to be with their own kind. I mean no disservice to Mr. King (and it’s not just Mr. King I’ve heard this particular sentiment from), not one bit. He has his opinions, I have mine, you have yours, and we’re free to agree or disagree. But it was something I clearly wanted to expand upon.

First off, if you’re a writer…and no one understands you…you have no one but yourself to blame. You obviously didn’t do a good enough job getting your point across.

That’s the ugly truth of it.

And as to whether or not a Creative Type can live with a Normal Human–I’m evidence of that. I am frequently asked how I can write what I do, and how I do not seem like what I write. Just because you write crazy, does not give you license to behave crazily in life and in your relationships. You’re Human, and all humans, every one of us, think about the weird and off-center to some degree. Thinking and doing are two different things. We’re all built to do something in the life we live, and writers write.  If we can channel these thoughts and out-there ideas into publically acceptable (and sometimes not) coherent prose or poem, that’s what we do. Don’t bother trying to reverse engineer it. Figure us out. It’s like reverse engineering a gardener, a rock, or bird. It’s what that individual is meant to do, and more often than not, they can’t explain it either.

Accept it and move on.

Now, perhaps this plays into Mr. King’s “creative writing can’t be taught” statement, but it seems to me that the point of the mechanics of writing is to get something down. Communicate that something either to yourself or another. If no one is “getting” you (perhaps including oneself?), there’s an obvious disconnect, here.

Similarly, if any creative type is “too out in the ozone,” then how do they communicate with the masses, which is, it seems to me, what Creative Types do. Okay, expression of something, in and of itself, but it seems to me that most feel an overpowering distress to express their creations to others. So, if you don’t adequately communicate, how does anyone appreciate? How do you build a following so that when you do go to “like-minded people,” said Creative Type would find someone to sleep with? Okay, raging hormones, tattoos, and long lonely nights aside, would most people want to [continue to] sleep with someone that alien to them? One they just could not figure out? Continue to sleep with them after the initial fire, passion, and excitement wore off? Stranger things, I guess.

But I’ve run into–and at times felt so myself–“misunderstood” more than once in my life on this planet. It’s okay to feel the pain of what you’re trying to do not hitting its projected mark, but after the initial disappointment, all misunderstood artists need to get back on their feet and take a good, hard look at themself.

Am I a good enough artist? Can I make myself better?

Am I not a writer, but an actor?

Am I more of an activist?

Am I more the quiet, behind-the-scenes helping type?

The misunderstood writer needs to step back and analyze what’s working and what’s not, then get their ass in gear and make things better. Readjust the medium. Not bemoan and mope around the globe decrying how unfortunate and misunderstood they are (<insert tears, here>).

A Word About “too much air and light.”

I would agree…to a degree.

I think sometimes writing (or anything creative, for that matter) can become [overly] sanitized. Sometimes, I feel, perfect grammatical structure and mechanics get in the way of the story. The “rawness”…can be eviscerated from the work. Sure, you have to make your work presentable in your area of creation (novels, screenplays, totems…), but you also have to know when to stop. If you work it over too much, take other people’s recommendations too much, you kill the impact.

Go with your gut.

Don’t worry how incensed or indignant others may be about your work.

If your work is good, truly good, it will stand on it own. Others will get it. They may not like it, but they will get it. But, you just can’t please everyone. There will always be those looking to criticize something you put out there (look at me, now). Thing is, try to be respectful and open. Be willing to apologize when needed, because someone with an issue you wrote about didn’t like your presentation of it and felt you condescending.

Be gracious.

But when it comes to your work…

Be brutal and unflinching.Don’t overwork your efforts. Don’t let too much worry about public rejection or indignation cause you to “smooth out its edges.” Dull the impact.  You’re a Creative Type.

Be creative.

Related articles

Promotion vs. Promotion

by

Spy vs. Spy
Image via Wikipedia

Such an ugly word to some, choiristic (that a word?) angels and bright lights to others. But a genuine concern to anyone who has anything to sell.

How much is too much?

Just yesterday a friend and I exchanged an e-mail on why some booksignings may or may not be getting the quantity of people to them they used to in the past. The topic arose about social media. That now, on Twitter,  Facebook, and you-name-it, everyone knows about everyone’s nosepicking, butt-wiping, teeth brushing habits, so there’s little left to the imaginaton…little mystery left to authors. Many claim social media the cure-all to selling anything, others, like The Red Pen Of Doom, decry diametrically. I am somewhere in the middle, but basically subscribe to the notion that it’s all “word of mouth.” Pick your platform, pick your poison, but I feel it doesn’t necessarily matter what your poison is, if it’s at all interesting to anyone, it will sell. I also believe in the Zen of life, and that applies to everything (so there’s always a Zen reason for why anything may or may not succeed as the owner may wish it to, and that trumps most of this discussion…). Sure, it has to get out there, but that’s where one’s poisonous platforms come into play. Once it’s out there, there simply has to be interest, and I feel basic “backyard clothesline telegraphy” can get the job done just was well as any TV advertisement, YouTube, or tweet. Because it all comes into play when people are interested in anything.

So, while I agree with much of Mr. Red Pen, and greatly like what he has to say, I disagree in that anything can sell anything. There just has to be some kind of a fire lit under it. And I can’t tell you what that fire is. It could your burning wit, your good looks, your eloquence. Your tireless promotional energy. Yes, it could still be Oprah.

Hell, it could even be your powerfully delivered story, characters, and message.

Now, I’m a huge fan of mystery. I realize long ago, I don’t really and necessarily want to know a movie star’s political alignment, nor an author’s brand of toothpaste. We all have our quirks and weirdness, and I don’t think we need to broadcast every little thing about ourselves. I love the imagination, and I love to What-if. I think we all need a little mystery left to our lives, left to our imaginations…these will help fire our imaginations. Imagination is important. It fuels pretty much everything about our lives. We imagine to do better, to go farther, to grow and improve. If every little thing about about every little thing is laid out bared and eviscerated, it can well kill (at the very least blunt) the imagination. An ability not used atrophies. It also takes away the fun, and there’s something to be said for experiencing more fun in our lives…perhaps now more than ever. Deadening our imagination takes away our ability to think for ourselves. Leave a little meat on the bone, for crying out loud, and let your imagination run wild, not your tweets.

So, in summary (I’m imagining myself before a packed lecture hall…), all I’m saying is, is that anything could sell your wares. Literally anything. And that we need to allow mystery back into our lives. Not always going for the explicit the minutiae inundated lifestyle that seems to have overtaken us. I hope to prove this in the near future, but it’s what I truly believe.

In the interests of promotion, I’ll be in Longmont, Colorado, April 13th, for an en masse booksigning at the Longmont Public Library. I’ll be signing my novel, Sleepwalkers. Hope to see you there!

Also, in interests of promotion, I’ve created a new blog site, called Reality Check. We’ve all had weird things that have happened to us throughout our lives, so I thought I’d try a new site to handle this stuff, which greatly interests me, ever since I was a wee lad, and which factors in my fictional work.  I’m preferring to make this a positive site, not about the dark and the nasty.  There’s enough of that out there. This site is about the GOOD in life. Please check it out!

Just had this epiphany after having posted this earlier today (and maybe it’s not new to you, but it just hit me while I was washing lettuce in the kitchen sink): what if the real secret to utilizing social media in selling anything is not so much sellers and authors using it…but customers? That it’s in the customers’ best interests to FB and tweet the hell out of their praise for an item, since so many get upset at people sell their wares on Twitter, by e-mail, and perhaps even FB?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for taking the time to read my posts!

Read Across America, You Sneetches, Thar!

by

Read Across America

Earlier this week, I again read in one of my niece’s classes for the NEA Read Across America readathon. I’ve done this a couple times and really love it. It’s fun to sit, surrounded by all those inquisitive and wiggly little minds, their wide-eyes focused upon you in amusement and wonder! So attentive, openminded, and engaging! Their giggling energy rippling throughout their numbers (for they are legion…). Their playful laughter!

And to have my niece lovingly snuggle against my leg as I read…priceless.

It’s fun interacting with a roomful of them, listening to their surprisingly smart comments and “takes” on things. I try to remember what I was like at their age, and sometimes I can. I do remember the wonder I had for the world of words, of reading, I did a fair amount of it. I read about a book a week, through high school, sometimes more (I had chores and other, outdoorsy, stuff to do, too, you know…). I loved being transported away with words. Loved the images. Loved the medium itself…I did and still do really love books. Love not only their words but how they feel in my hands. Look on a bookshelf. Not a substitute for actually living one’s life, it was cool to know you could learn so much from books, even fiction. New words. New ideas. New places. Stretch one’s imagination….

And doing these reading sessions with these wonderful children brings such joy to one’s heart! If only for but a few moments, it takes me away from my worries and deadlines and minutiae. It puts me into their world. Their world of wonder and naiveté, chock full of what-ifs and clean slates!

Those who have stars upon thars!

I am so glad, that for however long I’ve done and may do it again, I’ve been able to bring a measure of joy to these youngsters! That however minute, I had some impact upon their collective lives. That I made a bunch of children I don’t even know (and one I do…) laugh and howl and oooh and ahhh. Listen to the words translated from a book, through my voice, meet their ears. Enter their minds.

And then I brought out the cookies….

11/22/63 – Not What You Think!

by

11/22/63
11/22/63 (Photo credit: cdrummbks)

Stephen King is, hands down, my favorite author, and this Force of Writing proves his power. It brought tears to my eyes.

I’m not going to give anything away, but it’s not exactly about what you may think it’s about. And that is one of the reasons why I love most of his work (not his angry, mean stuff, like Full Dark, No Stars, which I chose not to finish…and it was a hard decision…)–specifically, his nonfiction and supernatural work. For the most part, whatever he writes about, he makes you care about it, both the characters and the story. This story (yes, it’s long…but is it, really?–and the research!) simply draws you in. Makes you wonder just where the hell he’s going with it. Yellow card? Black card? Green card?  WTF?! He weaves and creates entire lives in ways few authors do–or are allowed to, in today’s publishing world. It’s simply magic. Could he have cut a couple hundred pages?  Perhaps…but then 11/22/63 wouldn’t be the incredible piece of storytelling it is. It actually seems to me that the length of the story itself is directly analogous to its effect on the reader. Getting lost in another world…another’s LIFE.  And how can anyone say that the life of a loved one is ever too long?

Because when it’s over…you’ll miss it.

Amazon.com…Brick and Mortar?!

by

Say it ain’t so, but Amazon.com has just announced that it plans to open an actual–walk in–brick-and-mortar bookstore. Yeah, just when you thought…

This single store is to be opened in its home town and will be a test market for its creation. It will carry high-end products. My first thought was why open it in its hometown as a test? Too incestuous. They should open it elsewhere to really test it.

I got this (of all places!) from a Business Baramoter report on the Weather Channel this morning, but was unable to find any other info in a quick search….

Added Feb 7th: click this link for more information.

Added Feb 12th: click this link for more information.

Bitchin and Moanin? Take Responsibility!

by

It’s interesting to see the ongoing back-and-forth between “one side or the other,” on this Amazon-vs-the World thing. Each side thinks they’re right, that they’re the only ones with the purchase of truth (pun intended). Fact is things aren’t perfect on either side, which gives existence to the mirrored position. There’s very little “black and white” anymore.

Oooh, Amazon’s taking over the world!  It’s soooo scary!

Yeah, well, before Amazon, who had control of it, huh?  Six guesses.

All I know is that there are writers out there–good ones, we’re not talking about those who still have a lot of work yet before getting into this conversation–looking for representation. And why are they getting turned away?

Projected that they can’t sell beyond a certain benchmark?

Because they don’t have ready made audiences.

They’re not immediate successes out of the fricking gate.

Anyone can be made into a success, it’s all about promotion. Spending a little quality time with those you feel are worth the effort and building a following through word of mouth (include all modes of technology, here, but it’s all the same thing, people!) I am still stunned and amazed at what I see being published and bought. I’ve recently come to the to point in my life where if it loses my interest, I stop reading. I used to be loyal to the book I bought and slogged through it, but I found myself forced-rep reading so many titles that simply were not well done, I decide–no more. Just as recently as two weeks ago, picked up a pseudo-brand namer, stuck with it some 70 pages, and it killed me. Extremely choppy writing that was completely jarring, and words that (sorry) went nowhere for me.

And I’m not a hard reader!

I’ll give most anyone a chance–I would’ve even continued reading had the story half interested me!

Thing is, all this polarization seems to be because of things like brick-and-mortar income versus Internet income. How if authors go to Amazon, they’re gonna “lose out.”

HOW???

These writers who go to Amazon (I’m bettin’) have gone elsewhere. I’m sure they went to Random House, Bantam, S&S, not to mention agents. I’m sure they fought every inch of the way across fields of broken (and poisoned!) glass–just like the rest of us.

And, whatdyaknow?

A publisher took them on!

Yes, a publisher!

Take out any modifier to “publisher,” and look at it from the writer’s point of view. Someone out there in Bookland decided to take a chance on them. Someone with clout. Wherewithal. Is hip to the Coming Things.

How do they lose?

Have you not heard of the Internet?

How instantly global it is?

Low overhead?

Lights always on?

All the success stories?

Oh, right…they don’t get an actual store to walk into. Don’t get pushed by traditional publishers and all their clout.

Bad press.

Have we all forgotten just how much “help” traditional publishers give authors?

The real problem here is not who authors are going to…it’s what’s happened to publishing. How it’s infected all that orbits it. Yes, there are people’s jobs at stake–but so are there at the author end of the spectrum. These big business people are simply doing what’s “best for them,” and yes, at the expense of everyone else. All those in the Big Box Stores do have their jobs at stake and they could find themselves out of a job, and that sucks…and I do feel for them…so I see their angst about the whole mess…but the unfortunate aspect of that is that they (right or wrong) weighed anchor at a port that maybe isn’t long for commerce.

I love books, love books stores, but if they end up drying up because those who run things won’t change, while other avenues for buying books continue to exist…well, it will be a sad world. And (apparently) I can’t save the world. Only my little space in it. All I can do is do the best I feel I can do–just like all the rest of us out there.  Some are just more greedy, more rigid, more scared than the rest, and yes, some of those actually run things. And shit rolls downhill. So, if you’re attached to something whose days are numbered, maybe you should start looking elsewhere.

I don’t believe in End of World scenarios. I think we can all co-exist peacefully and in harmony. Call me full of shit, but I don’t really care. Those who complain without offering constructive suggestion–action!–have only themselves to blame.

Take responsibility for your actions!

If we all treat each other with respect and dignity, we can all prosper and go far. I am so fed up (if you couldn’t tell) with all this fricking finger pointing. Get over yourselves and do something right for a change.

Work with each other!

See the worth and value in each other’s business models. Grow and welcome positive change. Take chances. Make things better.

Just quit bitchin and moanin without action.