Why Write

Imagine standing in front of a classroom full of students and the name of the course is, “Creative Writing.”

Ask the question, “Why did you take this class?”

Now imagine some of the answers they would give to that question.

“For fun,” one student may say while shrugging their shoulders as if they have no idea why they signed up for the class.

That answer is one that we must agree with, but there are times that it isn’t so much fun, right? How about all those re-writes and editing, only to realize that your work and effort do not measure up. There are times when writing is not always fun and games. However, the rewards are cause for great rejoicing.

“It’s easy,” another student says while slouching down with a cell phone hidden under his desk. “It’s an easy English credit.”

Here you remind the student that there is nothing easy about writing, if done correctly. None of the arts, dancing, singing, painting, or writing is easy. They all require practice, drive, setting goals, practice, study, practice, re-working, practice, dedication, and did I mention practice? All successful artists of any sort have dedication, determination and spend years perfecting their craft.

A singer on stage didn’t hop up there from the audience unpracticed. A painter did not one day grab a paintbrush and create a masterpiece without first learning the craft. Dancers do not move with the music as if a part of it without first spending long hours practicing the steps. A successful writer does not one day decide to sit down at a typewriter and create a NY Best Seller without any knowledge of the craft, the industry, or the audience.

“I like to write,” a shy student on the front row of the classroom answers.

Now, there is a student with a valid reason for signing up for the class. They like to write. Write the answer on the chalkboard (oh, that’s right…today it is a dry erase board, or computer screen projector, or some other “board” in front of the class. Chalk is so dated).

I like to write.

Then you edit it: I love to write.
Then you edit it again: I enjoy writing.
Then you rewrite it: I have a passion for writing.
Then you rewrite it again: My passion for writing has become an obsession.
Then you get crazy: Writing drives me crazy and I must write!
Finally, you write with calm and deliberate ease on the board: I like to write.

That is creative writing. Writing stories takes us down many avenues and many different routes to get to the same basic thing: putting into words our passions, our feelings, our fears, and our ideas. There are many ways to say the same thing, but sometimes we have to get more creative.

King Solomon once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” So, we must get creative in HOW we write it. That is why love stories and detective mysteries will never go out of style. People love them. Vampires? Exactly! Same old Dracula movies for years until…brand new sparkling vampires that we can love rather than fear. Vampires are as old as dirt, pardon the pun, but take an old idea and twist a new concept around it. Get creative.

So, why do you write? Why did you embark upon this journey down a road filled with detours, side roads, potholes, and road construction?


(I deliberately avoided the answer, "To make money" because that is not a wise reason for writing novels. As a member of the Starving Artist's Society, I know that writing for the money is merely a pipedream, a "winning the lotto" frame of mind.)

What Makes a Writer Tick?

What makes us tick? Maybe it is the "tock" part that sounds the loudest.

Somedays, we tick by writing according to our inner schedule - some write on a schedule, others fly...I mean write...by the seat of their pants. We get lost in our stories whether they are non-fiction, fiction, or a mixture of both.

Giving our woes to our fiction characters helps us weather the storms and forget the pain while creating credible stories and characters. For some, writing fills gaps. We all have gaps and everyone fills them in different ways: a writer fills them by creating fantastic worlds where characters are chased up trees and have to find a way back down again.

Those are the ticks...but the tocks, wow, those are awesome! They sneak up on a writer in the wee hours of the night, in the middle of eating dinner, or at the stop light. Even driving to work, brushing our teeth, or waiting in line at the bank are all times when we hear the "tock" in writing.

Those unexpected moments are when we discover things - important things such as who our character really is, why our character refuses to come down out of the tree, what happens next, or another great idea for another great story even before we finish the WIP we are working on at the time.

New Website Home

For all of those who read my blog and for those who don't...

I have built a new website way over yonder at Weebly.com.

After trying to rebuild my blogspot (limited freedom) as my website, I realized I wanted a more creative and free site where I can do what I want to do and when I want to do it.

Weebly is made for us dummies, or for those of us who do not have the time for all that html building from scratch(ing our heads). It is drag and drop, upload, click and move, and it has its own photo editing (though limited) and formatting text. It was so easy that I managed to build my site in less than three days. I will add more later as time goes on.

One of the features I loved most is that it has NO TIME OUT. I hated it when I would be deep in building and writing html and uploading pictures etc, then linking to them, blah blah...only to have the file manager time out and I lose an hour of editing in a nanosecond.

Take a look at my new website and give me some feedback. Plus, check out Weebly.com if you are looking for an easy and fast way to build a site for all your hard work at writing. It even has a free blog - just drag and drop it from the tool bar to your page and POOF...you have a blog YOU control without flopping back and forth between your dashboard and the trunk. No seatbelts needed for Weebly.com!

http://lucindabilya.weebly.com <--check my new cyber home out.

I will still come here from time to time to post some thoughts about writing, but my wild and insane musings and ramblings will be playing around over at my new blog: http://lucindbilya.weebly.com/blog.

Thanks for being patient while I wonder off into the wonderful land of Indie Publishing where there are no fiery hoops, no games, and no attitudes of superiority merely because someone won the Agent Lotto by going around on the Query-go-round. I am old and tired...and I like life as simple as I can get it with fewer games to have to compete in.

warm regards Luci

Nothing Easy

I have read that self-publishing is hard work.

You know…it really is.

First, we write to novel. Second we rewrite the novel, thus becoming our own “Copy Editor.”

Then, we edit, proof, and remove all unnecessary words, phrases, paragraphs, and even chapters, or add all of the above, thus becoming our own “Editor.”

While accomplishing this, we study and learn about the industry if we are smart.

Then, we proof, thus becoming a Proof Reader searching for all tittles and dots.

Somewhere along this journey, we develop doubts, questions, as we teeter between Traditional and Indie wondering if we have made the right choices.

Refusing to burn bridges or spout off about one or the other, we trudge on determined to write the best novel we can regardless of which path we choose when we come to the fork in the road.

We learn that self-publishing is just that: Self Publish, which means we become our own Publishing Company, in a way.

Then, we study marketing. We read what others have done to promote their works. We never thought we could be a salesman (politically correct=Salesperson). Then a spark ignites the fire with promotional ideas, and if we really dig deep within our creative spirits, we discover that we are not selling books, but adventures. We become determined to get stores that don’t sell books, to sell our adventures, even the corner Exxon down the street.

Meanwhile, we read another Tweet about publishing whether it is about Traditional or Indie and edit our manuscripts one more time.

There is NOTHING easy about becoming a successful author. It is not a popular sport at all. In the end of it all, regardless of which path we choose, we feel like we have been running in circles because the way the traditional publishing has evolved, the agents, editors, and publishing houses EXPECT us to do all of the work of Indie while they hold onto our rights.

There is NOTHING easy in writing, but the rewards are immeasurable.

There is NOTHING easy about getting published, whether we do it our way or “theirs” but Indie seems a little simpler. After all, we are at the helm amidst the sinking, sailing, storms, and doldrums.

Simplicity sounds good. It may not be the most powerful force in the universe, but often times a writer, a true writer of the craft for the sake of the craft, merely wants to be read. That is simple.

While formatting my novel for Amazon, I keep hearing the words of Frankie… “I did it my way…no…not in a shy way…”

However, those bridges won’t be burned just yet…I am conniving another query letter…one last attempt at the Big Houses. Actually, it is more of a dare query than one with hopes of winning the Agent Lotto.

Anyone wish to put their two cents in about which side of the fence to graze upon…?

Another blog about this topic <--a link to a good read.

Although there are many blogs out in cyberspace, many tend to compare success to the million-dollar authors whether they were Indie or Traditional initially. Both sides of the fence have the super-successful writers, the middle or self-sufficient writers, and the hobbyists who write without making it big.

Successful writing is determined by how much passion we have for the art.

Blog under construction, or reconstruction

Originally, this blog was all about links to better writing. However, the WWW is packed full of such links, advice, and sure-fire methods to success. For years, I have taken the advice, studied the industry, and then taken a break while completing another novel. This blogspot has not been forgotten, only put on the back burner while I edit and prepare my novel for publishing. My blogspot is now under construction for a major facelift. My website no longer functions over at 110mb.com because they seem to have frozen up. Therefore, My blogspot IS my new website. Coming soon….updated information, novel details, upcoming novels in progress, etc. Please be patient as my blog morphs into a butterfly.

"If anyone then should take away the tragic actor’s buskins and his mask, and introduce him on the stage as a phantom, is the tragic actor lost, or does he still remain? If he has voice, he still remains."
~~Epictetus

Can you survive, can you thrive?

That is the question that came to mind after I read the above. When I read the last part, the writer in me would not shut up. All that I have learned about writing, publishing, and putting to practice the mega-loads of advice, knowledge, tried-and-true hoops to jump through for becoming a successful author, it all boils down to one simple word, VOICE!

Remember When...

...you were a child?

The best parents are those who never forget when they themselves were children. Do you remember how it felt to be afraid of the dark, scared to be alone, embarrassed when someone laughed at you? After half a century, we tend to forget when we exchange fashion for comfort, a curmudgeon attitude instead of fear, and laugh at ourselves before others have a chance to do so. Think back to the good ol’ days and remember when…

…you were a student?

We teach others in many ways, even when we aren’t trying to teach. Teachers who remember being students make the best teachers. Youth comes in delicate packages. Remember that teacher who was so hard on you? You hated them at the time, but as the years passed, you realized that they were the best and that you learned the most from that class regardless of the subject. It could be your eighth-grade mathematics teacher. We remember those who cared when…

…we were sick.

The best doctors are those who remember what it was like to be the patient. They have compassion even when they don’t want to get too attached because of the emotional pain.

Growing up, growing wiser, and growing towards the real things that matter in life has been an on-going process since man first walked upon this earth. There is nothing new, only rearranged. Ever meet an old friend who made it rich and they cannot remember your name or what it was like to be poor? Rather than taking offense, pity them. Pity anyone who forgets the roads they have traveled to get to where they are today.

Read the news…
…about those who jump out of windows because they lost a fortune – pity them for they have forgotten true value.
…about someone who cannot live without another, yet murder them and themselves – pity them for they have forgotten true love.

Remember when…and be thankful and content – the power of tranquility.

Lucy