The Author's road
Romeo D. Matshaba Introduction The road to becoming a writer is both lonely and filled with countless scars and bruises; it is for those who have persevering hearts and very thick skins. Writing is a romantic profession, the kind which oozes from ones mouth with pride when they say, “I’m an author. I am, a professional writer.” But not all of us can say these simple, but yet, potent words. The best some of us manage to recite might be “I have a few poems and stories on my hard drive". Throughout the years I started realizing a global phenomenon being repeated time and again with my students and the countless other emerging writers I met. They were all convinced that they have created a masterpiece, “only if the world could read it.” The real tragedy in this is that it did not matter, indeed some of them were great writers and they had just completed a true work of art, because what I have learnt is that the world does not remember great writers, but rather, those who convince the world that they are great writers. Like most, I have learnt excruciatingly over the years by trial and error in this solitary and secluded profession. In the hopes of changing this lonely road I have written a skeletal map of the journey I followed, in order to aid other authors. Compressing those years into a single article and answering the mind blogging question about the road to authorship. The Beast Within “You should first conquer the beast within (or at least learn to co-exist); otherwise, you shall forever be made a mockery by the beast outside.” Understand your true self; understand where your talents lie. Are you writing for wealth, fame or passion? Today every one wants to write a book, the world is filled with writers… but the tragedy in all this is that only one in ten thousand writers is actually good. Do me a favor and write your one sole objective on a piece of paper, and put it somewhere in your wallet. Cause from my experience if your work hard enough and work smart enough. There are some guarantees in life. Remember, there are two kinds of writers, those who write because with their heart, breathe and sinew they live to write. There are also those rare types who write because they have lived. The latter will focus more on their personal stories while the former on their imagination and the world. These are normally intertwined with POV. Point of view (POV): This is the view in which the author chooses to narrate or convey the story to the world. Third person POV is more popular and widely used as it is by far the simplest form. Here the author is detached from the story and he knows their thoughts, feeling and turns. This has the added benefit of being objective and broad. The first person POV adds authenticity and reality to the story foretold… since these occurrences are happening to the author although limited to being subjective and having a narrow view of the window of the world. The extent of omniscience: omniscient narrators are neither bounded by time nor space as they can traverse backwards and forward in time or surpass oceans and mountains (the fly on the wall), while limited omniscient is associated with a major or minor character with an incomplete and shortened view of the story Genre: find a genre that most interests you, in my opinion; you should write what you know. A modern day Romeo or Casanova is better off writing romance than horror and a science geek who loves comics would benefit a lot from writing science fiction. Let your writing reflect your inner personality – this adds depth and authenticity to your work. Of course there are exceptions to every rule so think carefully about your genre – think carefully about who you really are. Fiction vs. Non-Fiction Writers can be story tellers (fiction writers) or a source of information (non-fiction). The latter will focus on blogs, articles and non-fiction books. These are the writers we turn too when we wish to know about a particular subject; they are masters of knowledge. This portion of writing deals hand-in-hand with research. Step 1: research everything you possibly can about the subject and write this information down (do not rely on memory and never forget your references). Step 2: Write down everything you know or want to add to this particular subject. Step 3: put everything together to create an informative, non-fiction book or article. As you read this try to realize the category in which you fall. The Former (fiction writers), are the dreamers of our society, they entertain and thrill us with their thought provoking, heart pounding… delectable stories. Writers found in this facet will most likely be involved in poetry writing, short story writing, novels etc. My advice, rather be a notable specialist than a mediocre generalist. We spend too much time operating in areas where we are not experts: have the writers pride; to never write it if you’re not an expert and breathe effortlessly where you are. Find a mentor Your mentor does not have to be Sylvia Day or Stephen King (although it would not hurt), try to pinpoint an author who is accessible and whom you enjoy his/her writing. This might not be as difficult as you imagine, authors being solitary creatures often leap at the opportunity to mentor others. Be direct and explain your intentions and at the same time explain what you love about their work. A mentor might often show potholes that are invisible to your eyes ahead, as well as, countless heedless mistakes you might avoid. Not to mention reviews, forewords, pre-editing etc. The three step technique The one mistake which gets repeated over and over like a catchy song – is stepping out too soon. We are all in a rush to publish and become famous that we sometimes forget to breathe and take our time. You might send out a manuscript too early before it is ready and you might ruin your chances. But worse than sending out your work too early is sending out something that is just not good enough. I am going to outline a three step formula that if applied correctly will set you apart from the rest; make you echo and resonate in the fabrics of time. STEP 1: Perfect your skill Emily Dickinson, a poetical master of the modern era composed about 1800 poems in her life, but only less than a dozen were published in her lifetime, even then, the publishers heavily edited her work. It was only after her death that the world recognized her genius. The moral here is similar to that of the artist Van Gough, that if you have perfected your skill to the limits of perfection. The world will recognize your work; all we can do is to be grateful if this is recognized in our lifetimes. My advice “although true art can never be taught some aspects of it can be learnt” So in the pedestal of your writer’s journey; study the greats; the ‘Golden Writers’. The classic works of Dickinson, Parker, Shakespeare, etc. These giants stood out of, in search of a better word, mediocre writers of their time. Their key strategies and use of words is worth investing your time. Read and write, read and write and always keep in mind that although you admire these writers, the envious and ambitious writer deep within you subconsciously wants’ nothing more than to beat them. Read and study what moves you and touches your soul; this will assist in finding your genre. How will you know that you’re ready? When you can compete, sometimes, outcompete these Golden Writers. Imagine time as a great sweeper of things, it will sweep all writers and poets that are not masters of their own words, writers that cannot breathe poetry when they move or rhyme rhythms when they’re silent, a great sweep leaving only those that stand tall among the dwarf crowd. Make sure that time will not sweep you under the carpet: make sure you perfect your skill. STEP 2: THE FIRE RISES OK, say you have perfected your skill. Say now you can, at your best day, challenge Shakespeare to a poetry contest, (you might not win, but the zeal denotes that you have enough confidence and belief in your work to try). This is what should follow: you have been writing, writing profusely in your learning curve. Divide your work into three categories namely: not-publishable, publishable and in between. Neglect the non-publishable work and lock it away somewhere (you’ll one day thank me for this), then post (don’t submit), your in between works at posting sites such as Booksie, poemhunter etc. By so doing you are increasing your online discoverability and creating a fan base. Finally delve into that bucket of publishable work and send them out for publication. Remember we are not tested by our ability to lie under the soft sun, but by our ability to stay upright when the ground beneath us is volatile. So show me a rejection letter and I’ll show you a bestseller. Lastly do not be a dinosaur – evolve – learn as much as you can, when you can. The point of this step is to light a flame at the right position, and watch as the fire rises. If you light a matchstick to a wall, perhaps the best you could do is blacken the paint. But if you plunk the same match stick on a long and brown grassy field, the differences are unmistakable. So set fire to the grassy field and watch as THE FIRE RISES. STEP 3: BECOME A BRAND As a writer or an author you are now a brand. The way you brush your teeth or lie in bed should be different: you are a brand. What you like on facebook or what you tweet on twitter should be monitored: you are a brand. So invest in yourself, pay for a professional photo shoot, an author website and stunning business cards. These will be invaluable tools in your road to authorship. My last advice on branding is the answer to the question that developed in my mind several years ago, what is the difference between that which looks red, and that which is red? The answer to this question will make your branding endeavors effortless. Now and then, don’t forget to stop and breathe. Reflect and appreciate the accomplishments you’ve made; no matter how small. God’s speed, God’s writing hand! Widget is loading comments...
|