Perceived elitism and genres.

It is within human nature – the need and desire to feel superior to others. Writing is far from an exception to that. There are many writers who come across in a condescending and arrogant manner, thinking themselves above those around them. Rather than taking the time to learn from said fellows, they lord it over them and give them snide little “good work” comments; when they bother to read something other than their own work.

Age is one of the common reasons given for such an attitude. “I’m older therefore I know better”. Of course age is far from a good marker for the intellect and skill level of someone – there are plenty of writers twice my age who’re incredibly immature and poor writers. This can come across is a straight up attack “Well, you’re only 25, what could you possibly know!?” Or more of a back handed comment “Well, you’re very good for your age”.Personally I fail to see quite what age has to do with much of anything. Of course this must be taken with some good old fashioned common sense – you can’t complain at a 13 year old for having a lower comprehension of the technical side of things. They haven’t learnt that yet. However! If you happen across something written by a 16 year old which blows you away, don’t take away from that by rolling your eyes and becoming snide purely because they’re younger than you! Quit being so damn petty and jealous and congratulate them on a piece well written. Either learn from them or move on.

More often than not those writers who feel the need to treat others in such a manner are in actual fact very poor writers themselves. They live in a little bubble where they’re absolutely fantastic, everyone loves them and they’re the next J.K Rowling or Dan Brown. This in a roundabout way brings us round the perceptions of the genres.

Erotica is a good place to start, as a good friend said “the standard of erotica is very poor – it only does as well as it does due to the horniness of humanity!!” I’m not going to deny I turned away from erotica because I believe it would have put a black mark on my resume when I approach traditional publishers. A lot of people do frown upon erotica and it’s writers (it could be argued with good reason!) however, the same can be said for fantasy as well.

Which brings me onto another little gripe – the obsession with fantasy sub-genres and splitting everything into teeny, tiny, pedantic little groupings. There’s much arrogance and ranking involved in this as well. The epic/high fantasy people look down upon the contemporary fantasy writers because they’re not true to fantasy or some other rubbish.

To be perfectly blunt – when exactly did you last walk into a reputable bookshop and find the shelves split into “Epic fantasy, contemporary fantasy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, supernatural, steam punk, cyber punk, low fantasy, sword and sorcery, magical realism” and the list goes on!! It’s completely absurd! At exactly what point did the love of writing and the dream of becoming published decend into this?

I have no doubt there’s just as much pathetic, pedantic nit-picking within the other genres. People can’t help themselves it seems – they get so wrapped up in boxes, labels and putting themselves above those around them they completely lose track of the actual point. As same friend from above also said “who cares what the genres say? They only help them put it in the wrong place”. They’re just more labels. Should we not be writing our stories as we see them then let the publishers stick the labels on them for marketing purposes?

It would seem many people think it’s far more fulfilling belittling and playing one up manship with others. So with the rant ended I will bid you a good luck with that. I’ll be off writing my novel, my masterpiece – Red Spiral.

 

 

What is it to be a writer.

I’m on a couple of writer based forums and online communities and these types of threads seem to come up quite often. So, I’m going to give my views on it.

There seems to be some thinking that if you don’t do things a particular way or feel a certain way you can’t possibly be a writer. What an absurd thought! The one which stuck in my mind recently was a rather sharp arguement about those of us who act as though our characters and poems are alive and real people. I’d like to point out that I am perfectly aware my characters aren’t real people. However, as I have no doubt many writers and poets will tell you, the characters and poems we create quite often dictate how they are put down onto paper. Which brings be round to the arguement -

The person who started this stated from the start that they are not like myself. They merely plan out their story and write it. They have no muse, no rogue characters, it just happens in a rather logical and orderly manner. Now, I see absolutely nothing wrong with that myself. They however were asking if that makes them less of a writer!? This was where the arguement kicked off. Another person who also doesn’t have a muse, rogue characters etc etc stated that those of us who do are merely displacing the fact that we’re poor writers onto imaginary vices! “Saying your muse has left you is merely a poor device for saying that you’re not a good enough writer to work through your writers block”. So it continued.

I honestly fail to see why people can’t accept that we are all individuals. There is this habit and idea that we must conform to a small list or box of thoughts and actions so that you may truly carry the label. So we come back round to the point here. Rather than looking to everyone else for little rules and boxes to dictate if you’re a writer just ask yourself!

Do you enjoy spending time writing? Do you write semi-regularly? Then what else is there to being a writer!? It’s just a label summing up the above. It’s merely stating that you are someone who enjoys writing and does so when you have the time and inclination. All the rest of it is down to you as an individual and has no bearing on whether you are or are not a writer.

So next time you wonder if you are truly a writer because you muse skipped off and married your lead character, or perhaps because you thoroughly enjoy editing and outlining – shrug it off and know that you are a writer. Add that to the fact writers are creative sorts and we enjoy pushing the boundaries and leaving the box behind, so stop trying to wrap that box back around yourself! Do what you enjoy doing and don’t let anyone stop you.

 

Take your time

The title gives you a pretty good idea what this is about. Personally, I usually write very quickly (much to the frustration of some writer friends). It’s just something I can do, some of my best pieces have been written very quickly (masquerade tease). However, in the long run you’re better to take your time, slow down your pace and really ‘do things properly’. We’ve already established good quality work can be produced quickly but that’s not the point here.

I’ll use my horse as an opening example -

He came from a bad situation. The only contact he’d had with people was very abusive, he was terrified of all people. Now, if I had of pushed him and tried to rush through and get him to the point a ‘normal’ 18 month old colt would be at then I have no doubt he wouldn’t be where he is now. Instead, I backed off and took my time using baby steps. Thanks to that, I have a good bond with him and I’m really pleased with his progress. No, he isn’t as far as along as other youngsters his age but the base is very good for the future so I’m happy.

This same thinking applies to your writing, as was first drilled into me by O.T a few months back with my poetry. He challenged me (I very rarely turn down a challenge) to spend a bare minimum of 3 days working on a single poem. I have a lot of issues with my focus, I find it incredibly hard to focus on one small piece for any length of time (read more than an hour).

I’m not going to deny I found this really hard. At that point I usually wrote all my poems in under 2 hours. However, after much cursing, swearing, irritation, rants and frustration – I did it. Not only did I do it but I was really proud of myself because that was the step up in my poetry. Of course O.T did the usual rounds of ‘told you so’ as he spends about a week on each poem. The point is, the difference in my poetry was fantastic.

Of course the same can and should be applied to prose. You will produce a better piece if you take your time with it. I’m not saying don’t be a pantser, that method can produce some brilliant first drafts. However, if you do write your first draft very quickly (like nanowrimo) then take your time editing and polishing it. It’s all simple logic and applies to most things in life.

Slow down, take your time. When you rush you miss the finer details and it’s those which make the difference in quality. If you’re planning on getting published, it can be those details which make the difference between you getting picked up and rejected. I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way – I’ve been looking back at the work which I wrote very quickly and shredding them. I do find it very hard to slow myself down and do this but it’s going to be worth it in the long run.

Just remember as annoying as it may be, it’s those finer details and high shine which makes the difference.