Writing for Fun

Writing for fun has been on my mind a lot lately, because real life has taken one of those turns that can best be described as "aaaahhhhhhh." The robot uprising has begun within my own personal electronics as multiple devices decided to go belly up or seriously wonky at the same time (Linda, Kara, E and la, you have saved my patoot as well as my sanity) and at least one is one replacement part away from having more than I'd like in common with Frankenstein's monster.

Which goes a long way to explain my recent absence here. A beloved uncle passed, our family is looking at a long anticipated interstate move that may happen in quick fashion, a heat wave and summer cold do not cancel each other out, and I am using the Not at Nationals tag here, as, despite my best intentions, blogging about not being at Nationals did not happen during the course of the actual gathering. Nope, did not go this year, but I will make it at least once. :shakes fist at monitor:

So, writing for fun relates to this how? I will admit that it's easy to get distracted and off on bunny trails. I will admit that those of us pursuing a career in commercial fiction do need to pay some attention to market trends, the state of the industry, the state of the genre, and nobody but me is going to write my book, same as nobody but you is going to write yours. A page a day is a book in a year and butt in chair, fingers in keyboard, yes, all of that is true. Writing is a business and those of us who are in it have to do the work.

At the same time, where is the love? I've thought back recently to those afternoons of cobbling together a desk out of tv trays and letting the story spill out of me because I knew it, I lived it, and the characters had to get out of my head and onto the page. (Though in full disclosure, do they really leave?) Right now, I'm overhauling a ms I've already written...and rewritten. It's natural in such endeavors to get bogged down with the "do I have to go over this again?" refrain. Who cares? I know how it turns out, so good enough and on to the next? Well, no. If it were, I wouldn't be writing.

While I'm doing the grownup writer thing by putting butt in chair and fingers on keyboard/pen in hand/chalk on cave wall (refer to robot uprising mentioned above)there's still a need for fun to keep the spark alive. Sort of a dating your spouse thing. In real life, DH knows that ordering takeout and suggesting trips to Barnes and Noble keep him in my good graces, especially when in full on writer crank. It's the same in writing. I've found a need to play in the mist, let characters have their way with me, perhaps toss around with a few like-minded souls. Not sure what track this will take, but knowing the need is halfway to fulfilling it, right?

Have you ever written only for fun? What's your favorite creative playground?

Another Kind of Successful Writer

Forgot this image had a toddler in it before I added it to this entry, and had to give myself a headslap. I chose the picture because I'm talking about hobbies today and Sims, in its many incarnations (Sims1, Sims2, Sims3 and now Sims Medieval; this picture is from S3) is my hobby. It's fun. I can happily spend hours in it, even uninstalling and reinstalling the whole blasted game from the ground up if I think the end result will be more fun and let me go back to work and family recharged. Breeding my Sims is one of my favorite pastimes when I play, which is why I happen to have a lot of parent and baby pictures hanging in my folders. Hats off to professional gamers, and the creators of custom content, but I'm happy enough to play for fun and fun alone.

Which brings us to today's topic. I have several friends who write either entirely or primarily for their own pleasure and do not plan on marketing their work. This is a perfectly acceptable pursuit, and it’s a surefire way to become a successful writer. If you’re writing for your own pleasure and you’re having a good time, then congratulations, you’re doing it right.

Personally, I couldn’t do this. If I knew for a fact that I would never ever sell another piece, then yes, I would still write, because it’s not something I picked and not something I can turn off, but still a big part of me would curl into a ball and die. That’s because a professional writing career is hardwired in me. Having my books on shelves and in e-readers is part of the vision, so that’s the goal I move towards when I write.

I came to professional writing through fan fiction, and still have many friends I made in that venue. Most of them are writers, and most of those are indeed pursuing a profession as such. Others want to have fun and that’s that, which is perfectly fine. It doesn't make them less than a professiona; it's only different.

Let’s take a look at the hobbyist writer, who writes for themselves or fun only. Their goal is to tell a story that will amuse or entertain themselves, so if they’re having fun; goal achieved, well done. Format doesn’t matter, or genre, and the stories don’t have to end or even actually be written. If they want to complete a story, of any length, they can, and if they want to share the story, at any stage, they can, and even pick exactly whom they will share it with, but none of those is a requirement. In fact, there aren’t any. Market trends don’t matter, nor do publishing schedules, editors shifting from house to house, or any other publishing kerfluffles. As long as the hobby writer is having fun, he or she is already a success, because they are meeting the goals they set for themselves. If that's you, jump in, have fun, and dance like nobody's watching.

Writing the book of one’s heart is a classic piece of advice, and that’s one thing the writer of commercial fiction would do well to learn from those who write only to please themselves. We need to remember the love. Remember what it’s like to sneak off for a few stolen moments of dipping into the story world in the midst of day job, housework, or family wrangling and not care about anything else. Live with the characters and bleed when they bleed. Juggling the business and the art of writing can be tricky, well, business, but for those of us hardwired for a writing career, that’s all part of the process. A process, I have to remind myself, that can’t get started without a finished manuscript.

That’s where the discipline comes in. Nobody is going to pound my keys for me. Nobody knows my characters and their lives and trials and their story world like I do, and unless I write and share them, nobody ever will. That thought could absolutely suffocate me, and that’s why I haul my carcass down to a local coffee shop every day and get down to work. That’s why I am a member of Romance Writers of America and our local chapter, and have eyes to joining yet another, as well as special interest groups. This is the job I was created to do, and I want to do it all to the best of my ability. That’s what I love, the whole deal. Still, it’s that love of the story that has to be the root of it all, and I have to thank my hobbyist friends for reminding me of that.

Going Medieval

I'd planned to hold off on getting The Sims Medieval for a while, but when I stopped by Target to make my planned purchase of the Ambitions expansion pack for Sims 3, there was Medieval at a ridiculous discount. I still meant to be strong, but I didn't count on the generous friend who was with me. Said friend doesn't want to play, herself, but likes to hear what my Sims are up to, and so it came home.

Timesink. I'm glad I waited until the weekend, because as soon as I turned it on, it was like stepping into a slightly bizarre, oddly realistic, very painterly picture book. Monarchs! Bards! Knights! Several quests involving romance in some aspect. Plus the pit beast, kingdom building, gruel, sailing to far off lands to trade goods - haven't done that last one yet, but oh be still my heart. Historical romance fans who are also gamers have got to get a copy of this.

I am tempted to call this research. As soon as I got started, I had plans - I could marry my monarch to my knight and secure an heir, which will be useful in case one of the quests results in my monarch being um, not as alive as she currently is. That was the plan, but then other quests came up and my monarch and knight are cooling their heels while my physician (who is now courting my bard, so somebody's getting some love) and merchant race about to cooperate in attempting to cure a plague. My blacksmith, when last seen, was training a lovely female apprentice and completed a legendary quest to get rid of his flaw of uncouthness, replacing it with Herculean strength. My monk has been freely distributing sacred texts. I have yet to place a wizard's tower or spy headquarters, or for that matter, a kingball court, but any of those will add another layer to the unfolding story.

Because that's how I play any of the Sims games - they are stories, told in pixels rather than words, and because I am me, they are heavy on the romance. Doesn't matter in this case if my physician is gathering leeches or my blacksmith is making armor, my brain is always spinning things. When can I get back to some loving for my monarch and knight? Do I marry my physician and bard now or make them wait for one of the quests when I need a wedding? For that matter, what about the barmaid who keeps bringing my bard a tankard of ale every time he comes home? Sure, the fate of the kingdom is at stake, but for me, the love is the heart of it all.

All of which puts my mind in historical romance mode, which, being a historical romance writer, is a perfectly good place for it to be. Also makes me hungry for a great medieval read in the very near future.

Readers or writers who game, how does your gaming affect your story construction/consumption?

On finding one's voice, part the first

Screenshot here is from one of my Sims2 photoshoots. Sims are very compliant models (especially if I turn free will off) and spending a few hours setting up a shoot and taking pictures lets ideas mull about in the story part of my brain. Sometimes I'll have something in mind when I start a shoot, sometimes not.

This particular shoot starred Jacqueline, my favorite model and one of my own sculpts, and her husband, Matthew (not pictured, but he's somebody else's design, though I've customized him.) I stage the shoots to get images to use in my art, both digital and otherwise.

Current art crush is mixed media artist Michelle Ward. Her most recent blog entry on scented candles made me nearly weep with recognition. For me, this is a good thing; I'm a dramatic sort of wench. The photos included are gorgeous, and, like Michelle, I use scent association to keep my mind on task when I'm in the office. Since autumn is now in full swing, time for me to lay in some appropriate scents. Anything with cinnamon, pumpkin or cloves is automatically good, and if the candle is named anything like "fireside," I need it. Summertime is not my season, and with the changing of the leaves, I get my superpowers back.

I do my best work in the cooler months, pounding keys and scribbling my way through prettified legal pads (current one coordinates with these) with hands encased in hand-knit mitts and listening to equally ornate music; current choices can include Meat Loaf, James Blunt, Coldplay, etc. I do tend towards male singers when I choose favorite music, though Mary Chapin Carpenter has some wonderful stuff as well. With my office assistant, Miss Skye O'Malley, (who is a kitteh) positioning herself in exactly the right spot for my hand to dip down at random intervals and scritch behind her ear or under her chin, that's a perfect setup.

Over the past week, I've been digging deep into what comprises an author's voice, inspired by listening to a workshop CD by Barbara Samuels. Her worksheet for that is on her site, and can be found here. Lots of great questions on the worksheet, and I will be posting a few of my answers to those later on. The most important thing I've learned from this so far is that our voice is made up of everything we have been, seen, done, experienced, wanted, whatevered. Surrounding myself with what I am intrinsically drawn to isn't being self indulgent; it's a smart investment in honing my voice and since my voice is the only one I can write with, keeping it honed is essential.

Trends come, trends go. Nobody can please everybody, but apple trees can only grow apples and I believe there's a bumper crop coming in this year.

A bit of writerly ranting...

The rather menacing gentleman there is Patrick, my apple pie badass. He's not a story character (at least not yet) but a Sim (and I seriously hope I saved him before the great crash that made me reinstall the game) and he reflects my mood at the moment. Which is to say that I need a bit of menace to get my game on today. By that I mean writing game, not Sims2.

I have an all day workshop at my local RWA chapter to attend on Saturday, where I'll be pitching twice. I love pitching, so two pitches in one day is a special treat. Even better if either of them want to catch what I'm throwing.

Warrior by Zoe Archer is peeking out of my bag, taunting me. Reading time later. With my love of adventure in my stories, how can I resist a love story set in Outer Mongolia? Plus the cover is gorgeous.

I blame Michelle Ward's art for the endless loop of HIM's "Acoustic Funeral" that's been going on in my brain...and Rhapsody player. I'd never listened to that group before visiting Michelle's blog in search of art tutorials, and now it won't get out of my head. I also blame her for the decision to design my own digital brushes for words that go with images I use in my art...but this isn't an art post.

This is where I throw a fit about writing and perfectionism and telling myself what I would tell anyone else. Open a file and start pounding keys. The process will beget the content. I have never found that to be false, so on I go.