Morgan Ashbury and her Wednesday's Words

I thought Morgan's Wednesday's Words fit nicely into my personal "Set goals for yourself" theme of January. :)
You Gotta Have Goals!! :)
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I encountered a term just the other day that I must confess left me feeling very confused. That term: "three chapter writers".

Now when I saw this I thought, "hmm, I wonder what chapter these three writers belong to"? But no, it wasn't three `chapter writers'. It was `three chapter' writers. That is, writers who have never written any more than three chapters of any novel.

I'm trying to understand this concept. I really am. I know that there are copious contests for partial manuscripts—even for best first paragraphs—and that the purpose of these contests is to encourage writers to complete their books. That much I get. But you know, one could conceivably go a long time winning writing contests and prizes and never finishing a single manuscript.

"Morgan," some of you are probably thinking about now, "that sounds snarky." You'd be right. "Morgan," still others of you are probably thinking, "you know that writing is difficult. It's artistic and complicated and hard." Yes, you're right too.

One time a few years back when I was watching The News Hour on PBS, Mr. Lehrer was interviewing an author about his first book. We're talking upper case L here, for Literature. It had taken the man 10 years to write it. 10 years. To write ONE book. I'm not making this up.

Some may think this is a reasonable amount of time, because writing is after all an artistic endeavour.

To put the concept of `three chapter writers' into perspective, let me suggest the following comparisons (and here is where I'm going to get into trouble).

Imagine going to the doctor and asking him about the pain in your leg, and hearing, "Sorry, Mr. Jones. But I never got beyond the abdomen in medical school. Becoming a doctor is hard, you know. But hey, look at all my awards for Best First Semester!" Imagine having a plumber come to your house to unstop a drain. In the midst of the work, a pipe bursts, flooding your home. "Oh, sorry Mrs. Jones," says he. "I'm really good at drains. But this whole pipe thing...I just don't get it. Not really my milieu, you understand."

Maybe the problem is that I'm simply old fashioned. If you want to get something done...just do it. Writing is, after all, just one damned sentence after another. If you who are reading these words right now are among those who have never completed a manuscript, I know I am coming off insensitive (again). I don't mean to hurt your feelings. But can't you just finish the damn book?

If you call yourself a writer, then isn't it your job to write? Stories have beginnings, middles, and ends. Just do it! If you can't, then hey, on second thought, the problem may not be yours. You may be the victim of advertising.

There is an entire industry built around the unrequited novel. There are interactive communities on line that offer writing challenges and resources. They feature `tips' from published authors. Golly, I hope no one ever asks me to contribute any tips. You can imagine what I'll say: just write the darn thing! Some of these sites offer "incentives" to prod the writer along, to coax the author into being an author. I believe in incentives. I particularly like the one I use myself: the pride of accomplishment.

Some of these sites feature guest essays, too, by accomplished published authors, giving advice on how to finish a manuscript. Can you imagine me as a guess essayist? "Okay, sit down at your computer. Open a new word document. Place your fingers upon the key board. Now, one word at a time, begin to write. Keep writing until you are finished!"

Is there any other area in the arts that celebrates uncompleted tasks? Is there like, a bakers `Half-Baked Hall of Fame'? Baking is, of course, one of the finest culinary arts.

Is there an Art Gallery somewhere on the globe that celebrates the begun-but-never-completed painting? Or at the very least, an exhibit hall in a museum somewhere dedicated to "One Stroke Wonders"?

How about the musical score that is only half composed, the landscaped garden only half planted, and the motion picture that is only partly filmed?

So why do we so openly and so often celebrate the incomplete story?

Writing is hard work, no question about it. The author begins with a blank page, and must paint in words a picture so complete, must take the reader on a journey so fulfilling, that the reader will feel as if the completion of it was their own achievement.

Hard work, yes. Artistic, yes. But only alive and breathing and in possession of a soul, when it is complete, when it is whole.

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

COMING FEBRUARY 25^TH

MAGIC AND LOVE 3:

A PRINCE FOR SOPHIE

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Wednesday's Words by Morgan Ashbury

I'm a writer of novels and essays. Being a writer isn't what I do so much as it's who I am. It defines me at the core. Because I am a writer down to the bone, how I look at things, the way I process information, the thoughts I entertain on a daily basis, my reactions, interactions, and interpretations are intrinsically different from someone who's not.

Words are important to me—my words, and the words of others. More important to me, I believe, than they are to the plumber or the carpenter, the welder or the weaver.

Words are important to most of you reading this, too. I think the majority of the people who peruse my essay week after week are writers (and if you don't think that puts a certain pressure on yours truly to excel, guess again). So let's take a minute and talk about something that touches most of us who are lovers of words in a uniquely personal way: reviews.

One of my fellow authors has recently asked me: Do people have nothing better to do than to poop on other people's work? The occasion for this question was a review she received. This review was written, not by a reviewer, but by a reader, and posted on Amazon.

It wasn't a kind review. Having read the work in question, I can tell you that in my opinion, the review was way off base. Selling very well, this particular book received 4 stars from RT Book Review magazine.

Words can enrich, empower, and inspire. But they can also cut deeply and wound terribly. And nowhere is this truth more evident to me than in the reviews we writers receive on our work.

You've all been told this old chestnut: `Don't take it personally'. Am I the only one who realizes that this phrase was created as a disingenuous cop out, a deliberate oxy-moron? Don't take it personally, indeed.

In the beginning is the blank piece of paper – or a blank word document. Writers take this vast emptiness and fill it with their thoughts and dreams, their ideas and emotions, their hearts and their souls. They pour all that they are into their work, sparing no personal insight or trauma or humiliation. They do so bravely, and without any guarantees of safety. What they do is the equivalent of standing naked on a stage, with the spotlight shining down revealing every extra fold of fat and ugly scar. There is nothing more personal than the writer's act of writing, and anyone who urges a writer to `not take personally' a review or critique has lost touch with reality.

Yes, I know there are works out there that aren't very good. I'm not advocating giving poor writing high marks. That would diminish us all. But are cruel, cutting words really necessary? I don't think they are.

I once judged a short story contest given by well known author Kelley Armstrong. Kelley wanted to give to these aspiring authors more than a chance to win a prize; she wanted them to get something of value in return for their entry. She wanted them to receive a fair and balanced critique. The same holds true on her website, in the Online Writers Group. Yes, point out areas that need improvement, but do so as kindly as possible. Give constructive criticism, don't destroy dreams.

Any reviewer who thinks, "Well, I'm going to tell it like it is and I don't care if I hurt the author's feelings or not", has an agenda that has nothing to do with giving a fair and honest evaluation.

So to answer my colleague's question, yes! Yes, some people have nothing better to do than to poop on other people's work. Just like some people have nothing better to do with their time than to complain about everything under the sun. After all, the Sesame Street character Oscar The Grouch resonates with us for a reason. We all know at least one person exactly like him.

So the next time someone denigrates your work with words of cruelty and abuse, go ahead and take it personally. Take a moment to focus on your hurt feelings, if that's what you need to do.

Then rub your hands together in glee and consign your abuser to a fate worse than death in your next novel. Don't get mad, get even. Trust me, you'll feel better for it.

Love,

Morgan

http://www.morganashbury.com

Thanks, Morgan. :) I adored this week's Wedneday's Words. You know why. :)

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L