The Writer's Pulse

Image: wili_hybrid

You’ve heard it before: the first line of your story should be the best. It should be intriguing, maybe even poetic. Even in news writing, you’ll want your first paragraphs, or lead, to reach out and grab your readers before they move on to the next story. Read the rest of this entry »

Image: Sarah G...

I guess I never thought much about the reliability of online reviews. Sure, when I’m shopping around for computer hardware, I try to read between the lines (of reviews for, say, video cards) to make sure the reviewer knows what he or she is talking about. Their level of computer expertise. What kind of computer they were using in the first place. Those details are important but often left out.

So there’s certainly room for user error. And when it comes to books, movies, or music — well, those things are better left for each individual consumer to decide. Different tastes and all that.

The point is, you should always make your own decisions. Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t jumped on the e-book bandwagon yet, and apparently I’m not the only one. According to Carolyn Kellogg of the Los Angeles Times, only a very small number of new hardcover books are digitally distributed:

“…despite occasional dramatic increases, the number of ebooks sold is just 3% to 5% the total number of hardcover books sold.”

Kindle junkies have apparently been looking for the holy grail of e-book releases, the one that will start the revolution and get everyone hooked on electronic reading. It had been hoped that Dan Brown’s latest, “The Lost Symbol,” would be The One, but no such luck.

Even Dan Brown can’t break the e-book 5% rule – Los Angeles Times

Tips are opinions. No matter how many blogs or magazines you read, the advice you get is never guaranteed to work for you, because we’re all different.

None of that stops people like me from posting opinions and tips, occasionally laced with fact, but I thought I’d take a moment to state the obvious: what works for me, or what I think might help you, is ultimately a shot in the dark. I try to help but I’m only human, you know?

All of that said (and now you’re wondering what my point is), here is my number one tip for anyone who comes up against writer’s block or, my latest discovery, Blogger’s block:

Turn off the television, log off the computer, and put down the writing advice book.

Clear your mind.

I’m not crazy. In fact, you’ve heard this before, but usually only as a preamble to entering the writing process. Don’t ignore it as a legitimate way of tackling writer’s block.

Think of it like this: over time, through work and over-exposure to the media and the fast, busy world in general, our minds get overloaded. Stressed out. Fragmented. When you hit a creative obstacle, many times it will be due to over-thinking. You sit down to write, but it’s difficult to concentrate and you have so much left to do and your mind begins to drift away. You’re stale and your imagination is blank, except for the images put there by the daily grind. So what do you do?

You stop.

Not only do you drop whatever you’re working on, but you take a break, however short, from watching the talking heads on the news, browsing the Internet, cramming your head full of writing advice and the habits of successful authors. You chill, you go for a walk, you relax. You take a vacation away from all of those distractions.

A million tech junkies and, let’s face it, modern human beings are screaming in horror at the thought of giving up the Internet. TV? Maybe. Self-help books? Sure, why not. But the Internet? I’ve got to check my e-mail and Twitter and Facebook and MySpace and BlogCatalog! Maybe buy some things on Amazon, send out some text messages, download a new iPhone app. And I’ve got blogs to read! Blogs!

That disclaimer at the top of this post is there for a reason: this advice clearly won’t work for everyone, and even if it did, most wouldn’t want to take it. Many couldn’t simply due to their careers.

The point here, however, is not to “give up” anything, but simply to leave it all for a day or two or however long it takes for your mind to defragment. An actual vacation, in fact, is the perfect opportunity to leave the Internet and television behind.

Clear out the clutter, drop whatever artistic endeavors you’ve been failing to accomplish, and allow yourself to reset, just as you’d defragment or restart a computer that has been doing too much and running too long.

This overworking of your mind (emotions included) can drain your creativity and suck your inspiration dry. Sure, it’s not always the cause of what we call writer’s block, but it’s worth a try to just take a break if you feel your writing is becoming forced, or if you can’t muster up the will to write at all.

That was mean. I’m sure Colting is an all right guy.

Anyway, turns out Sixty Years Later won’t be appearing in U.S. bookstores any time soon, as Judge Deborah Batts has ruled in the favor of J.D. Salinger and blocked its publication within the United States.

As for claims that the book was an examination of the classic work and therefore perfectly legit (its subtitle is in fact “An Unauthorized Fictional Examination of the Relationship Between J.D. Salinger and His Most Famous Character“), this is what Batts had to say:

She said in a footnote that Colting and his publishers made no indication before the lawsuit was filed that the book was meant as a parody or critique of Salinger’s work.

“Quite to the contrary, the original jacket of ’60 Years’ states that it is ‘… a marvelous sequel to one of our most beloved classics,’” the judge noted. – Judge blocks publication of Salinger spinoff book, Associated Press

Well, that settles that.