Monthly Archives: March 2012

Deal With the Darkness

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I’ve written on this topic before and touch on my philosophy in the bio I wrote up in the About Me section of this website.  The article linked below shows that other people understand where I’m coming from and maybe even agree with it.

There are two ways to deal with the ugliness that exists in the world.  One is to ignore it and if you’re lucky you can go through your whole life convincing yourself things aren’t all that bad.  This works well to protect the practitioner but does little to change the circumstances of anyone who might be trapped in the ugliness.  The other is to step into the darkness and wrestle it into submission, or at least cooperation, so that you can keep it at bay.

Surviving cancer and developing relationships with victims of the ugliness have made it impossible for me to choose the first solution.  Instead, I choose not to be afraid of the darkness, nor will I let it win.

As writers we have an opportunity, through our work, to recognize the experience of darkness not as a byproduct of conditions, but as an expression of state of mind and perception. It is reality that some life stories have a nightmare quality – a dense brutality. But to create a character able to transform his story is to recognize that the light within can only truly be concealed by the character himself. This revelation is emotionally powerful and liberating for the writer and the reader.

via AuthorMagazine.org – an on-line magazine for writers and readers….

What a Way to Make a Living

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I’m pretty sure Rebecca O’Connor and I would be great friends if we knew each other.  The sentence quoted below is enough to make me think so (she’s a tequila advocate, people!–go Rebecca) but the sentiments she expresses in her post makes me positive it’s true.

I read this post right after my morning walk with my dog, Sophie where I was conversing with myself about my future.  It’s been almost a year since I decided to go part time at work so that I could concentrate on my writing.  The part time work has dwindled down to next to nothing, and some weeks is nothing.  Freelance writing is not going to support me in the foreseeable future. Without a college degree or technical knowledge which would make me an expert in some field, it could be years before that would be possible. If ever.  There are a lot of people out there vying for writing jobs who are willing to do it for next to nothing.  “Next to nothing” does not pay the electric bill.

As for the income potential of my novel Painted Black, unless I’m lucky–and I’ve never been very lucky–a first novel is more about establishing the foundation of a career rather than earning a living.  I don’t expect to see any measurable income made from the book this year.  Maybe not ever.  The income potential lies in getting book two out.  And three, and….  If I’m a very good girl and live long enough, I may actually see royalty checks one day.

So why am I still doing it?  Because I’m mad at myself for not doing it earlier in my life when I had more time to build a reputation.  Because I love not having a full time job to go to.  Because I love my characters and the message I’m trying to convey. Because this is what I want to do with my life, damn it, and I’m tired of being too timid to go for it.

And if that means I may find myself forfeiting my mortgage or selling most of my worldly possessions, then all I have to say is, “Hi, Mom.  Is the guest room ready yet?”

So now you are thinking, “Okay, Little Miss Glass-Is-Pretty-Much-Empty-So-Bring-Me-Some-Tequila. So what do you say to someone insane enough to walk away from her day job to write for a living?”

via A Letter to My Friends and Family | Rebecca K. O’Connor.