Consistency Trumps Talent Every Time

We've all heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. The two of them set up to race one day, and the hare bounds off, taking an early lead. The hare decides there's no rush, and pisses about, having a snack, taking a nap, etc. When all is said and done, even if the hare had all the natural gifts in the world, he didn't apply them properly to the task at-hand. Thus the tortoise, who was here to win the damn race, crossed the finish line first.

This is something you see a lot of when it comes to writing. Because there are plenty of people out there who have a lot of talent... but the person who shows up and writes every day is going to be the one who finishes their projects, and crosses that goal line. Not just once, but over, and over, and over again.

You'll get there... eventually...

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Discipline, Not Passion, Is What Lays Your Foundation

When people think about art, they usually focus on the thrill of creation, and the happy brain chemicals that flow through you when you get do it. Whether it's drawing, sculpting, or writing, the rush of translating something from your mind and onto a page is the part that most folks tend to focus on.

However... that is only a tiny fraction of what actually goes into making art as a craft (to say nothing of doing it as a profession). Because natural ability and the joy of movement and execution is a single facet of a complicated gem. There's also studying other creators, attempting to learn new skills and master new tools, but at the core of it all there is the one thing that really makes a difference... practice.

To paraphrase Bruce Lee, you don't need to fear someone who has tried a thousand different kicks 1 time each. But that fighter who has perfected a single kick, throwing it a thousand times or more? They will be able to execute that maneuver with power, grace, and a precision you do not want to be on the receiving end of. 

Lock in. Get it done.

Think of any physically demanding job or task out there, and you probably imagine them doing drills, and going through constant training to stay on top of their game. From soldiers and SWAT teams, to firefighters, athletes, dancers, and others, the idea is that if you want to be at the top of your game then you have to put in the hours to perfect your skills. You can't just pick up a fencing rapier, mess around with it for a few hours, and become a sword master; you need thousands of hours to familiarize yourself with the weight of the sword, the strategies of attack and defense, and so on, and so forth. The same is true with wielding a story and making sure that you can twist it, turn it, and execute it as tightly as possible.

Just as important as the amount of practice you put in, though, is the fact that you need to make sure you don't lose your instincts for it because you let yourself get rusty.

Take a moment and think back to when school was in session during the Fall. You've had 3 months off, and you haven't cracked a textbook, done a math problem, or put together a science experiment. Now you're back in school, and your teachers have to spend the first few weeks of school priming your brain pump and reminding you of all the things you learned last year that you've forgotten. And if you haven't been in school for years, instead of months? Well, you might need entire refresher courses to get your brain back in gear, and performing where it was. The same is true of writing... if you have weeks, months, or even years in between your bouts of work, you're going to find yourself trying to make up progress you lost. Like if you went to the gym, got in shape, and then stopped showing up for the holidays... you're going to notice some of your gains are gone, and you aren't as tight as you were before cookie season.

I thought holiday calories didn't count...

Drive is important. Talent is important. But discipline and dedication are going to be your bread and butter when it comes to writing, because they are the tortoise who puts one foot in front of the other. Because when you practice writing every day, no matter how you feel, whether it's rain or shine, then that is the same as showing up to drill even on your off days. And it's why you're going to be that much faster, that much smoother, and that much more natural than someone who just practices when they feel like it, or when they're in a good mood, or when they don't have anything else to do.

You get out what you put in when it comes to your work. And there's going to be frustrations and annoyances, stumbling blocks and hurdles... but if you want to be able to create, you have to keep coming back every day, stretching, and trying to be just a little bit better than you were yesterday.

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That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

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The Importance of Gumption As An Author

A while back, I read the book Gumption by Nick Offerman. Well, more accurately, I listened to it. Because who wouldn't rather listen to that man's sumptuous voice tell you stories that make you wonder what it is you're doing with your life?

Worth the read, if you can get hold of it.

While the book makes a lot of good points, and is overall an entertaining read, it made me think and reflect on what it takes to be an author. And how gumption (in this case referring specifically to the self-motivation to take on a task) is so important to your overall success.

No One Else Will Make You Do The Thing

I've been writing for cheeseburgers and rent for about ten years, now. I've written short stories, radio plays, blogs, gaming books, and more articles than I can readily count. And in the last few years, a lot of clients have sought me out and offered me work. Every now and again I get lucky, and a project just plops into my lap. However, getting to the point where people knew who I was, and who were familiar with my work, meant that I had to be the one who took the initiative. I had to find, then respond, to classified ads for freelance writers. I had to make phone calls to newspapers, asking if they were accepting stringers. I wrote emails to the directors of gaming companies. Sometimes I got lucky, and got the opportunity to take on a project or two. Other times I was told that no, there was no space available for a freelancer.

And when that happened, I decided to find sites that let me publish my own work, and started building an archive. I got out there, volunteering at conventions, plumbing the corners of social media, and telling anyone who would listen about who I am, and what I do. I watched my numbers, and listened to reader feedback whenever something I did (or was part of) got released. If a piece got rejected, I found another place to submit it. I kept putting one foot in front of the other, even on days when my numbers were low, and the criticism brigade was out in force. I rolled the dice, and waited to see if today was going to be my lucky day.

I've never been picky about what kind of dice I roll, professionally.

After going through that for a decade, I feel I can say with some confidence that gumption is one of the most important part of this process as an author. Or any kind of artist. Gumption is what allows you to hammer through a project, believing in your skill to craft something that people will enjoy. Gumption is what makes you raise your voice, and ask for a chance to step on the stage. It's what lets you shake off rejections, and what gives you the ability to take dipping numbers and negative sales in stride. It is the fire that you keep burning so that no matter how many walls you have to climb, how many doors you have to kick in, or how much vitriol you have to slog through, you never run out of steam. Gumption is what turns you into an unstoppable force... a juggernaut made of words.

That determination, that refusal to quit, is the sort of thing that makes epic music swell in movies like Rocky. But when you're an artist, the knockouts come behind the scenes. They happen quietly, as readers text and chat about your work. As the number of likes you get go up, and as you start seeing yourself get coverage in places you didn't expect. And that's a great feeling... but that kind of stuff doesn't just happen. It takes work... and most importantly, it takes effort.

That's why a lot of it rests on you. You need to get up, wrap your hands, and hit the bag until the seams break. And when they do, and the stuffing comes out? Hang up a new bag, and keep punching. Because there is no end to the routine, the training, or the montage. Every time you knockout a short story, or pummel a novel into shape, you've just got time for a drink of water and a breather before that bells sounds, and you're back in the ring.

You aren't going to win every fight. But to get knocked down again and again, and come up swinging, that takes gumption.

This is all for my thoughts for this installment of The Business of Writing. If you're a keyboard gladiator out there, don't worry, you're not the only one. For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive. If you want to stay on top of my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you'd like to help me keep this blog going, consider supporting me by becoming a patron on The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, or just Buying Me A Ko-Fi. Both are great ways to keep my work flowing, and to get yourself some sweet swag as a thank you.

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Authors Need Discipline, Not Inspiration

It's the new year, and you've decided you're finally going to the gym. For the first few days, you're sweating like a champ. You're sore and achy from the muscles you haven't pushed since you were back in school, but you're pushing through. Then you start cheating. It's not that you don't still want to lose that weight, and get the body you've been talking about for years, but you'd have to wash your workout clothes, and get off the couch, and drive through traffic... and it just seems like it's not worth the effort. One day won't kill you, and you can get back to it twice as hard the next day. Then the next day comes around, and you find some other excuse. Then, before you know it, you've been paying for a gym membership you haven't used in six months, and you're wondering how you got here.

And that dream physique goes right back to being just a dream.

If you're wondering what any of this has to do with writing, replace "going to the gym" with "working on your book," and you're there.

Inspiration is Temporary, Discipline is Eternal

Don't get me wrong, inspiration is great. It's that shot of adrenaline that slams into your head, and makes all your synapses fire at once when you get a new idea. It's the excitement you get when you sit down to work on a new project. It's a drug that can leave you buzzed for a while, and make you feel great about what you're doing. When that high wears off, though, all too often your work ethic evaporates along with it.

I wonder where I could get some more of that...

This leads us to another problem; the serial starter. A lot of writers think that losing their enthusiasm means the project isn't ready, and they use that as an excuse to stop trying. So they put it down, and start work on something else that's grabbed their attention. These inspiration junkies comfort themselves by saying they'll get back to the first project once they find that fire again... but they won't. And then they hop from the second project to the third, the third to the fourth, and pretty soon they're surrounded by a bunch of introductions and starting chapters, with nothing remotely resembling a complete work.

You don't need inspiration to be an author. It's nice, and it helps, but it isn't necessary. To be an author you need to have the ability to sit down at the keyboard, focus your brain, and get shit done. Maybe you can only do a few hundred words per day. But you know something? If you put in 500 words every day (which is probably less than the length of this blog post), then that means you'll have a 100,000-word novel in 200 days. That's one novel a year. If you could keep this up for a few years, then you'll have a respectable stable of books to your name.

Now just imagine if you could write 1,000 words a day. That isn't much, but it would let you do two books a year. If, that is, you can grit your teeth, build up the discipline to put your ass in your chair every day, and add that much story without browsing the Internet, texting your family, and succumbing to the siren's song of whatever TV show you've been binge watching.

It sounds easy. Trust me, it isn't.

Making The Habit

If you haven't already gotten in the habit of writing every day, then it's going to take time. If you can make it through a month, you'll be doing well. If you can make it three months, you'll have the habit set. Do it for a year, and it's going to take more than a new season of Game of Thrones to make you skip a day.

Seriously, it's easier to say "no" with every death.

The gym metaphor is important to keep in mind, because if you've ever tried to get on a workout regimen, that's a lot like writing a novel. You know what you're doing, and you have a notebook that tracks your basic outline to help keep you on task. All you have to do is show up, and sweat. That's the part a lot of writers don't want to do, but you need to if you're ever going to finish something.

You think inspiration is addictive? Wait until you get used to completing a project. It will turn you into a fiend. Trust me.

As always, thanks for stopping in on this week's Craft of Writing update. If you'd like to help support me, and keep this blog running smoothly, then why not drop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page? As little as $1 a month can be a bigger help than you'd ever guess. Also, if you haven't done it already, why not follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter to keep up with my latest releases?

The Vagabond Writer is a Reality, Thanks to Modern Technology

There's a certain, punk rock aesthetic that comes with being a writer. There's something about the non-conformist beat poet, the hard-line reporter, or the tale-telling wanderer that taps into what drives us. That idea that you're on the edge of the unknown, and that you have seen and experienced things others haven't, is one reason Jack Kerouac is both a person, and an archetype. After all, it takes guts to hit the open road or the city streets armed with nothing more than a notebook and your wits.

For those of us following in the footsteps of our forebears, though, it's a lot easier than you ever thought possible.

Adventure awaits!

Uproot Yourself... Seriously, It's Pretty Freeing

I didn't grow up in a particularly tech savvy home. Sure, we had a VCR, a few video game consoles, and we eventually got a computer when it was clear that schoolwork was going to be turned in on a disk instead of as a stack of papers, but my house was alternatively mistrustful of the latest gadgets, and unwilling to pay for access to them. I didn't discover what the Internet was (outside of movies) until I got to middle school, and I didn't get a really solid handle on it until my junior year of high school when I completed the Cisco networking program my school offered. I also worked a lot of different jobs in my late teens (often simultaneously), and every one of them was a job that required you to be in a certain place, at a certain time, to do a certain thing.

That's why, when I found out there were websites that let me make money by writing articles, I felt genuine freedom in a way I hadn't experienced since I got my driver's license.

I can leave the box now?

For the last year of my college experience (there was a gap in the middle, it's complicated, best not to ask), I managed to make a pretty decent wage without giving up any of my free time, or homework hours. All of that because of the student computer lab, and the gig I was working in the campus writing center. Because, for those who've never been in such a place, no one comes to the writing center unless they have a paper due in about an hour. While I was working there I helped 7 people in 8 months. Which meant that while I was technically on-duty and open for business, I was also online writing articles.

That meant my expenses were covered, and as soon as I finished up my classwork, I was free to do whatever I pleased. Which was, ironically, usually more writing.

The Adventure, and Discipline, of The Traveling Writer

In time, I got my degree, and quit working at the writing center. Since I didn't have to be up at any particular time, and I was on my own schedule, I established a semi-regular pattern. Wake up, sit down at my desk, check messages, and write until I hit my quota for the day's earnings. Take a break, relax a bit, and work on secondary projects. Read a book, go to bed, do it all over again.

Shakespeare gotta get paid, son.

On the one hand, my career choice meant I didn't get days off. On the other hand, I slowly came to realize that no one was going to make me work but me. Fortunately, by the time I realized that, I had a pretty good handle on what I needed to accomplish in a day to make bank by the end of the month.

I also realized something even more important. Because I could do my job from anywhere, that meant I could go anywhere to do my job.

That sounds self-evident, but think about it for a moment. How much time, and effort, do you typically put in trying to get days off to go on a vacation, or to visit friends, or to attend a convention that you really like? Most of the time it isn't even the fuel costs, or the oil change; it's getting more than two days off in a row to make your stay worth the trek.

Because I had a laptop, I had the world out in front of me. Which meant that I could drive down to visit friends in the middle of the week, and while they were at class, I would work, so when we were both mutually finished, we could enjoy the local events. It also meant I could go to conventions like Gen Con in Indy, or Windy Con and Capricon in Chicago, and not worry about paying my rent when I got home.

The Anchor's Gone, and It's Never Coming Back

A lot has changed since those gilded days. Work is more plentiful now, but often not as high-paying, and the hours writers like me (the unknown, but hard-working) clock are more numerous than ever before. However, the Internet has flexed its muscles, and stretched out into more places than we ever thought it would. It's available in hip cafes and over-priced coffee bars, but you can also get it in hotel lobbies, fast-food booths, and even at your gym (probably).

Seriously, though, you could write and update a blog from this thing.

If you ever find yourself pounding the pavement, with a backpack of clothes and a messenger bag with a laptop in it, remember that all you need to do to find work is log on. If you've got the discipline, and a little bit of luck, you might even manage to become the master of your own destiny, in addition to your own boss.

Thanks for sticking with me through this week's rambling update! If you want to help support me, and get some free swag, then visit The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! If you want to make sure you get all my latest updates, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter while you're at it!