2012 Summer Contests

Win free books!

Goodreads Book Giveaway The Ninth Avatar by Todd Newton Giveaway ends June 25, 2012. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

Read, Review, & Win Step 1: Read The Ninth Avatar. Step 2: Post a review of The Ninth Avatar on either Amazon.com or Goodreads.com. Step 3: Email me with a link to your review (this is your official entry, not the review itself). Two lucky reviewers will receive signed copies of two Trapdoor Books: CYBERKILL and NANOMAGICA. This contest is open until July 31, 2012.

Click here to order your copy of Thomas Redpool Goes To Hell.

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Writing Books (specifically, The Art of War for Writers)

Like most writers/authors you know, I occasionally read books on how to write (and how to write more effectively). Also most writers you know, I'm a bit eccentric and unconventional. Having pored through most of the standard texts, I've begun to branch out to the exciting fringes of "writing books." Recently I've acquired Sin & Syntax, a Strunk & White for the 21st century "hip" author, and (pictured left) The Art of War for Writers.

You'd think I'd be satisfied merely consuming the wisdom contained therein, that I would soak it in like a sponge and make the difference--that it would become a pivotal moment in my writing career that I could look back on one day and say, "It was then, and it was that book, that really made the difference." Sadly, this does not seem to be the case.

For all you non-authors out there reading this, let me clarify. Books on writing are like tools you buy to put in your garage. You might already have two full screwdriver sets, a table saw, a ratchet and all the drill bits you'll ever need, but you can definitely find a use for a staple gun, an X-ACTO knife, and a shop vac. This is why we read writing books--not because we don't already know how to write, but because a worker can always use more tools.

At some point, though, I feel like I crossed a threshold into excess. I stopped learning and started rolling my eyes at the "nothing new" approach to these full-of-duplicated-advice writing books. Maybe it was around the time I bought the last few writing books, or possibly even before that, but these days I don't feel like I'm getting a whole lot out of them. The same old screwdrivers and hammers and trowels. Not that there's anything wrong with the basics but, just as there's no How to Write a Sequel book, an endless focus on the basics is a recipe for perpetual amateur-hood. It occurred to me this weekend, as I was reading Art of War for Writers, that to be a professional one must profess that this is their intention, and act accordingly. After all, you can't be in a band unless you are, actually, in a band.

More to the point, this book caught my eye some time ago. I liked the idea of using the tactics and strategy of an ancient Chinese general as fuel for encouragement to write. They've been applied to business, made quite a splash in the 1990's, so why not writing? It's a struggle, and having a battle plan (despite my post on that particular subject) is a good idea. What relevance could they possibly have on the lonely creative process of crafting a novel? Quite a bit, more than you'd think, but not as much as I'd like.

I can hear you saying, "Get to the point, Todd." Fine. Here goes. The quote to begin the Tactics section of Art of War for Writers is as follows:

"Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions... He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent, and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain." -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

What does that mean to you? To me it means being adaptive is the key to victory. When I think of all the reasons I don't write daily, this is the one that sticks in my brain: there are no constant conditions. Throughout my daily/weekly routine of "day job + sleep + a few hours of miscellany," the only constant is change. I don't wake up feeling the same every day. I don't leave work feeling the same every day. When I open my current manuscript document, I could be thinking about everything but writing. I'm unfocused. I'm not "in the zone" at all times.

(Some people refer to a muse in these cases, but I murdered that bitch in her sleep a long time ago.)

It occurs to me that that's precisely the point; being able to overcome these fluctuating circumstances and write/complete a novel is a sign of the sort of fortitude you want in an author (the kind that publishers like, at any rate). It also occurs to me that it's not so simple, but that's why I'm the one making excuses in the first place.

I suppose it's the same with any goal, whether it be exercise or stopping a habit or completing a project. Forcing your chosen activity to supersede other priorities (simplified: making/taking the necessary time and putting for the necessary effort during that time) is the key to success. It goes without saying that the more often you do so, the more progress you'll make toward completing your goal.

Which inevitably leads me to the same conclusion I've reached so many times before: intellectual awareness, or logical certainty, don't actually accomplish anything toward your goal. You can think about writing a novel all day long, but that isn't writing it. Not to rip off a famous slogan, but maybe the best advice there is remains, "Just do it."

And if declarative statements accomplished goals, I'd be thin, healthy, and a millionaire by now.


Have you read any good "writing books" lately?
Anyone have a motivation "secret" they're willing to share?
Comments below.




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