Six-word Memoir Reduction

computer crashed

no words

no joy

I can reduce this whole memoir to one word: hell

Priorities

Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least. ~ Goethe

After being gone for two and a half weeks, I am chomping at the proverbial bit to get back to writing. However, there are bills to be paid, mail to be answered, and the fitness program that needs to be resumed. Health and sanity are as much of writing as stringing words and thoughts together.

Underneath these priorities, an ancient, familiar song calls to me, like the mermaids and sirens in The Odyssey. “Do this, do that. Get organized. Complete this task. Do just one more thing. You can write tomorrow.” If I heed this song, I will drown, and my stories with it.

Vacation Writing

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. ~ Ben Franklin

I am taking Ben Franklin’s advice to heart. I am on vacation, which is worth writing about, but certainly not worth reading about, and that is all I have to say this week.

Reviewing the Review

A critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote. ~ Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

I have been waiting for Library Journal’s review of my book (click here to read review). Reader reviews have been fabulous; so have those from my family. (Family members have this funny tendency to say, “It is so well written,” as if they are surprised that I can actually write.)

However, to have a review from a journal is a big deal, and now I have one. It is a good review, EXCEPT there was a glaring inaccuracy. It stood in space for nearly a day, this mistake for everyone to see. However, the reviewer fixed it and in the end, all was well.

Why does this stuff disturb me? It comes down to two issues: 1) wanting readers to get the facts, and 2) how I look if the facts are wrong. The bottom line is I can’t do much about it, so best not to dwell on it. The other thing I can do is be sure I have my facts straight when I review someone else’s work.

Here’s the really amazing part—because of the mistake, I garnered extra publicity. The review had to be sent twice and I got to Tweet and Facebook it twice. Who would have thought that a mistake like this would be a blessing?

 

Elevator Pitch

The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen.

 ~ Sidonie Gabrielle Colette

This month’s Sierra Writers meeting featured Emma Santa, speaking on Speechcraft for Writers. It was a fabulous. Emma walked us through the steps to create an elevator pitch, a brief summary of what you have to offer. In this case, it would be my book, Free from Hepatitis C.

Here is what surprised me. Six years ago, I did an elevator pitch to a publisher in front of a group and I bombed. I joined Toastmasters to learn how to be a better public speaker so I could do stuff like this. I am not afraid to stand up in front of an audience, but at Sierra Writers, I was nervous.

Fear and self-doubt got in the way. Perhaps Colette is right, a bit of self-doubt may help us as writers. However, self-doubt does not belong in the elevator. Goodness gracious, we spend hours, days, months, and years writing. If I had reasonable doubt about writing Free from Hepatitis C, I would have quit long before it was finished.

So, here is my new pitch:

More people die in this country from hepatitis C than from HIV. Four million people have hepatitis C, most of them born between 1945 and 1965. However, 3 out of 4 people with this disease do not know they have it. Hepatitis C is curable, if it is diagnosed. My book, Free from Hepatitis C tells you everything you need to know from diagnosis to cure. I write with experience, as a recognized expert in the hepatitis C field and a person who has lived with this disease. My book shows you how to live free from hepatitis C.

Feedback appreciated…

P.S. Prolixity means wordy. A prolix elevator pitch is an oxymoron.

My Essential Writing Tools

Consistency of practice is the mark of a master. 

- George Leonard, “Mastery”

The tools I need to write are more than paper, pen, and computer. In order to put in a productive day of writing, I need a good night’s sleep, exercise, and meditation. It also helps to have a schedule, which helps me know when to write. For instance, on days that I have blocked out writing times, I know I will write. It is as if a switch goes on, telling me what to do.

It takes a lot of tools and effort to keep me propped up in front of a computer. However, if I skip meditation, exercise, or sleep, I am useless. These practices make me a more efficient writer, and they keep me alive. I write better, when I am alive.

P.S. It also helps to have a good book and some poetry. Reading can unlock the creative process.

Watering My Words

A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightning. ~ James Dickey

Everything needs a certain amount of rain, including my writing. This week it finally started to rain, and although all life in the Sierra Nevada foothills needed it, I especially did. Perhaps it was the change in the weather, or that deep human need for winter, or the dark, cozy nesting reaction I get when it is stormy, but whatever the reason, the rain unlocked the dry, infertile ground that kept the creative process inside.

Drop upon drop, the ground relented; words flowed out like hungry earthworms. Birds swooped down, adding color and song. Flowers bloomed, trees budded, and in the dark winter storm, I held the finest bouquet of prose. I gathered all I could, collecting words for future days, when the weather is sunny, and I am too impatient to sit inside.

Where Would I Be Without Poetry

Any healthy man can go without food for two days - but not without poetry. ~ Charles Baudelaire

I need poetry, and I try to read at least one poem a day. My current favorite sources of poetry are Poetry 180 and More 180, edited by former U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins.  Some of the poems from the books are included along with some that are not, on the Poetry 180 website. Click on “How To Read A Poem Out Loud.” Then pick a poem, perhaps #144, “Smell and Envy” by Douglas Goetsch or #180 “Break” by Dorianne Laux. Read it aloud. Read it again. Then ask yourself if you can go without poetry for two days.

Link to Poetry 180

Procrastination

Procrastination is the thief of time. ~ Edward Young, Night Thoughts

Note: this line also appears in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield

Quite frankly, I like writing way more than marketing. Writing is smooth sailing compared to the world of widgets, mailing lists, book promotions, etc. My “to do” list has more words on it than my average magazine article.

On the other hand, the book got off to a good start – keeps selling out of Amazon. Reviews and remarks have been incredibly kind, but really what I want most is to get back to writing the next book.