Sex and the Writer- Part Four of Five

Obsession.

As in can't get enough.

As in can't be put back into the bottle.

As in the opposite of methodical planning.

As in the opposite of sterile writer workshops group  and group critiques.

Look around at the people in your writers group.  Are they obsessed with your story?  Has it taken them over so completely they can't sleep at night knowing it must be told but still isn't finished?  Or are their comments just playing to the "group dynamics?"  Take it a step further- are you obsessed with your story?  Because if you aren't, no one else will be either.

You might object that obsession can be unhealthy.  Over-focus to the point of counter-productive.  Sure that can happen.  It does happen.

But when darkness pushes daylight over the edge of the world, we can still see because Thomas Edison was obsessed with giving us the electric light.  When common people lived in misery during the Depression, John Steinbeck obsessed about their plight.  Because of that obsession, he went and worked  as a migrant laborer to personally experience their suffering.  This magnificent obsession gave us "The Grapes of Wrath."

The great world builders of literature like J.R.R. Tolkein and H.K. Rowling obsessed over their stories, their characters and their themes and now we have "The Lord of the Rings" and Harry Potter.

Obsession is the total focusing of all our energy and desire on one goal.

Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind" was a product of her personal obsession with finding a man who would love her like no woman had ever been loved before.

So take another lesson from sexuality.  

Write a story worth obsessing over.

If your story isn't worth obsessing over, write a story that is.

Sex and the Writer- Part Three of Five

Five's the big number.

Sight, smell, hearing, feel and taste.

I see her picture.  I can smell her and it is the insistent awareness of a tigress concealed by the fragrance of cherry blossoms.  Her whispers make my blood roar.  I can feel the royal velvet luxury of her skin.  I can taste the salty moistness in the hollow of her throat.

All that from the picture.

Does your writing have that power?

Does your writing engage your readers' senses?


I've talked to them and their answer is no.  You try.  They know you're trying.  They appreciate it, really they do.  

But you're so focused on he said she said that you forget they (your readers) have five sense, not one.

And you're so focused on he did she did that you forget that they (again, your readers) appreciate the visual plot sequence you've constructed, but, again, they have five senses, not one.

As a writer, you tend to think of only one thing at a time.  Dialogue (hearing).  Who did what (visual).  More dialogue (hearing) and more visual (sight)?

Why?  What happened to the other senses?  Why did you forget to include them in your last story?

Because you ignore sex while you're writing.

Sex jams every sense you have into high gear.  We know them all and they are euphorically overwhelming.  We feel, we see, we hear, we taste and we drink in the smell of our lover.

Sex engages all your senses.


Why doesn't your writing?

Sex and the Writer- Part Two of Five

You have to have it if you want to write.

It's hard to find because it's hiding somewhere between cliche and moral blindness.  But you have to have it.  You really have to want something.  You have to lust after someone or something in order for people to want to read what you write.  It's that simple.

Lust puts us in motion.  We have to move to get want we want.  We have to move to be interesting.

Lust keeps us focused.  

Really, you can only lust after one thing at a time.  Multi-tasking is a myth for writers.  A writer can "what if" their story to death.  What if this, what if that?  What if we just stay on point and tell the story?  But writers are creative.  After all, we're just making this stuff up.  So how do we keep the story on track?

Lust takes care of that.

Lust prioritizes.

Have you ever videotaped yourself while you're writing?  Do you  seem consumed with passion when you type?  Does your intensity threaten to melt your keyboard?

Or do you look boring?  Maybe you are bored.  Maybe you're writing the way you do when you you're having sex while watching television over your partner's shoulder.

Maybe you don't really love your story.  Maybe you aren't really obsessed with bringing your characters to life.  Maybe they aren't really your friends and lovers or enemies.

You could use a little lust in your writing life.

Your story could, too.

Sex and the Writer- Part One of Five

Our sexuality empowers our writing.  


Family members hate to hear writers discuss such things.  Ever see a child recoil at the thought of their parents having sex?  So if you're going to read this series of posts, please don't tell your family.

Our readers don't like to think about it, either.  It's okay if our characters are sexually attractive or charismatic, but not you and I.  We're the storytellers.  We're supposed to be the trusted narrators of their stories, not vicarious participants.  

"I wish they'd take writer's pictures off of their books," one reader told me.  "It spoils my image of their characters."

Now that's odd, I thought.  We write the stories, but they don't like to think of us in the stories.  That's especially true when it comes to sex.  We'll take a closer look at this phenomena in the next post.

After that, we'll explore the complex relationship between sexuality and creativity.  I won't look at sterile, stilted surveys and studies, but I will be exploring why only sexually driven writers can create intensely engaging fiction.  I'm not talking about creating sex scenes, I'm talking about the ability to create powerful fiction.

What about the great social fiction that has nothing to do with sex?

It might be a great topic, but it's not our topic.  But to deal with the question tangentially, I believe only writers who are intensely sexual can create powerful social fiction.  Our creative power comes from our sexuality.  Social tensions, if you really examine, are strongly rooted in out sexuality.

It's a complex topic, but let me start you off with something to think about- when you write your story, have you ever considered the image your reader has of you, the writer?  Are you good looking- as a narrator?  Are you a man or a woman? Are you powerful?  Are you ruthless?  Are you lonely?  Remember, I'm talking about the way you come across to your readers, not your characters.

Think about it- who are you (as a narrator) to your readers?  Who do they imagine you to be?

He Needs Your Help

Who is he?

You don't recognize him, do you?  You should.  All he's asking for is some recognition.

You grew up with him.  

What happened to him?  Oh my, you really are out of touch for a writer, aren't you?  He's a character in your latest book.  

I'm afraid you've fogotten the true source of your stories.  Let's try another test.

Recognize her?

Oh, no! 

How could you forget her?   She could use a little recognition, too.  She's a character in your first book.  The one that got you noticed.  The one that made everyone think you could write like the love child of Jane Austen and John Steinbeck.

No?  Still doesn't ring a bell?

Have you forgotten where all of your great characters and great stories can be found?  I was afraid of this, so I'll remind you but don't tell anyone else or they'll end up being great writers, too.

Your childhood. 

Keep it to yourself.  Every great story begins in your childhood.

Think about it.

Every great character is someone from your childhood all grown up.

Really think about it.  It will improve your writing.  But don't tell anyone I told you.

Meet the Guy Telling Your Life Story

What's that in his hand?


Why, it's your life story.

You're a writer and maybe you thought the value of your writing life would be written down by someone who investigated and contexted your personal history, the evolution of your feelings and ideas.  Maybe you were hoping your biographer- and we all like to think someday we'll be successful enough writers to be written about- would have a little empathy and understanding for your life.  That maybe he or she would actually care about your first kiss, your first love, the birth of your children.

Well, sure, but he's a little busy now. And he's a little amused that writers don't understand how their biographies are being created these days.

There are only two sources to look at to compile the meaning of a writer's life, he says.

First, your credit card receipts.  They reveal what you actually do with your money, which, he believes, kind of says who you are.  Every penny you spend reveals a little more of yourself and fortunately for him, it's actually accessible.  Why listen to what a writer says or writes when you can actually see what they did, where they did it and how much they did it just by contacting Equifax or TRW.  They have everybody's real history, including ours.

Ouch!

You're nervous now, aren't you?  Writers create fiction, about themselves and their characters.  But credit receipts don't lie.  According to your biographer, they are you.

But wait, there's more.

You've been telling on you.  Yes, blabbing your life away telling all sorts of things you shouldn't.  Writing down the evidence of your attitudes, who your friends are and what you all are doing.  Ouch again!  You squealed on yourself.

It's all written down- that's what your biographer says.  Why bother reading your fiction when he or she can read the real stuff.  Where do they get it?

The picture's below is a clue.  Yes, now you get it.  Between your credit card receipts and this rendition of the details of your life you've provided to your future biographer, your fiction can pretty much be ignored.  Your online life tells the world your real story.

Scandal is Good for Creativity

I'm confessing- I'm the guy standing in line at the grocery store reading all the gossip magazines.  Scientifically speaking, writers are natural born busybodies.  And what better way to keep us wondering "what if..."

But here's my darkest secret- before it's print demise, I was the single greatest fan of the Weekly World News.  Now that it is available only online, I am still addicted.  It has such great headlines as "Bat Boy Found in Cave" and many other memorable news articles such as "Kim Kardashian's Butt Explodes."  Don't laugh- their stories are thoroughly researched.  In the interests of public service, they even have email alerts that will notify you whenever aliens land on earth.

You can see why my dream has always been to be a writer for this icon of creativity.

They tell you the things other news outlets don't.  Most of you probably don't know that a volcano erupted this week in Cleveland, Ohio or that Megan Fox is a man.  Or that L.A. real estate agents use predator drones to improve their business.

Also, in this week's issue, they unveil proof that not only does "Eating Causes Weight Gain," but also that "Yoga Causes Mental Illness."

So if you've got a bad case of writer's block or are desperately trying to kick start your creativity, go read the "Weekly World News."   It'll change your paradigm.

Ghost Box Cover Art

Over at White Cat Publications, we're currently on version 5 of the cover art for "The Ghost Box."  In the next version, the ectoplasmic vapors will be coming more from inside the box.  Thought you might want to see what it looks like before the final version.

And we're looking for new novels to publish, so check out the guidelines and if your work meets the criteria, send it along.  We're just getting ready to announce this over at Ralan and Duotrope, but I wanted to let you know first.

New Cover Art

Here's the new cover for "Tainted Blood."  What do you think?

The Writing Tree versus NaNoWriMo

The question is not whether you can write 50,000 words per month, it's whether or not you should.

The value of NaNoWriMo is twofold.  First it brings writers together in a common project.  The value of this should not be underestimated.  Second, it gets writers writing.  No small feat that.

It's easy to find supporters of NaNoWriMo all over the web.  It's a developed and exciting community, and sometimes when you question a community movement you get hammered by its supporters, but I'll risk it.

Considering the speed of publishing today, we all feel the pressure to write faster so we don't get left behind.  The market changes rapidly, especially with the advent of eBooks.  The more we write, the reasoning seems to go, the more money we can make.

But in the race to be rapid, I wonder if we're sacrificing the power of our writing.  The ability to create compelling, emotionally moving writing takes time and reflection to develop.  It requires that we look deeply into ourselves and the people around us before we start typing.

This ability takes time to take root within us.  It begins small, like a seed, and cannot be forced to grow beyond its time or it will wither and die. 

I believe most writers have the ability to be great writers, but they lose their chance by writing before they think.  

One powerful novel is worth ten mediocre efforts.

If you want to read an examples of a writer with mature, developed power read something by James Lee Burke.  I guarantee you'll be impressed and put the book down thinking maybe it is worth it to take the time to think, really think about what you're writing before you put it to paper.

Real People Are Better than Characters

Cute dog isn't it?

I love dogs- we have five of them.  But none of them ride in fire engine trucks and look that clean.  They fight.  They trash the house if we're gone too long.  They don't get along with the cats.  You get the picture.

Fact is, he little guy in the picture is a fake.  Just like a lot of characters.

Stereotypes are okay as a kind of short-hand for throw-away characters.  They're easy to write and and easy to source. You can almost buy them online.  The evil business person.  The average person fighting against the system.  Or my all-time favorite.  The  "elements re-assembled"  character.

The stereotyped character draws from a list of prearranged character attributes which you can actually find in the various books that Writers Digest sells.  The idea is that it's hard work to create an original character.  A writer would actually have to think and everything.  And you might fail.  The emotional trauma of failure might be painful.  The stereotyped character relieves you of that burden.

The "elements-assembled" character is a Mix-Match creation.  To hide the fact that our characters are two-dimensional stereotypes, we take the character "parts" and arrange them in unconventional ways.
With luck, the patchwork characters will be considered original.  This applies to character mannerisms as well.  For example, instead of having a tobacco-chewing man (ugh) we write a tobacco-chewing woman (ugh) character.  Isn't that creative?  Isn't that original?

Or, instead of having a powerful, evil businessman, we create a powerful, evil businesswoman.

Who knew that creativity was so easy?!  Switch gender roles or switch personal habits and we instantly have an original character!

On the other hand, this might explain why more readers are reading less.  They know that writers don't actually study real people anymore, they study fictional characters.  They base their law enforcement characters on characters they've seen on CSI.  Or Law and Order.  Or.... you get the point.

After all, "Avatar" made millions and millions of dollars for its creators, and there isn't one character in the entire movie that's not a stereotype or recycled character.  So why should a writer study real people?  Why try to really analyze the human condition and potential to create characters that are more compelling?

Think of it this way- movie studios and TV production groups have an awful lot more to invest in their stories.  It's your mind against their computer animated graphics and music scores.  Ever notice how much they spend on music scores for movies?  It's because the music creates most of the mood, not the script.  Their writers can't pull it off without music and sound effects. 

Fiction writers don't have a choice.  We actually have to make it happen in the reader's mind without music, without special effects, and without actors.  Movie studios have hundreds of millions of dollars invested.  Fiction writers, if we're lucky, have a decent laptop.

So we have to work a lot harder to make our readers really believe that our characters are real.  We might actually have to pay attention to real people to learn how to make believable characters.

Or we could keep on turning out two dimensional characters like the dog in the picture.