Tag: books

“Might as well”

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Crafting, Thoughts, Writing

What a funny little phrase that is. Might as well. Shortened down from, “I had might as well-”, which would then include an action. Used when we see something that ought to be done, and we should just do it now and get it sorted out. Of course, it’s not always a negative context, nor is it necessarily something we want to avoid, but the choice to do it there and then is dependent on another contextual aspect.

This weekend was dedicated as a solid attempt at finishing a whole lot of projects all at once. This, of course, was a very ambitious plan and nothing was completed, but a lot of pieces got plenty of progress. Amazing what happens when you stay off the internet for a while, eh?

Tonight had a lot of ‘might as well’s included in my efforts to complete that work. When you’re crocheting, it comes up a lot, actually. See, there’s only a small amount left in the ball of yarn, so might as well keep going until it’s run out. Oh, there’s not much left of this row, might as well just finish it. That went so quickly, I’d might as well just do another row.

Maybe it’s just me that this happens to so frequently, but the more I consider it, the more I see how often I really do add to my tasks with a ‘might as well’. Made a batch of sushi? Might as well bake some cookies while I’m in the kitchen. Writing a blog post and think of another subject to talk about? Might as well jot down the outline while it’s in my mind. Out grocery shopping? Might as well stop in and get that other thing I need. Driving by Nanna’s place? Might as well drop in and see her while we’re out that way. Writing a novella? Might as well write eight. Okay, that one is an exaggeration, but only barely.

I think it has something to do with perceived efficiency. If you’re in the position to take care of something when you’re already there and not otherwise busy, it saves you from having to organise that trip, action, or effort at a later date, or makes sure you don’t forget something. In other cases, it can be one of those really sly, clever procrastination techniques. The ones that are perfectly legitimate, and you’re being productive in one area, but you’re simultaneously putting off work on something else.

As for tonight, and indeed this whole weekend, it was just me trying really hard to get a bunch of unfinished things finally completed. Right now, I’m eyeing off my notebook, honestly thinking, “Might as well write a little bit while I’m not doing anything else.”

~A

Aspiring

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Thoughts, Writing

Maybe I’m just a grouch, but I’ve never been a fan of artists calling themselves “aspiring”. I know the word means you’re trying to be successful at something, and sure, we’re all trying that to one degree or other. But the usage of “aspiring” among writers and graphic artists tends to hint at a lack of self-confidence.

I suppose some part of that comes from exactly how it’s used: if we stuck to its exact definition, every artist and author is still aspiring, so long as they are always seeking to improve their work and aim at greater ambitions. At what point would you honestly stop and say, “Yes, I have achieved everything I wanted from this career.”? What defines success? How do we measure a person being a successful artist in any medium?

And here’s where it starts bothering me. “Aspiring” artists are always aspiring while they are undiscovered. At some point, a payment or contract is offered, and then they are just writers, or just painters, or just something else. They lose the “aspiring” prefix, to themselves and to others.

Being published is a huge step in any writing career, but it doesn’t imply success. Even significant monetary gain doesn’t automatically imply success. You can get a huge advance paid for your work, never earn out, and be unable to find another publisher to pick up your writing again. Or you can earn modestly through ongoing sales and royalties, but not see global recognition. Or so many other possible scenarios.

So why is a paid publication the main difference between being a writer, and being an aspiring writer? I don’t think we stop aiming higher and pushing towards goals after we’re published, therefore, we clearly continue to aspire.

It’s a part of my “job” to think too hard about words and their usage. If we continued to be classed as aspiring authors beyond the publishing contract, then I’d probably be fine with it. Since that’s an unlikely expression change, I’ll just go back to my usual response: if you’re writing, then you’re a writer. No prefix necessary. We’ll all secretly aspire for the rest of our lives, and that will be that.

~A

Can’t figure it out

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Writing

Now that things are settling down a bit, I’m left pondering a whole new bag of mysteries. I feel a lot of interest with my novella, M. It’s something I want to write, and in general, I definitely feel like playing the author game at the moment. There’s no sense of “writer’s block”, nothing like that. Nevertheless, this one isn’t coming easily. There’s a lot of dragging and struggling; the words come in bursts, then I don’t know what I’m doing again.

Instead of getting frustrated at the progress, I’ve just adapted. I handwrite as much as I can, and when I’m stuck, I leave it for a bit. Then I transcribe it all into my computer, making whatever necessary minor edits along the way, and find myself hooked back into the story long enough to spurt out another few hundred words – handwritten, so I can follow this same, convoluted pattern next time.

All I can really say is, I’m getting there. I don’t know why it’s so slow going when I’m excited, and happy with the story. I can’t see what’s halting me all the time. Maybe I’m just feeling more easily distracted than I realise.

There’s no foolproof, 100% guaranteed method for anyone. Some people write to a word count, some people write for a time limit, some people are surely getting outside help from the magic realm to write consistently and persistently as a proper, fulltime experience. Plenty of writers that I respect and admire write a hefty chunk a couple of days a week, and don’t even look at their stories at other times. Meanwhile, others would swear black and blue that the only way, the ONLY WAY, is to write every single day without fail.

I rebel against rules, so there’s definitely no single option open to me. I’ll do whatever works this time, and just remind myself to adapt again when it stops working.

And put just a little bit on blame on the other stories in my head that want to be written. Maybe what I really need to do is figure out how to divide my writing time to include work on multiple projects at once… (now wasn’t I just saying I need to do the exact opposite of that?).

~A

Scarecrow

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Other Writers

I am a huge fan of Matthew Reilly’s writing. It’s all kinds of opposite to everything else I read, and that’s part of why I love it. The weaponry, the pace, the action, the brutality, the fact that anyone can die. Anyone. Including, and especially very important main characters.

My first foray into the insane worlds Matt writes was Ice Station, and remains my tied-for-favourite book of all time. Incidentally, the other book which shares tied-for-favourite is The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway, and it shares many qualities; military setting, action, and ridiculously awesome characters who you desperately want to spend time with. I got my copy of Ice Station from a little secondhand book store over a decade ago, and it has now gone beyond the stage of “much read”, to “lovingly battered”. Well over 30 read-throughs will do that to a book. I also went on to purchase a brand new copy of Ice Station; this second copy has been signed by Matt three times so far. Come November, when he’s on a book tour again and visits Perth, I intend on getting autograph number four in that book (and of course, a lone autograph in his new book!).

I just finished reading Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. It took me a few hours to finish. That’s one of the things undeniably Matthew Reilly: the book is so fast-paced, and he’s so adept with words, you absolutely fly through reading it. Everything happens, bang, bang, bang. There are moments interspersed in the action, looking in on other characters that aren’t in the middle of a gunfight, that only spur you to read on more. Those moments are usually the ones that reveal a key piece of information that you just know will change the course of the story and throw everything into even greater chaos.

If you aren’t familiar with the four existing Scarecrow novels, and one novella, the main character is a Marine, Shane Schofield, call-sign: Scarecrow. There is absolutely every reason to love this character, cheer him on, and feel completely satisfied when he triumphs – albeit, usually missing most of his team by the end of the books. Trying to describe him would be a terrible injustice.

Reading Matt’s books always get me revved up. They are like all the great action movies, but 100% better. I see what he does, and I want to make awesome stories, too. Sure, I won’t ever write military action novels, but I sure can put every effort into being just as entertaining in my own chosen genres. After all, that’s the best goal possible for an author.

As always, Matt, fantastic work. Thank you for writing.

~A

Congratulations, Amazon

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Thoughts

The newest Kindle iteration has come just in time. I was already considering an e-reader for my birthday this November, but hadn’t quite been convinced of what I wanted. The announcement of a smaller, simpler Kindle has sealed the deal for me. It’s cheaper, and doesn’t have unnecessary bells and whistles that I really don’t want on a device used for reading books.

My primary purpose for ever wanting an e-reader has been to carry a selection of texts with me in a lightweight and ultra-portable device. The opportunity to download all those free books is just a delight for me, because while I love real books and always will, I usually can’t justify buying many of them with my budget. There’s an entire library worth of old books that are now free to acquire, and I will finally get a chance to read, or re-read the “classics”.

I find it a real chore to read novel-length works on my computer screens, and indeed, I still haven’t finished reading a small handful of e-books I’ve already bought/downloaded because it’s just uncomfortable and inconvenient. I want to be able to read in bed, or at the park, or in the car.

Of course, I doubt I’ll ever use an e-reader as my primary reading source. Books have too many things that you can’t recreate electronically. They feel good, and have textured pages. They smell of paper and ink and other books. There’s the sound of turning the page, and the satisfying faint clomp of closing the book when you’ve finished a great story. The cover art, and browsing the spines, and the small details like publisher logos…

One thing I definitely won’t mind is a lack of dust covers! I always take them off my hardcover books when reading, since I tend to tear them otherwise. But I really do hope my eventual experience with the newest Kindle exceeds my expectations. Even if I resent the idea that my books can run out of battery. 😉

~A

The plan, the challenge

Posted on by Ashlee Scheuerman in Writing

As you may know, I’ve switched to working on the potential-novella referred to as M. I read the opening I wrote several years ago and felt somewhat overawed by how awesome the idea was, and wondered why I stopped. I can honestly say it was because I hadn’t plotted any of the story out besides the general idea; it slowed me right down, and I can see that, now. At the time, I just drifted onto other projects that had more immediate appeal, without ever realising what was holding me back.

While the ideas for this story were still there, they needed a lot of developing. And as my last blog entry covered, the strange little ideas I’d worked out, and the interesting plot directions I wanted to use have finally started to make sense as a whole story. I got excited and I have begun planning out the plot properly. The best part about doing this is always knowing what to write next. Once this is sorted, I can sit down and throw whatever words I want at the page. Editing will be challenging, but the important part is always finishing that first draft.

My plan is to have the overall plot finalised, to whatever extent I usually do, by the end of this week. Then starting Sunday, I intend on writing like a maniac (or if you’re a fan of Dear Sugar, writing like something else!). Novellas clock in around 40,000 words in length. I want to hit that in two weeks. Madness? Oh, yes. With my lifestyle, most certainly. And that’s precisely what draws me to it.

I have always been inspired by challenges. Put some kind of ridiculous deadline in my head and I want to tackle it wholeheartedly, just to see if I can. Looking over my writing records for TDM, I don’t often reach 3,000 words a day, but where’s the fun in it if I already know I can manage ~2,000? I could do it in a month, but two weeks? We’ll have to see.

There’s always the distinct possibility that I will get directed, bored, or grumpy with this whole plan before it’s finished. You guys can always call me on it if my happy little word counter isn’t rising daily.

~A