When it comes to writing, whatever works WORKS

If one hangs out at various spots online inhabited by writers, it seems writers are always arguing. Often these arguments pertain to various manners in which to tell a story or in various ways to make money from a story. Each writer seems to have his or her opinion, and often they seem to believe their opinion is the only one that not only matters, but that their opinion is not just opinion but is fact.

Before I go further, let me point out that I am well aware such attitudes are prevalent throughout the Internet nowadays. It is the world into which we have grown. So, I realize these attitudes are not restricted only to writers.

But with writers, these attitudes are beyond foolish. The majority of things argued over generally have very little to do with any kind of reality when it comes to readers.

Remember readers? They are the ones for whom we write. Even if we initially write for ourselves, to have any success we depend upon readers.

Readers don't care where you sell your stories or the nuts and bolts of how you write them. Readers mostly don't consciously care whether a story is in first person or third person. They don't care if you use an Oxford comma or not. They don't care about the stuff that goes on behind the scenes.

Readers want to be entertained and/or informed. That's it. It's quite simple.

I can remember my days as a newspaper editor. There were occasionally silly arguments among editors over the slightest details. Should this line be a one point line or a half point line? Should this headline be 48 points or 52 points? While there were obviously aesthetic purposes behind such argument, the reader doesn't care. Not only does the reader not care, the reader doesn't want to care.

To repeat, the reader simply wants to be entertained and/or informed. Only other writers will look at one's work and study it for particularities. Okay, maybe some teachers will look, too, but for the majority it will be only writers and those interested in the craft of writing.

I am not suggesting writers should not know their craft, nor that they should not know what they're doing. All of that will come with experience and possibly some training, formally or otherwise. No, writers do not need to look like fools on the written or digital page, at least not if they hope for some success. But writers need to recognize that many of the things they argue about are not really worth arguing about.

You tell your stories your way. I'll tell mine my way. You reach your readers in a manner you deem fit and I will do the same on my end.

The truth is, whatever works works, when it comes to writing. Some writers have built careers going against the grain, breaking the rules. Why? Not because they were necessarily some genius, but because they figured out a way to draw in readers with their words. Again, whatever works works. Anything else is just opinion, not fact, and not worth getting hot under the collar.

100 subreddits for writers

Writers are always looking for new ways to find information and to promote. The site Reddit, when used properly, can be a great tool for writers. But where to look on the site among the thousands of subreddits? Here's a start. Below are 100 subreddits in no particular order, some specifically having to do with writing while others might simply be of interest to writers.

1. /r/writing
2. /r/books
3. /r/wordcount
4. /r/fantasywriters
5. /r/selfpublish
6. /r/shutupandwrite
7. /r/ebooks
8. /r/epublication
9. /r/scifi
10. /r/literature
11. /r/kindle
12. /r/kindlefreebies
13. /r/fantasy_freebies
14. /r/fantasy_cheapies
15. /r/fantasy_99
16. /r/writersgroup
17. /r/litworkshop
18. /r/poetry
19. /r/crimewriters
20. /r/readmystory
21. /r/bookclub
22. /r/fanfiction
23. /r/promptoftheday
24. /r/shortstories
25. /r/writedaily
26. /r/SFstories
27. /r/write
28. /r/verse
29. /r/booksuggestions
30. /r/YAlit
31. /r/booksama
32. /r/paranormalromance
33. /r/printSF
34. /r/fiction
35. /r/janeausten
36. /r/shakespeare
37. /r/marktwain
38. /r/whatstheword
39. /r/quotes
40. /r/bookshelf
41. /r/proofreading
42. /r/nanowrimo
43. /r/horrorbookclub
44. /r/poeticreddit
45. /r/youngadultbooks
46. /r/NewbWriters
47. /r/creativewriting
48. /r/chainstories
49. /r/harrypotter
50. /r/grammar
51. /r/interactivestories
52. /r/creativeprocess
53. /r/IAmAFiction
54. /r/read
55. /r/jamesjoyce
56. /r/firstpage
57. /r/readitnow
58. /r/IAmA
59. /r/universityofreddit
60. /r/writingcontests
61. /r/keepwriting
62. /r/worldbuilding
63. /r/fantasy_bookclub
64. /r/scifi_bookclub
65. /r/proseporn
66. /r/stephenking
67. /r/tolkienfans
68. /r/lotr
69. /r/essays
70. /r/roundrobin
71. /r/wordplay
72. /r/blogging
73. /r/haiku
74. /r/newspeak
75. /r/History_bookclub
76. /r/LibraryofBabel
77. /r/erotica
78. /r/thebookclub
79. /r/poetscorner
80. /r/words
81. /r/tandemstory
82. /r/sixwordstories
83. /r/oneparagraph
84. /r/100wordstories
85. /r/nosleep
86. /r/logophilia
87. /r/neilgaiman
88. /r/bookexchange
89. /r/libraries
90. /r/redditbooks
91. /r/bookcollecting
92. /r/4sentencebookreviews
93. /r/darkworkshop
94. /r/sceneofthecrime
95. /r/makeithappen
96. /r/freelancewriters
97. /r/comedywriting
98. /r/screenwriting
99. /r/comicbooks
100. /r/horror

More writing links

100 Web sites for fiction writers

Short stories still important to indie writers

Online writers, make sure you get paid

I write for a living. That's how I pay my bills. Some of my writing is for online sites such as Triond, but most of it is for books or e-books, sold through Amazon and the usual online spots. I've been making this my career for a few years now, since being let go from a newspaper after having been a journalist for twenty years. I decided to go out on my own.

From time to time during these three years, there have been a few snags here and there when I try to receive payment from one company or another. Nothing major, just a delay of a few days because of a glitch or a holiday or something. From time to time I've had to provide some extra information to receive payment, or I've had to jump through a small hoop or two. While I'm obviously not happy having to deal with such situations, none of them have been overly strenuous.

Until now.

No, I will not use the name of the company, and no, it does not appear elsewhere in this post. I don't need the hassle of a bunch of e-mails spouting legal mumbo jumbo about how some company will have its legal department get in touch with me. And frankly, I do not wish to give this particular company even one single bit of advertising, even if in a negative way. Also, I will be changing a few of the technical details below so this company cannot be readily identified.

I will say this, however, if you are a writer for many of the content creation sites, you have probably run across the site of which I'm writing. You might even be a writer for the site.

I have been a writer for the site for nearly three years. It does not pay much, but that is familiar territory for such content sites. I never planned to get rich, just to make a little extra cash. Over the years I have received payments from this company, usually about twice a year, the amounts not a lot of money but at least enough to fill up the gas tank in the car or to take the family out to eat. I never had any problems.

Then about eight months ago I requested a payment, which is how the site operates. A couple of months passed and I still had not received my payment. I asked for payment again. I was told there was a problem with my mailing address. I could not understand this as I had been at the same address for several years, but I tried to work with the team behind the site. Months passed again. Twice more I was told my payment had been sent but there was a problem with my mailing address. At this point I admit to becoming frustrated, but I never took it out on those I was dealing with at the company. Part of my frustration was I did not understand how my mailing address could be a problem when I had had the address for several years and had never had any other problems with it.

At this point the company's representatives suggested a new online payment program they were just beginning to test. I thought that sounded like a good idea, so I agreed to give it a try. I was told I would receive an e-mail from a different company, the one in charge of the payment program.  A month passed and I had yet to receive the e-mail.

I complained, nicely. I was asked to be patient and that my e-mail was still coming. About this same time I stopped providing new content for the site, and have not done so since.

A couple of weeks passed. No e-mail.

I contacted the writing site yet again. This time I was not so nice, but I did not curse or call names or makes threats nor anything like that. I simply wanted to let them realize how frustrated I had become. I was told again to be patient, that my e-mail was coming.

Another week passed, then one morning I received three e-mails in a matter of minutes. The first e-mail was telling me I had received my payment and that is was available in my account with the new payment program. Yippee! I thought, at least I will have my money.

Then I looked at the second e-mail, which was from the writing site. Here I was told that my situation had been corrected and they were glad of it. Okay. Well, I thought this was a little presumptuous since I had yet to contact them, but whatever.

And then I checked the third e-mail. It was from the payment program site informing me the payment that had been sent to me had been withdrawn. Yes, withdrawn.

That was Monday of this week. It is now Friday as I write this. Since then I have traded e-mails several morning times with my initial contacts at the writing site. Apologies were given to me a couple of times, but frankly I'm sick of apologies. I want results.

I was asked to give them another mailing address. I don't have another mailing address. Then I was asked to provide them with another e-mail address, and while I do have more than one e-mail address, I refused to do this. I had done enough, as far as I was concerned. I had been mostly nice up until the last couple of months, and I had already been waiting for more than half a year for my money, which isn't even all that much money in the first place. And since I had initially put in my request for my money, I had earned more money, but I've yet to request those funds.

At this point the company's representatives told me they could no longer help me since I was not being cooperative. Me not being cooperative? After everything I've already been through, after all my patience and waiting. No, to hell with them.

The last e-mail I sent told the representatives to close my account. I did not tell them to keep my money, but I did mention I believed they would do so anyway.

Now, that was a few hours ago. Since then I have come to a conclusion. Either the company I was dealing with is an out and scam, or it is run by some pretty inept people.

Frankly, it should not take that long to receive a payment, and one should not have to jump so many hurdles to receive a payment, especially a payment that was not even more than a hundred U.S. dollars.

So, all you other writers out there, be careful. If you're not getting paid, stop utilizing the site. If you're not writing for money, that's fine, do as you will. But you still need to be careful.

Can terrorists use model airplanes as weapons?

After the recent arrest of a man in Boston who has been accused of planning terrorist attacks on the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon, plenty of questions have been raised. Which is always the case. But in this particular case, a lot of the questions are about model airplanes. Apparently the man arrested was planning to strap explosives to model airplanes, then fly the planes into buildings.

Headlines similar to the one with this article, "Can terrorists use model airplanes as weapons?," have become common during the last couple of days. I can't count the number of times I've read, "Could model airplanes become a terrorist weapon?"

I hate these types of headlines. I was a newspaper editor for 20 years, so I've got plenty of experience writing headlines. And frankly, nearly all of these questioning headlines are bad. For one thing, they are questions, not answers. For another thing, such headlines tend to lead readers in a particular direction. I only use a similar headline here to make a point.

If one reads down into the articles concerning the potential use of model airplanes as weapons, the truth is yes, model airplanes could be used as weapons, but not very good ones. Why is this? There are two reasons: 1.) Because model airplanes, even the really big and expensive ones, cannot carry much weight, which means the explosives that could be used would have to be quite small and not very powerful. 2.) Even for experienced experts, flying model planes is not a precise science; it would be difficult to fly a model airplane directly into a small target, such as a door or window or person, which would be needed to cause damage using smaller explosives.

If you don't believe the articles, check with a local model airplane club. Such clubs, though sometimes small in number of members, are practically all over the place. Go to a gathering and ask those present what they think.

But what really irks me about the questioning headlines for such articles is that their use is basically fear mongering, often caused by lazy headline writing. Please understand, I understand what headline writers are dealing with daily. Nearly all of them are overworked and underpaid. Nearly all of them do not have much time to write excellent headlines. Often enough headlines are slapped onto a story as quickly as possible, without much thought given to them. Plenty of people within the news media will not admit to this, but it is the truth.

What can be done? Honestly, probably not much. One could scream about holding the news media responsible, especially the corporations who create over-stressed work environments, but the truth is that would likely not help. The bean counters and the marketers aren't really going to pay much attention because they are too busy trying to figure out how much money they're going to make this quarter, how they're going to survive just a few more months or weeks because of the bad economy and the growing unwillingness of advertisers and consumers to pay for advertising and news content.

It's tough for the media right now, but that should not be an excuse.

So, back to the original question, can model airplanes be used for terrorist weapons? Well, of course they can. But just about anything can be used for a weapon. A stick. A rock. A balled-up wad of paper jammed down someone's throat. Anything. Even a newspaper.

The worst part of being a fiction author

Every fiction writer is different. Each of us has our own complaints.

Of course we shouldn't be complaining. We sit on our butts and make up stuff for a living, which is far easier and more fun than most of the working world gets to experience on a daily basis.

But still, we complain. It must be something to do with us being human.

Some fiction authors complain about their editors. Others complain about readers. Some will complain about the writing process itself, or the editing process, or having to do self promotions. It's becoming more common for fiction writers to complain about one another, especially in the seemingly never-ending indie publishing vs. traditional publishing debate.

I think writers just like to complain.

And as a fiction writer, I have my own complaints, of course.

When is it toughest for me as a fiction writer?

When a project comes to an end.

I hate that time period, especially if it's a long project that has kept me occupied for a few months.

It's not so much that I'm in love with my last project (though I usually am to some extent), or that I'm completely tied to it. My feelings are more like a lost traveler looking ahead at a blank desert that seemingly has no end. There's this empty canvas before me, and I'm not sure what direction to take. It's not that I have absolutely no direction. No, not at all. It's more like there are too many directions I could go.

For instance, just a couple of days ago I finished the first draft a 16,000-word young adult dark fantasy novelette. That's a bit long for most magazine and anthology publishers, and much too short for book publishers, but I'll spend the next year or three sending this story out to the handful of publishers I know who take stories of that length. My guess would be in the end I'll have to self publish this story, simply because there is not much of a professional market (or any kind of market, for that matter) for novelettes.

But I finished this story. It had taken up my time for a couple of weeks. Now I'm floundering.

I'm keeping busy, of course. I've set aside that novelette for the time being, but I'll get to it again in a month or so after I've given it a little breathing space; then I'll come back to it with fresh eyes and give it a couple of edits. I've spent the last couple of days doing a little editing work on one of my novels for my print publisher, and I've got an article finished for a heroic fantasy website that should be available in about a week.

Still ... that vast desert stretches before me. What project do I start next? Where do I go from here?
That is the part I hate most about being a fiction writer. The unknown of knowing what project to proceed to.

In hopes of reaching a decision, I sat down last night and updated a computer file of potential projects. I have ideas for a dozen or so short stories in that file, and for about 50 or so novels or novellas.

My ongoing epic fantasy series will eventually be about 40 novels, if I live long enough to finish it. But I'm not sure I'm in the mood to get back into that universe at the moment.

Then there are a handful of horror ideas I've been contemplating, but I'm not really in the mood for that either.

I might be in the mood to pen a more literary tale, a mood that hits me from time to time, but in my experience these novels just don't sell. Not that sales have to be the only reason to write, but they do help to give one a nice push.

I've also recently found a fondness for novellas, works in the 15,000 to 40,000 word range. That's my own definition of a novella. Other writers and editors and publishers have their own definitions, but most are somewhere in the ballpark of my own numbers. I like writing novellas. They don't take as much time to write as a novella, and they are longer so the writer still has room to explore a little.

So what do I do? Write a novel? Or a novella? Or a short story?

Do I get back to work on my epic fantasy series? Or do I start on a stand-alone tale? Horror? Literary? Even science fiction?

I'm not seeking a real answer, of course. Eventually I'll make a decision. Sometimes that decision comes easy; I'll wake some morning and be in the mood for a particular project, and I'll start it. Other times the decision comes with much difficulty, with me having several small starts on various projects before finally settling on one.

Yes, this is the part I hate most about writing fiction. The unknown. That blank slate. The empty page. Worlds unexplored.

Gosh, it sucks to do this for a living. ;-)


Related links
What do you need to publish your e-book for Kindle?
100 Days of Fantasy: Day 1, The Hobbit
Horror and fantasy author's blog