A Writer's Moment: 'Setting a pattern for success'

A Writer's Moment: 'Setting a pattern for success':   “When I get started each day, I read through and correct the previous day's 2,000 words, then start on the next. As I reach that figur...

'Setting a pattern for success'

 

“When I get started each day, I read through and correct the previous day's 2,000 words, then start on the next. As I reach that figure, I try to simply stop and not go on until reaching a natural break. If you just stop while you know what you're going to write next, it's easier to get going again the next day.” – Neal Asher

Born in England on Feb. 4, 1961, Asher is a leader in the world of science fiction writing.   The son of educators "and sci-fi" fans, he has been writing since secondary school, although he didn’t turn to it seriously until he was nearly 30.  After working as a machinist and machine programmer, then as a full-time gardener, he wrote his first short story and had instant success.  After a few more, he turned to novels and never looked back.  

Since 1989, he’s turned out some 50 novels and dozens and dozens of short stories – many of his books set in a sci-fi world he calls “The Polity.”  His most recent book, the start of his new “Time Shadow” series, is Dark Diamond.    Asher credits his success to hard work and a regular writing routine (that 2000 daily words mentioned above), and keeping an active, inquiring mind. 

 

“For me,” he said, “the writing process is the same as the reading process. I want to know what happens next."

A Writer's Moment: 'Tangling with human emotions'

A Writer's Moment: 'Tangling with human emotions':   “I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.”  – James A. Michener   Born in Pennsylvania ...

'Tangling with human emotions'

 

“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” – James A. Michener

 

Born in Pennsylvania on this date in 1907 Michener wrote 40-plus books, hundreds of essays and short stories, and several screenplays and radio pieces. Most of his popular novels, which have sold over 75 million copies, are lengthy family sagas based on detailed historical, cultural, and even geological research.  

 

Michener’s writing career began during his naval service during World War II.   His first effort (at age 40) was the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tales of the South Pacific, also the foundation for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s long-running award-winning Broadway show and movie South Pacific.    His book Centennial, set in my adopted state of Colorado, was written to coincide with the state’s 100^th and nation’s 200^th birthday and is still exciting and relevant in this 150^th and 250^th anniversary year.

 

I first got turned on to both Michener and my own itch to become a writer when my high school English teacher handed me a copy of his book Hawaii and said, “Read this and maybe someday you can write like he does.  You have it in you.” 

 

“I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in,” Michener offered as advice to writers.  “What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation.”  

A Writer's Moment: 'Be brave enough to speak the truth'

A Writer's Moment: 'Be brave enough to speak the truth':   “ Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.  You must then live it to its fullest.”  – Muriel Sp...

'Be brave enough to speak the truth'

 

“Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur.  You must then live it to its fullest.” – Muriel Spark

 

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland on Feb. 1, 1918, Spark applied that philosophy to an award-winning career as a novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.  Her writing (and editing) career grew out of her work as a British Intelligence Officer during World War II when she realized she had a knack for the clever use of words.   

 

Starting as an editor of Poetry Review magazine, she soon was writing poems of her own, authoring several critically acclaimed poetry collections and books of criticism before turning to short stories and then novels in the late 1950s.  Her first effort, The Comforters, – built around the clever plot of a young woman who becomes aware that she is a character in a novel – firmly established her credentials as a major writer.

 

Perhaps best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – also adapted into both a play and a movie – she went on to write 22 novels and 21 books of poetry and nonfiction.  Her thriller The Mandelbaum Gate also was a multiple award winner.  Shortly before her death in 2006, she was named for the Golden PEN Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature and ranked 8^th by The London Times among "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.”   

“To be a successful writer,” Spark said, “one must be brave enough to speak the truth, even when it is uncomfortable or unpopular.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The only one listening'

A Writer's Moment: 'The only one listening':   “There's a reason poets often say, 'Poetry saved my life,' for often the blank page is the only one listening to the soul'...