There Might Be Dancing . . .

I love to get books - and gift cards for them! - as gifts. When books I request from the library are ready to pick up, I want to rush over, scoop them up and bring them home. And I probably get waaaaay too excited when a favorite author has a new book coming out. (There might even be some dancing involved. And not by the tortoises.) 

But I thought of those things as a reader, not so much as a writer. Until now.

In Natalia Sylvester's post, "18 Writing Lessons to Carry Over into 2018," at Writer Unboxed, she says - 

WHEN YOU THINK OF YOUR AUDIENCE,

DON'T THINK ABOUT WHO'LL BUY YOUR BOOK.

THINK OF WHO WILL READ IT

AS IF IT'S THE GREATEST GIFT.

It shifts the focus. It's no longer about what we as writers can get from our readers but becomes more about what we can give to our readers. And what can we give them? So. Many. Things. In the pages of our stories, we offer adventure, romance, new friends, mysteries to solve, trips to the past and to the future and to places incredibly different from our own. 

And in my case, I (hopefully!) give my readers goose-bumps and heebie-jeebies. (Okay, the real gift is that no one has to see me dance. Other than the tortoises, and they just hide in their shells until it's over anyway.) 

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So, what do you give your readers? Do you get excited about books? Are you a good dancer? 

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I'm taking a short blogging break. I'll still check in, but no new posts until Wednesday, February 7, when I will once again be co-hosting IWSG. 

Go the Distance . . . Then Keep Going

Many of us have been at this writing gig a long time. Some of us, a very long time. (Hello, gray hair! Where did you come from?) We often worry about not writing quickly, not having enough work out in the world. We worry that if too much time elapses between one published work and the next, our readers will forget about us.

Sure, this is possible, but "Publishing Moves On. Do Readers?" by Jael McHenry over on Writer Unboxed makes an excellent point. Even though "publishing coverage is about the new" that isn't always the case for readers.

She talks about how her debut novel was published six years ago, but she still hears from readers today. Even now, "...the book lives on in thousands of copies in thousands of places: on readers' nightstands and bookshelves, in Little Free Libraries, for sale at used bookstores and in church basements, and, of course, eternally available in e-book with just a few clicks."

I absolutely relate to this! My flash fiction collections have been out for a few years now, but just the other day, I heard that a family member and two blogger buddies recently read and enjoyed my work. I was thrilled!

So, please don't beat yourselves up or rush your work or think your words, your stories don't matter. They absolutely do. Like Ms. McHenry says -

"I'm here to say this: whatever happens, you'll have readers. You may hear from them and you may not. They may number in the thousands or the hundreds or the dozens or the ones. But any book that you put out into the world will have a life longer than you can know, and it'll touch people in ways you never foresaw."

This Certainly Looks Like A Lot Of Words

The title of this post comes from an episode of Seinfeld, and it's one of my favorite J. Peterman moments -

And it pretty much explains my November. I moved though National Novel Writing Month mostly slow and steady, like a tortoise. Occasionally, I wrote fast and furious, like a tortoise attacking a basil plant (I'm looking at you, Larry!) I ended up with a "win" and a pretty solid draft. I have a beginning, a middle, and an end - something I haven't achieved during my last few NaNo attempts. I actually have a story.

Speaking of words and stories, I don't know about you, but I love to get and to give books as gifts. Maria Zannini has A Gift Guide for The Reader over on her blog. (You might recognize one or two of the authors listed!)

So, here we are at the beginning of December. If you started a project - a story, a novel, revisions, classes, an art project, a goal of some sort - way back in the beginning of November, you now have something that did not exist before. You created something new, and that is awesome! You won, too! 🏆

Happy December, everyone!