Loving your work

This seems to be a perennial argument I have over and over with people in my life, especially my parents. I know millenials are uniquely subject to criticism about this, but there has always been a debate about just doing a job for the paycheck versus finding something that you love to do. Of course, the ideal is the latter but most of us settle for the former. And some of us actually don’t believe that you can love your work or every aspect of it.

Whenever I had this conversation with either of my parents, it always turned into a lecture. About how they handled their careers. My mom always told me that if you were bored at your job, you weren’t paying enough attention. There was so much to find interesting, you just had to dive in. If something is boring on the surface, go digging deeper. Find the interesting aspects, the cool stuff that hides underneath the surface. She told me that no matter what job she had, she always loved it and found it interesting. And challenged me to do the same. 

I tried. My first job was a part-time office job at the university alumni office. The hours were flexible and my co-workers were great, so I liked the job. But there was no way around the fact that it was the most mind-numbingly boring hours I spent at university, trying to stay awake while sticking stamps on envelopes and putting labels, stuffing letters to alumni for donations. Or filing papers. And doing it all over again the next day. At least now I would probably have listened to an audiobook; at the time I only thought over and over again how much I disliked the job. But I found ways to make it more interesting. I learned everyone’s coffee and tea preferences and brought them a cuppa just the way they liked it. They were thrilled and I was happy to have an excuse to get up and move around. I helped organize piles of marketing materials and brochures that were stacked in open boxes and strewn around various cupboards; I managed to corral the spread-out mess into neat labelled magazine holders in one cupboard. The entire office came to admire my handiwork and applauded; they had never imagined that the ugly mess could be transformed. I had no idea that I had a hidden talent for organizing, I was simply trying to get out of doing even more filing. Eventually I got promoted and answered the telephone and dealt with the mail. But the job never really became particularly interesting. 

Some years later I had another part-time gig, this time organizing photos of stamps for a professional collector who bought and sold items on eBay. It was equally mind-numbing, and I passed the time listening to audiotapes for the upcoming bar exam I was swotting for at the time. Nothing had really made this job any easier, but it did get better when I was allowed to do it from home after I sprained my ankle and could no longer walk to work. 

Other jobs I have had may have certain interesting elements, but I never really loved the work. I am not even sure I loved most aspects of the work. According to my dad, there are always some parts of the job that are tedious and boring. Maybe you enjoy talking to customers, but you don’t like the paperwork and admin part you have to do. Or you like doing research and writing reports but you hate the weekly team meetings. My dad always said you have to be prepared to handle the parts of the job you don’t like or find tedious, in order to enjoy the parts you do like. While that makes sense, it is also eminently practical. Too practical for my romantic notions of life and work. 

You see, for a period of time I had a job that I loved. I know its rare, but I enjoyed every single aspect of it. Sure, there were parts that were more interesting than others, meatier. But I even managed to love the grunt work, the tedious boring busy work that typically people hate and put off. I too put off things, but more because I was afraid or didn’t know enough or simply procrastinated. But when I actually sat down to do the work, I loved every second. 

For a few lucky years, I got to spend the majority of time running an indie publishing house. I wrote my own books, edited them myself and managed the entire publishing and marketing process. I did my own design work, managed social media accounts and reached out to bloggers, working on getting reviews and crucial marketing pushes. There was a steep learning curve and I was constantly out of my depth. But I loved every second. I loved staying up till 2 am, formatting the manuscript so that it would go out to the stores on time for launch day. I loved fixing every single error that prevented my file uploading and checking every single link to ensure that the reading experience was smooth. I loved making 20 versions of my book cover and getting an informal poll to see which one worked better. I loved receiving emails from bloggers who agreed to review my book. ( I liked slightly less sending out emails to bloggers that went unanswered). But there was no aspect of the work I found tedious, or boring, or sleep-inducing. I wouldn’t have outsourced the work even if I had the budget to do so, I loved every minute. And when it became clear that I was not making the kind of money I needed to and I had to move on (or at least get a day job and relegate this to the margins of my life), I still hadn’t lost my enthusiasm for the work. Or my desire to get better enough at it that one day it might be a viable concern. 

I enjoy my current job, most of the time. There are many aspects of the job that has improved my life, not least the fact that I spend my days talking to actual human beings and interacting with others, instead of spending all day along asking myself if I should use Garamond or Cambria for that heading. I get to do work that is mostly interesting and work with intelligent people with varied backgrounds. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that there are many tedious and less palatable aspects to the work as well. This is probably what my dad referred to when he said all jobs have aspects that aren’t fun, but you simply have to do them anyway. I get that. But I also know what it is like to do work that you love completely, with no exceptions. And I’m not sure if you can always have that, but it sure would be nice to have it again. 

Guest Post: Why I Write YA Fiction

Today I have a guest post from YA author Doug Solter on why he writes YA fiction. 

First, I would like to thank Geetanjali for allowing me do a guest post on her blog. Today I'd like to share with you why I write young adult fiction. 

I sometimes ask myself this question, “why do I like writing stories about teenagers?” Shouldn’t I be writing about the adult experience? Isn’t that more of a “serious” subject worthy of serious literature? Well, I’ve found that I'm not interested in the normal teen problems of who to date or who to take to prom, or why was that girl staring at me in biology? What I do love is writing from a teen’s point of view. How they see the world. Their hopes and dreams. Their fears and concerns. I know what adults think about, and quite frankly, it’s not that interesting because I already live that life every day. So I tend to enjoy writing stories about the experiences of extra-ordinary teen characters who lead fascinating lives. Or lives I wish I had when I was a teen.

Another perk of writing young adult fiction is being able to finally understand a group of humans that have eluded me for over thirty-five years. Women. Now, do I fully understand them? No. But-- hear me out—I have learned how to empathize with their worldview and understand their fears and concerns. Reading about those young female heroines of YA novels gave me a new perspective on how women think. For instance, how they see other women, how they see themselves, and how they see men. Also, the anxieties and fears we both share. Similarities that define both sexes as human beings. It's been an eye-opening experience.

I wish I had this knowledge when I was a young man because it would have helped me understand that girls were not these strange creatures with alien-type brains…but they were more like me than I could ever imagine.

 In terms of the young adult book world, I think my approach to writing young adult novels is different from other authors. I tend to write larger-than-life stories full of escapism, instead of a teen drama set in high school. There 's nothing wrong with those types of books. Far from it. Many of those books help teens navigate through serious subjects and provides them the power to take control of their problems and concerns. Or sometimes it can show them that they are not alone.

But I think some teens want that escapism from their normal lives. They want to dream. They want to be inspired. They want to stretch themselves beyond what they think is possible.

If I can help one young reader think beyond their four walls of existence, and embrace the larger world around them, then I consider my job done.

 Doug Solter began writing screenplays in 1998, then made the switch to writing young adult fiction in 2008. Doug has worked in television for over twenty years. So far in his life, Doug has enjoyed wine on the streets of Barcelona. Hiked the mountains. Loved a cat. Rang up vanilla lattes at Starbucks. Enjoyed a Primanti's sandwich in Pittsburgh. And one summer he baked pizzas and crazy bread for money when Michael Keaton was Batman. Doug lives in Oklahoma and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

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Tomorrow Always Lies

What if you met the perfect boy, but discovered he was an android? When Nadia first met him, Robert was an awkward boy with striking green eyes, hardly someone on the FBI's most wanted list. But when Robert reveals his secret, Nadia and the Gems are thrown into a cross-country chase dodging FBI agents, Russian mercenaries, and a Polynesian giant named Kawiki. Who are the Gems? A talented group of teen girl spies who know how to take care of themselves.

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Making Time to Write

Time is the one resource that you can’t renew or get back, as the saying goes. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, its how you use it that counts. We have all heard these cliches about time, and yet that is because they are true. As anyone who falls in love will testify, no matter how busy you are, you make time to call or text the person, you plan fun things you want to do together, you daydream about them all the time. You make the time for what you care about essentially. 

In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert said that your relationship to your art must be like that of a secret lover, you steal time away when you can, you think about them and look forward to the next time you see them. It's exciting and passionate. 

Time is also relative. The main reason we think that we probably don’t have time to write is because we think that we need to have “large swathes of uninterrupted time, like bolts of fabric” (Julia Cameron). The reality is that you can write in snatched or stole time, like meeting your lover in the stairwell for a spontaneous make-out session. I’m writing this chapter in longhand on a crowded bus on my morning commute to my day job. In fact, I once wrote half a book longhand on the back of one-sided printed paper during my daily commute to college on the bus, while juggling a full load of classes, a part-time job and several extracurricular actives including being the editor of my college law magazine. I was busy, but I had a commission from a publisher to write the book, and as a fledgling writer, that’s all I had ever wanted. How could I let my dream slip away? With the deadline looming, I spent every spare minute jotting down sentences and paragraphs, racing to get the book done in time. 

As I write this, I am on a bus passing by Singapore’s breathtaking skyline - a picturesque grouping of iconic buildings that feature in every tourist’s photograph album. And yet no one around me has looked up from their phones to give this view a passing glance. If pressed, most people would probably respond that they don’t have the time to enjoy the view. But they are on the bus, captive, which won’t go any faster or slower than it will. Maybe what they mean is not that they don’t have the time, but that it isn’t a priority, it is more important to check that email, send that text or watch that funny cat video. Or maybe its just a habit, to do those things on the bus instead of seeing the view. 

How we spend our time then is a matter of priorities and habits. If you want to write a book (or play or short story), you have to prioritize it, perhaps over other things, at least while you are writing the book. And you have to create good habits that support your writing. 

This post is an excerpt from a book I am working on about writing your first book. I will be posting more installments intermittently on this blog. I would love comments or questions!

Update: This book is now out to purchase on Amazon (or read for free as part of Kindle Unlimited)

July Ebook Sale

Smashwords is still having its annual Summer / Winter sale. Which means you can get lots of ebooks  free or heavily discounted. My books are between 75 - 100% off as well - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/geetumuk

Two of my books are free on Smashwords until the end of the month, and the rest are heavily discounted, between $1 and $2. It's a great deal. With Smashwords, you can download your book in any format, for any device.

How I Write: Authors on Their Writing Process - Julius St. Clair

This week's interview is with author of fantasy series The Last of the Sages, Julius St. Clair.

1.              What led to your love for literature / writing? Any favorite books / teachers / writing mentors?

Not to be a downer, but my love for writing stemmed out of a therapeutic need. When I was young, my family was involved in a strict religious environment in which children were better seen and not heard. Being the type of person that loves to sit down and discuss our purpose in life, why people are the way they are, what makes objects tick, etc, I found myself yearning for answers but too afraid to ask. And when I did ask, most of my answers were given a religious spin. That is great and all, but it doesn’t always have a practical application in my daily life. So, when I was in third grade, I really got into writing, using it as a tool to explore my imagination, create my own worlds, and delve into the concepts that I wondered about through characters that seemed to gain a life of their own. Although I’m quite happy today and I don’t think the therapeutic need is as prevalent as before, I still have a great time watching the characters I created interact and grow.

2.              When did you first start writing? How did you develop your craft?

I started writing in third grade. It was this horrible science fiction story called Space Wars that was fifty pages long, and I can’t even remember what it was about. I think over time I naturally developed my craft. I would continue to write for fun, even while I was in school and in class, and it took up a great deal of my time when I was home. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I began considering techniques and ways other authors write. Although I was an avid reader, I read for content and therefore I didn’t analyze how an author would relay a sentence. My approach changed drastically from high school on, and now it’s second nature. It’s hard for me to read now without stopping to appreciate how a scene is written.  

3.              What's your writing / editing process like?

Most of my ideas come to me like a movie trailer. I’ll be washing the dishes or laying on my pillow, and then suddenly scenes pour out of my consciousness like a movie reel. From there I create the characters and their motivations, and then I begin outlining the story itself. Every single time the final product changes from what I’ve outlined, but that’s okay. I love the way the characters take over. What I love most are group dynamics where the characters can play off each other and encounter the trials of life together. It’s rare when I write a book without a group ensemble, to be honest.

I can’t say that I’m an amazing writer, but I think that I’m a pretty good storyteller, especially for those that like character driven plots. After outlining the basic beats of the plot, I start writing and I just let my imagination flow. Editing comes after the entire novel is done. I currently use a reader—turned editor—turned friend named M. Thompson. She’s awesome.

4.              Who or what inspires you? Where / how do you get your book ideas?

My mind is kind of like a sponge so I get my ideas from everywhere. Books, anime, movies, my sons, my wife, my friends and family, nature, even jokes. Everything gets put into the blender of my mind and then filtered out into an original combination of ideas. Obsidian Sky is a great example. It plays off the idea of someone being granted three wishes, except it turns up the volume to eleven. It’s about a world where EVERYONE has been granted up to three wishes. Can you imagine? The chaos? The beauty? The creation? That’s the kind of playground that I love diving into and running around like a wild child. I write to read my own books. If I’m not having fun, then I don’t think other readers would have fun either.

5.              When in the day do you usually write? Do you have a writing routine / schedule? Do you listen to music while you write or do you prefer silence?

I usually write first thing in the morning, sometimes around 4 a.m. It’s when the world is quiet and I can concentrate on getting into the flow. I won’t eat until after I’m done, and often I will write between 20 - 40 pages a day, taking me about 6 hours if it’s all in one sitting. I always have to listen to music while I do it and I draw from a variety of artists and genres. As an example, my playlist could run from Fred Hammond (gospel) to evanescence (gothic) to Utada Hikaru (J-pop) to Kendrick Lamar (rap) to Linkin Park (rock) to Lady Gaga (pop) to classical music within fifteen minutes. Those are some insane switches in genre, but it’s a perfect parallel to how my mind races when I’m writing.

6.              Where do you feel most inspired to write? Describe your desk / writing corner / favorite writing spot.

I always have to write at my desk with some water nearby and music in my ear. I’ve also written at Panera Bread a few times, but having people all around me was kind of distracting.

7.              How much and what kind of research do you do? Any tips, favorite methods for research?

Google is my research partner, and it’s usually when I’m wondering about how a particular weapon works or what an article of clothing looks like from medieval times.

8.              Do you ever get writers' block? What are some ways you get around it?

I think I’ve gotten writer’s block like…once. Although my mind is constantly in free flow, even when I’m not writing, it comes with its shortcomings. I get distracted easily, and there are times I’ll be writing a book and a great idea comes to me and I want to stop everything to explore the new idea, but the discipline in me tells me to finish my current project first. I think to get around it, I treat it like most authors do with writer’s block—push through and keep working.

9.              How do you make the time to write?

I have two kids and a wife who happens to be my best friend, so whenever she’s around, I want to spend time with her. A blessing and a curse. Who wants to write when there’s fun to be had! That’s why I must write in the wee hours of the morning when everyone is still asleep. That way, I can focus on the business end of things later, spend time with the family, etc. I can write on the fly, thankfully, since I’m constantly thinking of the next “scene” in my book.

10.           What project(s) are you working on now?

Glad you asked! Right now I’m working on the sequel to Obsidian Sky, the next installment in the Sage Saga, and a plethora of other novels. One is on fairies (called Veidri) and how they give humans magic in exchange for protection. They enter a contractual and spiritual bond called Verdana that can never be severed and it plays off the concept of marriage. It takes place in the city of Passiona that is suddenly attacked by creatures that eat the fairies, and the fallout of the event. It’s a horrific and beautiful novel and I’m almost done with it. I can’t wait to reveal it to the world.

There is also a witch book I’m working on called Witchfall. It’s like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Nancy Drew, and Judge Dredd mixed up all into one dark, twisted, exhilarating tale.

11.           What question are you never asked during interviews and would you like to answer here? Any advice for aspiring authors?

I think one question that is never addressed is how hard it is to be an author. I think that everyone has a story within them to tell, and for the betterment of the world, it should be told. But to actually make a living off of it? That is insanely hard. To all the aspiring authors, I would like to give you a brief tale of how I got there and how I’m still trying to maintain this elusive status. I used to be an English teacher, but I worked in a school district that would lay off its teachers every year, with no guarantee of a callback. Thankfully, for the first three years, I was able to continue working, but in the fourth year, I didn’t get a call.

Now, I’ve always loved writing, but I had responsibilities so that is why I originally took on teaching. When I lost that, I found myself on unemployment but I still had a family. I asked my wife if she could give me six months to see what I could do to become a full-time author. She was crazy supportive and I went at it. I worked fourteen hours a day, every day for the next five months, and I saw no signs of making it. I would cry and renew myself every day and words can’t express how hard it was to continue on and not give up. I neglected my family to try to better their future, and I did this for months. It was hard seeing my son playing with my wife, while I was at a computer typing away, producing one novel after the other and one short story after another, publishing them like they were lottery tickets.

As I headed into my sixth month, I prayed to God, saying that if I was to be a full-time author, I needed to make a certain amount of money by the end of the sixth month ($1500) and if I didn’t get it, I would go back into teaching. I also said that I was done writing for that month. I would put it in his hands. So in the sixth month, I didn’t write a word. I spent time with family and enjoyed life, knowing I gave it my all.

Long story short, The Last of the Sages was successful that month, and I achieved more than what I asked for financially. This is now my fifth year as a full-time author, and I am grateful every day for what I have. I know I could lose it all in an instant, and I know that if it wasn’t for my readers, I wouldn’t be here. I humbly thank them for their support and love.

There are a lot more details to pour over of course, but the gist of my story, and my advice to aspiring writers is to never give up (as cliché as it sounds), give it your all, move the universe itself to get it, and don’t stop once you have it. If you are an aspiring writer and you want to make a career out of writing, and you are not willing to give it your all, then please choose another profession. Writing is very, very hard to make a living off of. I can’t stress that enough.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t also be the best thing to ever happen to you! It just requires a great deal of soul searching and understanding what it is you want out of life.

Bio:

Julius St. Clair

I’m just a humble storyteller trying to make a living doing what I love most. When I’m not writing, I’m usually spending time with my wonderful wife who happens to be my inspiration and my greatest critic simultaneously, and my two sons who are teaching me more about life than I ever imagined. Otherwise, I love meeting new people, going to the movies, watching anime, reading and hanging out with friends and family.

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The Last of the Sages

In the kingdom of Allay, Sages are born.

Powerful warriors with supernatural abilities that would rival the strength of whole armies. And there is an academy that trains such warriors in sword and sorcery, forging them out of young, ordinary students. Few survive, but if there is any hope for this now desolate kingdom, the tests must be given to all that enter its walls.

One such student is James, a self-proclaimed slacker that has just been forced into the academy by his father. And if he plans to see another day, he will have to weather through four lessons in life: determination, maturity, trust, and love...

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