Celebrating Independent Authors
All writing requires a setting, something to connect that writing to. In the case of technical or scientific writing the setting will be the program, research, or piece of machinery you wish to explain. In the case of non-fiction it will be based on a real place and time.
My particular interest is in the writing of fiction. Why? Because that’s what I do. That’s what I know best. Continue reading “World Building In Fiction”
Guest Post
by Jon Jefferson
I have a confession to make. Horror scares the crap out of me, always has. Growing up I couldn’t watch most of the movies my friends were watching. Can you imagine, I have never seen the movie Alien. Although I did have a two foot tall alien action figure (no they aren’t dolls). Even that scared the crap out of me.
The problem is, was, and shall be, my imagination would build up a picture that was so much more than the sum of the parts in front of me. The stories my mind created based on the images brought out intense fears that, for me, seemed like no one else experienced. Continue reading “What scares you?”
Over the years, before Indies Unlimited, I wrote by myself for myself; until whatever I was writing was ready for publication no one but me, apart from my editor, heard the sound of my voice.
I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a loner. I’ve never played or supported any sporting teams; in fact games of any description have never interested me. What pastimes I do have (and I use that term loosely) are quite solitary affairs and so it probably comes as no surprise that I’m pretty much a loner with my writing too. I used to think that was part and parcel of being a writer, I therefore felt a kinship with those iconic, and supposedly reclusive, writers I had always held in high regard. Continue reading “Howling at the Moon”
A recent article on the Thought Catalog talked about the relationship between writing and mental illness that sparked quite a discussion. Our own Lynne Cantwell gave a very thoughtful and intelligent response here. For many of us, the most offensive paragraph (of several) in the original article was this:
The common theory for why writers are often depressed is rather basic: writers think a lot and people who think a lot tend to be unhappy. Add to that long periods of isolation and the high levels of narcissism that draws someone to a career like writing, and it seems obvious why they might not be the happiest bunch.
To my mind, this author made many ridiculous and unsubstantiated assumptions, but I’ll confine my response to two of them. Per his paragraph above,
I have a different theory. I believe people write because that is the voice that serves them best. Let me explain this through my own experience. Continue reading “Writing, Madness, and Voice”