The Divining Wand

Art + Business = Writing Lessons Learned.

Yes, once again, several of our authors responded to the question of: If you knew then, what you know now about writing as an art and business, what might you have done differently?

And, as much as these storytellers love their art, most have discovered there’s more to success than creativity.

Ad Hudler (Man of the House, All This Belongs to Me, House Husband):

“I would not have signed away my audio rights. As it is now, only one of my four books have been made into audio … and I hear from a reader at least once a week, asking for the audio version. So … in the future I’m going to make sure I keep the audio rights, and I’m going to record the books myself with a production company and sell them, downloadable, on my website.”

Kristy Kiernan (Catching Genius, Matters of Faith and Between Friends coming April 6, 2010):

“I would have been much, much kinder to myself. I would have been more guarded with other writers and listened to my instincts. And I would have been a better custodian of my time and energy.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010):

“I would have started far earlier to learn to combine craft with art.

For many years I bought into a belief that writing was magic, where my flying thoughts, imagination, and natural writing bent would somehow combine through alchemy and be tapped out through my fingers. Later in life, I realized that like any builder, I needed to learn the trade, use the right tools, and start building plumb. At that point, I put my head down and worked at learning more from others—both by reading books about the craft of writing and by participating in writer’s workshops.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky Ages 9 – 12, coming December 8, 2009):

“I think I would’ve started submitting earlier. Instead, I felt that getting published was so far out there and so almost unattainable that I found it difficult to be disciplined and sit still long enough to write.’

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation coming November 24, 2009):

“On the business side I would have invested some of my own funds for outside publicity for my first novel instead of only relying on my publisher and everything I could do myself. On the art side, I would understand that writing is subjective. I would not have worried so much about comparing my writing to that of other writers and have the confidence to know that I have my own style.”

A few weeks ago The Divining Wand asked its authors: What does your Muse look like? Or what does s/he sound like? Or what does s/he feel like? Muse(less)? What inspires you to write?

Here are more of their primarily Muse(less) replies:

Therese Fowler (Souvenir, Reunion):

“I love this question, because it reminds me that writers are so diverse in what motivates and inspires them. There is a romantic ideal that presumes we all have muses, but as you know, that’s not always the case–and may not even be the case often. Of all the writers I know, only a few have ever mentioned a personified muse.

Inspiration, though: we all have that! Mine is based in nature: human nature primarily, and then the natural world. It’s the concert of those two forces that compels me to observe, select, and then set down my stories onto paper.

When I’m feeling unmotivated, I know I simply need to get outdoors and let my mind relax and become receptive again.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters coming January 19, 2010):

“My Muse looks like the public library. When I was a child, I almost lived there. The library was the safest place I knew and it held a world of happiness. It was a miracle to me that I could go in the my little Brooklyn library, plunk down my rapidly softening from overuse card, and be allowed to take home six—SIX!—books. I read fast, so in a few days I’d be back for my next six.

Books make me happy. The idea of being side by side with my beloved authors, that’s my Muse. I consider books sacred objects, and feel tremendously blessed that my novel will be published in January.

I write because it allows me to combine the activities I most love: making sense of the world, story-telling, and scrambling words until, hopefully, I’ve reached the right combination to tell a tale people will love reading.”

Barrie Summy (I So Don’t Do Mysteries, I So Don’t Do Spooky Ages 9 – 12, coming December 8, 2009):

“I don’t think I have a Muse. Or maybe I do, but we’re both so harried that we haven’t taken the time to sit down and chat over a cup of coffee. I’m the person who travels everywhere with a laptop. While I’m waiting for my kids to finish that last set at swim team, I’m in the car or on the pool deck, writing the end of a scene. During warm-up time at a gymnastics meet, I’m the mother on the bench with her head bent over, typing away like a fiend. Once I start reading and marking up hard copy, I travel everywhere with a large cloth bag filled with manuscript pages, a dictionary (my favorite is The Flip Dictionary), a zippered pencil case with highlighters and pencils and pens. However, I recently discovered a new coffee shop and will be writing there in the evenings. I think, perhaps, my Muse and I will finally meet. And I suspect she has beautiful highlights, visits the gym regularly and always eats a healthy diet. All the things I’d like to be.

What inspires me to write? Well, I’m very cranky when I’m not writing. My family will totally attest to this. And I have these stories in my head, fighting to get out and onto a hard drive. All in all, it’s easier to write than not to.”

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation coming November 24, 2009):

“So many things can inspire me. A snippet of an overheard conversation in a coffee house, a thought that suddenly pops into my head while walking along the beach trail, or an article I’ve read in a newspaper or magazine. Sometimes doing research on a project can trigger ideas for a completely different one.”

Announcement: The winner of the Book Giveaway of Therese Walsh’s The Last Will of Moira Leahy is Robyn! Congratulations Robyn, please email: diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and I’ll have the book sent out to you.