The End of Summer Vacation

 The end of August brings a few last hurrahs; swimming on the more rare hot days, planning the last summer BBQ/party for Labor Day, enjoying the final theatrical production of crickets and fireflies. Soon to come, if not already, there are chilly nights, back-to-school and work routines, and gearing down to indoor living. 

Those changes are happening in our house. Two sons return to college in the next few days, we're planning when to close the pool, and fall cleaning will soon commence. The biggest change for me will be that I will work for one year and nine months on one novel. No #NaNoWriMo this year. That one novel will be the project for my MFA- my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (emphasis on speculative writing- Science Fiction and Fantasy- with a minor emphasis on Romance). It's long been a dream of mine to get my Master's and with the chaos, uncertainty, and upheaval in the publishing sector (like many other sectors), I feel this is the time. My boys are pretty much independent and my husband retired, so this is 'me' time. I'll still be doing my blog, although I can't promise a better regularity. It may even get worse... I've cleaned out my office and files, set up new files for coursework, and have resigned from several groups, one being my critique group. It feels strange to pull back from them, but I know the demands of school will make me glad I did withdraw. 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

I will make one final book event appearance, at the beloved Collingswood Book Festival on October 2, 2021 (info https://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/ ). It will be great to see old friends, make some new ones, talk writing, sign books, and generally have fun. I hope to see you there.

So, wish me luck, and I wish you all luck in your upcoming endeavors, and don't be afraid to send chocolate for those hard days to come.

Char

Judgement Days

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels 

The controversy surrounding Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from several events at the Tokyo Olympics has shown all too clearly how many judge her. Without discussing any merits (or lack thereof), Simone and other public figures face the same thing authors do- constant judgement. 

In no way am I equating the difficulty of her position nor the harshness of public commentary to what other authors and myself receive, but it's akin. Authors are constantly judged: by editors, agents, bloggers, libraries, booksellers, review organizations, readers, other authors, and even family and friends, to say nothing of our own judgements. Too many people say "toughen up" to athletes, artists, authors, and others in the spotlight because we "chose" to be in the spotlight. 

Um, not necessarily. Like Simone, I want to use my talent. She does impossible, death-defying leaps and flips, I write stories. Just because we exercise our talents and the world views them, doesn't mean that we should be open to any and all criticisms. Yes, it comes with the job, but no, that's not a free license. While most of the criticism and judgement I've received as an author has been constructive and made me a better writer, not all of it was, even by industry 'experts.' Sometimes it felt patronizing, condescending, even cruel. Kind of like a middle-aged broadcaster sitting on his butt who never excelled in anything athletic telling Simone that she's weak and an embarrassment and she needs to toughen up mentally because he doesn't understand the sport or the situation. Armchair gymnast. But she has shown herself to be graceful, poised, and defiant. A class act all the way. That's the lesson, hard as it is to bear (trust me, I know), that authors, especially beginning ones, need to learn. We are creating an entertainment and as such, it opens us up to criticism from all sides. Some can deal with it, others can't. Even with a bestseller, there's always commentary from those who don't write about the next success, the next achievement, and how long till then, and what the public expects. One can study and memorize all the moves a gymnast makes, but in the end, without having performed them, the person criticizing is not a total expert. Likewise, one can read all the books, write critical essays and point out flaws, but if it's from the perspective of someone who doesn't write, well, it's not the absolute. I've been given bad advice from experts, but the thing to remember is the perspective- it's theirs and it won't necessarily be the best from my perspective. 

I'm not going to tell anyone to get a 'thick skin' which new writers are constantly advised. Take from the criticisms what you will, what you agree with, what works. In the end, it's your journey and sometimes you have to ignore the noise from the crowd and do your own thing. 

Keep writing- and believing in yourself. Be a Simone Biles.

Char