The best, and the worst, things I have done (as a writer)

Author Scott Bury

Scott Bury, author of Sam the Strawb Part, is one of the fine indie authors on the Read a Book, Make a Difference (RABMAD) website! He donates part of the proceeds from his book to Children at Risk.

Scott and I decided to swap blogs today, each answering the question: “What are the best and the worst things you have done as an author?”. Here are Scott’s insightful answers!

The best

Reading a lot, in terms of volume and breadth, probably has done more for my writing than anything else.

I could be called an avid reader. I remember how kids in high school would be amazed when, in answer to their questions, I told them I read two books a week. While in high school, my reading was almost exclusively science fiction and a little fantasy, since then it has expanded greatly—although I have to admit that I’m still quite fond of those categories, as well as “magic realism.”

But I’ve added a lot of classics and mainstream fiction, as well as a lot of non-fiction, to my bookshelf over those many, many years since high school.

This breadth is vital to a writer. Or at least, it has been, to me. For one thing, it has given me some perspective on the clichés in science fiction and fantasy. Some of my reading has explained the basic story-telling techniques and story arcs found in mythology from just about every culture. Remember “Iron John” and “Fire in the Belly” from the “men’s movement” of the 90s? They’re no longer in fashion, but they pointed to some pervasive myths that indicate something deep in our collective unconsciousness.

At the very least, all these stories have provided inspiration and ideas. I now have more ideas for novels than I will ever be able to write.

From some of the best authors in the English language, I have learned lessons about style—like how to concentrate on telling a story, rather than impressing readers with my command of the language.

I have also learned a great deal from my journalism career: how to tell what’s important from what’s not; how to organize a document; how to keep language simple and clear.

Another important source for improving my writing has been the writing community that I’ve discovered online through writers’ fora and Twitter. Independent authors display an inspiring command of language and storytelling, and they offer help and advice freely and generously.

The worst

The worst thing I have done, and continue to do, is to delay and procrastinate. It has taken me far too long to write my novels. Remember how I said that I have more ideas than I’ll ever be able to write down?

I have some good excuses. A job, a family, commitments and activities in the community all take time; to put it another way, an hour spend writing is an hour I’m not dedicating to my family, work or community.

But I have to admit, I waste a lot of time on less noble pursuits: online games and aimless social networking.

Another thing that takes up valuable time is research. For my work, it’s been absolutely inescapable. My first novel, The Bones of the Earth (available on Smashwords and Amazon) and my current work in progress, a novel set on the eastern front in the Second World War, both require a lot of historical fact-checking. Often, I find a link to something interesting yet only tangentially related to the subject, which takes me to something else interesting, to something else again, and the first thing that I know, I’m checking into animal husbandry in New Zealand, or something.

On the other hand, that’s more breadth of writing. Often, information links to other things that take me back, eventually, to the subject at hand.

Maybe nothing is wasted; it’s all part of the life of the writer, which ultimately is the real subject of any book.

What do I want you to take away from this? Be open. Take in as much as you can from as wide a field as you can, and don’t worry about the crazies out there. Read and talk and listen widely enough, and they’ll either cancel each other out, or, better, you’ll develop filters to help you dismiss the hateful, the wrong-headed and the useless.

And give back—add to the worldwide exchange by participating in the wider writing world.

(Yes, I’ve been accused of over-alliterating. Tough. I like it.)