tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post2109342204562067538..comments2024-02-09T06:15:27.088-08:00Comments on josh barkey: The Last Advice You'll Ever Need on How to Write FictionJOSH BARKEYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-49617921267091305012013-02-24T16:39:52.558-08:002013-02-24T16:39:52.558-08:00This link is also helpful: http://artofmanliness.c...This link is also helpful: http://artofmanliness.com/2013/02/23/manvotional-jack-london-on-success/JOSH BARKEYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-82571195828520734612013-02-21T19:12:22.132-08:002013-02-21T19:12:22.132-08:00Ha, ha. Yeah Steven... the first book I wrote was ...Ha, ha. Yeah Steven... the first book I wrote was a mess. I took a half-hearted stab at a rewrite about a year later, but then consigned it to the dust bin of history. This one, I think, is actually worth reading. We'll see what the critics think :)<br /><br />And Mark... it is a Herculean task, indeed. But for me, I've found that the process of re-writing it to as close to perfection as I can get without killing myself is something exponentially more difficult. Honestly, I don't know how career writers survive. <br /><br />But the writing is as finished as it's going to be, I think, and I'm proud of it. Almost there.JOSH BARKEYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02056229250824359708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-5269769726586368972013-02-21T13:35:58.528-08:002013-02-21T13:35:58.528-08:00As precisely the sort of hack who couldn't wri...As precisely the sort of hack who couldn't write his way out of a paper bag, I've found that the structure, camaraderie and lack of pressure of events like Nanowrimo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) help me greatly with bullet points 1 - 3. Granted, it's rarely the right word that gets placed after the previous one, but there are a large amount of words in there that not once, but twice managed to be cobbled together into spectacularly so-bad-they're-good novels. I can forgive myself for writing prose that I would never ever choose to read because the writing takes a back seat to the feeling of accomplishment, of finishing something I'd determinedly set out to do. Writing a readable book wasn't part of the deal. <br /><br />On the other hand, the failure of writing my first "serious" - that is, written with the specific intent of changing the lives of the downtrodden tired masses, being chased by publishers, flown across the world for book signings and answering Oprah's eager questions in front of a crowd of admirers - book is still a trauma I've yet to recover from, even after several years. I printed it out, re-read it, came to the conclusion that it was unsalvageable rubbish, deleted any electronic evidence of it, and mailed it to a fictional address in Siberia. <br /><br />If all goes according to plan, some day long after I'm dead, little Pavel is going to make a fortune off of it.Steven Mansourhttp://stevenmansour.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3943366568013445284.post-53640047295028822092013-02-21T12:32:04.551-08:002013-02-21T12:32:04.551-08:00Number 3 is the one I struggle with most. It takes...Number 3 is the one I struggle with most. It takes a herculean effort for me to finish projects.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583559761171040090noreply@blogger.com