Comments on: Seeking Serenity Amidst Uncertainty

By: Vaughn Roycroft

Vaughn Roycroft — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 13:49:30 +0000

In reply to Kimberly Brock. Thank you, Kimberly! I'm honored. :-) You're an inspiration. Have a great weekend!

By: Vaughn Roycroft

Vaughn Roycroft — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 13:48:22 +0000

In reply to Jay Jay. There is beauty in kindergarten (or nursery school). We get to paint with our fingers. If we allow ourselves to be uninhibited, it's very freeing, and we should embrace our newbie status. But, as for being AARP material (me, too), we also bring a boatload of life experience to the canvas. Kudos to you for keeping the dream alive. So yes, we live within the question. Now we have but to be both, Jay--uninhibited and experienced. I'm positive we'll both get great results, if we stick with it. Thanks for letting me know. Here's to late bloomers! Have a great weekend.

By: Kimberly Brock

Kimberly Brock — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 00:09:19 +0000

"I’m less fixated on its publishing marketability, and more on its worthiness in relation to my journey."
...No wisdom, eh? 😉
Great post!

By: Jay Jay

Jay Jay — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 21:17:16 +0000

"I have accepted that I must live within the question." Thank you so much for this nugget of profound wisdom. If you are a kindergarten novelist, I am a nursery school novelist. I've wanted to be a writer since I was ten years old, but I didn't do anything about it until I was, well, AARP material.

By: Vaughn Roycroft

Vaughn Roycroft — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 18:05:54 +0000

I hadn't heard Larry Brown's story, Donna, so thanks for sharing it. Knock on wood, I've still got time, but I do often think that I need to get these darn things right and out there before my time to go arrives. ;-) I'd heard the story of fantasy author Terry Goodkind. He was a cabinetmaker and carpenter till his mid 40s, then while he and his wife built their dream getaway cottage in Maine, he started penning Wizard's First Rule on the side. That's pretty similar to my start. I was actually waiting for a concrete truck to pour a foundation for a porch I was building for a house I flipped when I first put carpenter's pencil to jobsite notebook. It's a hoot to look back at those story notes. They rough, but the seeds of my story world are so evident. And much in carpentry leaves time for the mind to wander into world-building. Yes, great plan. Let's go the Nike way, and 'just do it' - read and write, a lot. Thanks for the great comment, and the well-wishes! Best to you and your work, as well!

By: donnaeve

donnaeve — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 13:56:38 +0000

Your story sort of reminds me of Larry Brown, the author from Mississippi. He didn't work in lumber; he was a fireman. He started writing stories and, I think like many of us, didn't feel that he knew much about the technicalities you've mentioned, but he read, and read, and wrote and wrote, and asked for opinions/critiques, and got better and better. I don't recall all the details of his publication journey, I just know Algonquin picked him up and the rest was history. He wrote quite a few books before he unfortunately passed away in 2004, in his early fifties. One was adapted into a movie recently (JOE) and the MC was played by Nicolas Cage. I don't know a darn thing either. I just write, and read - a lot. You're not alone in this way of thinking. Good luck with your trilogy!

By: Vaughn Roycroft

Vaughn Roycroft — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:41:09 +0000

In reply to Jennifer Roundell. Glad the piece offered a new perspective, and resonated for you, Jennifer! Thanks for letting me know.

By: Vaughn Roycroft

Vaughn Roycroft — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 22:34:39 +0000

In reply to 50at70. Oh my. This has to be one of the most meaningful comments I've ever received. I'm so humbled and honored to have played even the smallest role in your finding your creative joy, in being moved again by what you've written. I'm delighted for you! Coincidentally, one of my dearest writing friends had this very thing happen to her. She'd written something she thought was going to be a romance, and subbed it and found nothing but rejection. Until she came upon an agent who told her... it was Women's Fiction! She went back to revise it, adding depth and layers, and not only was the book a bit different. Her story as a writer changed quite a bit, too. She's now well-published and highly respected, and one of my favorite authors (honest, not just because she's a friend!). I'm beyond thrilled for you. Thank you so much for honoring me by letting me know. You've made my day. No week! Best wishes to you! Write on!

By: 50at70

50at70 — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 19:15:25 +0000

Vaughn, I have wasted so many years beating me up because I couldn't seem to include all the stuff I was given in workshops and books I've read on the correct way to write a novel. I would morn over the lack of knowledge I had in grammar and sentence construction. But I did have a talent for making up and telling stories about anything. I feel like your article was placed here just for me. Just last night before I read you piece I set down and read 3 chapters of a rewrite on a book I gave up on in 2004 because the critiques were so harsh and since I usually did thing the first time out I didn't realize I was writing Woman's Fiction and had Romance writers reading and critiquing my story. Last night when I read the story I had created (been months since I wrote it) I felt giddy and smiled on the outside and shouted and jumped up and down inside. I liked what I read. I found a couple of places I needed to add some made a check and read on not feeling like throwing it or crying about it not being great. What a wonderful feeling. Think I may be able to pick my miserable attitude, mindset and constant feeling of failure and feeling like a fake when I told people I was a writer. Thanks so much for your timing and article.

By: Jennifer Roundell

Jennifer Roundell — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 16:15:06 +0000

I've never thought about writing that way, but as I read your blog post, I found it really resonating with me. So very true.