What is Art?

We writers are prompted to put pen to paper or tap messages on keyboards, for one reason. We have this overwhelming need for self-expression. Sometimes, in my case, the need to express self muted over time. I started writing, like many people, because I had issues. But after watching Loranna fight with her father and Dezy having no father...and so many other elements that reflected my own life...I took those characters and their stories and locked them up entirely.

But the damage was done. My imagination gave birth to a world, and the characters were alive in my head. I couldn't always identify with their issues, but as I have gotten older I've learned how to express them better. Them, being the characters.

To me art is about communicating. It is one of those things we assume we do. But oftentimes word choice and use do not convey the intended meaning. The simpler the word, the harder to understand. We use so many words colloquially that they attain meanings--semantics--that are not found in the dictionary. I like to keep to dictionary definitions, as near as I'm able.

I also like to assume my readers are intelligent, capable of reading between the lines. Art, in my understanding, is guiding the assumptions of the readers. Communicating intent consciously, and directing the readers' thinking. Art lies in crafting the sentences, the paragraphs carefully. But it also depends on an understanding of what the reader sees. Hence, communication.

An excellent painting is not created by a sudden spill of a paint can, even if some paintings look that way. Color and form are chosen carefully. So too need it be with writing.

Nor is art the first draft. The first draft is like a rehearsal, when all the actors run through their lines. It takes time, and revision, to make the rough outline a solid piece. Art.

Creativity, I think, when fostered in children, is treated as if it is easy. This concept is furthered by a notion discussed in various points around the blogosphere: More people are writing now than ever before because they think you sit down, write a novel, get it published. Easy money. See? Creativity must be easy. It must be making something from nothing. Following rules does not creativity make, so why follow rules?

Artists can't create a nature scene without use of perspective. An abstract artist must know how the human eye travels along a composition, in order to defy the viewer's expectation. Rules. You have to know 'em to break 'em. Else, you convey nothing. Even breaking the rules, consciously, is art.

Art, real art, is hard work. Rough drafts are easy. Rewrites and revisions, tedious. That is where the real art happens. That is when the writer hones his/her craft.

I'm 5 pages into a revision. Every scene, every thought is consciously planned. I've listened to my characters in the prior drafts, I know where they want me to take them. Now, I find a way to tell there story in a way others will understand.

I write for my characters, now. And while they are part of me, sometimes I think I am little to them. I want to publish, not for fame, nor for "success," but to make just enough that all my ends are met and I can immerse myself in the telling of stories. There is nothing else I've ever wanted from life, but the ability to tell stories and do it well.

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Posted in: California writers,craft of writing,sylvanopolis

Technology and What it Means

Drea here for Thursday:D

2009 is wrapping up and we're heading into a new decade. There's been a lot of changes in the past ten years, most of which have been propelled by rapidly shifting technology. Writing, Publishing and marketing are not immune to these. Rather, their relevance has become quite marked as e-book sales rise and consumers buy more products online.

Amazon. The past few months have seen WalMart, Target and Sears cut prices on hardback books so dramatically that publishers have grown concerned over consumer price perception.

Nathan Bransford's blog

The fact that Amazon sells books at a loss is not something most customers clicking "add to cart" are thinking as the page gives way to credit and account information. But how can people compete with Amazon selling books at a grave discount?

Then there is Kindle and now nook. Barnes & Noble and Amazon will be bashing heads over e-reader sales as well as e-books and the rights to bully publishers. Publishers prefer the brick and mortar stores rather than the online giant, so they are attempting to curtail Amazon power by delaying the release of e-books. Shattkin details the ins an outs of it.
Or, if you prefer, the Wall Street Journal's version.


Then there is the massive self-publishing effort, which even Harlequin is getting in on with Harlequin Horizons. And the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) calls for Harlequin to prevent these books from being distributed to brick and mortar stores and so preventing them from entering the "real" fiction market.

What does this mean for writers?

Technology has made self-publishing so easy that vanity, POD and old-fashioned self-publishing are on the rise. Enough to get Harlequin in on the cash. Published authors worry about quality control, placing much value in the editing and marketing abilities of publishing companies.

Only, the combination of easy-to-make websites, blogs, social networking sites and conventions gives even self-published authors enough venues to do their own marketing. Classically, authors haven't had the time to do so much of these things. But with technology altering our communication methods, it changes.

E-books have grown in popularity and next year B&T will bring out a free software to read e-books they are to release (with their own e-reader). See: Blio

The catchy innovation here is that it will work on any device with an Operating System. PC, laptop, netbook, ipods and iphones --not Kindle. The competition is on. The trend is already begun.

The writer will see his/her books on more formats than ever before. Reading material is on its way to increased accessibility. However, the market is already inundated and with the changes in consumer habits old-fashioned marketing makes no sense. Put in those terms it makes sense that self-publishing is on the rise. But what's the answer? What thoughts do you have on promoting your book? Any ideas of new ways to utilize our knowledge to promote writing?

Where do you see the industry headed and why?

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Posted in: California writers,e-books,publishing,technology,writing

And So We Blog ...

Welcome all to the new SWS blog! We intended to host a variety of topics here that will further our mission. Current Bloggers will be Melissa Kuhl, Erica Procopio and myself (Drea Moore).

SWS is open to all writers and writing groups. Currently our member groups focus mostly on Science Fiction and Fantasy. We have one poetry group -- and I will see if one of their members would like to represent their corner and add a bit of diversity to this space. Other potentials are posts by our "artists," as SWS seems to have an abundance of writer/artist members and even more artists hovering on the periphery and supporting our larger group.

On Thursdays I will share opinions on the industry and the writer: Perceptions of SFF, e-books, self-publishing and what it means for the writer bewildered by the options. We're in the middle of interesting times and often panic and cynicism follow when, in fact, opportunity is rising.

First I wish to address the opinion of Fantasy Literature in the larger literary community. As mentioned at fantasyliterature.com/giveaway/thoughtful-thursday-all-i-need-to-know/ the escapism in fantasy fiction is often discussed as "only for children." I have read my share of literature and don't understand how classic lit is less escapist than fantasy. Often times the characters live in other eras or places I haven't seen that are as real to me as completely fictitious location. The only difference is the extent to which the author needs to generate "back story."

Even in the stories that take place in my own back yard, the characters are either neurotic or idealized to the point that the familiarity of location is the only thing linking me to the book. The shared history, environment, references to what is already known ground the unrealistic into the believable and encourage suspension of disbelief. The goal is the same.

What does escapism do in fantasy? It allows Reader to ignore the social messages Reader does not believe in, but manages to squeeze in that exposure nonetheless. While literature aims to stress the bounds of thought, so too does fantasy fiction. I must argue that the only difference is that one has to grow acclimated to different history, cultures, languages and references when reading fantasy. Mystery, Horror and Romance do not always require this ... but then I write fantasy and am a SFF fan. I have seen non-genre Readers stumble and fall apart around a fictitious word. Such imaginary settings are likely the reason such Readers get the idea of escapism. Reader following this pattern misses the familiarity in the imagined. Advocating that writers should write what they know fails to see that behind the veil of imagination we all write only what we know. All fantastic fiction is a reflection of this society, in some fashion. Be it relevant issues of sexism and oppression, family or power; the fictionalized setting allows for the exploration of these issues in a space removed from the loaded politics of modern America.

Besides, where is the line drawn between genre and literary writing? Where would you draw it?

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Posted in: California writers,escapism,fantasy,genre fiction,literature,sacramento Northern California,Science fiction,sylvanopolis,writing