Thoughts About Woods and Writing

2022 started with a bang. Or maybe it was more of a thud.

It was around three in the morning, pitch black outside, winds howling. And I know us writer types love to use that expression for colorful imagery but in this case, the winds were actually howling. Broken branches were knocking against my house and roof and now wide awake, I began to read (and pray), waiting for the worst of the storm to pass through. 

An hour or so later, I heard a thud and LOUD cracking. There is nothing quite as terrifying as that cracking sound when you live with ginormous trees all around you. But Libs was quiet, the house was intact, and I figured that a tree had fallen in the woods. 

I figured wrong. I woke up to another tree down in my yard (the thud and cracking), smashed into my fence (which I’d just repaired six months ago from the last downed tree). And I’m not going to sugar coat it, y’all. Poor Libs heard some pretty discouraging words, along with some words that decent folk shouldn’t use. The tirade ended with me yelling something to the effect of, “Enough! We’re moving!”

But as I drank my tea and gazed out my kitchen window into my yard, I began to calm down and first, realize how grateful I was that the tree had fallen into the woods and not on my house. And I looked into those woods, thinking how much I love that view every morning, in every breath-taking season. I love the trees, the river behind them, the deer that wander through them. The woods, and the wildness of my own backyard, bring joy to my life. Which, at least for today, make it worth sticking around.

My writing life came to mind, gazing out that window the next morning. Because there are times—and honestly, A LOT of times—when I hear some pretty discouraging words rumbling around in my head. When I get yet another rejection for a submission that I thought was a sure acceptance, I think maybe I’m not such a good writer after all and I should quit wasting my time and energy.

When I stand by, watching other writer friends’ accomplishments and I’m going through a terribly long dry spell, I admit that words not suitable for children tumble out of my mouth. And when I spend years coming close to selling a manuscript, only to hear, “Not for me,” again, I want to yell, “Enough! I quit!”

But then, I hear from someone—a friend or a reader here at the Muffin—telling me how much they love my writing. Or I sit down with a document in front of me, and the words sing across the page, like a glorious symphony. And I think of the words from Neil Gaiman, the quote my daughter included when she framed the covers of my first two books:

 “Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” 

Tomorrow, there may be a downed tree and busted fence in my yard, but there will also be those beautiful woods, refreshing my heart and soul. There may be another rejection in my inbox, but there may also be a note from a friend, sending encouraging words. 

And my novel-length manuscripts may continue to languish in a dusty cyber file, but when I sit down at my keyboard tonight, it might be a good writing day. And I will laugh out loud, wondering how I could ever quit something that brings me so much joy. 

So, friends, may your 2022 be filled with good writing days. And may all our trees stay upright!

~Cathy C. Hall

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9 comments Cathy C. Hall, Neil Gaiman, writing advice, writing encouragement

Late December Questions

Ahhhhh, December 26th.

Finally, I have a moment—I have days of moments—where nothing pressing has to be done. No big production meals to coordinate, no last-minute holiday tasks calling my name. Just me and my cozy, overstuffed chair.

And maybe a book.

It’s the late December Lull, the perfect time to slow my roll, as my kids say. And though I’ve probably shared all this before, it bears repeating: we need a little quiet time, a break in the busyness, before we make those all-important plans for the coming year.

I let a couple topics simmer in my psyche while I’m sitting around in my cozy, over-stuffed chair, munching on Christmas cookies. Now, I don’t write anything down yet. I’m just thinking on these things so that come December 31st, I’ll know where I want my writing to go. So here I offer up the topics I ponder, and maybe you can do some pondering as well.

READING

Oh, I love to ponder the books I’ve read, the ones I’ve enjoyed and even the ones I didn’t enjoy so much. I use Goodreads to keep track of my books and thank goodness, because I’m horrible at recollecting titles. I read a lot of books in a year, but during the December Lull, I’m mostly thinking about the books I remember well. If they were favorites, they’ll likely become mentor texts to me. I consider why I loved that book, what made it so engaging, how did the author keep me interested and/or intrigued. If I remember a book because it was memorably bad, well, I might ask why did I quit on it?

Reading in my genre informs my writing. But I don’t just ponder the books I’ve read because I write other forms. So I’ll think about magazine markets or anthology markets, too. A string of rejections to a particular market is telling. It’s either telling me that I need to go back and read those magazines and anthologies again, or it’s telling me that my style is not suited for a market I’ve targeted. And so I ponder whether to keep trying or move on.

THE LOVE/HATE RATIO

As much as I love writing, and being a writer, there are things about my job I kinda hate. And during the December Lull, I do a sort of mental health check to make sure that what I love surpasses what I hate. Because we all know that writing is a tough business; to stay in the game, the pros should outweigh the cons, right? Also, thinking about those less desirable aspects leads to important questions. Like whether I need to give up a job that’s not worth the time and effort. Or how can I make an onerous job more palatable? It’s worth a little pondering to keep my love of writing on the plus side.

THE MOUNTAIN

And lastly, I like to review where I am on the way to my mountain. Neil Gaiman talked about his writing path and how he saw his goal as a mountain. He decided to take those jobs that moved him closer to the mountain. I love that image; it helps me set my writing goals, too. So in my Lull, I think about what moved me closer to my mountain and where I need to go next and how I’ll get there.

It’s a monumental amount of thinking, let me tell you. It’s no wonder I stay in that cozy, overstuffed chair, eating cookies. And by the way, it may look like I’m napping, but really, I’m deep into pondering.

Very deep.

Ahhhh. Welcome, welcome late December.

~Cathy C. Hall

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10 comments Cathy C. Hall, Neil Gaiman, reading, setting goals, thinking about writing

The Neil Gaiman Perspective

The other night, while watching Jeopardy!, the answer was something like, “He wrote The Ocean at The End of the Lane,” so I yelled, “Neil Gaiman!”

My husband ignored me, waiting for one of the “real” Jeopardy! players to answer. Seconds ticked by.

“I loved that book!” I shouted. “What’re you people, crazy? WHO IS NEIL GAIMAN?”

Time ran out, and Alex said, “That would be Neil Gaiman.”

“Ha!” I said, right in my husband’s face. And then I thought, huh. All three of those players missed Neil Gaiman.

I don’t know about you, but I found that sort of …comforting. I mean, those Jeopardy! people are smart—they know everything! But they didn’t know the multi-with-a-capital-M published author and amazing marketing machine that is Neil Gaiman.

Well, wait, you say. Maybe The Ocean at The End of the Lane was not one of Neil Gaiman’s best efforts. But it was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards.

Oh, so it was just a British sensation, you think. But it got all the way to #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List in hardcover fiction.

Honestly, the man's spoken at packed venues all over the world, still finds time to post on his blog, and he has 2.24 million Twitter followers. And yet, three different people—and not just any people, mind you, these were brilliant Jeopardy! players, for cryin’ out loud—did not know Neil Gaiman, he of the mammoth marketing platform.

So, yeah, I don't feel so bad about my minuscule marketing platform. It's a work in progress, and I'll keep at it, as should you.

Maybe you’re no good at blogging or speaking in public, and maybe you really don’t like social media, and maybe you really don’t think you have time for any or all of what marketing entails.

Do it anyway. Because the sooner you start marketing and building that platform, the more you'll grow, in the business and with your readers. Just don’t make yourself crazy over it.

Don’t obsessively check rankings on Amazon, or engage publicly (or even privately) with someone who’s written a horrible review about your book. Don’t lose sleep because you forgot to send out your daily 20 tweets, and don’t drive your friends and family to distraction with your constant promotion.

Instead, be realistic in what you can achieve. Make meaningful connections with your readers, and take advantage of opportunities that come your way. Grow a thick skin and always be polite. Hold a steady course and keep writing good books, and perhaps, most importantly, maintain a little perspective.

After all, even the amazing Neil Gaiman has his off days.

~Cathy C. Hall

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8 comments author marketing, blogging, book promotion, Cathy C. Hall, Jeopardy!, Neil Gaiman, social media, twitter

Graduation Lessons

Oh, yay! One day left in May and it’s mine!

I love May. May is spring rains and jasmine trailing around the fence. It’s wild-crazy freedom and singing at the top of your lungs, “School’s out for summer!” It’s joyous, exciting, hopeful graduation days!

I love those wonderful beginnings that graduation brings. I even enjoy commencement speeches. Especially one like Neil Gaiman’s keynote address to The University of the Arts.

Now, honestly, I’m an unabashed fan of Neil Gaiman. I love his novels, his picture books, his graphic comics. And when I saw him speak here one rainy evening and saw his kindness to the kids in the audience, I sort of crushed on him even more. So I would love whatever he had to say. But as it happens, you do not have to be an unabashed fan to love what he had to say. You don’t have to be a writer, either, but there are some really useful bits for us.

If you’re a freelancer, you’ll want to listen extra-carefully when he imparts his Secret Freelancer Knowledge. And you don’t want to miss what he considered his best piece of advice ever that he received from Stephen King. You’ll probably find it interesting that there are problems that come with success as well as failure.

And perhaps most interesting of all, he recommends that you make mistakes. I agree wholeheartedly—and I have the mistakes to prove it.

My first short stories were horrendous. Stunk with a capital S. But that didn’t keep me from sending them out. And then, a contest judge felt compelled to point out just how much one of my stories stunk. I learned from those mistakes—and my short stories improved.

I have a HUGE file of Chicken Soup essays that were rejected. But eventually, after lots of head banging on the desk and rewrites, I figured out what I was doing wrong. Now, my file of Chicken Soup essays that have been accepted is almost as huge as the rejection file.

The novel manuscript that I have revised over and over and over again has nearly brought me to tears (Okay, that’s a lie. I have literally cried.). But with each revision, with each critique, the corrections have made the novel stronger. And I hope, someday, to see it published. That’s when I’m going to throw my own joyous, exciting graduation celebration!

Boy, I really, really hope it’s in May.

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4 comments commencement speech, graduation, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, The University of the Arts, writing mistakes, writing tips