Writing and Reading

Welcome, all, welcome, many!

Welcome to those whose writing and reading remains steady!

Lovely, simply lovely. I’m back with another post, one to think about (and I promise, I won’t rhyme–not even with assonance).

The topic is…. CREDENTIALS. Yes, yes. Credentials. What do I mean?

You’ve heard it from literary agents, even editors, and also a number of well-known authors. It’s common knowledge. It’s traditional paradigm. The concept of credentials–

In other words, yes, it does help you get your foot into the door of the literary industry if you have experience in the literary field. Case in point–Nathan Bransford, infamous literary agent, and now upcoming middle-grade author. Ask him. He won’t lie–it helped a little being a literary agent. Already the credentials were established.

But hold on one sec…. Hold on. Let’s make something clear. When I say credentials, I don’t mean something written on paper. I don’t mean endorsements stating you know what the hell you’re doing, or that you’re experienced.

Something that says you’re experienced isn’t the same as having experience. Keep that in mind. Case in point: STEPHENIE MEYER.

Mrs. Meyer doesn’t have any professional writing experience at all. And now she owns several countries and a few all-girl schools (not really, but you get the picture). All because she practices her craft. She loves her art.

You don’t need to take classes to be a good writer. You don’t need to spend tons of money on workshops either. You don’t need to interview a few dozen bestselling authors to gain any knowledge on what it takes to be a good writer.

All you need to do… is write. And enjoy it as much as you can. Read. And enjoy it as much as you can. Daydream. And enjoy it as much as you can. Think of stories, characters, write it all down. Tell stories.

Let me put it this way. If that $100,000 piece of paper with your name on it from (insert name of university) meant you were qualified to write, they wouldn’t call it a degree. Which if you look at the definition, it can be derived from attaining a level of ‘accomplishment’. Not necessarily ‘learning’ or ‘practicing’ anything. Simply achieving a goal.

Oh, yes, there’s a word for ‘learning’ or ‘practicing’ something–it’s called DIPLOMA. Hence, you get that back in little dude school and high school. That’s where you learn. And there’s where the honor is.

Your ‘degree’ is the application of what you’ve learned. And so all that piece of paper says is that you’ve achieved a goal, showing you’ve applied what you’ve learned.

But just know…there are other ways to apply what you’ve learned. Many other ways. Keep that in mind, keep that to heart. Don’t feel that you might not succeed because you don’t have that B.A. in Fine Arts. While it might help people notice you more, it hardly opens that door for you–that’ll be your job.

Your biggest credential in the literary industry is the gumption to get your own foot in the door without anyone’s help.

I’m willing to bet this site…. http://urbandictionary.com…. has a definition for any word. I mean…any word!

I just thought it was kinda funny. An Undeniable Diversion. You should check it out–

Just type in your first name, click for the definition, and see what comes up. It’ll make you laugh, most likely.

Here’s mine–

Said when referring to Smirnoff vodka, because the founders name is Pierre Smirnoff, which is odd because one would think it would be a Russian name like Boris or Vladimir.“Pass me the Pierre, I want to get wasted.”(laughs hysterically) Thought you’d like that.And so I get back to promos, writing, editing and the author life. Back to being serious!

People, get online and buy the fabulous e-book, THE CAIN LETTERS, now, and relish in the fire of it. Now. On Amazon, Smashwords, Bookstrand, or right on Eirelander’s web site. If you like a slender, muscular and sexy vampire hunter and slick, solemn, savage vampires, you’ll love this book!

Round 1, baby. Time to rock. The name’s Pierre Roustan, newly published author of the debut vampire thriller to end 2009, the one and only….

THE CAIN LETTERS

I promise you–intensity, thrills, terror, the best of human fear displayed in all its frailty, you will bite your nails and chew your fingers off reading every single word, you’ll beg to have the sunlight protect you every hour of every day, you’ll scream in triumph with every victory against the shadows, you’ll thank God for your simple, precious human existence and beg for more action-packed, jaw-dropping, fang-cutting, sword-swinging scenes of maniacal, macabre literary ingenious insanity–

To make it short–

BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

Check it out at http://eirelander-publishing.com, and make sure to visit my official web site at http://pierreroustan.spaces.live.com! THE CAIN LETTERS is available on Amazon through Kindle and other e-distributors. Very, very, very soon–

IT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN PRINT. SO WATCH FOR IT.

Join me. Join truth. Join the world of THE CAIN LETTERS. And pray the vampires don’t take your life….

Quick post here!

Check me and the other Eirelander authors out live on chat at http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ctr_chat.htm! Simply type in a username and log on. It’ll be from 6-9 PM Michigan time! See you soon!

Oh, and one more thing:

TACO SUPREME!!

This is a must post for me. And for many other authors. And I only received word of it.

Hear this: for the rest of this weekend, you readers have a very special opportunity. All Romance eBooks, LLC, has provided authors under distribution through the company a special code available to all readers that allows anyone to purchase books 50%….

WITHOUT LOSS OF ROYALTY TO THE AUTHOR.

That’s right. I’m not talking about a discount here. Authors retain full commission, but readers get 50% to purchase any book through All Romance–

If you use this code:

SBTBARe1

You have a chance to purchase the debut vampire thriller to end the year of 2009, my first novel, THE CAIN LETTERS, half off. But it must be done through All Romance eBooks. You have to act now. And use the code for any other books you can find. One-time deal. Go for it. Cease it! Capture the opportunity, gut it and then stuff it like a Thanksgiving turkey!

Support your authors, friends. And forevermore, you will engage their worlds. You will engage my world. Thanks so much.

Big stuff here. Real big. It’s Pierre, the W.W. fresh and live and jivin’ among the hives and hierarchies of literary phenomenons and revolutions to realize for you the pivotal points and cornerstones of foundations laid for readers and writers alike, alive, alarmed, alas begging and needing the best of news for change, for truth, for the reality of books and what is to come.

To make it short: here is the scoop.

First, I’ll list the top 8 e-book reviews. And for good reason (to come later).

We have the Kindle 2, the latest (so far) from the amazon of book amazons, Amazon (that’s redundant). The Kindle DX (a steroid induced version of the Kindle). The Sony eReader. iRex Digital. The COOL-ER. The Astak. The Cybook. And the Iliad.

So why does this mean anything to you? I just listed a bunch of eReaders (which cost a pretty penny, by the way). And their reviews. Why?

It’s simple. There’s two reasons I can give you:

One, the iPad. Possibly the one juggernaut capable of dethroning the giant known as the Kindle. Apple has announced it. The revolution is now in full swing. But there are other warriors out there in the horizon. One in particular that I haven’t even mentioned:

And that, my friends, is the second reason.

I went to my local Barnes & Noble and noticed this great, big sign on the window, advertising one of the newest sensation to come out in the literary industry….

THE NOOK.

I understate it by refusing to use bold print or even larger font size for a reason. However, the centering is warranted–because the sign I read had a big, red white stripe strapped across it saying “SOLD OUT!” on it.

I later came across an associate working at the Barnes & Noble confirming that not only did the Nook, Barnes & Noble’s newest eReader to join the fray of the e-book armageddon, sell out once–it sold out three times.

Barnes & Noble simply can’t keep the device on the shelves. People keep buying it.

So here’s my point: I list these eReaders to offer you a chance to take your pick. Choose your eReader. Because it’s time. The e-volution has begun.

Okay, so it’s not the morning. As typical of the Morning Insanity Channel. But give me 20 more minutes, and it will be midnight (can’t wait, though. I just love you all too much to wait posting more goodies for you).

This is still the Morning Insanity Channel. The MIC. Only close to midnight. You can then call it the “Midnight” Insanity Channel.

For a little fun and laughs, I’ve brought back a wonderful guest of mine…. Taco SUPREME!!!!

Hey, readers. W.W. here, Pierre Roustan, published author of THE CAIN LETTERS. It’s time to get busy with the wordage and the important shtuff (that’s another new word of mine–shtuff). Writing is important to me. So are other authors. So are publishers and editors and agents and literary managers and publicists and librarians and English teachers and all the Harry Potter/Edward Cullen/Percy Jackson enthusiasts out there!

The subject today is creativity. Yes, that’s it–simple–creativity.

This topic popped in my head suddenly after reading a question from a most recent Yahoo group interview–

Are you a Grammar Chief or a Word Rebel?

(I reworded the question using my own words, though)

This is what I mean by that: Grammar Chief:

A writer who, to the letter, dictates with perfect grammar (or at least tries to with his/her last breath). You will not find one fragment, nor one contraction (not even the perfectly acceptable ones). No sentence starts with a preposition. But…usually the Grammar Chief has an incredible vocabulary, armed with fortified battalions of highly-armored, chainmailed, battle ax-wielding words designed to dazzle and display the deepest of intellectual thought and prowess for the power of the human mind and resonance in the galaxy. They generally are our philosophers, psychologists, symbologists and MDs with a need to write and publish articles carrying groundbreaking surgeries and/or procedures that can revolutionize the medical field.

Now to the Word Rebel:

A writer with almost senseless passion, breaks all rules, scoffs at scholars, possibly lives under bridges. Has a flair for. The. Dramatic. A Bohemian. Like in “Moulin Rouge”. We’re talkin’ serious psychedelic montage of sensual imagery and a rush of human emotion akin to Niagara Falls or erupting volcanoes. They are the word barbarians that remind us we bleed. While the Grammar Chiefs wield their spectacularly carved battle axes, Word Rebels fashion the most brutal weapons out of sheer stone, spitting saliva out as they work. Their weapons cut. To the heart. They appeal to our hearts, in fact. Not our minds. They slice us all into pieces in jagged, broken, imperfect parts to remind us that the world, in all its brokenness, is beautiful, so beautiful that we weep all over our broken parts and see the skewed reflections of us in various forms. In an aardvark shell, they don’t care about being grammatically accurate. They let their words fly fiercely.

Now you ask: What’s with the “To Be Or Not To Be Creative”? The answer’s simple.

There’s been a debate on what constitutes creativity–you have your artists, poets, fiction writers, screenwriters and motivational speakers (Word Rebels) and the literalogically inclined scientists, nonfiction wordsmiths, dialecticals, intellectual visionaries, caption editors and stereo instruction manual writers (Grammar Chiefs), and I can simply tell you this:

Creativity Is Not Measured

By Whether Or Not

You Are A Grammar Chief

Or Word Rebel

We naturally want to think the Word Rebels are more “creative” with their use of language. Not true. We also naturally want to think the Word Rebels are generally reckless and inexperienced and essentially amateurish. Not true.

The same goes for the Grammar Chiefs: we naturally think their concept of writing is archaic, mechanical and empty, which we don’t assign to “creativity”. Or maybe I should say “creative writing”. Not true. We also naturally assume that they know everything about ‘good’ writing and know exactly what to do to show people how to write…good (I mean ‘well’). Not true.

Creativity is a malleable entity undefined by specific words or phrases or literary devices. A finely tuned business letter has just as much creativity as a Walt Whitman or Emily Dickinson poem. Aristotle’s phenomenal articles are just as genious as the children’s book “Goodnight, Moon”.

And this is the reason: voice. I don’t care what you write. Or how you write it. What’s important is your voice. We’re talking consistent here. You show superb structure, consistency, understanding when you make voice your primary concern. Everything else tends to fall into place. You know the old saying:

Once you know the rules, you can bend them or break them.

Know this, live this, love this, learn this, leave this permanently in your mind, dwell on this, delve into this, immerse yourself into this. Your authentic writing voice is capable of so much. And that’s creativity. Once you know the rules, you are king. Your voice can bend at will to anything. You are a chameleon. If you want to employ the megalodon majestic 5-syllable words and period every sentence with mechanical precision, do it. Just make sure it’s consistent with your voice and what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to freewrite and throw caution to the wind–literal passion and the wisp of smoky passages of gossamer wings of flight in any direction–sensual, sexual even, solemn, with exclamation! exclamation! exclamation! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand dramatic slowdowns of Matrix-style power…. Well, DO IT. That’s creativity. Creativity is freedom. Freedom to write as you want to write.

So the answer to the question, my poor Urich, “To Be Or Not To Be Creative?” is simple. Be Creative. There are no guidelines to mention. There’s no manual (stereo or other). Well, the manual would be two words: Be Creative.

Best part of all, the manual’s free. No charge. No shipping and handling. Use freely. Thanks for playing.

And the pheonix has risen! From the ashes! And the pheonix is ready to WRITE!

The reason being that I’m all moved in to my new house, computer in my own room, completely self-employed. Be looking for me writing more and more on the blog now…. Oh, yes. I’m sure Freak Quincy and Chuck Stake have been crawlin’ up the walls with tears in their eyes, naked, bored, bloated from eating way too many Doritos because the house here at Writing and Reading has been…. EMPTY! Empty like an empty can of Doritos and popcorn and Cheezits and a large assortment of different flavored Whoppers.

Well, I say, NO MORE. NO MORE. The Wretched Writer has returned. No, not has. HATH. The Wretched Writer HATH returned.

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And to start this new glorious day of writing (and many other things in my writing career, yes, yes), I start with a quote…. This would be a *Real* Quote, but the title deserves to be a verbal celebration as to why I am able to write. It is from my fiancee…and here it is:

“I have to figure out

the cigarette and smoke the potty.”

Bear in mind, my little children, she is not referring to the, well, ‘drug’ . She is talking about the toilet. Yes, the toilet. Thank you, have a nice day.

Much to many’s chagrin (and distaste), I occasionally use the blog to vent, lament, with interior monologue totally unrelated to writing and publishing. If you don’t like it–bite me. If you think about it, these posts still do have a great deal of relevance when it comes to writing. After all, it’s an expression of one’s self which others can assimilate and absorb and learn from, in turn adding on to their own wisdom which they can later express themselves through writing in a similar fashion. That’s all part of the writing experience.

However, not about this particular subject, this post is. Get to the true topic, I must. Use the force, I must. A Jedi, I am.

This post is about the fact that I had the opportunity to see my son for the first time in about a month. For only 2 1/2 hours. And for the purpose of him opening his Christmas presents with me. Now, the reason why I hadn’t seen my son in a month or so was due to the fact that my car was repossessed. I haven’t had any way to pick him up from school, much less spend any time with him. In all honesty, folks, this is one of the main reasons why I’ve been away from “Writing and Reading” for so long–

I just miss my son terribly. And that’s all I had been able to think about. My son.

In this trying experience, though, I’ve realized something profound about the soul: something that happened first when I read my son his bedtime story for the last time (at least for now–there will be a next time, count on it); sorrow can become so heavy that you actually don’t feel it at all, so when you cry, you almost…don’t know why.

And I felt that again yesterday when I had to drop off my son with his new Christmas toys and say goodbye–not knowing when I’d see him again.

That feeling of sorrow was just too overwhelming, and it just shuts you down. You then can’t feel anything…. But your body still can’t contain the emotion anyway, so you weep. And you can’t even stop it, or control it. You’re not even visibly ’sad’. However, you can’t help but…cry endlessly.

This is a testament of how deathly powerful love really is. It has power to crack the dams of your soul even when you seem to have control of the tides.

It doesn’t matter how much control you have. Love breaks you down and leaves you vulnerable.

May seem like a bad thing; but it’s not. People will see the real you; people will understand you. They’ll see the pieces and learn from experiencing you how the pieces fit. Granted, you’re vulnerable and fragile–but let me tell you, if someone loves you back, the pieces of you won’t get lost. Till your last breath, I promise you, you’ll be safe.

Excellent–now that I’ve stirred your hearts sufficiently, I’ll conclude this post with an urgent request to get on Amazon (or Smashwords, or Bookstrands etc. etc.) and purchase one of the best vampire novels (at least to me!) ever conceived: THE CAIN LETTERS. Please?

I’ll be eternally grateful. Your support, ultimately, will give me yet another opportunity to see my son someday. God bless.