Comments on: What Chef Ramsay Would Say About Writing

By: What Chef Ramsay Would Say About Writing – written by Kristen Lamb – Writer's Treasure Chest

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:00:48 +0000

[…] https://authorkristenlamb.com/2018/01/what-chef-ramsay-would-say-about-writing/ […]

By: Author Business 101: Books, Brand & Buds - Kristen Lamb

Author Business 101: Books, Brand & Buds - Kristen Lamb — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 15:23:21 +0000

[…] Not nearly as much as one might be led to believe, which we talked about in my last post What Chef Ramsay Would Say About Writing. […]

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 12:29:06 +0000

In reply to Cathy Noreen. The original publisher closed and I got my rights back. Will be rereleasing soon! Thanks for asking. I have an AMAZING cover and interior design. Just waiting on final formatting.

By: Writing Links…1/29/18 – Where Genres Collide

Writing Links…1/29/18 – Where Genres Collide — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 12:02:46 +0000

[…] https://authorkristenlamb.com/2018/01/what-chef-ramsay-would-say-about-writing/ “The past few months have been tough. I’ve struggled with being down, depressed and stuck in a rut. The writing profession I once loved just had lost its…sparkle. In a recent post, I believe I voiced what many writers have been feeling:” What do you think? Are we churning out cheeseburgers instead of quality work? […]

By: Cathy Noreen

Cathy Noreen — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 03:31:57 +0000

I’m slowly coming around to the point I can stop beating myself up about not driving myself toward becoming my own worst nightmare, feeling obligation to force it to happen, via social media, and whatever else, because otherwise I won’t see myself as a “real” writer.

I knocked myself for such a loop on all of this last year, that I just pulled back and had to re-think the goals and expectations I was setting for myself. “Why am I doing this?” “What do I want out of it?” Things like that.

I had tried to re-write so much of the initial characterizations in the WIP, due to concerns about putting myself “out there” in my own politically incorrect way, (risking the on-line backlash) that I ended up feeling like I just needed to put the whole thing in a body bag and give it up.

The new research, trying to make the character more “safe”, felt like I was weakening everything with the character’s motivations, all to save me a little trouble down the line. Basically I killed the story because I was scared. It stopped speaking to me, of course… perfectly justified behavior on its part.

So. Many shower-talks-with-myself later, I’m re-establishing the character as what he wanted to be in the first place, undoing the damage previously done. And the story is talking again. It just took some despair, and calling myself a Donkey (tm: Chef Ramsey) to undo the damage I had done.

Now I still don’t know how good the story will be when new edits are done. Nor do I know if it will sell. But at this point I don’t care. I just want to tell myself a good story and have it available for the 5 or 6 people who will care.

Keeping my expectations low. Letting Madame Serendipity have her way with me. This is about letting go of fear, for me. Just letting it be. I do not have to get it “right.” I just have to do it.

Btw… Noticed the Kindle version of “The Devil’s Dance” is missing, Kristen. (And the printed version is saying Out of Print… wanted to get it for my sister.) Did you take it down, or are they messing with you?

By: Lyn C

Lyn C — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 20:13:00 +0000

In reply to Deborah Makarios.

That makes sense – Bumblebees tend to fly erratically at times. We were certainly moving in random directions to avoid laser blasts 😀

By: Randy Brown

Randy Brown — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 19:58:14 +0000

Oh, Ladies, what a delight it is to read you. I really must find time to take your classes or catch your act in person. Maybe when I catch up with my writing–which isn’t selling–mainly so that I can afford your classes, which are already cheaper than any I’ve taken to date over the last twenty years.
To the reason I write today; Kristen mentioned that she has a ‘southern Gothic’ she’s working on.
In the 1970s, when I should have gone to college but didn’t, I hung out at student unions where the book stores existed. There I discovered Richard Brautigan and decided that if his stuff could get published, anyone could. [sigh] Well, I became a fan and have collected all of his published work, even his daughter’s story.
The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western is from 1974. As you read and re-read this story you actually learn a little bit about writing.
Trout fishing in America and Watermelon Sugar are the best of all of his books, but only in my opinion. Since my opinion is also wrapped up with the memory of a young woman who called herself ‘Flower’–going back to Mavis in later life– I doubt the books would hold as much appeal today as they did in in 1970.
Thanks for your wonderful advice.

By: Jessica Knauss

Jessica Knauss — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:18:10 +0000

Awesome post, Kristin! Your dream illustrates what it’s like to be a writer perfectly. It’s rather nightmarish at times. This is a great chance to step back and bring some sanity — and actual writing — back into our lives as writers.

By: P J Lazos

P J Lazos — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 16:03:13 +0000

A timely post for me. I’ve had my blog for about three years and have a little over 700 followers. Some would say I’m not a very good marketer, but even 700 is hard to interact with on a constant basis. I’m thrilled that it continues to grow, but numbers aren’t the end game for me (well, maybe a little), rather, connecting with readers is. I prefer the genuine relationship over, say, a platform like twitter which is mostly form and no substance. I really enjoy getting to know fellow writers and their writing styles. All that takes time. ?

By: Eloise

Eloise — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 12:43:21 +0000

Hi Kristen, always been a fan of your blog, but for me, this is one of the best posts you’ve written. I love the humour you put into your posts, and you really had me laughing here, especially because what you’re saying is so true – and really refreshing to hear. I’m of the slow writing variety. It’s taking me years to finish my first epic fantasy novel because so much research goes into it (and because I’m still mastering the craft). When I finished the first draft (three years ago now), I initially thought I could get away with it largely as it was (with just a bit of polishing), but then I realised that it was only going to add to the pile of shallow, fast MacFantasy already on the market. So I’ve been digging deeper and deeper, trying to write with the kind of realism that George R.R. Martin brings to his world. It involves a lot of research. Don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as him, but I’m trying 😀 I totally understand why he takes so long to write a book – it’s really hard to do what he does.

One of the reasons it was good to read this post is that I often get the niggling feeling that it shouldn’t take so long to finish a book, that I should just move on. I hear the advice to push out one, two, (three!) novels a year and I hear about people doing this and think, wow, are they really that talented that they can just do that, are these books any good? I definitely feel more reassured now and that I should keep going and hopefully eventually write something I can truly be proud of.