Grist for the Muse #13 -- October 2004

"Do you think, if you say the word "impossible" enough times, that difficult things will suddenly become easier for you?"
--Richard Bach

When we write, we understand the reality of the word impossible. Writers stare at it every day and deal with the kind of rejection that would make a telemarketer swallow entire bottles of Prozac.
Our job is the only one where you find small success after failing dozens if not hundreds of times. It is an industry driven by celebrities getting multi-million dollar book deals for an "as told to" byline to an unknown ghostwriter. (See Paris Hilton, any of the O.J. trial memoirs, Pamela Anderson, and <insert your own celebrity flash-in-the-pan here>.) Bad books become mega-bestsellers, and literary masterpieces sell only a couple of hundred copies go out-of-print and then get "discovered" decades after the writer died.

Some great authors struggle for years to make enough money just to get by, waiting for that elusive "breakout" book that gives them enough cash to stop working that mall security job or part-time teaching position to write full-time. Maybe this breakout book gives them enough to buy a house, invest in a decent retirement, or put money aside for the kids' college tuition.

When co-workers ask you: "Why are you wasting your time?" What do you answer? When an unsupportive boss, professor or parent says: "You'll never be published." How do you respond? When J.K Rowling, a recently divorced welfare mother, wrote in a local coffee shop while her infant daughter napped, do you think that she saw the publication of Harry Potter as impossible? After every major publisher rejected the book, do you think that she believed that her success was impossible? When these publishers told her that fantasy was a dying genre and that children didn't like reading that kind of stuff anymore, did she give up and agree with the publishers that selling a fantasy novel in a day and age where the Playstation rules supreme was impossible? Did anyone imagine that less than 10 years later, Rowling would be richer than Queen Elizabeth? Impossible.

The only way to make the impossible possible is through hard work, belief in yourself, and the determination to move forward despite the odds. Now go do the impossible!

FLASH WRITING UPDATE!

I know… I'm late again! I really wanted to get all of this publishing availability details taken care of before sending out another edition of Grist, but… I don't want to keep you waiting any longer than I have to. This whole process has been slow and agonizing. I sent the final proofs to Virtual Bookworm on September 10th and waited and waited. When I followed up about the current status of the corrections on September 21st, they told me that since I submitted the manuscript and cover in a PDF format, that I had to make the corrections myself. So I made the corrections to the manuscript and had Melissa make one to the cover and re-submitted the both back to the printer and then signed-off on the final proof on September 23rd. From the 23rd, it should take two to three weeks to receive my initial copies of the book. If there are no major flaws, I should be able to place an order for my first shipment of books to sell.

I'm guessing by the end of October at the latest I'll be selling copies of the book via my PayPal account, or through the traditional "mail me a check" method. So for those of you who want to get a copy hot off the press, I am offering a Flash Writing Pre-Order Special. Buy the book at $13.95 ($2.00 off the cover price) plus $3.50 shipping and handling (and for Ohio orders, add $.91 sales tax). If you are interested in placing an order, write me at michael@wilson.us and I'll send you the information to complete the transaction. I can send you a PayPal invoice if you want to use a credit card to make the purchase, or give you a mailing address to send a check. This is still a work in progress, so bear with me.

I have purchased the domain name www.flashwriting.com, and plan on getting some content up there soon (hopefully including a few back-issues of Grist for the Muse). There is a lot of work to do to get it launched, but I'm hoping to have at least a few rough web-pages up and running by the end of October.

I'll try to be on time next month. See you then!

OTHER CHANGES AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Please update your e-mail address book entry for me to michael@wilson.us
--Michael

Brag Board
This is a new feature that I want to showcase the work of some of my Grist readers, so if you have had something published, drop me a line and I'll get it in here!

******************************************************************************

Sign up for the Write(Now) Newsletter

Nita Sweeney's wonderful monthly newsletter lists events of interest to writers in the Central Ohio area, including book signings, writing classes, writer's groups, writer's conferences, poetry readings, and more. To subscribe click on this link: http://www.nitasweeney.com/id4.html

******************************************************************************
TO SUBSCRIBE: If someone you know would like to check out Grist for the Muse have and possibly subscribe to it, go to the web at this URL: http://www.topica.com/lists/Grist_for_the_Muse Or SUBSCRIBE via email by sending a BLANK email to: Grist_for_the_Muse-subscribe@topica.com

OR - If you do not want to join Topica, send an email to michael@wilson.us with the word SUBSCRIBE in the header. Make sure that I am added to your address book or your "safe" list.

SUGGESTIONS or COMMENTS: Please feel free to e-mail me with ideas, suggestions, questions, or smart alecky remarks. I love to
get feedback, and I do give all comments serious consideration. Send them to michael@wilson.us

TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Please click here: http://topica.com/u/?a2jb2H.bm2Kjt.bWt3aWxz Or send a BLANK email to: Grist_for_the_Muse-unsubscribe@topica.com

SUBMISSIONS: Do you have an event you want to promote? Do you want to see yourself in print? Send me a short article or writing exercise ideas. I can't pay you anything yet, but maybe someday soon. Please send an e-mail with date, time, place, cost and contact information to wilson_writer@netzero.net with SUBMISSION in the subject line. Editor reserves the right to revise submissions.

ABOUT THE EDITOR: Michael Wilson has been teaching creative writing classes and facilitating writer's groups for over 7 years and
was an award-winning Contributing Editor for The Writer's Block at Suite101.com. He has a BA (with Honors) in English from Ohio University, and has been a featured guest speaker at the Thurber House, the Maumee Valley Writer's Conference and the Columbus Writer's Conference. He is also the publisher and editor of Grist for the Muse a monthly creative writing newsletter. His first book: Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and Publish Stories Less Than 1000 Words Long, will be published during the Summer of 2004.

Copyright 2004 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.

Writing Exercises

Write about yourself in the language of a personal ad. Be clever, use the clichés and format to create something unique and appealing. If you have trouble, read through some existing personals online or in the newspaper. But remember, your ad should be under 100 words long.

Write about one of your guilty pleasures. Some people like trashy romances, others can't stop watching reality TV, still others collect wild, neon-haired trolls. What is your guilty pleasure?

Write about something that scares you. Be very specific.

Quick Topics

For more information about and how to use these, go to the Writing Prompt Page:

• Unemployment check
• Tooth loss
• Floored
• Clash
• Mayhem
• NASCAR Dad
• Under the sea
• Quilt
• Timber
• In the kitchen

Story Starters

For more information about and how to use these, go to the Writing Prompt Page:

• I have failed…
• That all changed after…
• So we did what we had to…
• I told you…
• Who is he, really?
• Where are we going?