I had a writing teacher named Benjamin Percy who, according to Wikipedia, is “an American author of novels and short stories, essayist, comic book writer, and screenwriter.” I am old enough to have been Ben’s babysitter.
By that, I mean I was sixteen when he was born. I met him when I was forty-six and he was thirty. Our birthdays are two days apart.
Ben knew more about writing than any thirty year old I’d ever met. In fact, than anyone I’d met, period. I’d had a lot of teachers–I’d been taking writing courses since I was twenty-five. Ben stood out because he not only knew a lot, he could explain it. His passion for reading and writing permeated the workshop room. When I asked him to be my advisor, he already knew what novels I should read, ones that were doing well what I was hamfistedly attempting. He showed me how to take them apart and figure out what made them work.When I’d turn in an assignment (usually the next 20-25 pages of the novel I was working on) Ben would write me a letter about its strengths and weaknesses and dig deep into an aspect of craft.
Man, we covered so much territory. I was too old to get dependent on anyone’s opinion, but I sure learned to trust Ben’s feedback. He is also very droll, which I appreciate in a teacher–or in anyone.He’d end most of his letters with the phrase “keep hammering.”
I got the picture–writing a book is like building a house. The house can be big or small, and you can build it the easy way or the hard way, or a combination. What the house ends up looking like will vary from builder to builder.
Having a plan helps, knowing your craft helps, but you can most certainly write a book without either of those in place.
God knows I did that a few times–I came into my real writing education after having written five (well, four and a half) novels on my own, all of them bad. I built all those houses the hard way but hey, sh*t happens. I learned a lot.
As we get to the end of 2023, which has been a dark period for so many of us, I hope your life is going ridiculously well. I hope you’re living what people sometimes call your best life. Whatever that means!
I hope that if you like writing, you know what you want to write about and you carve out the time, you get feedback and you give it, and if or when the road to publishing gets a little steep, you don’t stop moving forward.
That’s my hope for myself as well, and writing this postcard reminds me that writing isn’t just something I do to fill the time or because I like books. Writing keeps me sane and connected to myself.
So, as Benjamin Percy said in every letter, “Keep hammering.” How else can you build a house out of words? Writing really is a magical thing.
How has your year been so far?
What are your hopes for next year?Let me know, I’d love to hear!
Cheers,
Pat
My goofy Pleasure Journal is ON SALE!!! Click here to order it in the US! Or if you’re in Canada, click here!
Thank you to the wonderful Pam B for the five-star review!
By the way, 15% of sales will go to Lifting Hands International to support their work helping refugees in Ukraine survive another winter of war.
There’s a show called REACHER, based on the books by Lee Child. The casting is excellent–the lead, Alan Richson, is truly gigantic and does indeed have a chest the size of four basketballs side by side, as described in the books. [Perhaps you heard about the outrage of Reacher readers when Tiny Tom Cruise played him in the movie. I shudder every time I think about it.]
My trip to New Zealand is getting closer. (Hi Mike!)
Book Bag
Glass Souls, by Maurizio de Giovanni
Translated by Antony Shugaar
Europa Editions, 2017
Set in 1930s Italy during the rise of fascism, this novel follows a depressed police detective’s search for the truth about the murder of a loan shark. I will admit to being mildly judgy about the translation, but I can’t put it down.
Fun fact: the writer invented this character in 2005, when his story won a contest for unpublished writers. This is book 8 in the series!