I just wrote an awful post. So I’m not going to put it on the site. As I reviewed the essay, it seemed so wordy, dense, and dry, that I felt like writing it had been a waste of time. I don’t want ‘dry.’ I would rather find my writing to be ‘organic,’ ‘warm,’ ‘vital,’ and ‘passionate.’ Sometimes, however, the muse takes a break. My analytical machinery is in control today, and my little heart, with its moist and throbbing voice, sits quietly. The post I spent thirty minutes on, the one I’m not posting, talked about why doctors overmedicate psychiatry ‘patients.’ After several paragraphs of drivel, the conclusion was: they don’t encourage conversation. Case closed.
My vision for a book becomes more clear each passing day. I am reading a text about ‘how to write a book proposal’ (that’s actually the title.) It helps me see what might work commercially, versus what might just be an exercise in writing without broader appeal. Naturally, I want my book to be read. One key to that success, however, will be to minimize dry analysis. Others write with concise clarity, and can give factual information in an engaging way. To date, my own analytical writing sounds too dense to appeal to a broad audience. My better writing, the kind that spurs the most engaged commentary, possesses more fire. The trick will be to write something filled with feeling that also gets across some important information. My project will probably use memoir vignettes to introduce points I will follow-up with more clinically-based discussion. But even the writing based on objective data needs to sound heartfelt, or people will get bored.
My time is up. I set aside 60-90 minutes, from about 5:00 to 6:30 am (PST,) to write my posts. I spent much of today’s time on the essay I’m discarding. So all that’s left is this musing on what works in my writing, and what doesn’t. This blog gives me a chance to try out different directions, and I appreciate that some take time to read my posts in their busy days. There are so many excellent web journals out there, it humbles me to think anyone would stop and read mine.
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1
Lili at http://YourWebsite
Will honey you know everyone is different.What you don’t like someone else may love. Your writing is wonderful.
Posted at December 4, 2009 on 8:58am.
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Wellness Writer at http://bipolarwellness.blogspot.com
Will,
I developed a great format for my second and third books (on parenting) that might work for you (or give you food for thought). I started each chapter with a personal essay about the topic. In my case, I then interviewed subject matter experts, and ran quotes from parents in the margin. Even if you’re the subject matter expert, I believe that breaking up the text works well. I also included lists of tips and advice. A friend of mine who’s a therapist is using a similar format to write her new book. Anyway, just a thought…
Susan
Posted at December 4, 2009 on 11:17am.
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Will at http://willspirit.com
Lili–
I appreciate the validation. Perhaps I’ll work on enlivening the piece I deep-sixed until I feel OK about posting it.
I read many blogs in this field, but don’t understand what makes some popular and others not. Part of it must be historical: those that started earlier had an easier time attracting an audience. It also appears there is a split between blogs where the pieces are built around current events and factual information, and those that are based on personal experience. Each type seems capable of success (here defined as popularity.) I write mostly from my life, but try to bring science and philosophy into the mix. So I suppose I am straddling a line.
Although it would be nice, I don’t foresee this becoming a widely-read blog. The field has become so crowded that breaking out of the pack appears very difficult. I’m trying in my own small way to gather an audience, but barring an endorsement from an extremely popular site, I will probably remain under the radar. Even if I did get ‘shouted-out’ (which I guess is the correct term?) I don’t know whether my work would appeal to much of the mental health community.
My current and limited goal is to ferret out when my writing most intrigues people, and where my strengths match popular desire. I want to use that information as I put together a book. With luck, I’ll produce something that flies with readers.
It’s a tricky business. I know that the chance of a book ‘making it’ is very small. So I need to be sure that the writing process fulfills me as I go. I don’t want to put myself through a hateful ordeal and then face the very likely outcome of continued obscurity. On the other hand, I want to be careful to keep popular trends in mind, to give my baby its best opportunity. The idea is to write something that feeds my heart as I go, but still appeals to readers. Then I’ll release it to the world and see if it has wings.
Thanks for helping me stay centered as I pursue this dream.
–Will
Posted at December 4, 2009 on 11:31am.
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Will at http://willspirit.com
Susan–
Thank you for the suggestion. That is a format I have been toying with, and I am glad to hear that it worked for you. My topic would be recovery from childhood mistreatment, possibly combined with cautionary tales about my misadventures with psychotherapists and psychiatry (you can see I still have to narrow things down a bit.) The approach you describe would closely match my abilities, as you appear to understand.
I use your success as validation for my plans. It’s nice to know that one can ‘make it’ as a writer. All my life I’ve heard (especially from my father) that the chance of success is miniscule. It’s the main reason I pursued science and medicine rather than following my inclination to be a writer. It may be that spending my young adulthood in biology and surgery was actually a good choice, since my education can now inform my writing. But in taking the next step, and going from one field into the other, it helps to have role models. Seeing that real people like you can publish books and build an audience encourages me to pursue this path.
Blessings.
–Will
Posted at December 4, 2009 on 11:44am.