How many of you are writers?
Sep 17, 2022 1:22 am
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Dear reader,
Writing over the past few weeks has been a rather bittersweet experience, one that I'd really like to share with you. You see, I have this theory that most fantasy readers, especially epic fantasy readers, are also writers.
I've seen it time and time again. I'll be with a buddy discussing some fan theory about the newest Brando Sando book, or be weeping on a friend's shoulder that The Doors of Stone still doesn't have a release date, when my fellow fantasy fan will confide in me that they've been working on a novel. Often in secret, and often for years.
Coincidence? Maybe. But it's happened enough that I suspect otherwise. So, if you fall into that category of secret authors, keep reading; this is for you.
If not, feel free to skip ahead for some fantastic fantasy deals including a big ol' pile of free ARC review copies.
Now, back to my bittersweet weeks in writing.
When I first started crafting and drafting ideas for The Sum of Ages, I was just a wee lad wasting time in a spiral notebook in the back of my middle school Geography class. A few years later, as a high schooler, I decided to turn my scribbles into an actual story with a plot and characters and stuff.
100k words later, and I had the world's worst rough draft.
I set the crappy draft aside for years, but the ideas never really left my head, and the desire to tell stories certainly never left my heart. While taking literature and creative writing courses in college, I kept thinking back to that dusty old high school draft. I decided to show it to my then fiancé. She read it and told me the unfortunate truth about its deplorable quality.
The nerve.
Recovering from the devastating blow of what I'd already known but was denying, I decided to write something else. Something snotty and poetic to make my Lit Fic professors proud. I did, and it was fun, I guess... but my mind just kept wandering back to my fantasy universe.
So, I tried again. For close to seven years I worked on my second draft of The Sum of Ages. I wrote and rewrote. I scrapped whole sections and added new characters and plotlines. I shared my work with friends, and periodically fell into six-month bouts of depression when they didn't immediately love it, warts and all.
You know. The typical writer stuff.
But, eventually, I had a finished, polished, publishable draft. And then I had a second. And then a third. The more I wrote, the easier it got. And the easier it got, the better it got.
But what, you may ask, does all this have to do with me having a bittersweet few weeks of writing? Well, recently I've been working on a section of book 4 that I had already written once upon a time, way back around my college years. I remembered it being pretty solid, and foolishly thought that this chunk of the book would be quick and easy since I already had a finished rough draft to revise. I assumed it was pretty much good to go, and just needed a few edits.
And let me tell you, friends... It was not.
It is astounding how something you were once so proud of can later cause you cringe down in the very sinews of your soul. Hence the bittersweet nature of my week. While it is absolutely painful to confront my old writing, it is also so wonderful to see how much I've grown.
So, if you have found yourself in my shoes, if you have ever gagged yourself on the drivel you once believed to be glorious, golden canon, here is my advice: don't quit.
Just. Don't. Quit.
Keep writing. Keep pushing. Keep dreaming on paper. Because the sad reality of being a writer is this: to write great books you must become a great writer, and to become a great writer you must write terrible books. Don't despair if your skill doesn't yet match your taste. It will. Books take time, and writers age like wine.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Shoot me an email if you've had a similar story to share. I'd love to hear 'em.
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Lots of great review copies available through StoryOrigin this month. These are all full-length fantasy novels available through the end of September, so act fast while copies last.
Also, Kindred Straits is featured in an ARC bundle on BookSirens. Again, only a limited number of copies of all these Action/Adventure novels are available through September, so act fast.
And for those of you who are Kindle Unlimited Readers, here are some awesome new Amazon releases to check out.
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Thanks for all you do, friends. Keep reading (or writing, if that's your jam),
Ben Schwarting
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My Books:
The Sum of Ages Series is available from a variety of retailers
Kindred Straits is available on Amazon, coming soon to other retailers
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