Sometimes, the mss just kicks your ass

We have to admit that we're nursing a bit of a crush on John Rickards, the Brit-based author of WINTER'S END and THE TOUCH OF GHOSTS, that started a few days ago after stumbling across his blog. For the 26 year old author (gack, he's young. Ed. he's only a year older than you are. Oh, right.) is trying very hard to finish his new book, which would be the third installment in the Alex Rourke series, and it's not exactly going terribly well:

Eventually did spend Friday night getting drunk and most of Saturday in the pub - though on the Coke for half the night; getting old, y'see and the liver can't take it these days. Have now tried to get back down to work and done a mighty 400 words. Truly, I rule. Woo. Yeah.

Still kinda wish I could get away with writing "Fuck" 30,000 times and handing the finished manuscript in to Penguin. Sadly, not only would they shout and throw things - or have me committed - but there's a clause in the contract that says "work of publishable quality". Cunning, cunning devils.

Still, it gives me hope that someone, somewhere has already tried the same trick. Which is enough to raise a smile on an otherwise craptastic weekend.

Before Rickards went on the aforementioned bender, he killed time by taking some new pictures of himself to put on his blog and website, because he could. Or something to that effect.

A self-indulgent smart-ass. Could somebody please broker a meeting? Well, after he delivers the manuscript on time...

Comments

[Kevin Wignall]

Sarah, are his books any good? I like the fact that he refers to Shelley's greatest poem in his email address and names his blog after a line in the great Johnny Cash cover of Trent Reznor's "Hurt".

[John Rickards]

I don't really know what to say to that (well, apart from blushing slightly and shuffling my feet in embarrassment). I'm not even sure if 'self-indulgent smart-ass' is a compliment or not but... yeah, it's sad, but true. I've got no defence on that count. :-D

- John R.

[Jennifer Jordan]

From Sarah, 'self-indulgent smart-ass' is high praise. Read it as motivated quipper extrodinaire with a dollop of what we girls call the 'damn!' factor. 'Damn!' is also very good.

[Bryon Quertermous]

Kevin--

Yes, John's books are very good, and I don't say that just because I got wasted with the guy when I was in London. As far as his email address, here I was thinking Ozamandias was a WATCHMEN reference. I guess that shows how old I am and how much poetry I read...

[jeff]

But how is it that for so many writers, when they put up a blog, their creativity goes right thru the shredder and they can't think of anything more interesting to write about than how crappy their writing day was? That definitely holds my interest. A blog, like a query letter, is not just a marketing tool but a platform for your personality, to show you're not just another aspiring wonk. DUH

[Kevin Wignall]

Jeff, as a writer who doesn't have a blog, I can see where you're coming from here. I actually decided against it specifically because I thought it would draw too much energy away from my writing.
But I can also understand writers using their blogs to complain about their writing day, because if your friends aren't also writers, they simply don't want to listen to you. Sure, they'll expect you to listen to them talking about how dreadful their jobs are, but if you have a gripe, the response is inevitably, "Sure, it must be tough lazing around at home all day, doing what you really love for a living." The grass is always greener, or so they say.

[John Rickards]

Thanks, Jennifer. Although after today I'm in danger of turning into The Man Made Of Living Ego... :-D

Jeff - interesting thought. I've never considered any impact on my output - apart from time writing up blog entries when I should be working. But I used to spend half my time working as a journalist, and still do to a much lesser extent, without it hurting the writing. In fact, if anything, turning pro has given me too much time on my hands. And, so far as my own blog goes, it's only the recent entries that have been bitching about my writing day. In the past, I've bitched about plenty of other stuff too... ;-)

[jeff]

I can see how writers might think a blog would drain their energy, but that hasn't been my xperience. I think that fear comes from an idea that creativity is finite, & using it up on yr blog will diminish your REAL fiction. But I find creativity generates creativity, altho there's only so many hours in the day (I'm not getting very far with my fake Joyce Carol Oates blog).

Also, on a practical level, I think an agent looking at a blog that's nothing but Woe is me, another rejection slip, is going to be turned off. I know I would be. BTW, I got a rejection slip today from a journal telling me a) sorry, but they're going out of business, & b) would I like to purchase a subscription?