Josiah Bancroft's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-books-of-babel"
Parting Advice to My Creative Writing Students
I wrote this advice to my students this morning. As is often the case, the best advice I can offer others is just the advice I give myself on a regular basis.
Don’t talk about your ideas or intentions. It’s normal to get excited about a personal goal. It’s also normal for writers to think about their current projects compulsively. So, it’s only natural for us to want to talk about our ideas and current projects. We want to share our passion and excitement, and we want someone to validate those feelings. But by receiving this premature validation, we erode the motivation that we need to do the work. We are less likely to finish something if we talk about too much. Productive writers are often secretive about what they’re working on because they don’t want to lose the drive to finish it. They’ve learned to take validation from doing the work rather than talking about it.
Reading will teach you everything you need to know about writing if you read broadly and carefully. Workshops, conferences, creative writing programs, and writers’ residencies are primarily social engagements. Writing is often a lonely business, and so writers naturally look for access to a community. These interactions have an interpersonal value, but they won't teach you half as much about writing as reading will. Read classics, read your contemporaries, read outside your genre, read books that intimidate you, and read every day. Don’t be discouraged by people who brag about all the important, obscure, or difficult books they’ve read; many of them are exaggerating, anyway. Read at your own pace, but don’t stop reading.
Develop your own standards and define your own expectations for your work. Don’t look to your peers for validation. You can always find someone who is worse than you, and if you’ve read enough, it’s also easy to find someone who is better than you. While it’s natural to be aware of other writers’ failings and strengths, you’ll drive yourself crazy if you spend too much time measuring your work against the genius of others. Learn to appreciate your accomplishments; learn to identify your weaknesses. Neither critical acclaim nor popular reception will give you lasting self-confidence or self-knowledge.
Uneasiness, insecurity, and failure are essential to growth. Learning is often an uncomfortable process. It requires a lot of effort, some of it tedious and much of it discouraging. We can’t grow unless we are dissatisfied with our first efforts and our past accomplishments; we can’t grow unless we risk failure and exposure to scrutiny and criticism. It’s important to remember that failure is unavoidable. Those of us who never take risks don’t avoid failure, we just defer it to the end of our lives when we have nothing to celebrate, nothing to take pride in. That final failure is infinitely worse, not least of all because there is no opportunity for success. If you persist and if you learn from your experiences, you will eventually succeed. There are, of course, many different kind of success, and not all of them end in mansions and mobs of adoring fans. But the success that you earn by dent of diligence and sweat will be incredibly rewarding. I promise.
Don’t talk about your ideas or intentions. It’s normal to get excited about a personal goal. It’s also normal for writers to think about their current projects compulsively. So, it’s only natural for us to want to talk about our ideas and current projects. We want to share our passion and excitement, and we want someone to validate those feelings. But by receiving this premature validation, we erode the motivation that we need to do the work. We are less likely to finish something if we talk about too much. Productive writers are often secretive about what they’re working on because they don’t want to lose the drive to finish it. They’ve learned to take validation from doing the work rather than talking about it.
Reading will teach you everything you need to know about writing if you read broadly and carefully. Workshops, conferences, creative writing programs, and writers’ residencies are primarily social engagements. Writing is often a lonely business, and so writers naturally look for access to a community. These interactions have an interpersonal value, but they won't teach you half as much about writing as reading will. Read classics, read your contemporaries, read outside your genre, read books that intimidate you, and read every day. Don’t be discouraged by people who brag about all the important, obscure, or difficult books they’ve read; many of them are exaggerating, anyway. Read at your own pace, but don’t stop reading.
Develop your own standards and define your own expectations for your work. Don’t look to your peers for validation. You can always find someone who is worse than you, and if you’ve read enough, it’s also easy to find someone who is better than you. While it’s natural to be aware of other writers’ failings and strengths, you’ll drive yourself crazy if you spend too much time measuring your work against the genius of others. Learn to appreciate your accomplishments; learn to identify your weaknesses. Neither critical acclaim nor popular reception will give you lasting self-confidence or self-knowledge.
Uneasiness, insecurity, and failure are essential to growth. Learning is often an uncomfortable process. It requires a lot of effort, some of it tedious and much of it discouraging. We can’t grow unless we are dissatisfied with our first efforts and our past accomplishments; we can’t grow unless we risk failure and exposure to scrutiny and criticism. It’s important to remember that failure is unavoidable. Those of us who never take risks don’t avoid failure, we just defer it to the end of our lives when we have nothing to celebrate, nothing to take pride in. That final failure is infinitely worse, not least of all because there is no opportunity for success. If you persist and if you learn from your experiences, you will eventually succeed. There are, of course, many different kind of success, and not all of them end in mansions and mobs of adoring fans. But the success that you earn by dent of diligence and sweat will be incredibly rewarding. I promise.
Arm of the Sphinx, Part II
I just published Part 2 of Arm of the Sphinx on Amazon, and I have to admit, I’m quite pleased with it.
The adventure continues with the marooning of the crew of the Stone Cloud within a dilapidated and infested ringdom called the Silk Gardens. There, Senlin and Edith must trek to a mission deep inside a perilous forest, to confer with the mysterious zealot, Luc Marat.
The stories of Adam, Voleta, and Iren diverge as each must confront the dire reality of their circumstance and grapple with the irresistible tug of hope and regret. The tension between Edith and Senlin comes to a head, too, and they are forced to address the difficulty of their intimate arrangement, even as their vulnerability grows.
But will Senlin find a way into Pelphia at last? Will he come any closer to reuniting with Marya? Will he finally escape the torment of the specter of his lost wife?
Read Part 2, The Golden Zoo, to find out!
The adventure continues with the marooning of the crew of the Stone Cloud within a dilapidated and infested ringdom called the Silk Gardens. There, Senlin and Edith must trek to a mission deep inside a perilous forest, to confer with the mysterious zealot, Luc Marat.
The stories of Adam, Voleta, and Iren diverge as each must confront the dire reality of their circumstance and grapple with the irresistible tug of hope and regret. The tension between Edith and Senlin comes to a head, too, and they are forced to address the difficulty of their intimate arrangement, even as their vulnerability grows.
But will Senlin find a way into Pelphia at last? Will he come any closer to reuniting with Marya? Will he finally escape the torment of the specter of his lost wife?
Read Part 2, The Golden Zoo, to find out!
The State of Things
The third part of Arm of the Sphinx is available on Amazon for download. But it won't be for long. Next Tuesday, I'm going to pull the parts down and publish the complete book. If all goes well with the proofs, the print version should be available starting then, too. I'm planning on doing a few Goodreads giveaways. I'll keep you posted!
If you're interested in reviewing the new book, I'd be happy to send you an e-copy. Haven't read the first book in the series? No problem! I can give you a copy of Senlin Ascends, too, so you can catch up. You can email me at thebooksofbabel@gmail.com, or you can message me. You don't have to be a professional reviewer. Everyone in the Goodreads community is a book reviewer as far as I'm concerned!
TIME FOR ANOTHER CONTEST!
Last time I asked you to help me name a dandy. (I got so many excellent responses. I'm never in danger of running out of foppish monikers again!) This time, I need your help naming an airship. Two winners will receive a signed copy of Arm of the Sphinx.
Christening airships has turned out to be one of the funnest parts of writing the series. The Stone Cloud, the Ararat, and the State of Art are some of the names I came up with. Now it's your turn! To enter the contest, just put your ship name in the comments below.
The contest closes this Friday at noon (GMT). I'll select two winners. I'll choose my favorite name, which will be included in the next book in the series, and I'll randomly draw a second winner from a hat. That gives you two chances to win!
One entry per person. There is no restriction on region. If you can receive post where you are, I will mail a book to you! Good luck!
Christening airships has turned out to be one of the funnest parts of writing the series. The Stone Cloud, the Ararat, and the State of Art are some of the names I came up with. Now it's your turn! To enter the contest, just put your ship name in the comments below.
The contest closes this Friday at noon (GMT). I'll select two winners. I'll choose my favorite name, which will be included in the next book in the series, and I'll randomly draw a second winner from a hat. That gives you two chances to win!
One entry per person. There is no restriction on region. If you can receive post where you are, I will mail a book to you! Good luck!
WIN an Advanced Reader Copy of THE HOD KING
For a chance to win an advanced reader copy of THE HOD KING, all you need to do is sign up for my newsletter. (I only send out two newsletters a year, so I promise not to spam your inbox!) I will select one winner at random from my mailing list.
You can sign up for the newsletter here. The drawing will be held on October 31, 2018, and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter. This contest is open to everyone, everywhere. Good luck!
You can sign up for the newsletter here. The drawing will be held on October 31, 2018, and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter. This contest is open to everyone, everywhere. Good luck!
One Last Chance to Win a Special Edition of The Hod King!
For a chance to win a Subterranean Press Special Edition of The Hod King, share your favorite quote from any of The Books of Babel in the comments below.
One winner will be chosen at random. Contest spans several platforms. One entry per person, please. Open to everyone, everywhere.
Closes midnight (EST) July 18.
EDIT: The randomly drawn winner of the Sub Press special edition of The Hod King is @mrdorough (via Twitter). Congratulations, Matthew!
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. It was truly wonderful to read your favorite lines from the series!
One winner will be chosen at random. Contest spans several platforms. One entry per person, please. Open to everyone, everywhere.
Closes midnight (EST) July 18.
EDIT: The randomly drawn winner of the Sub Press special edition of The Hod King is @mrdorough (via Twitter). Congratulations, Matthew!
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. It was truly wonderful to read your favorite lines from the series!
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