Dreams of a Doubtful Writer

I am asking myself the hard question, "How do I plan to jump start my writing career?" And to be honest, I don't have a writing career, yet. I'm still a struggling writer that no one has heard of except friends, family, and classmates. I don't even know if I have enough credentials to call myself a writer, but I am one (I've been one ever since I was in elementary school). I dream of penning a book that becomes a best-seller. I want to earn tons of money and travel the world promoting my book. I want to be interviewed by the best journalists and have my photograph donning the front cover of Poets & Writers. At least, that is what I want, but will it happen? Right now, I'd be satisfied with having one of my works be published in a major literary magazine, but I don't know if this is achievable. Right now, I know that I need to write more, but I feel blocked. Like the blank page is a challenge. A test. And I don't want to fail. To put it bluntly, I'm a very practical person, and sometimes the idea of being a fiction writer seems too lofty. To write a well-written piece of work takes a lot of time and effort. And in spite of your hard work, there are no guarantees, and it is this realization that is preventing me to write. For example, I really want to turn in a manuscript to The New Yorker, but there is a huge part of me that feels it is a waste of my time, but we never know unless we try, right?

Discovering your Writer Self

Attending the right graduate program can alter your life and writing style. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I think grad school gives you a wide range of skills. After reading a post entitled, "it feels like changing fortune," by fellow classmate Dave Kiefer, I agree with him when he writes how attending the University of Baltimore has significantly improved his writing. Before attending UB, I never wrote my stories by hand--I wrote every story directly into the computer. As a novice, I thought it was bad if you didn't know what your story was about before writing it. However, as I began to study the writing habits of writers that I admire such as Toni Morrison, I learned that many of them write their stories on a piece of paper or pad. At UB, I learned that writing is a process and an exciting journey. Discovering the story is the best part of writing. I used to think it was crazy when I heard writers tell journalists, "The story just came to me." But I can honestly say, this is true. A writer shouldn't cocooned himself in his dank, lonely writing den because the best material comes from the outside world. I find myself incorporating conversations I overheard and things I saw on TV into my writing. Writing is cultural; so why not embed society, media, and real life into your writing? With writing we are creating worlds, and those worlds should somewhat resemble "real" life. Not just fictional life.

A Writer's Tweets

It was so funny. It just hit me today--you need to use your Twitter account. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of the new social media. I thought it was silly and a waste of time. However, after taking my electronic publishing class at the University of Baltimore, I found out that utilizing social media is a great way to market yourself as a writer. As mentioned in a previous post entitled, "It's all about Twitter, folks!," two classmates and I did a group presentation on Twitter. From the research, I learned that many celebrities and companies have Twitter accounts including Oprah, The New York Times--everyone! With Twitter, you can tweet about upcoming events. You can insert links into your tweets so people can view articles and/or blog posts. Also, create hash tags so people can find your tweets using keywords. So, here is my Twitter account: http://twitter.com/mbanks6. Also, for all you Tweeters, have you found Twitter useful? Let me know. Also, you can post a link to your Twitter account!

A New Chapter...

Yesterday night, I attended the University of Baltimore's MFA Creative Writing & Publishing Arts Book Celebration. For that night, graduating students from the program showcased their books that they designed and printed (some made theirs by hand). The books looked great. The prices ranged from $5-$30. I purchased Adam Robinson's poetry collection entitled, Say, Poem. Students also read excerpts from their books which ranged from poetry, novel excerpts, novellas, short stories, to memoir. As I was watching my fellow classmates give their final readings as grad students, I thought about how in one year, it will be my turn. I will stand in front of my peers, colleagues, family, and friends, and share my child to the world. Then, I wondered what in the world will I do after graduation? Teach? Write? If I could have any wish, I would love to be a "professional" writer...I want to get paid to write...I know that a lot of writers who dedicate their lives to the craft and do not have a "day" job often apply for grants and fellowships...but I wonder, is that realistic? Is that even doable? If you're a full-time writer without a day job, can you give me pointers?

My New Addiction, Part II

As I mentioned in a previous post entitled, "My New Addiction," blogging has opened up my universe; I have found an emerging passion. It is cool to be able to voice your thoughts and opinions--and bam--you have an audience. After installing, Google Analytics, I found out that this blog has been viewed by folks in Hawaii, California, and even India! Call me a nerd, but I was tickled to see those statistics. Blogging is a new form of communication. I call it "the call and response." I write a post, you read it, and you respond--there is interaction. I also love to read other writers' blogs. My favorites are Blue Mosaic Me: The Writing Blog of Jackson Bliss and Alligator Legs. I like "Blue Mosaic Me" because Jackson Bliss, a Ph.D. Literature and Creative Writing student at the University of Southern California, blogs about the conversations he has with faculty including Aimee Bender, TC Boyle, and Percival Everett. He types verbatim both acceptance and rejection letters he has received from editors and literary agents. He shares the correspondence he has written to authors, literary agents and editors; he includes their responses (my favorite is the one from Junot Diaz; click here to read it). The other site I enjoy is Alligator Legs. I like how she blogs about the New York literary and arts scene. Plus, she chronicles her writing aspirations in New York City. Are there any writing blogs that you love?

The Countdown

School is coming to an end. It's like being back in grade school when you're counting down the days...that leaves me with question, "What will I do with my extra time?" I have a couple of things on the list which includes working on my short stories, reading, and perusing the library. And oh yeah, of course blogging. Before, I couldn't tell what traffic I was getting for this blog, but I uploaded Google Analytics and now I know. Thank you to all my Baltimore visitors, ya'll have been showing me love, and to all those from other locales. Thanks! I hope to keep giving you a reason to come back! Also, check out my other blog, The Writing Zone. For that blog, you can read about the writing process and post your comments. You even can become a subscriber (shameless plug, I know, but hey, you got to market yourself, right?).