Writing
Eric San Juan
September 15, 2009
After taking a long break from writing, as of last night I am officially behind the keyboard again. Or in front of the keyboard. Whichever. It’s been about six weeks, which is as long as I’ve gone in quite some time. Sure, I had a good deal of work to do on my comic anthology during that time, but by the end of the process it wasn’t writing that needed to be done, it was largely administrative stuff and layout work. So last night, after another superb episode of Deadwood, I sat down for a short writing session. Got back to work on my dystopian science fiction novel, which has its flaws but is coming together okay. When I feel a little better about where…
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Eric San Juan
July 8, 2009
One of the hardest points to reach as a writer is the point at which you’re willing to put your work in front of people and are not seeking validation. In other words, when you’re ready for real opinions rather than pats on the back. The praise of family and friends is the bane of the aspiring writer, though too often the aspiring writer does not realize this. Your mother and your close friend tell you your work is good, and you believe it because that’s what you want to hear. However, praise for its own sake does you more harm than good. It blinds you to flaws in your own work and gives you an elevated sense of where you are in your development…
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Eric San Juan
June 27, 2009
Trunk novel. Somehow I had never come across the term, only seeing it for the first time these last few days. Don’t know how it eluded me. If you’ve never heard the term, you’ll certainly be familiar with the concept. A trunk novel is an old, unpublished manuscript stuffed away in a trunk (or drawer, or closet, or box, or whatever), in most cases because it’s terrible. You pull out your old trunk novel, read it, and remember how bad you were. I can relate to that! My trunk novel — and dear god I hope I don’t build up more than, say, three of them — was an epic fantasy, the first book in (naturally) a trilogy. The delightfully bland title was The Fortress…
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Eric San Juan
June 22, 2009
I write because I love to write. But sometimes I write because it provides a check. I don’t apologize for that. We all need to eat. Still, taking assignments you don’t love can be a slog. You take a freelance assignment because it will make you a few extra bucks — always welcome in this economy — but if it saps all the joy out of being in front of the keyboard, is it worth it? I don’t have an answer to that. I still throw my all into each project, even if it bores me to tears. I always strive to do my best work. And hey, I must be doing something right or I wouldn’t get hired for this stuff, right? But let…
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Eric San Juan
June 20, 2009
When it comes to writing, I obsess a lot about keeping productive. I do this because at heart I am a lazy, unmotivated person. People who see my list o’ projects might think otherwise, but believe me, if I could lounge around all day I would. That, and I am a horrible, horrible procrastinator. It’s not that I don’t love writing — I’m absolutely passionate about it — it’s that I’m allergic to work and obligation. I can jump into something with great vigor and tear through a project like it’s the only thing in the world, but once I decide it’s a Real Project and not a Fun Distraction it becomes work, and I don’t like to work. So needless to say, I struggle…
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