Writing
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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Eric San Juan
June 18, 2009
I penned a flash fiction piece last year called “Storms,” a brief war story about a man’s experience on the front lines of World War I. The story is now available at Boston Literary Magazine. Surf over here and give it a read. It’s short. Won’t take you but a few minutes to read. My thanks to editor Robin Stratton, who forced me to take a hard look at the story and pare it back to its most essential elements.
Eric San Juan
June 1, 2009
If you hope for writing to be more than a hobby, it’s a good idea to have a good sense for what is and is not good practice when it comes to dealing with editors and agents. Those people will be your doorway into the world of getting paid for your work and having readers who are not friends and family. It’s helpful to know what approaches work and, more importantly, what approaches DON’T. That’s one reason why I pay attention to their blogs. Literary agent Jessica Faust shares a story about a writer who got defensive when she asked for more information about the author’s manuscript. Way to shoot yourself in the foot! I’ve mention being overly defensive before and it’s worth repeating: you…
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Eric San Juan
May 29, 2009
Sometimes I get in over my head. My need to fill every square inch of spare time with creative projects too often leads to more stuff than I can do at once. It’s maddening and frustrating and at times a bit overwhelming, yet if I drop one I resent the project I keep for holding me back on the other one. Madness. What am I juggling right now? Take a look: Dystopian Science Fiction novel My current fiction work in progress (WIP), this involves an America healing from a second Civil War, an oppressive caste system that has driven most of the nation to poverty, and a plot to kill millions. I’m about five chapters into the revision process. Eight or nine chapters are written…
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