From the Editor:
Late Night Rambles of a
Writer
By Lazette Gifford
© 2005,
Lazette
Gifford
As an editor (Vision), publisher (Dragon
Tooth Fantasy Ebooks), Site Administrator (Forward Motion) and... yeah...
writer, I spend a good amount of each day connecting with writers in one way
or another. I spend some time on both sides of the publishing world,
and it's an interesting experience to go from discussing rewrites with
someone I'm going to publish to discussing edits with someone who is going
to publish me.
I love dealing with writers. They're
usually open to suggestions, and they're quick to visualize 'what if' ideas,
and they aren't afraid of intelligence. Overall, they're much easier
to work with than many other groups. Still....
I'm sure everyone reading this knows that
writers are strange creatures, right? We can usually tell you more
about a make-believe character in a book we haven't even written yet than we
can about the person who lives next door. We carry paper or PDAs to
the dinner table and to bed so that we can jot down a few more notes, and we
stare in shocked dismay when someone says they haven't even written a letter
in the last ten years.
(And you don't want to know the reaction if
they say they haven't read anything in that long!)
There are few writers who are really in
sync with the world around them the way others seem to be. It's as
though we're distracted by something the others don't even know exist, but
that we can hear and see.
It's a gift and it's fun. Don't let
anyone ruin that fun for you, either.
But more so, don't ruin it for yourself.
You don't have to conform to anyone else's idea of a perfect writer.
You don't have to write stories you don't love.
And you don't have to make excuses for
being a writer. You have stories to tell; don't let others take them
away from you, and don't throw them away yourself.
So go have fun writing about that guy
living in your head and don't worry about the neighbors. Your
characters are probably more interesting anyway.
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