Rich Feitelberg

Had an interview with Dale Philips. Read the details here: https://t.co/IblEwV8ozP

For anyone who enter my recent giveaway, I am offering the novel as a substantial discount of $10 (plus $5 for shipping) to anyone who entered but did not receive a copy. To order a copy at this price, go to http://feitelberg.net/orderaure.php, complete the form, and send your payment.

This is offer expires September 30, 2014 so don't wait.

My novel, Aure the Topaz, is now available in paper and fine bookstores everywhere.

My Boston-based publisher has suffered delays because of the Marathon bombings; the new release date for my novel (Aure the Topaz) is July 9.

“Because we are compassionate, our hearts go out to the sick and infirm. This makes their deaths so many more tragic.”

Writer's Block

One more than one occasion, I felt unable to write a thing. Some of this was the result of burning out but some of it was the result of writer's block. I am told most writer's suffer from this inability to string words together at some point. And I've seen countless books on the subject offering advice, suggestions, and techniques to overcome it.

When it happened to me, I was frantic because it was my job to write. I had a schedule to keep and a deadline to make. So I tried everything I could think of and went for things that I thought would have the fastest result and best payoff. For example, I resumed writing in my journal. I had kept a journal through college but stopped after entering the workforce because my life was busy and I had little time.

I now made the time.

I also read a few books on the subject to understand the problem. The best one was Writing on Both Sides of the Brain by Henriette Anne Klauser. This is a great book. I have no idea if it is still in print, but if it is, read it. The basic thing I learned from it was that most writer's block is based in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of exposing too much of one's self. Fear of sounding stupid. Fear of saying too much or saying too little. Fear of wasting the reader's time because you have nothing important to say, and so on.

Notice that the bottom line here is fear. Apparently we all suffer from some sort of fear in regards to writing and in other parts of are living. Most of us accept this and live the best life we can within the confines of this fear.

When I read this, it blew my mind. I never realized that this could be the trouble. So after I read the book, I took a long hard look at myself and realized I was afraid. I was afraid of losing my job and failure. But I was afraid of other things too. And then something snapped and I got angry. And in my anger, I hated myself for being afraid. That's not who I thought I was and yet I could not deny my feelings. So I resolved not to be afraid. In fact, I rounded up all my fears, threw back the curtains in my mind that my fears were hiding behind, and exposed them to the light of my scrutiny. And in that light they faded and died.

Suddenly I felt empower and ready to write again. I also felt ready to tackle other personal goals that I had been afraid to up till then.

Now even though I felt ready to write I still struggled with it now and again, partly because that's the nature of the beast and partly but I was still recovering from burn out. But the solution there is to read. Your brain picks up sentence patterns and words use when you read and that was exactly what I needed.

So if you are suffering from writer's block take a look at what's going on behind the scenes and confront your fears. Even if that does not resolve the entire issue, I'm guessing it will help.

Burn Out

One of the many obstacles I've had to overcome is burnout. This happened to me many years ago when I was writing more than I was resting. I remember distinctly something in my head giving way and looking at the screen as if English was a foreign language. After that, I struggled for months trying to put sentences together, copying existing work more than writing new text. It was very much like that Twilight Zone episode where the meaning of words shifts and the main character suddenly finds everyone around is speaking a language that makes no sense. We see him at the end of the episode relearning basic vocabulary so he can talk to people again.

It wasn't quite so bad for me, but it was bad. I had a job to do and I was unable to do it. Worse still, I couldn't (or didn't) tell anyone because I was afraid of losing that job. The fear didn't help; in fact it prolonged the problem because I had to suffer silently and try every trick I could think of.

The good news here is that brain research shows the elastic nature of this most amazing organ. Patients who suffer brain damage as a result of stroke can and have gone on to relearn and regain lost functions. So too, after some years, I found that writing easier and natural again. How did I do it?

It was a lot of work. I resumed writing in my journal, which I had stopped some years before. I read a lot too. Reading helped more than writing. I read non-fiction mostly; I don't know why. I also read books on writing, ironically, and a few self-help books. These books led me down paths not-quite-so-dark as the one I was on. Slowly I got by; I even changed jobs and found working with other writers helpful.

The moral here is to feed your creative processes. Read regularly. In the development stages of a project, write 1000 words a day and then stop. Also stop if you are tired after writing for an hour or more. Brainstorm for ideas regularly too. This should be more like play while doing useful work. And above all play and rest in whatever form works for you.

For me, the ideal day goes like this: I get up and start writing. I do this because I know I am best in the morning after resting overnight. I'm a morning person. If you are not, then write in the evening. I review a little of the work from the day before and then add to it, writing 1000 words or until I feel drained. Usually that takes all morning. In the afternoon I read, either a novel or something thought-provoking to generate ideas. After an hour or two of reading, I rest, play with the dog, handling the chores around the home, do errands, whatever needs doing. The next day I repeat the process.

If I am not actively writing but editing then the workflow is different. I read and edit until:

a. I get tired and know I can't edit anymore.
b. I see I have lots of edits and I really need to revise and rewrite. Editing alone won't do.

Notice in the both workflows that I watch for internal signals to tell me I'm done. It has taken years to recognize these signals but they are very important because there's no point trying to write or edit if I'm unable to do it well.

So take care of yourself, both physically and mentally. The writer is like an athelete; he trains for years and has to perform to achieve. He or she has to rely on cues from the body and mind to know what works for him or her and what does not. So pay attention and happy writing.

Are You Serious About Writing?
If you are a writer, the first question you need to ask yourself is: Are you serious about it? Sure you say. I write on a regular basis, at least once a week.

But are you serious enough to get published? Here is where responses will vary I suspect. Some say, no, of course, I write for myself and for fun. Others will shrug and say maybe, someday. And still others will say, sure, as quickly as I can turn out stuff.

And what kind of publishing are we talking about? Self-publishing/blogging? Small press publishing? Electronic publishing? print? Both? I don't think the type or method of publishing matters. I do think it is important to remember why you are writing.

I say this because I lost sight of this recently. I , like others, started writing for fun and enjoyment. I figured that if I wrote it, it must be good and I should able to get it published and make a zillion dollars.

Wrong. I forgot that if I want to be published, I need to treat writing like a business, which it is. I was treating it like a hobby and I can't do that if I want to be published because I'll cut corners and rush something out without the proper review and checks and such.

Suddenly it became clear why I was getting rejections on everyone I was submitting. I wasn't serious about writing.

And that's my message to those of you who want to publish, treat like a business. Make sure you can handle rejection and critiques of your work. Be open-minded when you receive comments, and be wary of praise. Many who give praise don't look very deeply at your work or want something from you.

As for me, once I realized my problem I changed my behavior and outlook and I devised a way to test myself.

I wrote a short story and gave to someone who agreed to review and publish it in his blog. It turns out he really liked the story except for the ending. That was good information and was the first encouraging feedback I've received recently. It has given me the confidence to revise the ending and work on a second short story. It has also encouraged me to try to submit my novel to another small press.

My focus now is to build my publishing history so that anyone considering my work will know I am capable of writing quality stories. Sure, I don't need that if I self-publish the novel but I don't want to publish trash. The only way I know my work is good enough is to have an independent evaluation. And that means someone else has to publish it.

There's no other way for me. If I am serious about writing then I must aspire to write stories and novels that are worth publishing. Anything less means I'm not serious and I care too much about my work and my potential readers to do that.