Category: Writing

WHY WRITE FICTION? by Art Smukler, MD, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

Worldwide there are millions of authors.

Writers who sit in front of their computers and make up stories are a special breed. They devote countless hours searching their souls to find just the right way to portray their imaginary characters, to make them come alive on the page and make their make-believe-lives something that readers will want to devour.

It can’t be just the money. The percentage of Grishams, Cobens, Patchetts etc. are so rare that it’s like a girl who writes songs and aspires to become Taylor Swift. It can obviously happen, it happened to her, but the chances of it happening are minuscule. If you become a rock star or a famous author you can make a fortune, but everyone else is doomed to getting their pittance from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. And obviously, 99% of writers support themselves with a real job, with savings, or with family money.

Is it simply a silly hope that you’ll be the one who breaks through and garners all the money and acclaim? No. Writers aren’t stupid. They’re smart enough to create an imaginary world and they’re smart enough to know that the chances of them making enough money to live off their books is like winning the lottery.

So why? With everything stacked against success, why do very bright people keep persevering?

Lester, one of the detectives on THE WIRE, the TV series that ended 15 years ago, said it so well, when describing why detectives battle the odds to catch and then convict the crooks, ‘It’s the journey, not the destination.’

And for me that’s the answer for writers too. Authors love the journey. They complain, describe the misery and loneliness of writing, how frustrating it is, but in the end they keep doing it. In spite of all the obstacles, the creative process is engaging, exciting, and meaningful. Even if no one else agrees, the author like the determined detective, will not be derailed. The process is too important. Agents and publishers have their opinions and we have ours. And if every so often you lose your impetus just give it a little time. You’ll bounce back.

If we can’t write, we suffer.

Don’t suffer!

Get back to your characters, your plot, and your fantasies.

You never know who your story will touch.

Check out PATIENT X, a mystery. If you think you have a problem as a writer, you’ve got to meet Jake Bennett.

Thanks for reading. If you’re not a subscriber to Tales From Smukler’s Couch, just click away and you can become one.

Art

#authors, #writers, #psychiatrist, #mystery, #suspense, #romance, #JohnGrisham, #HarlanCoben, #AnnPatchett, #TaylorSwift, #amateursleuth

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TRUNK HUSTLER, by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

by artsmuklermd, posted in Writing

I just read an excellent book excerpt, LUCKY ME, by Rich Paul, LeBron James’ agent. Paul was reselling high-end jerseys and athletic shoes from the trunk of his car when he met LeBron. The result of that chance meeting benefited both of their lives.

What impressed me was how Paul actually made his own luck. He was brilliant, creative, a risk-taker, and an extremely hard worker. Of course the meeting with LeBron was serendipitous, but Paul’s work-ethic and natural creativity attracted LeBron. It would have attracted anyone.

It also brought to mind my college years when I spent two summers driving up and down the east coast selling battery cables and ignition wire sets to gas stations. Now in the age of electric vehicles, no one needs wire sets and battery cables because they don’t exist on electric cars. Nevertheless, back in the sixties, they were hot items.

Lucky for me, my dad had a very small wire company and he sold me the merchandise at his cost. I’d go from station to station, encourage the owner to walk out to my old Plymouth convertible, open the trunk, and give him a deal he couldn’t refuse. 20% off if he bought a dozen or more cables or wire sets. I’d stay overnight in cheap motels and keep going till my trunk was empty. Then I’d drive back to Philly, reload, and do it all again.

I remember those early years with fondness. I loved cars and I still love them. I loved hanging out with guys who worked on them. I loved driving up through the small Jersey beach towns with my top down, looking for my next sale. I’d stop for lunch at a roadside place for a burger, or a shake, or just about anything. In the evenings I’d meet kids my age, have a few beers, sometimes when I was lucky a pretty girl, and look forward to my next day and my next adventure.

If there were a way to load up the trunk of my car with LITTLE ITALY and PATIENT X and hit the road I’d do it in a second. 20% off if you buy a dozen or more! What a deal!

Thanks for reading. Art

#mystery, #romance, #suspense, #psychiatrist, #Richpaul, #LeBron, #LITTLEITALY, #author, #PATIENTX,