Goodbye, Sweet Onion

I've been enjoying articles from The Onion since about 1996, and using it regularly since about 2000 or so, but now the ride is over. I hit the Paywall.

I'm not sure if people in the US are receiving this yet, since they started out "experimenting" with walling off "foreign" users, first in fall 2011- excluding areas where there are large concentrations of American soldiers in combat, so as to not penalize members of the Armed Forces for their service. It seems they started in the UK, because, according to their mysterious sources (ones I am clearly unfamiliar with), UK readers are accustomed to paying for online content, and really don't mind it.

(Granted, I am not from the UK, but this sounds like BS to me - anyone in the UK want to comment and let me know how much you love paying for online reads?)

Now, being a "foreigner", I have also hit the paywall, so that is that. I'm really not interested in keeping a running count in my head to tell if I've read my "five free" articles in the past 30 days, and of when my new 30 day period has started, etc, etc. Screw that! It brings to mind the annoyance of the old dialup internet where you actually had to keep track of how long you'd been online to make sure you didn't go over the monthly allowance. (Anyone else remember those hideous days?)

Thus, I have decided that it's simply not worth clicking on any links to The Onion shared on Facebook, etc, because clicking and then hitting the wall sets my teeth on edge. Not worth it when the title is likely the funniest part.

And, to be honest, I just don't think of checking The Onion as much as I used to, so maybe it has waned for me, anyway. Luckily, the AV Club has, so far, not been touched by the Paywall, so we can still have our Red Meat binges. Otherwise, you might really see me get pouty. But, realistically, how long with that last while tied to the New Coke?

(By the way, I've been told that there are numerous ways to work around the paywall, but (1) I don't find it worth figuring out, (2) I'm not willing to adjust my computer system to read The Onion, and (3) I prefer not to work around such things, as it feels uncomfortably close to theft to me at that point. Instead, I will respect their paywall - but I also won't be paying.)

This has made me think about copyright, and monetizing, and how people deserve to get paid for their work, and so forth. In the end, I must agree that it's their site, and they have every right to set up a paywall, even if being a long-time reader has left me feeling some irrational sense of abandonment. I guess the ad/merchandise/Kindle revenues weren't paying the bills, especially since their TV dept went live and the writers joined the guild, so I can understand their need to make some money. (Though, I must say it's rather silly to start a TV wing if you don't have the plans in place to support it from the get-go.)

Bottom Line: Their work, their site, their rules, and good luck to them.

But, considering the vast wealth of LOLs on the internet, I remain pretty unmoved to pay for The Onion, especially while it is currently in place to only penalize non-Americans. Sorry, but that offends me a bit. If we filthy foreigners aren't welcome, we can go elsewhere, Xenophobes. (Wow, that was a bit more vitriolic than I meant it to be - sorry!)

Well, fare thee well, Onion. I hope it works for you, and I hope this doesn't just kill what ad revenue you are getting when people just stop visiting. I hope this isn't a good five or ten years too late to catch your relevancy. I hope you can earn what you need.

As for me, I will enjoy the memories I have. I recall one religious studies class when a classmate brought in a print-off of the article about Harry Potter books starting a Satanic cult in a second grade class. The guy actually thought it was a real article! Oh, how we laughed. Ah, good times. If you don't recall the article, that's too bad. I would link it, but you know... Paywalled.

Well, nothing to see here, folks. I guess we'll all have to go and do some work instead of reading The Onion and pretending we're working.

Raising a Uni-Ready Kid

For my day job, I teach at a university. Some of my classes are first year, some second year, and some third year, so I get a front row view of how students progress from beginning to end. Needless to say, I have also gone through the progression, myself, so I observe these changes with no small amount of nostalgia/annoyance/amusement.

I have often set my mind to lessons I learn about parenting from watching my students. Today, I thought to write them down. Take them for what they are worth, as being from a parent to a young child and a teacher, but not a child development expert by any means. But recent public discussions about education has fired my thoughts on this matter, so I thought I might share my observations and opinions.

Recently, the issue of "zero zeros" policies in public schools have made it into the news. It seems a high school teacher in Alberta was suspended at the end of the last school year for defying the principal's orders that no student ever receive a zero. In fact, today that teacher, Lynden Dorval, will attend a hearing to learn if he will ever teach again.

The basic theory behind this is that the failure to hand in assignments is a behaviour issue, and not an academic one, so teachers cannot dole out absolute fails for a student's refusal to do the work. They also say it's a way for each student to learn at their own pace, and not be penalized for falling behind, as well as reduce stress for students. (The idea being that punishing a student for poor behaviour or late work will reduce their overall learning, prejudice their permanent record against them, and discourage them from even trying.) The teachers are obligated, within these systems, to convince the student to eventually do the work, to offer extra time for them, to allow them re-write times, to set extra-credit work, to consult with parents about the behaviour, and/or to mark whatever was handed in, and to make the final mark out of that by dropping the non-assessable assignments. In some districts, teachers are obligated to offer re-dos/re-writes if the homework is plagiarized or the tests are cheated on!

You can probably imagine my misgivings about this policy. I can see that the theorists have their hearts in the right place, and I admit they know more about educational theory than I, but I can't help but think that deadlines (i.e. time management, attentiveness, and dedication) are part and parcel with education. I also question the practicality and long term effects of such policies.

How can you mark a student based solely on academics, when you require them to display the "behaviour" of handing something in at some point? What if the student hands in nothing? What does "unable to assess" mean in the long run?

How much work would I have done in school if I knew there were no consequences to doing nothing, and that other students were getting the same (or even better) marks for doing less than me? I know how I'd feel - like a sucker for doing any more than I had to.

On top of all that, how will parents know their 9th grader isn't doing any work unless the grades start falling?

I was rather shocked when these stories started hitting the papers, since this was certainly not the policy when I was in school. I was in high school in the 90s, so I did benefit from the early-onset of the "no child left behind" policies of extra help, peer tutors, extra support for students with special needs, etc, but we had many deadlines, and we certainly got zeroes when we earned them. Likewise, in university, classes run the same way - accommodation for special needs is plentiful, tutors abound, profs offer extra help, and medical and sympathetic re-writes and extensions are certainly not rare. Most professors are open to discussing time crunch grounds for extensions if they are needed to allow students to do their best, if they are approached correctly and maturely, and the decisions can be fairly and uniformly enforced. But, we do give out Fs and zeroes as warranted. I find this reasonable, and I am baffled by the public school policy of no-zeroes, even when the student fails to show for tests without excuse.

One of the main concerns I have is how on earth these policies are expected to mesh with university policies, into which many of these highschoolers are expected to file after graduation from public school. I can tell you, from what I've seen so far, they do not mesh at all.

In recent years, the number of students who complain about failing courses, despite their failure to complete the work, has risen. The number of students expecting re-writes, extra-credit assignments, re-weighting, etc, without any medical/sympathetic cause is astounding. The expectation on the part of students that all grades are negotiable is, well, infuriating. Until I learned of the public schools implementing this zero-zero policy, these trends didn't quite make sense.

Now, they do.

On an official level, many universities are also noticing a major increase in the percentages of first year students who "wash out" (get such a low GPA that they are asked to leave) or get placed on academic probation. I would not be surprised if this, too, was related to the no-zero trend. After all, if you managed to cruise through four years of public high school without doing the work, how much cumulative knowledge will you miss? Could you handle university calc if you never did any high school math homework in your life?

Finally, the amount of remedial assistance required for first and second year students is increasing. University profs are doing more grammar, basic research skills, citation introduction, composition crash courses, etc, than we ever did before. We simply can no longer assume students have written research papers before attending university. When I started at university, it was assumed we had these basics from high school, and that we knew how to write an essay. That way, profs could focus on their subject, rather than on the nuts and bolts. Not so today.

This is not to say I blame the high school teachers, whatsoever. If policies like this disallow strict grading and force public school teachers to give up their own time to track down assignments, etc, I don't know how much more we can expect teachers to do, and I suspect that many are just as frustrated with this as some college/uni instructors are.

So, where does this leave us? I suppose it is now, perhaps more than ever, in the hands of parents to aim towards a university-ready child. Now that I have a child of my own, I watch public school theory much more closely, and I have become convinced that it is up to me to do what the teachers are not allowed to do - which is have high expectations of my child, for his own sake.

From my experience, both as a student and a teacher, there are a number of things that seem to hold true:

Too Much Money = Too Much Booze.

(If not booze, then some other distraction, perhaps, but most likely booze. Booze flows like water on campuses, and students do tend to go a bit nuts on it the first few months, at least.) While it is certainly true that students who must work more than 10-20 hours per week at a job during term can suffer a resulting decline in their GPA, I must say the opposite can also be true. Students who have unlimited funds often fall prey to their privilege. My advice - pay the tuition if you can, buy them a meal ticket if you wish, maybe help with the rent if you have extra, but never hand over the Gold Card and tell them to have fun. Consider making all spending money their own responsibility, no matter what your finances are like. Summer jobs, at the very least, never killed anyone, and a steadily dwindling bank account has served as a good reminder of the costs of binging to many a student. (On a personal note, paying my own way through school from the ground up made me value it more, for what it's worth.)

Freedom Can Be Horrible.

This is not to say that "constant vigilance" is the right answer, either. On the contrary, I've seen students with strict parents explode the moment they move into a dorm and realize mom isn't there. Others despair over being alone and making so many decisions, all of a sudden. The best course is to steadily increase freedoms/responsibilities/privacy from early childhood, so by the time they get to university they don't go wild with the heady thrill of forbidden joys, or decline due to lack of supervision. Free range is not just for granola munchers, and is not antithetical to the other opinions here, if you think about it. (On a related note, for the love of all that's holy, teach them how to do their laundry well before they go off to university! Also, how to cook, clean, grocery shop wisely, change a fuse, bank, do simple car maintenance, etc, etc. Advancing slowly and incrementally towards adulthood needs to be the focus for years prior to attaining it.)

Not Everything is Negotiable.

Some of us born to Baby Boomers and the subsequent generations have grown accustomed to parental negotiation. I'm not talking about simple ones, such as "Can I have a raw carrot instead of cooked veggies?" or other matters of preference, but of negotiated expectations, rules, regulations, even punishments. While, naturally, everything must be flexible to some extent, and every situation is unique, some things should remain non-negotiable. One example I have heard recently was a person who got a third speeding ticket in her parents' car, an event which she had been clearly warned would result in a set duration of grounding. It just so happened that the grounding period fell during the wrap up of her senior year, and she negotiated with her parents to proceed with the grounding, but still allow her to go to every single senior-year event. She even got them to let her use the car to attend them! Basically, this limit was so negotiable, it was pointless. Like the law, employers, and universities, only set limits you are willing to enforce; otherwise, they teach nothing but that every limit is negotiable - a lesson that will backfire in the "real world."

Reasonable Tough Love is a Gift. 
Reasonable Expectations are a Part of Tough Love.

The meaning here should be self-evident. Children raised with consistent, stable love, affection and attention develop the confidence required for later success. However, this doesn't require you to be your child's "best friend" instead of a parent, and placing loving, transparent, reasonable expectations (and consequences) upon them can and should be a part of this from preschool to high school, and, thus, beyond. As long as you are, indeed, reasonable (via ample communication, information, and observation), expectations can be a sign of love. Knowing your parent expects a certain level from you should be taken as a symptom of their pride and trust, and there is no feeling quite like rising to meet that expectation. People will rise, or stoop, to expectations from the people they love, and these things should not be undervalued, because, in the end, this is how they will learn how to expect things from themselves.

The Best Perspective: "Your Future = Your Responsibility."

I cannot overemphasize the importance of self-reliance, responsibility, and self-direction, since university exists on these qualities. I have seen students forced to go to university against their will, and this is a shame. I have seen many complain how hard it is to do their work without their parents riding them to do it, or without their mothers hovering over the Master Calendar to remind them of their obligations at all times. In my experience, students should understand their own agency in their lives by understanding their future is in their own hands. Thus, that's where the decisions and responsibilities should lie, as well. Associated with this is a firm suggestion to parents to back off as much as they can. (If you are paying all the bills, do what you need to do in regards to seeing the grades, but please understand the execution of university education is solely on your "child.") I had a colleague who had to deal with a student whose mom was doing his homework, which is ghastly. I myself have had calls and emails from parents "checking in," asking me for special conditions, and/or demanding explanation of grades - one, even, who decided to negotiate an F the student earned on an assignment that had been plagiarized! My response to these is, and must be (according to university policy), "Due to confidentiality, I cannot discuss grades with anyone but the student." Repeat after me: University is not grade school. There are no parent-teacher conferences here, so you best prepare your scholar for this by making sure they understand to rely on themselves and take charge of their own futures.

~*~

A lot of the above can really be summed up by a healthy work ethic development, and an awareness of self-entitlement, and how to balance an understanding of self-worth with a necessary community rationality. Everyone is entitled to basic respect and rights, but no one is de facto entitled to rewards, by definition, and believing otherwise can be harmful. That is, a kid who says, "I am valuable, loved, and I have potential and responsibilities" is wonderful; a student who says, "I'm the center of the universe, so hand me what I want" is not. One will work because she owes it to herself. The other will not, because the world owes it to her. One sees the work itself as important; the other sees only the pay off. One views his profs as his guide, and demands that their prof help them foster their own future. The other views his profs as servants, and demands the profs hand him the credits he (or his parents) have paid for. One learns from zeroes, even if they sting. The other will only complain about them.

I know most parents know this, because I still see streams and streams of hard working, engaged young people in my work. But, believe me, I also know it is not always easy to strike this balance. Tough love can sometimes spark tears, and I understand that each tear the child cries comes at an emotional price to the parent. I wonder if less parents will be willing to pay this cost, just as less schools seem to be willing to give a zero where it's needed to send home a message.

The only advice I can offer is start them young, remain aware, make the most of every "teachable moment", seek help/information, be transparent and consistent in your expectations and reactions, and keep your flexibility (and sense of humour) intact. Know that failures come and failures go, but maintain hope and trust, and those expectations. Remember the old, "Give a man a fish..." chestnut? Basically, this is what I'm driving at. Give your child the ability to fish, and they should do alright.

And, finally, ask your child's school about the no-zero policy, as many do not inform the parents it is in place, and act accordingly. If your school is not challenging your child adequately, you may have to pick up the slack, which might involve finding supplemental or alternative education. But, above all, find out directly from the school, and communicate with your child about how the policy makes him/her feel about doing the work, and react as you see fit.

Anyway, just some rambling food for thought in keeping with the "Back to School" season. Keep your eyes on the prize, folks, and best of luck!

HEA Forever?

Ah, the HEA - "happily ever after." According to the Romance Writers of America, this is a cornerstone of romance. They define a romance novel by its:

"...emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

When most people, including myself, refer to "romance novel," this is part of the idea. No matter what happens, you know there will be an HEA at the end. There's a certain R&R aspect to knowing how a book will end, and that it will end happily. This is part of why romances are such a good pastime for busy people. One can settle into it like a warm bath, and embrace the familiarity of it all.

But where, then, do we place non-HEA romance? Is there such a thing? I believe there is. I've read a number of books that I consider romances, yet which don't end happily. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? How many lovers has Nicholas Sparks killed off? Yes, I believe they exist. I know they do. Granted, people who want HEA might not like these romances as much, but I don't think that negates them as romances; they're just a different sort. In film studies, they are often called "melodramas," to distinguish them from "romantic comedies." "Romantic lit," maybe, instead of "genre romance", for our purposes?

Needless to say, I have nothing against HEA, and certainly nothing against traditional romance novels, as anyone who's familiar with this blog knows. Heck, all my books so far have been HEA or at least Happy For Now. (Oh no! Did I just **SPOILER** my entire opus there?)

However, I'm now working on a few projects where I don't know if they will end happily, especially in terms of any relationships therein. I can't guarantee the required HEA with those books, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I will be publishing them as non-romances, even though some of them have romantic aspects or even love stories. Romantic elements, yes. But the HEAs are iffy at best, if HEA allows only for coupling, and not for character development and triumph over adversity. (I.e., if "getting your man" is the only form of happy ending, it's not likely going to happen here.)

Will readers feel ripped off if they perceive me as a "romance writer," and I don't deliver? This is a worry I have, but I'm moving past it. I've decided not to split myself off into a new pen name for these books. I might shift/update some of my "image", but I will be keeping this name for these works. They will still be My Books, and they feel as much a part of me as my romances. I'm disinclined to exile them. Nor can I just shelve everything non-romance, because that wouldn't be satisfying for me.

It's time to test run the whole "brand the writer, not the books" theory of author marketing, I guess. I believe readers are savvy enough to handle this, and I'm okay if my "romance purity" cred slips because of these expansions.

This month, however, my distance from "romance" seems to have grown, somewhat against my will.

The HEA issue has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks due to some new rulings by RWA. As far as I know, RWA has long held that the HEA is definitive of romance as a genre. However, it did have an awards category for works containing a "strong romantic element," which basically means they aren't "traditional romances," but do have enough romance in them to be applicable to their awards and their common readership. Recently, RWA announced that this category would be gone as of 2014. Then, according to reports, they took the further move to clarify that those writers who do not write what they consider to be "real romance" (including HEA) are only eligible for associate membership, at most, leaving them either paying for membership without voting rights, or, well, leaving altogether.

In short, if you don't write romance-focused fiction, with a HEA romance between main characters as your "A Plot", you are not a romance writer, and are therefore ineligible. Oh well, it's their org, and their rules, so it's fair enough.

All it is means to me is that I guess I will never be a member of RWA now.

There have been several reasons why I've been reluctant to part with the money it takes to join RWA, so this is just the "case closed" seal. Other issues I've had included the absence of a convenient local chapter (one of the main things many RWA members love about membership), their stance on ebooks (though I gather that's changing) and non-advance paying publishers, and on erotica, and their often problematic views on LGTBQ fiction (I don't write LGTBQ fiction at present, but I stand with them on issues of equity). The likelihood I would ever attend their annual national shindig is basically nil, as well. It's always seemed to me that it's really an organization for traditional publishing, with agents and advances, and regular category romance through Big Publishers. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you want and where you are heading, but it's not me or my career, and I get plenty of contact with other writers through different means, particularly social media and forums. Why pay steadily increasing dues if I'm not sure it's right for me?

Honestly, I simply resist paying and joining groups unless I feel an affinity with them, and I've not felt affinity with RWA. Now the HEA thing just makes that possibility even more remote. I'm not heartbroken, though RWA was one of those benchmarks I held in mind when I first pictured myself as a romance writer. I've just come to face reality and change, that's all.

So, long story short - with my previous books, you will get an HEA (or HFN, "happily for now"), and I love that. With some of my future books, you might still get an HEA/HFN, when I return to romances. In the meantime, there will be some books that trip out of the genre, and might not be HEA or even HFN.

What was Marge Simpson's line? "It's an ending. That's enough."

And I'm okay with that. I hope you will be, too.

This is not "Goodbye to Romance." It's just a big Hello to other things, as well. But, I do believe it is goodbye to RWA, which I never really said hello to to begin with.

My Opinions on Lending, Borrowing and Piracy

I know you've all been dying to hear my feelings on the matter, so in light of all the discussion on several of my author boards in recent weeks, I've decided to post a little note on the topic of "piracy" and "sharing" and "lending" and "ebook libraries," etc. Okay, so maybe you haven't been dying to know, but you're going to hear, anyway, 'K?

I should preface this whole discussion by saying that my opinions in no way reflect those of my publishers. They protect copyright, and I appreciate them for it, and I try to follow their policies as closely as I can, since I signed a contract with them and I wish to honour that relationship. Thus, anything I write here does not trump my agreements or change the publishers' desire/actions to protect their investments.

Having said that, I personally go back and forth on the subject.

I admit, I'm torn. I get the sense from others that I should possibly be outraged, like so many of my colleagues, when my books get read for free. I understand this feeling, I really do. When I see one of my books circulating for free, I sigh a little with disappointment. On one hand, it's kind of nice (as a new, little author) that people want to read my book, but it's disappointing that they'd rather not pay for it.

I get paid very little for my work, as it is. This is not my "day job," and I don't live in luxury. In fact, I teach on contract, and I struggle a lot of the time to keep the roof over my kid's head and food on the table, just like everyone. I don't write books for the money, but it would be nice if I got some bread out of publishing them. So, while it's great that people are reading (which really is a dream come true in its own right), it's also discouraging to see free copies going around when I make so little money for creating them.

Don't get me wrong here. In light of being perpetually broke, I also understand that it's hard to afford books at times. I sympathize, believe me. This is likely what saves me from "outrage" and keeps me in the "exhausted sigh" range. It's just not an easy time for anyone right now.

Now, piracy is a different issue from lending. Lending sites don't carry the files; they just match-make lenders with borrowers. Piracy sites hold the file and feed it out endlessly, which is a harsher sort of bummer.

Lending books is a time-honoured tradition, so it's harder to be annoyed by that. I've borrowed paperbacks from people, and I've lent some, so the word "lending" is difficult for me to cry over.

In fact, as a newish author, lending has a nice ring to it. There's a major part of me that thinks how wonderful it would be for someone to turn to their friend with one of my books and say, "Hey, take this - you'll like it!" That's the kind of "marketing" money can't buy, and is worth much more than its weight in gold.

The ebook lending sites are not quite that, though. There, it's strangers lending and borrowing, without the personal recommendations and shared enthusiasm. I still hope it can lead to new "fans," but it's hard to say. Somehow, it just seems different than a couple of sisters swapping paperbacks, but I think I need some more time to figure out how I feel about it.

For now, I guess the word around the block is that ereaders and distributors allow for this, so it's not illegal. So, for the time being, we kind of have to grin and bear it no matter how we feel, and hope for the best. For me, the best outcome is that people borrow one or two, enjoy my work, recommend me or buy my other books. That wouldn't be so bad, come to think of it.

(I should note that I have very little actual knowledge of how lending works, but I'm pretty sure it's not the end of the world. From what I gather, only certain Kindle books are available (which might actually work in the "little" author's favour, if the Big Pubs opt out), and only for 14 days at a time. I've heard B&N only allows ONE lend-out per purchase, EVER, so if that's true I don't think that's much of a threat. (I don't know for sure how many times you can do it with Kindle books, since I've seen different answers.) But, as I say, I don't have hard knowledge, so who knows? My gut says, though, Amazon would be all over lending sites and forums if they were a major drain on profits.)

(ETA: I have since discovered that Kindle books can also only be shared once.)

However, as an aside, I must say I'm not keen on the word "library" for actual file share sites. Libraries pay premium prices for their books and materials, and often buy multiple copies and eventually replace worn ones. Ebook files don't wear out, so it's a different kettle of fish. Eventually, someone could wait around and read my entire opus without anyone paying a dime, theoretically, if ARCs if my books are the root source. (This would be my not-so-good outcome, obviously.)

That's a bit alarming, the speed and eternity of it all. This is where file sharing squicks in a way paperback lending doesn't, I guess.

But I have to admit, while the poverty-stricken me would like the royalties, I cannot come down on the anti-lending side. Would everyone who "borrows" (or straight-up pirates) my book buy it, otherwise? Likely not. But does that put a rosy ring around file sharing? I honesty don't know.

I see good; I see bad. It's how I generally roll.

There is one final thing in all this that weighs on me, though. I know I can't be the only writer who's considered quitting due to the sometimes-low compensation in this business. (Most small pub and self-pub authors don't get advances, so we depend on royalties, which is a crap shoot.) I will always write, since I love it, but I struggle often with whether publishing is worth it. There are better paying second jobs, that's for sure. Or, I could finally get some sleep with my "spare time." Does diminishing the already meager pay-outs for authors discourage productivity? I'm not sure, but it's something I worry about. Yes, I know libraries and friend-sharing has always been with us, and books kept being made, but I wonder if file sharing could be what will drive the genie back in the bottle on indies and small publishers. Sure, there are less gate keepers in publishing today, or at least more gates available, but maybe the pirates will be what knocks "little" authors out of the ring instead. Will the burnout rate keep climbing?

The "everything online should be free" trend is something to consider over the coming years, in my opinion. It's not the whole issue-enchilada, but it's something to think about.

So, after all that rambling and prevarication, what am I left with? I'd love it if people bought my books, but I'm not foaming at the mouth over the whole thing, especially the lending. It might well have some benefits, even if it's frustrating when sales aren't great as it is.

I'm actually kind of okay with people wanting to "borrow" one of my books to see if they might like the others, to be honest. A little flattered, even. But, I would like it if that borrow led to a purchase at some point, I admit, or some other form of reciprocity. Thus, maybe this is my best wish: If you read one of my books for free, and I won't ask how, and liked it, maybe you could leave a review some place. That way, I still get something good out of it. That would lessen my indecision, I think.

In the meantime, I guess my only conclusion is that things happen as they happen. I'll just keep on writing, and not worrying about sales, or sharing. Out of my years of experience on this earth, the only piece of advice I've ever come across that really sticks is this: "Keep on trucking."

In other words: Keep calm and continue writing (and reading), folks.

And, regardless of how you come across my books, I do hope you enjoy them. In the end, that might be the only profit I can really hope for, and the only one that lasts.

Truth

I read an Indie (aka Self-Published) novel recently. I can't say it was good. It kind of wasn't. The writing was on par for some of my mid-range students. The formatting was atrocious, and the errors numerous, and, through the unhappy combination of the two, most of the sentences and paragraphs read like they'd been through a blender. I had to read a lot of the bits multiple times to understand them. So it wasn't great.

But, yet, something about it stuck with me.

I appreciate beautiful writing. Normally, typos and grammatical errors can pull me right out of the book, and this book was no different. But, the overall feel didn't dissipate for some time afterwards. With better execution and editing, it might have been a great book.

But I'm not really writing about the grammar here, but about that Other Thing that caught my attention.

Truth.

Now, having been in the university system as long as I have, I know Truth is an iffy word for me. Capital-T Truth - does it exist? Likely not, on the grander scale. But, I think for authors it does.

There were moments in this book when the author showed genuine, fearless Truth. Glimpses of himself. Real, honest, raw insights into his childhood, which was the kind no one should have to endure.

I don't know, perhaps all of that emotion and honesty got in the way of the technical aspects of his writing. I could understand that. It happens to all of us, even when we aren't writing such harrowing tales (which is why I thank the heavens for objective editors).

What is this thing, authorial Truth?

For me, it's when I feel like I am no longer reading a book by a stranger, but hearing the intimate, confessional whispers of someone close by. Some of the best authors can make you feel this way through the most fantastic fictions; others through unflinching recounting of their real history. But, as a reader, you feel it to the marrow. You are sucked into the most painful empathy. When the author-as-child cries out, you know the author still feels that cry, and you feel it, too. This, to me, is Truth.

There have been brief moments when I have written my own Truth.

Even in some of my published works, I can see the honesty, crouched and veiled to my satisfaction. Sometimes, too much honesty, and I am grateful most of my readers don't know me personally, because I wouldn't be that honest with people I actually know in real life. I don't write about true events in my published works (so far), but I write about things I've actually felt, and I can see it lurking around the edges of my characters' minds.

But, for the most part, I do flinch. I protect, I huddle, and I hoard my Truth. It wouldn't be too far off the mark to call me Standoffish. My personality is generally, "Friend to all, close to none." I wasn't born under a poker table, but I should have been.

This book, for all its glaring errors, made me ask myself why that should be. Is that what's missing from my books? Would they be better if I didn't edit out so much Truth? Will these new projects, some of them extremely close to me, be better if I stop being so guarded?

Can I summon the courage?

It's hard to tell, but I thank that author for his honesty and Truth, and for making me ask these questions. Writers are blessed people. We have so much productivity in our profession from which to draw such questions, thoughts, rambles. I found some in a rather unlikely place, this time, which ennobled the book in my eyes, whatever the style. Beauty can be more than just the lines, I think.

Long live Truth.

Wisdom: More Old Age than New Age, I suppose

The share button has become our new version of self help. I guess the books are pretty long and there are too many channels on TV. It's easier just to hit like on a quote than seek long term transformation, admittedly.

It's amazing, all these motivational moments and things one sees around online. Dance as if no one is watching. Realize your inner beauty, strength and spirit. Don't spend your time passing time, but savouring it. Learn to embrace adversity. Be determinedly joyful of every minute of every blasted day.

Many of these little things are actually great; good quotes, pretty pictures, and I get the sentiment behind them. However, the underlying concern seen in some that if I am not in love with every single moment of my life as a strong, wonderful, beautiful whatever, then some dolphin saluting the sun will weep for the damage I am inflicting on my soul, or light, or lifeforce, etc... That's just silly.

Many of them seem to call upon us to learn from small children, and fling ourselves into the constant state of ecstasy that is our biological world... Have you seen small children? Many of them are in states of frustration, sorrow, pain and/or anger a lot of the time. I would not encourage an adult to act like a small child all the time, unless you'd like three hots and a cot on the Bellevue tab.

Sometimes, life is just plain frigging hard. Some days inspire less gratitude, peacefulness and happiness than others. Some days, if you are dancing for joy, you just might be insane. Some moments, you will be neither beautiful nor strong - sometimes, you will be ugly or nasty, and weak, and you will fall. There are periods in life that may be educational in retrospect, but just aren't pleasant at the time. And no motivational poster or inspirational profile pic will make it so.

If you get through those times, congrats! You've done your job. And don't feel like you're not meeting some yogic requirement of perpetual gratitude by facing it a little on the grumpy side, as opposed to bowing to the sunset and smelling the flowers with poise and inner grace.

I believe it is true that most of the time life is what you make it, and facing things with a positive outlook can change how you see your challenges. But it would be insensitive of me to assume mind conquers all matter. Occasionally things are crappy no matter how gentle your reed bends.

Sometimes, it's not how much you feel "blessed every second," it's whether or not you live to love another day better.

***

A little note on blogging. As you might have noticed, I have not been doing much of it, recently. I burned myself out, to be honest. Now, I guess I am back, I think - but with 90% more rambles than ever before. I have no pearls of wisdom to share on writing, or the New Future of Publishing, or anything of that nature. So, I may as well do what I like best about this whole business - just write, and see where it leads me.

Tips from Beneath a Stack of Marking on Writing Academic Essays

Normally, I stick to blogging about writing, romance, books, and so forth. I don't talk a lot about my teaching work here, partially because it's exhausting work and so much more fun to talk about romance in my off-hours, but partially because I think fiction is what I know I have in common with the folks reading here. But, yes, in real life, I teach. This term, I have 125 first year university students. It's enjoyable teaching, but a lot of work. Especially this week, since I am currently struggling to finish marking 125 short essays. Golly, but that soaks up the time.

On Twitter today, as I marked, I was sort of Tweeting a few tips here and there, in case any university students were reading. I was kind of throwing out what I consider the most common freshman/junior essay writing errors or weaknesses, from my nearly ten years marking experience in classes at these levels. Frosh classes have their own personalities, of course, but it almost seems like the basic common issues never change.

Then I thought maybe these are use to more than just university students, as I saw more than a few reviewers, writers and editors re-Tweeting or agreeing. In actuality, these are tips that apply to fiction writers, as well, for the most part. Therefore, I have decided to post them here, along with a few new ones.

Likely the most common error is not editing and proofing adequately, of course, but that is something that comes with care and attention, and is easily fixed - just re-read the damn thing before hitting print! What I normally tell students to do is read it aloud, to avoid skimming. However, another common problem with frosh writing is that comes off as too conversational, which makes for difficult reading, so you can't always just rely on reading it aloud, either. For papers worth a hefty percentage, get another pair of eyes to check for clarity, if you can.

Another common flaw, especially seen in students fresh from high school, is the apparent desire to write like "a smart person." The sentences come out clunky, awkward and often unintelligible. This also leads to loss of content marks if your argument suffers or you end up saying things you didn't mean because you were using words you didn't full understand. Basically, don't use "big words" if you are hazy on their meaning. Communicating effectively is more important than "sounding smart." It usually has the exact opposite effect, and it misses the point of writing a paper. In academic writing, as in most writing, clarity and effective communication of thought/experience/knowledge/research is your central goal. Appearance means nothing if I can't understand you.

One of my personal pet peeves is overreaching generalizations. Firstly, generalizations just don't work in the humanities, because we try to question everything - thus, I am programmed not to buy them. Secondly, once you say things like "all humans..." or "never" your argument is immediately invalid, because assertions like that are almost never totally correct. (See how I softened that up there?) What I really hate is when a student starts a paper with one, as if that is the hook - a grand epic sweep of the subject: "For millions of years, ever since the first human walked the earth, questions of ethics have plagued him..." Really? Not only is that non-provable, it is also completely meaningless. Avoid windy rhetoric, and just get to the point - this is much more effective.

Further, word lengths are there for a reason. If you are unable to write a long enough paper, you have not done enough research, you didn't pick a strong enough thesis topic/question, or you haven't given yourself enough time to think about the topic - or you are just plain rushing the writing phase. Similarly, if you are unable to get the paper in under the maximum, you might need more editing or clearer thought - or, more likely, you have not picked a narrow enough thesis. It is far better to cover fewer things and do it very well than to try to cover everything and have to do it in shallow strokes. No paper can tell the prof everything you know in the world, so don't attempt it.

I do appreciate brevity and conciseness, but I also want to see the significance of the points you raise - give them time to gestate, stick to your strongest points, and cut away the fat as needed.

This relates to another tip for students - don't spend the first page or two wandering around the issue and talking yourself into an argument. This is very common for academic writers, and totally fine if that's what you need to do, but I, the reader, shouldn't see it. Do it if you must, and then cut ruthlessly if need be.

As to general content, try to sense what the educational purpose of the assignment is and do it. I don't recommend people rely on their ability to psyche out the prof, but it is central to (1) read the instructions, (2) consider the instructions, and (3) fulfill the instructions. And lead the prof through the stages carefully. Also, consider the instructions in the context of the class. What I mean is, consider the essay as if it were an exam question - the prof wants to see what you have learned, and what you know or have researched, so make sure that is the bulk of your paper. When using terms, show that you know what they mean. Use your research to display your prowess in the course focus. And make sure you are doing every part of the assignment. Never spend too much of your paper just regurgitating long quotes, but put them in your own words, and exhibit your own thought. Show us you have learned something, and we're much happier.

Finally, give each stage adequate time and attention. The conceptual stage, the research phase, the writing process and the editing work all need to be done well to produce a quality paper. Scrimp on one, or don't leave enough time to do all of them, and the paper will suffer. And don't crowd them - researching while writing at the same time, for example, can lead to accidental plagiarism, which is so not worth it. Trust me.

So, those are my learned tidbits from marking undergraduate papers, and maybe they will be useful for all writers - or not. There are other things, such as "if being a day late will produce a better paper, take the late penalty," or "provide a reference everywhere I might ask how did you know that?", but those things are idiosyncratic. In general, be clear, concise and do your job - whatever that is for that particular paper, along with the universal goal of communicating effectively.

In any case, back to marking... Sigh.

Have a good Wednesday, folks!