I like doing research as much as I like shaving. Maybe because I usually do it after the fact. I make up shit and hope like hell the research will back me up - if it doesn't, then, hell, it's called fiction for a reason, right? Recently I have scattered e-mails out to a number of people with some questions, with only one reply. (Thank you, Peregrine.) I feel like a beggar asking for a dollar.
I think one of the things I hate about asking people questions is that I can't point to a novel as proof that I'm actual writer. Sure, you can find the anthologies I'm in, but my name on the cover is usually spelled, "And Others." There are e-zines, but who wants to take the time to explain what that is and where one can find them? I can also say I have an MFA (and I have), but big fucking deal, right?
Oh, well.
2 comments:
I know this feeling well. "I'm a writer researching (whatever)" doesn't sound so convincing when you've got nothing to really prove that you are a writer. On the whole, I tend to find that people mostly ignore me. At least we have the internet. Imagine not having the internet...
Hi by the way! I started following your blog just as you went on your break... which is why you haven't heard from me until now!
Yeah, the random e-mail thing is certainly hit or miss, with a lot of misses. I did get a couple of responses, which led to some great material.
Thanks for reading. I'm trying to get back into this, if only as an exercise to warm up the typing fingers.
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