"Don't quit your day job," right? Just because we ARE writers doesn't mean we can quit our day jobs, at least not yet. If you want a CAREER as a writer, you have to stick with it for possibly a very long time.This is a crazy little chart I made. It's the triangle path to three different careers: a special ed teacher, a picture book author, and a literary agent. These are real people. Well, the picture book author is me; I'm just waiting for the center to emerge in real life. Sometimes, the paths we take in life will lead us to other roads. It has me.
We can send our characters on these wild paths, too. So your character has to reach this point in which he understands how to solve his problem. Make him jump through hoop A first. Then make him learn a new language. Then he must face his fears in a new light. Then, finally, he solves his problem and becomes the strong character we want him to be.
What has your "Triangle Man" path to authorship looked like so far?
My first career and what earned the money to raise two sons was nursing in a hospital. Now I am retired from that and now I write. I actually got a contract almost right away but had to find my own illustrator which has been hard. I've gone through three not counting the one the pub came up with six months ago. Now it looks like my book, Annie's Special Day, might come out early winter of 2012.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I won't make enough money off it to pay back what I've invested and I'm sure I won't make enough money off my writing career to live. So I guess it's just a hobby, not a career.
Thanks, Clare! Good luck on your book, that everything goes smoothly. You could contact Jeff Duckworth. His website is Duck of All Trades. His work is pretty good. Probably reasonable rates too, but not sure. Check him out if you still don't have an illustrator.
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