Eat, sleep, write, repeat.

 

    The title for this entry is stolen. It’s the theme from the 2020 Utah Valley University Writers Academy. Since I am among the workshop presenters, I will not be indicted for the theft.
    Owing to the coronavirus, covid-19, the worldwide pandemic, social distancing, and other related considerations, UVU opted to put this year’s conference online. So, what was scheduled to take place October 9 and 10 will, instead, be spread from October 9 through November 6, with a selection of (mostly) Thursday evening online workshops along with other events on other days. You’ll find more information on the UVU Writers Academy web site, and you can register online. And there’s this, #UVUWriters2020, if you know what it’s for. I don’t.
    If you write, want to write, hope to write, or wish to write, you’ll find the UVU Writers Academy helpful. Register, and you can access the online workshops and presentations live, and the sessions will be recorded for viewing or reviewing afterwards.
    My contribution to the event, “How to Build a Book without a Blueprint,” is scheduled for November 5 at 6:00 pm. By then, I hope to have figured out how to pull it off.
    I’ll send a reminder. See you (sort of) there.

Celebrating art.

From June 20 through 23, hundreds of artists of all kinds invade downtown Salt Lake City’s Library Square for the Utah Arts Festival. And tens of thousands of lovers of literature, music, visual arts, dance, and other artistic endeavors join the fun.

This year, cowboy poets and Western writers are on the program, including yours truly. I am honored to have been asked to present a workshop on Western writing and take the stage to read from my work.

Should you live in or find yourself in the Intermountain West while the celebration is in progress, join us. There’s something for everyone on the program—especially something you never expected.

Lies They Tell Writers, Part 48: The only way to learn to write is to write.

If you want to be a writer, you have to write. It’s pretty hard to argue with that. But how do you learn to write? Or to write better?

I’ve heard tell the only way to do it is to write. And write some more.

It certainly can’t hurt. But there’s that old saying that says if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. In other words, if you just keep writing, you could keep making the same mistakes over and over again. That won’t help.

You could take a course. Go to a writers conference. Enroll in a writing program. All of which will most likely do you some good.

But there’s an easier way: read.

You can learn to be a better writer by reading good writing. At least it seems to have helped me, as I have never learned anything about creative writing (which my journalism degree did not cover) anywhere but in books. I love to read. I do a lot of it. And when I find a writer or a book that I especially like, I will read it again, and sometimes again and again. Once you’ve read a book enough that you don’t get caught up in the story, you start noticing how the author does things—how he chooses words, how she builds phrases, how he makes sentences, how she moves the story along, or pauses to let you catch your breath.

All those things, and many more, get embedded in your mind and when you sit down to write, they affect how—and how well—you do it.

And when it comes right down to it, reading is a lot more enjoyable way to spend time than sitting around in a classroom talking about writing.

I’ll be Write Here.

Writers conferences are fun. You get to meet people who love words and stories. You get to share thoughts, exchange ideas, and discuss experiences.

Most of all, you get to learn.

When I go to a writers conference, it’s usually to teach. But even then, I always learn something—perhaps more than I teach.

Come September 21 and 22, I will be at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, for Write Here in Ephraim. I’ll be hosting a “bootcamp” session and giving presentations on improving prose and writing effective opening lines.

And, lo and behold, I will be giving the keynote address.

I have taught at conferences large and small, and I think Write Here in Ephraim is about the right size—enough participants to provide a broad spectrum of experience and approaches, but not so many that participants get lost in the shuffle.

If you’re a writer—or want to be a writer—you would do well to join us at Write Here in Ephraim.

I’m looking forward to being Write Here (or right there).

Where have you been?

My travels of late can’t begin to match country singer Hank Snow’s list of stopovers in the classic 1962 hit, “I’ve Been Everywhere.”

Still, I haven’t been sitting still.

In late September I spent an enjoyable couple of days spouting off about creative nonfiction, poetry, historical fiction, and Western writing at the Idaho Writers League annual conference. I have presented at several IWL conferences over the years, and it’s always a pleasure. LaDean Messenger, president of the Pocatello chapter, ramrodded the event and made it a success, just as she has in years past when it’s been Pocatello’s turn.

In early October, I made my way across the Salt Lake Valley (not always easy) to the Salt Lake Community College main campus for the two-day League of Utah Writers annual conference. Not quite as intimate as the Idaho event (with more than 400 attendees), but I still enjoyed speaking to aspiring and accomplished writers on improving prose by employing poetic techniques, writing opening lines that grab readers, and writing poetry.

The following weekend found me 100 or so miles from home at the west campus of Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, for the Write Here in Ephraim conference. Another enjoyable event, where I got to hang out with writers and teach a workshop on using humor in fiction as well as one based on the popular “Lies They Tell Writers” posts that appear here from time to time.

I haven’t been everywhere, but that’s some of the places I’ve been lately. Like my old Daddy always used to say sometimes, “Everybody’s got to be someplace, so you might as well be somewhere.”

And here I am.

Lies They Tell Writers, Part 40: Characterization is key.

There is no shortage of advice for fiction writers about characterization. You couldn’t throw a loop at a writers’ conference without catching a session about character development.

You’ll hear endless discussions comparing implicit and explicit characterization. You’ll hear about archetypes and character voice. Introduction and emergence. And other fancy ways of talking about the people you make up to populate your made-up stories.

The problem, as most successful writers will admit, is that characters have a way of saying and doing things you never intended. They routinely violate the commandments you laid down in your “character bible.” They’ll often thumb their noses at you and do what they please, whether you like it or not.

Sometimes, characters simply refuse to develop the way you planned.

When that happens, you know you’ve done your job.

That’s because characters that take the bit in their teeth and run off with you are more like real people than carefully crafted, methodically developed, perfectly polished props.

Come to think of it, when it comes to successful character development, being a writer is a lot like being a parent.

Lies They Tell Writers, Part 38: You, too, can be a best-selling author.

We once addressed the “lie” that nobody reads anymore. The fact is, people are reading. Which brings up the question many (most) writers ask: “Why aren’t they reading my books?” The question persists, despite the many times writers (including me) have been shoveled tons of advice at workshops and conferences and elsewhere about how to become a best-selling author.

It can happen. It does happen. But, like most good fortune in life, the odds are against you. A writer friend of mine who had a novel turned into an Academy Award-winning movie likened that success to “being struck by benevolent lightning.”

The fact is, lightning may not strike you. Or me. Here are several million reasons why. 

Berrett-Koehler Publishers (a company I know nothing about or have any connection with) compiled some telling statistics about books and publishing from several sources. I’ve borrowed from their work here.

Of late, traditional publishers are cranking out about 300,000 books a year. Last year, some 700,000 books were self-published by their authors. That’s a million brand new books. And that’s on top of 13 million existing books still on the market, with more added every year.

So your new book (and mine) is competing for attention with at least 14 million other books. There are things you can do—or try—to get noticed. And you’ll likely sell some books.

Chances are, you might sell enough be invited to speak at a writers conference and tell other writers how they can be a best-selling author like you.

I’ve been invited to speak at many writers conferences—but never, ever, on that topic.

Maybe someday.

“Spring into Books” 2017.

Book lovers who live along the Wasatch Front here in Utah are in for a treat. The Salt Lake County Library System’s “Spring into Books” event is on the horizon.

Dozens of authors (including yours truly) will be on hand, offering reading for all ages and all interests. There will also be workshops, readings, fun and games, and other activities. If you’re in the area, join us Saturday, May 20 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m at the Viridian Event Center in West Jordan.

Otherwise, find my books online at writerRodMiller.com for good reading this spring, summer, or any season.

Lies They Tell Writers, Part 26: Strive for Clarity and Closure

I was once taken to task by a reader when a short story I wrote wasn’t all wrapped up at the end and neatly tied up with a bow. He found it unsatisfactory that a story should end without answering all the questions, solving all the problems, and, if not with a happy ending, at least one with good triumphing over evil.

While “happy” or clearly resolved endings are the norm in literature, they are far from normal in real life. The world we live in is messy. Sometimes the bad guys win. Sometimes nobody wins. Things seldom turn out the way we want them to.

To my way of thinking, there’s a lot more ambiguity in life than clarity or closure. And that ought to be reflected in literature.

One of my favorite movies is The Mission. It’s set in a remote South American mission during the Spanish conquest. When it’s over, you’re left to wonder which of the two padres—who share the same fate but come to it from opposite directions—is the hero and which is the goat. Ambiguity at its best.

I think it is good to allow—even force—readers to participate in a story, and ambiguity can do that. And, if a writer leaves readers with questions rather than answers, a story can last long after the book is closed. 

Let’s close this book with a bit of wisdom from Stanley Kubrick: “Ambiguity is the end product of avoiding superficial, pat truths.”

If you are or aspire to be a writer, you can learn more lies—and truths—about writing at the Write Here in Ephraim Writers Conference, April 22-23.

Rawhide Robinson feels the prod of a Spur rowel.

My latest novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Tabby Trail: The True Tale of a Wild West CATastrophe, is a rollicking story of an ordinary cowboy who finds himself in extraordinary situations. This time, he sets out to relieve a rat infestation in the mining boomtown of Tombstone by driving a herd of cats there. On top of the adventures the drovers meet along the way, Rawhide Robinson regales the cowboy crew around the campfire with more of his over-the-top tall-tale escapades.

Young adults and adults who have never quite grown up all the way will enjoy the humor and excitement in the stories.

It seems the judges in the Western Writers of America Spur Awards enjoyed the book, as they selected it as a Finalist for Best Western Juvenile Novel. I’m looking forward to the award ceremony at the WWA convention in June in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

My earlier Rawhide Robinson novel, Rawhide Robinson Rides the Range: True Adventures of Bravery and Daring in the Wild West, won the 2015 Spur Award.

Not a bad showing for an ordinary cowboy.

Reminder: I will be talking about Western writing at the Write Here in Ephraim writers conference. C’mon down and join the fun.

Lies They Tell Writers, Part 25: Chronological is Logical

In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, the King tells the White Rabbit, “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

The vast majority of writers and storytellers before and since have followed that advice. Sometimes—maybe most of the time—it makes sense to follow a strict linear progression and tell a story chronologically.

But not always.

Sometimes, it’s more fun for a writer—and more engaging for the reader—to mix things up a bit. There are lots of ways to do it. Simple things, like a prologue or epilogue. A flashback, or flash forward. An interruption by a letter or document or artifact or other insertion from another time or place. Those are fairly easy for the reader to handle, and can add interest to a written work.

There are, however, more inventive ways to violate chronology.

The Meadow by James Galvin is one of my all-time favorite books, and I’ve read it over and over again. The book covers a century, but its passages—like short chapters—are arranged at random, so you read about something that happened a week ago, turn the page and read something from eighty years ago, turn the page and read about something that happened twenty years ago. And so on, throughout the book. The technique, in Galvin’s skilled hands, is riveting. William Faulkner also rearranges time to great effect.

On a more banal level, I once wrote a short story in which present-day events that unfold chronologically are interlaced with a story from the past that unfolds in reverse—it begins with the end and ends with the beginning. It was a Finalist for a Western Writers of America Spur Award.

I’ve tried other ways of playing with time with varying degrees of success. I think such techniques, if well done, invite the reader to participate and become part of the story. What could be more fun?

The point is, chronology is fine—but you don’t have to be restricted by the clock or the calendar.

Reminder: To learn more lies—and truths—about writing, come to the Write Here in Ephraim Writers Conference, April 22-23.

Going places.

For reasons I have never discerned, there are people who want to sit and listen to what I have to say. I’m glad they do, as I enjoy talking about writing, the West, and history.

Not long ago I had the privilege of speaking to the “Think Again” discussion and study group in Salt Lake City. I suspect everyone in the room was smarter than me—but it’s possible that, owing to experience, I know more about cowboy poetry, which was the subject of our get-together. I enjoyed it, and I hope they did.

Sunrise Senior Living in Holladay, Utah, has invited me to visit from time to time. This time, we talked about the making of history and how some important events and people get lost in the shuffle. My latest book, The Lost Frontier: Momentous Moments in the Old West You May Have Missed served as the springboard for the discussion.

Upcoming are a few events of a more public nature.

On October 23 and 24 I will make a return appearance at the Kanab Writers Conference to present a couple of workshops. It’s an outstanding conference, and Kanab is always an enjoyable place to be. Information is here: http://kanabwritersconference.com/.

On November 7 the Salt Lake County Library System is hosting “Local Authors & You” at their fancy Veridian Event Center in West Jordan, and I will be among those meeting and greeting readers. More information will be found here: #ReadLocalSLC.

See you somewhere, I hope.

Augustus McRae, Philosopher.

As many of you know who read this stuff regularly, I will be presenting some workshops at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference in April. The folks behind the conference asked me to respond to a series of questions for posting on their web site to help with promotion. While most of the questions were fairly straightforward and easily answered, one in particular required some thought. Here, for no special reason I can think of, is that question, along with my response.

7. Which fictional character do you relate to the most, and why?

It would probably be politic to say I relate to characters like Atticus Finch or Jean Valjean or someone else with lofty moral qualities. But I am drawn to Augustus McCrae in the Larry McMurtry novel Lonesome Dove. Gus has an approach to life I agree with, best summarized by his saying to his partner, Woodrow Call, “Well, I’m glad I ain’t scairt to be lazy.”

Laziness is an overlooked virtue, as evidenced by Gus’s follow-up statement: “Hell, Call, if I worked as hard as you, there’d be no thinking done at all around this outfit.”

Just sitting and thinking may look lazy to others, but, for me, it’s how things get written. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I am going to write. Then, when I get around to actually “doing something,” I tend to get it written fairly quickly—which leaves more time for laziness.