Vision

      I got asked if I was serious about only writing for cash as I said in a couple of posts back. That column was humor, so it was exaggerated for effect. Obviously, I have other reasons to write. (I write poetry, for instance, which has to be lowest paying writing out there other than fanfic.) But yes, cash is nice. Someday I hope to get a chance to really sell out, to throw aside all my artistic aspirations for tons of lovely cash.
      As I've said before, I've always had a pen in my hand as soon as I could make words. I remember spending a lot of my teenage years attempting to get some fairly dreadful short stories published by Asimov's Science Fiction magazine. I actually got a couple of handwritten rejection notes from George Scithers, ASFM's editor at the time. He was famous for encouraging young writers, and I appreciated his kind words even though he never published any of the thirty or so stories I sent him.
      I still have all of those odd stories in my files. Almost all of them are science fiction; I hadn't discovered my love of fantasy yet. I wouldn't read Tolkien until my first year in college; that was life-changing event. Of course, I had read Andre Norton's fantasies for years, but she had never had approached the sweep of Tolkien. This is not to disparage Norton. She wrote some fantastically entertaining books and was the master of space opera, long before anyone thought to give it that term. But it was Tolkien who would send me into fantasy, and Tolkien who would also stop me from writing fiction for years.
      The Lord of Rings trilogy simply overwhelmed me. I was stunned by his vision and the scope of his world. The books were loaded with fictional riches. And I realized that I could never match his skill or talent. I wasn't around other writers so I had no one to tell me that I wasn't supposed to match his skill, that writing isn't a competition, that my vision might not be as clear as his but that didn't mean I couldn't pursue it. Instead, I wrote non-fiction.
      I was a journalism major and had worked for various newspapers and magazines since I was 15. These included: Big Basin Herald, Muldrow Times-Record, The Bulldog (high school paper), Lion's Pride (community college newspaper), The Daily O'Collegian (Oklahoma State University's newspaper), The Weatherford Daily News, Your Country Music Magazine, OKmagazine, Nautilus Magazine, Wildlife Magazine, Pontotoc Country Chronicles, etc. I spent a lot of words on those articles. I even attempted to seize the golden ring of journalism: National Geographic Magazine. (They sent me a very nice rejection slip.)
      During all that non-fiction, I had continued to write poetry and to play with the idea of series of mystery novels. Eventually that idea would lead to Murder by Dewey Decimal. I've already told its story before so we won't repeat that here. The Measurements of Murder Mystery™ series is set in a small town because that's what I know best. I had also learned that the huge sweeping novel should have characters at its heart, and I know the people in Ryton. They're all part of me -- Bernard's love of books and his desire to not be a spectator on life, Lisa's love of words and her fears that her talent isn't enough to lead to success, the chief's love of justice and his desire to protect the people he loves -- I understand them and can clearly see where their motivations will lead them.
      Not that I gave up the hope of writing a fantasy. Dragons Gather is loaded with magic and even a dragon, but once again, its characters are people I know, aspects of me and my fears, hopes, and desires. Darkness, Oklahoma is a small town, just like Ryton or what Ryton would be if witches, beasts, and monsters roamed its streets along with the folks I know and grew up with.
      In other words, I'm not JRR Tolkien, Holly Lisle, Stephen R. Donaldson, Andre Norton, Jim Butcher, Glen Cook, Wilbur Smith, Stephen King, or any of other many authors whose work I admire and collect. (By the way, have you purchased Holly Lisle's The Ruby Key yet? Go buy it now. You absolutely won't be sorry.) Of course, I'd like to have the success of those authors, but I can't be them. I can only pursue my visions, such as they might be.
      Visions need to be fed, though. And when people buy my books and share my visions, it encourages me to keep writing and attempting to share the worlds I can see. So when someone buys one of my books, I feel like they've joined me. It validates my vision, and that's a good feeling, one that cash doesn't ever give me.