John Lacey » Mur Lafferty

ISBW Does The Artist’s Way

John Lacey — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:15:37 +0000

This is just a quick note to let you know that Mur Lafferty and I Should Be Writing is going to be tackling The Artist’s Way creativity program as an online community. You can follow the group’s progress at the I Should Be Writing website (or subscribe via iTunes or at YouTube) and by joining the associated Facebook page.

I’ve never done the The Artist’s Way as part of a group before and am quite excited at the prospect.

When No One Cares…

John Lacey — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:23:46 +0000

I sometimes get disappointed when something I produce doesn’t get much of a reception. You hope that a project is worthwhile and that somebody somewhere is getting something out of it, and as much as I look for some intrinsic merit to the things I do, I am still sometimes left wondering.

But what if no one caring was actually a good thing?

In the last week I’ve heard two writers explore this issue on separate podcasts. I Should Be Writing’s Mur Lafferty explores the freedom to be found in this condition, while Seth Godin points out that the cost of failing has fallen to nothing at all.

Mur Lafferty on Amateur Writing: Good Parts and Bad:

Being interviewed on podcasts, I mention one thing I love about podcast fiction is I can write whatever the hell I want. Whatever I want. And I can give it to my listeners and they can listen or not. I can write zombie humour audio dramas. I can write a series of novellas about mythology and the afterlife. I can write about superheroes. I could turn around and write chicklit tomorrow. I could write mysteries. I mean, no one is going to pigeonhole me. I can write whatever I want to. And that, I realise is not only the Internet, but it’s also just I am so new that no one cares!

You know, I’ve talked about not caring before, the fact that no one cares that you’re a writer and how that can be a wonderful thing. Because when no one cares you can do whatever you want. They’re not noticing you, they’re not judging you. And if they do notice, then someone cares – and that’s good. But on the other hand, you might be kinda getting yourself into the hole where you’ll be for the rest of your career.

[...]

But your freedom is no one is telling you you can’t. And I think, newbies and wannabes – all of us amateurs – we don’t recognize and appreciate that more often. We don’t say, “You know what, it’s fantastic that no one gives a crap about what I write. I can write whatever I want!”

Seth Godin talking to Merlin Mann on 43 Folders:

The cost of failing has dropped by faster than the cost of a chip. You know, my Dad owns a factory in Buffalo, New York, that bends steel and makes hospital cribs and has union organized labor. The cost of getting that factory was really high and if he screws up it’s going to be really expensive. The cost of getting a blog is $12 and if you screw up no one’s going to notice because they weren’t reading in the first place. What we’ve discovered in the last ten years is that it’s easier than ever to record an album, to treat a customer with respect, to put a new idea out there, to write a book and publish it for free. All these things cost almost nothing and the lizard brain hasn’t caught up to that yet. The lizard brain doesn’t realize that the cost of failure is not that a sabre tooth tiger eats you, but that the cost of failure is nothing. So what 43 Folders people ought to do, I think, is do something that people will ridicule, do something where you will fail, do something that’s a little bit nutty and see what happens. Because the worst thing that will happen is that you’ll fail and no one will notice.

Dream By Example

John Lacey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:48:46 +0000

I was having something of an anxiety attack about my lofty aspirations and future. I decided rather than fret all day, I’d share some sage advice with you. This comes from Mur Lafferty, author and podcast producer of many books (including Playing For Keeps), columnist, and host of the writing podcast I Should Be Writing. There are several really good writing podcasts available (and I will endeavour to feature some of them on this blog in the future), but none of them embody the sheer single minded focus of I Should Be Writing.

The truth is it is perfectly wonderful to hear about what authors are doing. It can be interesting to hear about other people’s creative processes and pitfalls. It can even be useful to listen to specific writing instruction. The power of I Should Be Writing is that ‘wannabe’ writers are consistently delivered back to their own hands.

Mur Lafferty (they call her “Mighty” Mur for a reason):

But something else has been occuring to me. When you’re a parent you look at this little bundle of potential and you think, I want everything for you. I want you to have the chance to do anything you want. I want you to be the first woman on the moon, I want you to be the first person on Mars. I want you to be an inventor or president or a star basketball player or a football player or whatever you want for your kid. You look at them and think, you tell them, you can do it. And if they say, “No, I’m a girl, girls don’t do that” or “I’m too short to play basketball,” you know, you can pull up. Here’s Amelia Earhart. Here’s Muggsy Bogues – he was 5’3 and he played in the NBA. You want to tell your kid that they can do anything.

But if your kid knows that your dream is to be a writer and you’re not following that, then why the hell should they believe you when you say you can do anything you want to do? Because this is me guys, this is me telling you. I don’t care if you’re 15, if you’re 40, if you’re 80 – you can be anything you want to be. And if you want to be a writer, then be a writer. And remember that your kids are watching you and they learn from you. And if you have a dream, and you tell your kid that you have a dream, then follow it and that will give them the courage. They’ll understand.

I should be dreaming, and you should too. Fuck the nahsayers.

John Lacey » Mur Lafferty

ISBW Does The Artist’s Way

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When No One Cares…

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Dream By Example

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