Monday Musings: Reading, Listening, and Writing

One of my traits as an introvert seems to be that I know a lot of stuff. I know trivial things to minute details about the state of the world. I can usually hold intelligent conversations with just about anyone...usually. I am often asked how it is that I know so much about various topics.

Today, I am going to talk about this in relation to how it has improved my writing. There are two things in this world that are important on many different levels. The first is reading, and the second is listening.

Reading:

I have read since I was old enough to sound out the words in the Dick and Jane books in the first grade. I loved to read then, and I love to read now. There is nothing more pleasing in the world to me than the feel of the pages between my fingers.

I enjoy reading fiction to a certain degree. However, books aren't the only source of my reading. I read blogs - I'm world class blog stalker - I read various websites, professional journals, newspapers, etc.

I don't limit what I read to simply the things I enjoy. I read the news coming out of Afghanistan and I certainly don't enjoy it. Yet, it is a necessary act to know what is going on in the world in which I live. I also read the financial pages (you would think I would be a better money manager...). It's a quirk of mine to abhor the insane acquisiton of money to the point of greed. I view the financial pages as a study in human behavior. Just how far will people go to acquire wealth, what do they do with it once they get it, and in some cases how long will it last? I read to know the details of life as we know it.

If I am writing, I read a great deal about the subject; before and during the process. In the process of The Butterfly Fields, I have had to read many different things about the subjects of religion, culture, and finding one's place in the midst of it all. I will be the first to admit, I had no idea what the Augsburg Confession is, let alone the important role it plays in the history of religion in the world. In fact, the important role in the religion I have chosen as my personal path. I found the Book of Concord (the hardcover) fascinating. What an interesting time in the world. Another important book that I have had to read is the Bible itself. I'm still working on this one. I truly believe a person could study the Bible for an entire lifetime and still not know all that it says. Or, maybe I just started too late. I have also had to read a lot of information about the Dark Ages. I have another quirk about things being as historically accurate as possible. This includes dialogue, descriptions, and the way people really were, not how we seem to romanticize this era in our history. It was called the Dark Ages for more reasons than the religious discord in the world. Writing is a process. It is not something that can be typed out in a few sittings and offered to the world with any expectation of respect in the industry.

Listening:

Many times when we are sitting together in a room as a group, or just two people having a conversation, we fall into the poor listening skills area. Instead of truly listening to what the other person is saying as an active and engaged listener, we start planning what we are going to say next. There are even times when we let our minds wander into what's for dinner tonight or how am I going to pay a bill, and so on. Lastly, we do the ultimate act of poor listening, we cut the person off in mid-sentence assuming we already know what they are going to say. Personally, when someone does this to me enough times, I will just get up and walk away in the middle of the conversation. One it is without manners to interrupt someone when they are speaking, and two assumption is the mother of all miscommunication. We all exercise poor listening on some level, every day.

Growing up, I learned the fine art of listening due to the generally observed rule of children should be seen and not heard. I would also watch with great interest the interactions of the elders in the family and how they conducted themselves. They were far from perfect, but they had some things that always seemed to be engaged in the moment. An elder was always allowed to finish speaking, no matter how long it took, before anyone said anything. Many times a silent pause would follow what was said while the listeners processed the information that had been shared. I learned to think before I speak. Some people today don't grasp the concept that I don't like to give an immediate answer until I have taken under consideration what had been said. It makes it very difficult for some of us introverts to be actively engaged in meetings filled with extroverted people.

Listening to others plays a significant role in the trust factor of relationships. If you are a natural people watcher like me, listening coupled with picking up on body language, you understand how much of the story is never tranferred in the spoken word. We naturally learn a lot about and make judgments of other people based on these two things, more than any conversation we will ever have with them. This helps in character development in the story. I have a tendency to build characters based on the mannerisms of people rather than what they say.

I find listening more interesting and comfortable than talking. I learn a lot more when listening than when being fully engaged in the conversation. I view this as a strength. Through active and engaged listening I can make better decisions even if it takes a bit longer.

While working on The Butterfly Fields, I have had to do a lot of listening in addition to reading. Sometimes I didn't necessarily enjoy what I was hearing. However, I feel through this listening process, The Butterfly Fields, and The Chrysalis Series as a whole, is a stronger story. Also through listening, I have gained some personal skills in regards to who I am and where I am heading.

Reading and listening play an important role in writing. If you want a strong story with lots of detail and interesting characters, you have to know your subject. I will always read and listen for the rest of my life, otherwise the world will be very flat; very flat indeed.

Monday Musings: The Culture of Writing

As a person, I have worked in diversity and inclusion for a very long time. A lot longer than any paying position on a resume could reflect. However, it does not make me an expert on the subject, especially the legal aspects. What it does make me is a more cultured person, not any better or worse than others.

In our present day world, this cultured aspect of life is becoming more important. This is true especially for those of us who choose to write. No longer are we writing for the local or regional market. It is the global market that looms before us. As such, and this is only my humble opinion, it is my duty to ensure what I write accurately depicts the world as it is. Even if I have created a whole new world, such as in The Butterfly Fields, I still must practice diversity and inclusion in my work. Why? Because the market demands it.

What I know to be diversity extends far beyond race. Diversity is the cultures, traditions, lifestyles, histories, and subcultures of every group of people in the world. I once argued that the homeless population is a subculture of the urban lifestyle. It is part of the fabric which creates the tapestry of the diversity in any city. The same is true for the goths, industrialists, hipsters, generations, etc. We all, in our own right, contribute to the vibrancy of the world. This reality of our times should be reflected in our novels, novellas, short-stories, and essays.

People of all walks of life enjoy reading about themselves in a positive reflection of their reality. People like to be included. If we, as writers, are going to appeal to the mass global market, we must gain a satisfactory knowledge of those with whom we share the world. It is really a no brainer when it comes to modern marketing - of any product or service. If the goal is to expand the market base into the global market, the author, business, or organization must first understand those to whom they wish to sell their product.



In the writing of The Butterfly Fields, I acted with intent to include various words from different cultures in the world. I did this to reflect the cultures of the people in the story. I am not clever enough to create an entirely new language such as Klingon or Elven, but I am clever enough to utilize the translation tools available. I acknowledge that one must be careful when using online translation tools. I also consulted various language dictionaries, and people I know who speak those languages to ensure no unintended faux pas occur.

The Butterfly Fields is primarly written in the English language, however there are Irish and French words sprinkled throughout, with references to Romani and other cultures. My understanding of different cultures of the world has given The Butterfly Fields an authentic cultured flavor that we do not see in the usual novel. Or, do we and we just don't realize it?

As  you read your latest novel pay attention to what makes the characters so rich and vibrant. Is it the descriptiveness of their appearance and mannerisms? Or, is it the underlying culture displayed in the character's history, psyche, current or past circumstances, family life, etc?

Diversity is everywhere.