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One response to “Making shit up.”
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Published writers are authors. But not all authors are writers, published or not. For a Writer, writing is in the blood. It’s a compulsion. So being a writer for a ‘Writer’ is easy. It’s natural. Being a good writer and producing something publishable may still be work, but the writing itself not a problem, it’s natural.
Even for the natural writer, repeatedly getting published is much harder and getting devoted-reader numbers that is the most difficult feat of all.
I am a writer – I used to write all the time. I lament the many stories I wrote and lost over the years — some embryonic, some seemingly complete but lacking that magical walnut that gives it a soul. Whether on paper or digital media, they get set aside and lost. Now, even if I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing, making notes for future stories. I write in my sleep. I’m not driven enough to get published. I’m a Mole.
Writers write; it’s in their blood. Their soul depends on it. Many writers may wish to be published, some strive to get published, but some write like moles dig. Moles spend their lives digging through miles of dirt, doing their moley-thing (eating worms or whatever). No one sees them or even thinks about them most of the time. Unlike bugs bunny who is digging to somewhere specific – sometimes taking a wrong turn – moles go digging this-way and that following their whiskers to tiny morsels.
Mole-writers are either happy simply doing the task — like a leisure activity or Sadako. It’s an amusement, a past-time, like watching soap operas but maybe better for your brain. They enjoy doing it: Making up shit.
Writers who strive to get published have to actively work at it. It is hard graft, and some manage it and some don’t. It depends on if they are a Mayfly or a Hen.
There are two types of Mayfly – One (the common mayfly) has substance but may only produce one solid work. They may be crushed under the weight of the industry. They float for a bit on their big wings, dream and write, but fate (whatever the cause) denies them. They may lose hope. They might then become a mole or they might produce publishable works that are only seen by a few.
The other Mayfly is a Burrowing Mayfly (big with a long-tail but no substance). They might be big but if they produce anything it tends to be empty or a one-off – a flash in the pan. Neither are sturdy enough to facilitate a long life or an actual production of solidly written or desirable pieces that are publishable.
The Burrowing Mayfly may fancy their own work (they’re their own biggest fan) and flutter up a cloud of potential readers who quickly dissipate. They might luck out and produce one or two publishable works with the help of a dedicated team. Mayflies – slip into anonymity.
The ‘Hen Writer’ is named so because of ‘The Little Red Hen’ who worked all on her own to create a lovely loaf of bread. Even without any help the ‘Hen-Writer’ will work to create something wonderful. Whether she’s happy writing clucking-away minding her own work or whether she’s struggling and muttering under her breath. She writes – loving it or not – to create a final product. A product she can sell. She’s not giving it away. Hen-writers are authors. They finish what they start and put their name or pseudonym on it, and then they start all over again.
No one knows the Moles or their work. Mayflies are forgotten. Hen-Writers create works that endure for years.
As usual, I’ve been asked a question and I’ve whittered on for ages. My language is limited. I have no easy way that could differentiate between the types of writers. I’ve come up with ‘Mole-Writers’, ‘Mayfly-Writers’, and ‘Hen-Writers’. (At least I think, I’ve made these classifications up. Let me know if you’ve heard them before). But there are so many more: What about script-writers for soap operas? What are they?
Random Musings 
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