When someone asks you what one of your goals in life is, what do you say? Do say you want to be a writer? Or do you mumble a bunch of incoherent non-sense under your breath and hope the person just goes away?

Odd questions, I know. But I think they’re important ones. Writing is one of those endeavors that is very private, and letting someone else read that latest short story you wrote, or even admitting you want to be (or are) a writer can be difficult. Why? Because it exposes you to criticism and judgment. It leaves you vulnerable.

When I read this post over at Enriched by Words it got me thinking. When people ask what I really want to do in life, being a writer is something I can be petrified to bring up. Maybe it’s because I haven’t published a novel yet, therefore don’t think I’m legitimate. Or maybe it’s because I’m unsure of my writing and still finding my voice.

You are a writer. That’s great! Does anybody else know? Are you proud to be a writer? Do you honor yourself as a writer? What’s that?

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Whenever I sit down to write a new short story, I usually have some sort of rough outline (even if it’s just a few bullet points of the main events). In other words, I have a plan. This is especially useful when it comes to writing the always-difficult endings. And it helps to prevent writers block.

But what about writing without any sort of plan, not even an outline? Well I decided to find out how my writing would be affected if I just sat down and started writing a short story with nothing but a basic idea. I’m writing the story in my notebook that I use for more experimental works, which I detailed in this earlier post.

Even though the story is nowhere close to being finished, I’m already seeing the benefits of losing the outline. Here are a few of those benefits I’ve found so far:

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As fast as technology is catching on in reality, literature might be a little more techno-phobic. At least, that was my thought after reading this article from the New York Times. I must have also been thinking the same thing when I wrote a post, aptly titled: Is your fiction technophobic?

I’m talking about using modern technology, like cell phones and laptop computers, in fiction. In my earlier post I revealed that in most of the fiction I write, I hardly ever make use of modern conveniences. When I asked why, no compelling answer came to mind. But the article in the NYT might have shed a little more light on the subject of technology (or lack thereof) and fiction.

In part, the NYT article says:

Technology is rendering obsolete some classic narrative plot devices: missed connections, miscommunications, the inability to reach someone. Such gimmicks don’t pass the smell test when even the most remote destinations have wireless coverage.

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One part of literature that really interests me is the number of drafts an author goes through before the final manuscript is ready for publication. This also includes any marginalia (notes made in the margin by the author) during the editing process added either by the author, editor, or both.

Why is this so interesting?

Because it gives the reader an inside glimpse into the creative process a writer goes through when developing a work of fiction. Scenes are cut, added, edited and characters can change drastically from one draft to another. Sentences might disappear with no explanation, or a sentence might be revised many times until the author feels the sentence is just right.

This idea of showing how a piece of art is constructed is not new. We see this in music all the time. Albums are often released with "bonus features" that allows you to listen to studio outtakes (my personal favorite), alternate versions of songs and alternate recording takes. This allows the listener to catch a glimpse inside the world of the musician and discover how a seemingly complex song can emerge from a simple idea.

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In this previous post I wrote about old technology meeting new futuristic technology in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aff link), by Philip K. Dick. Now I’m getting further into the novel and some interesting moral/ethical dilemmas are starting to pop up. I thought it might be fun to analyze these issues in this post. As always, your input is very welcome here!

1. If we create sentient beings (i.e. androids), then should they be afforded the same rights as humans?

I have a feeling that we will be dealing with this question within the next century, especially given the pace of technology and new breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI). Let’s pretend we do create a robot that is fully sentient, has a conscious and can "think" in every way humans can.

Would it be immoral to destroy that robot? If the robot is capable of feeling pain and having normal human emotions, then one can justify that some sort of protection must be in order for these beings. I’m not necessarily arguing this position, just throwing it out there as food for thought.

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I am currently reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aff link) by Philip K. Dick. While I’m finding it to be a very interesting and entertaining read, I chuckle at the use of a mixture of futuristic technology with old-school "technology" from the 1960s.

The future technology Dick uses is quite interesting; especially the very human-like androids that can be almost impossible to distinguish from real humans. And, the fact that android animals also play a prominent role in the character’s lives is interesting. The main character, Rick Deckard, has a fake sheep he keeps as a pet. The sheep looks and acts like a real thing, but is a total fake.

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One notebook that I keep isn’t for writing down my deepest thoughts and feelings (that’s what my diary is for), or even writing down story ideas. Instead, I use this notebook to write short stories. Nothing odd about that, right? But consider this: I get an idea for a short story, I open the notebook and I just write.

No outlining. No planning. I view this notebook as a means to not only hone my writing skills, but also to experiment with different narrative styles, wacky plot ideas and strange characters. If I write a crummy sentence, I just leave it. If I write an entire story that is crummy, I leave it and move on to the next story.

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Ken Kesey, author of the classic 60s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (aff link), knew a little something about writing and creativity. So when I came across the video clip below, filmed in 2001 shortly before Kesey’s death, I found his ideas about the merging of writing and technology fascinating.

While some of the "technology" featured in this clip is now antiquated (video tapes), I think Kesey makes some excellent points and would no doubt be a huge fan of ebooks if he were still alive today. As an added bonus, he gives a tour of the original bus that the Merry Pranksters took their infamous cross-country trip in 1964.

The video is just shy of 10 minutes, but well worth watching in its entirety.

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It’s a great time to be a writer! You’re probably shaking your head saying: "Brad finally lost his marbles". Writing is more competitive than ever, the chances of getting published by a large house is nill and very few people make a living off their writing. So why is it a good time to be a writer?

Ebooks are your friend!

If you write any kind of fiction, and even certain types of non-fiction, ebooks can be your best friend right now. Think about it: You can publish and distribute your own ebooks with little cost to you. The biggest cost involved will be promoting your work.

The key here is the right pricing. If you’re a new and unknown author, then it’ll be hard to justify selling an ebook at $9.99 (Amazon’s preferred price point). Maybe start by giving them away for free to build a readership. Then, give away older titles for free in order to entice customers to buy your newer titles. Using free ebooks to entice new readers appears to be working for many other authors.

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Are you bored writing the same old linear story lines, predictable characters, and mundane settings? If you answered "Yes!" than you might need to shake up your writing life a little. I’m almost getting to that point in my own writing, where I want to do something innovative and different (doesn’t every writer?).

Experimental fiction just might be the way to go! By it’s very definition, experimental fiction is hard to peg down as a series of "how to" articles, or a step-by-step process for writing something that would be considered "experimental."

The best definition I have found for experimental fiction comes from this website I came across. The article says experimental fiction…

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