I'm happy to have DC Juris stop by for a guest post!
Hi folks! DC Juris here. I'll be your guest host for today. For those of you who don't know me, I'm a transgender fella who writes GLBTQ and heterosexual romance, but mostly m/m.
Today I'm talking about lessons in writing. I don't mean grammar and punctuation. I'm talking about real world lessons I've learned since I started writing. Lessons the industry has taught me.
1. Writers are human. In 2010, I mailed my copy of MS Office to a fellow writer, as a loan to help them out. They've since fallen "off the grid." My e-mails to unanswered, and even mailing them a postage paid envelope hasn't gotten my disc back.
Why did I loan something as important as that? As expensive as that? I suppose I thought a fellow author would understand the importance of give and take and working together. I guess part of me thought an author wouldn't hurt another author. I've learned that writers are just like everyone else—some are sweethearts, and some are assholes.
2. There's rarely such a thing as innocent flirting. Trust me on this one. I went from thinking I'd found a kindred spirit whom I could share my innermost self with, to sobbing in my husband's arms and writing an e-mail about how sacred my marriage was to me. Again, this happened with a fellow author. Again, I held writers in general in a higher regard, and assumed I'd found a safe place. Again, I got schooled. Big time.
3.Maybe an old friend isn't the best person to be your writing assistant. I still have no idea what happened between us. One minute she was excited and couldn't wait to get started. The next minute, she had defriended me on Facebook and I never heard from her again. We never argued, never clashed, and she was really supportive of what I write. I'm clueless, but I learned the hard lesson that no matter how good things seem, something can still go writing.
4. When you post on the Internet everyone can see it. Everyone. Every. One. I've learned this on my own, and by watching other authors. I know how I personally feel when another author is being snide or rude in public. I can only imagine how it looks to the readers.
5. Secrets will always get out. No matter how much you trust the person who holds them, and people will turn on you no matter how much you trust them not to. It hasn't happened to me personally, but I've seen it happen to others. I live my life as an open book—anything anyone wants to know, I'll tell them.
6. Your name is important. Be sure you know the quality of writing of the other authors involved, and be sure you know what they stand for. It's very easy to get roped into representing something you never intended to.
I learned a few things about myself, along the way. I've come out of my first year of publication wiser, stronger, and more aware. I examine every situation before I jump in. And I've learned to never, ever be afraid to speak up and say what I think. Life's too short to live it with duct tape over your mouth!
A Southern transplant who has retained none of his accent but all of his charm, DC Juris is an out and proud transgender bisexual living in Upstate New York with his husband, four dogs, three cats, and a menagerie of Halloween props just creepy enough to keep people guessing about his sanity. He's still hopelessly
single when it comes to the woman in his life, and he'll gladly entertain offers or applications for the position! In the rare event that he's not writing, DC can be found surfing the internet for random research, killing things on his Xbox, reading, taking pictures of the world around him, or playing Farmville, to which he admits a complete and totally blissful addiction.
Links:
www.dcjuris.com
www.facebook.com/dcjuris
www.twitter.com/dcjuris
http://dcjuris.blogspot.com
2 comments:
Thanks you for stopping by DC!
Thanks for, once again, sharing your incredible strength and encouraging us that no matter what happens, we can survive it. As always, sending you love and healing.
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