Essays, Hell, and the Magic of Lists - Writing Update by Greg Luti
A writing update about new forms and old habits. In “Essays, Hell, and the Magic of Lists,” Greg Luti talks about adding essays to the site, progress on the short book The Servant, and why a simple list still helps the work move forward.
Adding Essays
I have expanded my portfolio to include a new type of piece, and that is the essay. The goal of that genre is to explore certain topics and present questions I have about them, more than going over a story and following characters through the dialogue or writing up a poem with a certain theme. There are many times when I have questions or thoughts about things, and I am stuck thinking of ways that I can get them into a story, but with the essay I don’t have to really worry all that much about the story, since there is none.
I do recognize that the readers may not always be interested in the topics I explore, or even agree with my presentations on them, and I accept that as a possibility. When you go through as much writing as I do, you are bound to write a few pieces that may stir people the wrong way. I have learned to just continue on with the next piece. Not everyone likes what I write, for no other reason than they just don’t care about the topic. That won’t deter me from writing readable pieces, though. I always believe that I can write something a reader can enjoy, even if they don’t care for it, or even agree with the opinion I give.
Forgetting the List
I must admit that I made a little bit of a mistake with my current writing, and that is that I forgot a bit of advice I told the readers. Recently, in one of my writing updates, I told the readers to write up a list of things they wish to share with their audience so that when the time comes to write up an update, the transfer of information is easy. You shouldn’t have to remember every little detail you did that week.
I got to writing up one of these updates last week, and then I went to find the Word document I made for the details I wanted to include in the piece, and it was nowhere to be found. I didn’t lose it to some hacker, and I didn’t accidentally delete it. I never had it. I then realized my mistake and opened up a new Word document and wrote down the first thing I would write about in the next writing update. This is technically the second thing I brought up in the update, but you get the point.
The Servant
I have the outline for a short book I am working on called The Servant. I shared the first few pages with the subscribers of the email. I wanted to finish it for Halloween, but I got busy. I am happy to say that I included a neat ending to the story as well. Yeah, so if you want to get a few pages of the book, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter. The story is basically about a guy who goes to hell and what he sees there. He meets a guide and then encounters various figures in the wasteland. I don’t normally do eerie, but I was in the mood to write up a creepy story like this one, and I will finish it through, since the outline is all but done.
Wanting the Work Already Done
That gets me to a problem I should address. I know that there are writers who feel they would rather have written than have to write. They want the words on the page, rather than in their head. They say this bit as encouragement for the average writer, like myself, who can use more than coffee to get through a session. I don’t know, though. There are times when I come up with a story idea, and I get a few pages in and think, “You know, it would be cool if I could not actually finish this and somehow have people read it and like it. Why not work only 2 hours and get paid for 8? That would be pretty cool.” Sure, I get that I have to write the story, but I would be lying if I didn’t think about the easy way out for some of the works I write on.
October Went By Too Fast
Talking about timing, can we all agree that October went by too fast? What the hell was that about? One day it is beginning, the next day it is Halloween, and then the month is over. Am I the only one who felt like October was only about 4 days long?
Site Updates
I do have some news regarding the site and what you can find on it now. I added a Where to Start page for those who are not sure where exactly they should begin with my books. I saw other indie authors have that on their site, so I included it on mine. I only wrote three books, so I can’t even act as though the reader has that hard of a choice, but it is still a good addition to the site.
Then I told you a while back, in one of the earliest writing updates, that I was trying for a store on this site, something for the visitors to purchase merch. I am glad to say that is back in the front of the set of priorities, and I have reached out to an illustrator about some images for the store. I will keep you posted on this development, but eventually the site will get a store, I promise.
Lists Do Wonders
That is about all I have for this update. Lists, man… they do wonders.
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