The Ethics of Writing

by Tory Hayward

Ethics and writing seems straightforward enough at first. Do not plagiarise, and that is about it. Don't take the work of others and pass it off as your own.

But if we dig a little deeper it becomes much less simple. Writing a story produces a 'truth,' or as Judy Nunn said in an interview on the Morning Show on the ABC the other week, "Reading is always a learning experience." Even when the reader knows they are reading fiction, they still learn from what you have written.

So does that then behoove writers to write meticulously researched novels? To produce some educational tome? Well of course not. It's fiction. Real facts can be woven into our stories, but in some instances there are no real facts. Our stories are imaginary worlds, and it's perfectly acceptable that our facts are imaginary too. How can the writer who has her romance set on a planet in a distant galaxy be writing something based on an accepted fact? Neither she nor her reader expect it.

Which brings us to the issue of context. Can the Aussie-born writer with no Asian heritage write an Asian heroine? And if not, where is the line that a writer cannot cross? Can an erotica writer write a story that romanticises a taboo relationship?

As we all know, a writer can write whatever they like, and in these days of self-publishing can find somewhere to publish it. And this is how it should be. Imagine for a moment a world where there were rules about who could write what. It would be a grey, dictatorial world at the very least.

I like to subscribe to Oscar Wilde's view:

Books are well written or badly written. That is all.

So go forth, my writerly friends. Leap into our uncensored world where it is ethical to write unethically. Twist facts, push the status quo, and let truth in your writing simply be your truth.  Everything is possible.

It’s not rocket science, but that doesn’t make it easy!

with guest blogger Rachael Johns

Australian women's fiction author Rachael Johns

Excuse me if this blog post is a little all over the place. My house almost burnt down this week, I’m in the midst of HELLISH revisions for my next women’s fiction, and the proposal for my next category romance was just rejected. That’s right, rejection happens even after you’re published and it hurts just as bad. Needless to say, this week things have been a little hectic in my life – my brain switching between dealing with insurance companies, trying to make The Art of Keeping Secrets (next WF) even better, and working out a total new plot for my next category romance (a Special Edition in my new series The McKinnels of Jewell Rock).

These days I’m a commercial fiction writer – I do this gig for my full-time job and I get paid (yay) to do it. This sounds like a dream come true, right? And, of course, in many ways it is. But things have changed from when I was first writing ALL those years ago (1997 to be exact) and only dreaming of being published.

In those days I stole time to write on weekends, when my kids napped or when my husband watched TV at night, but these days I wave my tribe off to school and work, and then I sit down at the computer and write. I do this whether I want to or not, whether the muse is playing nice or AWOL, because I have contracts, deadlines and private school fees to pay.

And like any job, it’s NOT ALWAYS EASY.

There are bad reviews, edits from publishers that make you want to throw yourself off cliffs and sometimes a book you really want to write isn’t the book your employer wants you to write, so you have to come up with something new. You have to manufacture an idea. I find this particularly hard because I am not one of those writers who has exercise books full of ideas for future novels. And the more books I write, the more I doubt about whether I’m actually any good at writing books at all.

You have to have a tough skin and you have to be resilient to write fiction for a living; a bunch of really wonderful writing friends who understand the highs and lows is also a must. You have to be able to write through crippling self-doubt and disappointment, and even when your muse is nowhere in sight.

With being a full-time writer comes the responsibility of being able to keep coming up with fresh story ideas, to write a book that is even BETTER than your last one. I’m blessed to have a whole host of devoted readers who are waiting for my next book, but with this comes a kind of pressure that wasn’t there when writing was essentially a hobby. It might not be brain surgery or rocket science but life as a commercial fiction writer is NOT for the faint-hearted.

A few of Rachael Johns published works

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot I love about being an author – getting new covers, seeing my books on shelves, getting reader letters from die-hard fans, and of course the fact I get to work from home in my PJs. But I just want to get it out there that getting published might seem like a massive hurdle when you’re first starting out, but be prepared for the fact that publication is only the first mountain you will have to climb.

Love to Love: Nashville (totally addicted at the moment). Oh, and my house not burning down this week – that was pretty cool!

Love to Laugh: With English comedian, Michael McIntyre – his stand-up skits about parenting are hilarious (check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQfylQ2Jgg)

Love to Learn: about plot. I love craft books and usually I buy them and barely look at them, but right now I’m reading AlexandraSokoloff’s Writing Love: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors 2 and I’m thoroughly enjoying it! 

An excerpt from Rachael Johns' March 2016 release...
Outback Sisters

Frankie and Simone are sisters and best friends. Could a new man in town drive a wedge between them for the first time ever?

Cafe owner Frankie has been unlucky in love all her life. It’s hard in a small town like Bunyip Bay to meet prospective partners. Her sister, Simone, lost the love of her life years before and is now devoted to raising their two teenage girls, leaving little time for romance. When Frankie is kissed by a handsome stranger who calls her Simone, it’s a case of mistaken identity – but who is this man and how does he know Simone?

Read more and purchase via Rachael's website.

Writing Life: Re-filling the Creative Well

with Cassandra Samuels

I don't know about you but last year was a hard one for me. There were lots of up and downs - more downs than ups it felt like at times - but here we are at the beginning of a new year. It's time to start over, start anew, begin again.

Gify.com

Sometimes it feels like we are always going at a million miles an hour.

After the craziness of Christmas and New Year it is nice to spend some time dreaming, reflecting, and relaxing not just the body, but the mind, too.

 

It's time to re-fill the creative well; the place in your head where all good things begin to grow.

How can you re-fill that creative well?

There are plenty of ways. What works best is really up to you.

• Take a short break away from the everyday, get away from it all
• Take time out to watch that TV series you have been recording all year
• Read some of those books on the To Be Read (TBR) pile/shelf/bookcase/room
• Perhaps take a long hot bath
• Go for a walk along the beach
• Go to the movies
• Get a massage 
• Go to a museum or art gallery

All these activities are relaxing and rejuvenating.



So are you in need of Refilling the Creative Well? How do you re-fill the well?

Love to Love: Growing my own fruit and Veg in my mini vege patch.

Love to Laugh: at Romantic comedies like Love Actually.

Love to Learn: new ways to re-fill my creative well.

Writing life: Why Don't They Get It?

By Cassandra Samuels

I was talking to a writing friend the other day and we were lamenting the fact that sometimes our friends and family just don’t get it. What am I talking about? The writing process. 

It is hard for them to understand we need time to write, that in actual fact we can’t write and do other chores at the same time. It takes personal time away from them, costs money in memberships and courses, conferences and resources, and you haven't even finished your draft manuscript despite the fact you've been writing it for years.


Don't despair.

writingspirit.com

I'm so lucky my husband is very supportive, but it wasn't always easy for my family to understand why I wasn't sitting down watching tv with them at night. My kids still come in to ask me questions like do I know where they left their shoes/ipad/phone? even though they're aware I am writing. I can't blame them, I'm their mother first and a writer next, after all. (And I usually know where everything is!) Sometimes I think they worry about me and just need to make sure I haven't slumped over my keyboard. 

Writing is a mental task and often our family and friends get confused and think it must be like other types of mental tasking that they perform everyday, flitting from an email to FB, then to a YouTube video, and back to an email without too much mental stress. But creative writing is one of those things that is elemental and organic. The act of getting a story from the mind into a publishable manuscript is not easy. In fact, it's very, very hard.

 So, yes, sometimes they just don't get it. But here are some options you might consider:

• Wait until they are all asleep. (If you are a night person or someone who needs little or no sleep this is a great option.)
• Get up early while they are all asleep. (If you are a morning person and your brain works at 4am, go for it.)
• Announce you are going to your desk to write and ask nicely not to be disturbed. (most kids and some adults don't understand this kind of request.)
• Announce you are going to your desk to write and tell them you are not to be interrupted unless there is a fire or an injury requiring hospitalization. (Depending on the age of your family members this may be taken seriously, or not.)
• Lock the door and hope for the best. (This could be dangerous if, like me, you write with headphones on, as you may not hear the smoke alarm/banging on the door and therefore fry to a crisp.)
• Bribery - works best with smaller children who like sweets, and teens who want money. (This option could get you into all sorts of strife with the tooth fairy and your bank manager).
• Bargain - This is where you bargain for some writing time in return for a nominated time of, for example, kicking the ball around the yard or watching a movie.
• Put a sign on the outside of your closed (but not locked) door that reminds them you are inside creating. (You know, just in case they forget.)

Image courtesy Dee Scully

• Sit them down and explain to them what writing is really like for you, how hard it is, and how important it is for you to be left alone to do it. This could be your best bet. You are a 'words' person so use those words to explain in a way that they might understand.

It won't happen over night but it will happen. You may have to persevere until they do grasp the concept. (Only other writers will truly get it.) Try explaining that you need to focus on the world you are in, the emotions of your characters, and the weaving in of crucial plot points, and that this is difficult when constantly interrupted. It requires time and concentration. It requires mental fortitude and it requires others to try and understand this process so that you can achieve your goals.
 

If your partner/husband isn’t particularly supportive of your venture into creative writing and you are serious about writing, you need to sit them down and tell them that this is not a just hobby for you. You need them to understand and respect that your aim is for publication and isn't about creating a story never to see the light of day. You want a published book, and then another and another. This can only be achieved by putting your backside in a chair and your fingers on a keyboard/pen to paper and doing the hours required to finish your story. 

This is your dream but it will be made easier if  you have the support of your family and friends, and their understanding, too. It is in a lot of ways a selfish dream. Let's face it, most creative dreams are. There is no promise of success, even after publication, but don’t let that stop you.
 

Please don't let it stop you.

Have you sat down and had the talk with your family and friends about your writing? Are they supportive or do they just not get it?

Love to love – going to the RWAust conference and meeting up with all my friends.

Love to learn – about how I can make my writing better.

Love to laugh – at early drafts of my work and silly typos.