Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Category Archives: Writing


by 3 Comments

Words

I was making some calculations, last night.

numbers-721046In the last three years, I’ve been sticking to a very strict schedule of one post per day, at least, on my Italian blog, strategie evolutive – which is in the Top 20 of Italian literary blogs.
I normally post once a day (early in the morning), and my post clock at around 800 words (actually 600-1000, depending on subject, mood etc.)
That makes roughly 5000 words per week.
260.000 words per year.
I’m also doing at least one 500-1000 post per week for the science fiction/fantasy blogzine Il Futuro è Tornato – say another 40.000 words per year.
Starting this year – last month, actually – I’m also filing a review or two per month on the literary review blogzine Liberidiscrivere – nothing fancy, let’s say 1500/2000 words per month.
Before, I used to write roughly the same amounts for L’Indice dei Libri del Mese, and before that, I did something like 25.000 words per bimester for LibriNuovi, which was a paper/analog magazine (and now is making a comeback as a webzine – so maybe I’ll write stuff for them again).
So, make it another 12.000 words a year.
And now, I’m doing 2 or 3 posts per week, 300-600 words each, here on Karavansara.
Let’s say another 20.000 words.

Which gives me a total of about 330.000 per year of original contents, just blogging.
A figure I have no problem rounding up to 350.000, considering that I often do two posts per day on strategie evolutive, plus guest posts and stuff.

350.000 words per year.

And here I can stop and tell myself that my goal should be putting down 350.000 words of fiction and gaming material per year.
Now that would be great – because out of 350K words of fiction and gaming material, I could probably get roughly 150.000 good words, good stories, good gaming supplements.
Stuff worth publishing.

Currently, my fictional output is much lower than that.
I need to work on that.

What I find extremely ridiculous – and annoying – is that according to some Italian web-gurus, I am not a writer.
I do not have a certification, I do not have a badge, I did not kowtow in front of certain idols.
My output of 350.000 words per year, my 250.000/300.000 readers per year (and growing!), are meaningless.
Years spent generating a third of a million words of original content are not even providing me with any kind of qualification, or reference, or recognized skill.

And therefore all of this – the blogs, the webzines, the guest posts, the reviews – is not generating a single eurocent of revenue.
The simple idea of wishing for an honest revenue from blogging is considered vulgar, illegitimate and stupid, by the majority of people in my country.

Not only my status as a writer is denied, but I am not even allowed the simple dignity of a honest busker: even the simple PayPal donation button, or the link to the Amazon wishlist, is considered “begging”, and therefore a clear sign of a terrible lack of class and dignity.

And it is ridiculous – and annoying.


by 9 Comments

Keep working

Getting old I’m getting lazy*.
So I need all the help I can to keep on track with my work.

So, right now I’m working on a game-related project, putting together a thing tentatively called The Claws of the Purple Cat.

Writing a game scenario is quite fun, but it is not like writing a story.
It’s more like putting together a construction kit for a story.

I’m writing in blocks – chunks of information that the game keeper will be able (hopefully) to assemble in the way and inthe order that fits his game.

It’s quite interesting, but as I said – I’m lazy.
So, to keep on the straight and narrow, I’m using you – my readers.

There’s a word countere here on the right – courtesy of Writertopia.
It shows my progress.
The-Penguins-of-Madagascar-Season-2-Episode-2-It-s-About-TimeThis way, I can’t let go and waste time napping or watching old Penguins of Madagascar reruns without publicly losing face.
Nice and smooth.
I’m blackmailing myself into working with a serious schedule.

And now, back to work.

———————————-
*Not that when I was younger I was any different, but my health was better, and I had more energy.


by 1 Comment

Do It Yourself

Two or three years back I was in the audience at a panel, held during the Turin Book Fair, whan one member of the public asked a well known editor “What would you suggest to a kid that wants to become a writer?”
The editor replied “Don’t!”
And then expanded, explaining there’s already too many writers out there, while readers are getting scarcer by the day.
He came across as an all-around jerk, but they tell me that’s the persona he loves to show to the world, so I guess it’s ok.

Two days ago I was asked the same question.
Which was pretty awkward – I mean, I’m not exactly Stephen King, I can barely hold my own writing, who am I to give suggestions?
Anyway, I tried my best.

Continue reading →


by 12 Comments

Let’s face the music, and dance

This is not exactly the post I had in mind – I’ve been posting an awful lot about writing, recently, and I guess my readers might like some variety.
But, bear with me, this one is really a spontaneous, straight away thing.
And it somewhat connects with the post I did about themes.

ModernTimesEndingIt all started because the post my friend Chiara did on her blog, about happy endings.
And because of a long talk I had with The Guys*, about women, broken hearts and expectations in a relationship.
So, yes, expect something weird…

Let’s start by stating that my friend Chiara does not believe in “perfect” happy endings.
The dread “What Next?” is there to unsettle the balance.
And I somewhat agree with her – happy endings tying together neatly all the loose ends and de facto stopping thestory, are not my kind of thing, either.
But, on the other hand, I am highly suspicious of “downer endings” – those which basically tell us that it was all for nothing, life sucks, and nothing ever goes as planned**…
I am suspicious because it feels (often) as a way for the author to wink at the reader, suggesting they both are so world-weary and blasé they can laugh at such romantic notions like happy endings.
Sometimes the tragic ending is as dishonest and manipulative, and fake, as the best (…) happy endings out there.

And yet Continue reading →


by 2 Comments >

I am told that my Italian language blog, strategie evolutive, was nominated for the Prix Italia for science fiction – the Italian equivalent of the Hugo Award.
In the final ballot, my old blog (now in its sixth year) received one vote only.
I am deeply grateful to the lonely madman that decided to cast his vote for strategie evolutive*.
That single vote counts to me more than the prize.
Thank you.

————————————————————

* or the lonely madwoman that decided to cast hers, of course.


by 2 Comments

The way they do it

Rogue Blades Entertainment has a strong track record as far as I’m concerned – I have a few of their anthologies here on my shelf, and they never failed to deliver as promised: entertaining, original, solid no-frills sword & sorcery.

9780982053683_covSo I was extremely interested when Writing Fantasy Heroes was announced – a multi-author collection of essays on sword & sorcery writing, from one of my favorite purveyours of sword & sorcery, edited by J.M. Waltz.
What could go wrong with that?

Well, first there was the fact that the Italian Amazon does not carry the book.
Then, the delivery guy was unable to find my house (it happens, I live in the wilderness), and sent my copy back to the international seller from which I had ordered it.
With the refund, I got me a second copy.
And it got to my house two days before Easter, and waited in the pouring rain, hanging halfway out of my (flooded) mailbox, for my return home from the hospital.

Continue reading →