Abigail, the Writer

[GeoBQn]

Abigail posted two long entries on the topic of writing, and how all of her elementary school teachers, professors, and Virginia Woolf (who sucks, apparently) taught her to do it wrong.

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/04/dear-virginia-woolf-you-suck.html

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/04/on-making-things-needlessly-complicated.html

Note: comments are still closed "for Lent."

[wtylcf]

Hm. So her argument is that to become a successful writer you don't need to dedicate exceptional time, space and energy to the task? And she is proving that it is possible to have a successful career as a writer by being a mommyblogger? Who (presumably) doesn't earn money from her blog? And who has never been published? And who has never made money off her writing?

Virginia Woolf just rolled over in her grave and asked, "I'M SORRY; WHO IS THIS BITCH?"

Carry on in your eternal rest, Virgina; no need to be bothered.

[nelliebelle1197]

Hm. So her argument is that to become a successful writer you don't need to dedicate exceptional time, space and energy to the task? And she is proving that it is possible to have a successful career as a writer by being a mommyblogger? Who (presumably) doesn't earn money from her blog? And who has never been published? And who has never made money off her writing?

Virginia Woolf just rolled over in her grave and asked, "I'M SORRY; WHO IS THIS BITCH?"

Carry on in your eternal rest, Virgina; no need to be bothered.

i actually seriously doubt Virginia Woolf would deign to look down her patrician nose to sniff at this silly woman.

[Magdelope]

Oh god. Okay... Abigail kind of bugs me... she doesn't piss me off the same way, for example, Lori does. She bugs me in the same way a... younger arrogant kid would. Which is strange because Abigail is much older than me.

But anyway, her post about Virginia Woolf annoyed me because she really has no idea why Woolf wrote what she did, and what reality she had. In Woolf's time housework took much more time, first of all. Second of all, ugh, no, Abigail is so arrogant. Don't have the patience to write anything productive. She makes me so tired.

About her other post. Gosh, she really, really loves to be a victim doesn't she? "I was weaker than most", how the hell can she know that?

As a teacher, the rest of her post just pisses me off. I'm a teacher and I write everyday. I had a teacher seminar/conference/intensive course kind of thing about two weeks ago and all the other teachers and teacherstudents there were very creative. Drawing, playing instruments, reading, writing. All of us. We had jamming sessions almost every afternoon singing and playing. We shared our creative texts working on being better. We are not fucking "blocked creatives", whatever it is she means by that.

Okay, maybe when I've been working for 30 years (I'm still on my first year working and I'm still studying on the side to get my actual teaching licence) I'll have less energy. But I will always be creative and I hope, hope, hope that I will never stop writing. If I stop writing, I will no longer be me.

[dairyfreelife]

The narcissist isn't getting any responses to her awesomeness. Wonder how she takes it?

And note: She missed the entire point of "A Room of One's Own," not that that surprises me either.

[mockingbird]

Ummm... newsflash, Abigail. Professors have to publish to get tenure (heck, many times they must be published to even land a job in the first place!), and they continue to publish after that. If someone is an English/Creative Writing professor (some schools differentiate and some just call them all "English") chances are what they are publishing is CREATIVE WRITING. So, being a professor is not "just" a "stable job" for "blocked creatives", it is a stable job THAT PAYS YOU TO WRITE. (And even if the person is a literature professor, writing about writing can be very helpful if that person wanted to delve into creative writing - both in practicing how to communicate effectively like all writing can, and in terms of studying the craft so you can apply what you learned later on.)

And about her Virginia Woolf rant, I haven't actually read A Room of One's Own, but if you want to take the time to do *anything* seriously I think you are going to have to sacrifice something, because by default if you make one activity a priority in your life, you might not have as much time for other things. However, many authors today are SAHMs and it's perfectly feasible to balance both.

[Rainytown]

Hm. So her argument is that to become a successful writer you don't need to dedicate exceptional time, space and energy to the task?

I just wrote a page-long rant on this. I deleted it. ;-) Suffice it to say I'm an author. It took me seven years of hard work to attract an agent and sell my books. This is a full-time job. It's more lucrative to work at McDonald's than publish your first novel, but it is the biggest goal I have ever had. My agent sold my three-book series to a division of Harper Collins last November. They'll be out next year.

EVERY PERSON I KNOW in this industry works hard to get published and stay that way. It's not just the writing. Authors are expected to have a marketing plan. You're expected to show up on social media and interact with readers. There's eleventy-hundred things that go into this that have nothing to do with sitting in a chair and writing, but you're expected to finish two books a year in the sub-genre I write in.

Perhaps Abigail the Writer needs to attend a book signing and talk to some actual authors about the amount of blood, sweat and tears it takes to make it in this industry. Maybe she thinks it's going to magically happen if she prays about it.

:eyeroll:

[Rainytown]

If someone is an English/Creative Writing professor (some schools differentiate and some just call them all "English") chances are what they are publishing is CREATIVE WRITING.

Perhaps Abigail should take herself off to the bookstore and pick up one of Eloisa James' historical romances. Eloisa James is the pen name of a professor at Fordham. IIRC, she teaches Shakespeare. Her books are delightful. Her colleagues don't seem to give her a hard time about her side job, either. After all, I'm sure they shut up quickly when she shows them one of her royalty statements.

[Bloo]

Rainytown, I'd be curious to know more about your novels!

I have a friend who is an author, and she's wonderfully creative and a great communicator. She's one of the smartest and coolest people I know. She's like the opposite of Abigail in pretty much every way possible.

[GeoBQn]

I'm starting to wonder if Abigail is writing an actual book. During lent, she was posting updates on her writing word counts, even on the days she didn't brake her Lenten fast by posting on her blog. Today, she said her "book coach" encouraged her to write.

[PopRox]

I just wrote a page-long rant on this. I deleted it. ;-) Suffice it to say I'm an author. It took me seven years of hard work to attract an agent and sell my books. This is a full-time job. It's more lucrative to work at McDonald's than publish your first novel, but it is the biggest goal I have ever had. My agent sold my three-book series to a division of Harper Collins last November. They'll be out next year.

Off the topic of Abigail-- that's awesome! Congratulations on your upcoming publication. :D Best of luck with all your writing!

Back to Abigail-- I get frustrated every time I read her. That a non-professional, never-published "writer" would have the gall to say that English professors and *professional writers* "weren't writing" or were "blocked creatives" makes my blood boil. Excuse me, but who the fuck are you?

Sorry for the rant. I've had a rough day. :(

[luv2run]

I don't agree with the latest one on not reading.

I'm a third order Carmelite (used to be in the same group), and St. Teresa of Avila said to actually always have a picture of some sort of "SPIRITUAL READING" to help you re focus on prayer when you get distracted.

Ugh.

I feel like she's making up Carmel as she goes along, and dishing out advice that is not prudent. Or correct in any form or fashion. Personally, I think it's dangerous. I don't think people listen to her though. At least the ones in real life.

[GeoBQn]

She has now closed the blog to comments indefinitely:

I closed the comments to better focus on prayer and writing. How long is this going to last? I dunno. Jesus is in charge of this ship, not me.

Seems counterproductive for a "writer" to close off a mode of feedback. Real writers learn to deal with or use feedback--if people are reacting strongly to something, then it is for a reason that should be addressed before anything goes to print. My dad and I have been following the blog for YA writer Susan Beth Pfeffer, who has used the forum to talk about her writing process and communicate with readers, and it has been really enlightening.

ETA:

I'm very firm about this because I'm a recovering "over-reader." The only thing that stopped me, was my poverty. My family became too poor to buy books. My relationships with reading and writing is so much more healthy and less "attached", or "disordered" now that I don't over read. My prayer life is better too.

1. You are too poor to buy books? Library, library, library, library.

2. The best writers tend to be people who are avid readers.

[alba]

It's been a while since I read "A Room of One's Own", but I'm pretty sure Abigail's missed the point entirely. Here's a hint: if you want to be a writer, you might want to work on your reading comprehension first.

And it annoys me that she says writing books is "uncomplicated" and compares it to a fitness plan. If your goal is simply to write "a book", sure. Just sit down and write 500 or 1000 words every night and within a few months you'll have a book. Most people, however, don't just want to write "a book", they want something they'll be proud of and know is the best they could have written, and that really can be complicated.

I love how she was a "weaker child" because no one prayed for her, though :lol:

[Cora Persephona]

Abigail is such a narcissist.

"But the world already has Victor Hugo. It doesn't yet have an Abigail Benjamin."

Oh, I think it has enough!

[Bloo]

Wait, whaaaat? Abigail said she's too poor to buy books and had to give them up? You mean Abigail had to make a....*gasp*....SACRIFICE?!??!?!

I mean, it doesn't sound like it meant a whole lot to her, but baby steps!

[NurseNell]

According to Abigail, Mr. Robert Ebert died. Now, she did call him Roger in the subject line, but in the post she calls him Robert more than once. He agreed with her on a movie that was really, really bad. I can't comment, I didn't see the movie, Autumn in New York.

[Dysfundamental]

Perhaps Abigail should take herself off to the bookstore and pick up one of Eloisa James' historical romances. Eloisa James is the pen name of a professor at Fordham. IIRC, she teaches Shakespeare. Her books are delightful. Her colleagues don't seem to give her a hard time about her side job, either. After all, I'm sure they shut up quickly when she shows them one of her royalty statements.

She was a grad student when I was an undergrad and we were in a couple of classes together. Extraordinarily nice person, super smart. I am so glad for her success and dig her romances!

Her dad is, and mum was, both very well regarded literary writers, and according to an interview I read, both thought it was great that she was writing popular fiction.

[GeoBQn]

Abigail is really embracing this new "writer" identity. She now has an entry on how to start a blog:

abigails-alcove.blogspot.ca/2013/04/how-to-start-blog.html

3. Privacy. Pray about privacy issues with Jesus and chat about them with your spouse before starting your blog. My blog is all "out there." I use my real name and my kids real names. Some blogger friends use their real name and then have greater privacy for their kids. Shoved to Them refers to her kids by their position in her family, so her posts refer to kid #1, or kid #8. Minnesota Mom gives special blog nicknames to her children. You can also be totally Anonymous. You can use a nom de plume and not post any pictures of spouses, kids, or pets on your site.

As a parent of minor children, I think Abigail should have a deeper discussion with Jesus about privacy. I was able to find her personal Facebook page from the information she has on her blog, and who knows what info can be found from that?

Then go juicy. It's writing, go bleed a little. Tell us about your cross. It can be infertility, a NICU stay, the stress of being single while hoping to find a spouse.

What a perfect example of the "Murder, Arson, Jaywalking" trope.

8. When you outgrow your blog, its time to write a book. You know readers know which ones I am talking about! You don't have to write a long book. A book can be a lovely 30 to 45 pages. If you've established your writing voice, if you have your story, if you have hungry readers who want to know more, then its time to "graduate" from a blog to a book. Don't let the success of your blog limit you. Don't tell yourself "I'm just a blogger." Say "I'm a writer." Because you are!

Oh yeah, she is definitely writing a book, though I'm guessing it will never get farther than self-publishing for Kindles.

[Loveday]

I can't get past the first line in her Virginia Woolf post. "Your story archs are vivid."

What the hell is a story 'arch?' :doh:

[Rainytown]

I use my real name and my kids real names.

EHRMAGERD. Has she lost her mind?

Earth to Abigail: There are STALKERS on the Internet, some of which are sufficiently unhinged to do the most basic research (i.e., thirty seconds on Google, if it takes THAT long,) and SHOW UP AT YOUR HOUSE, for instance. Using one's children's real names on a blog (or FB page that isn't set to private,) is inadvisable at best and idiotic at worst. If Abigail cares nothing for her own safety, great. Perhaps she should think about her family's safety. Someone might also want to mention to her that the deity of her choice gave us free will and common sense for a reason, and exposing one's family to God knows what because she thinks she's being "real" will buy her nothing but trouble.

MOST of my colleagues write under a pen name for a reason.

I'm absolutely stunned a parent could be so cavalier about her family's safety.

[slickcat79]

Um, is it really a natural progression to go from blogging to writing a book? I mean, I can think of a couple of bloggers who did it, but their books are mostly just compilations of things on their sites plus a few additional entries. I think there's a pretty strong disconnect between mommy blogging and becoming an author :?

[GeoBQn]

I've seen cooking and crafting bloggers get book deals, but the books were cookbooks or books of craft projects, not about their lives.

[Kitty]

Um, is it really a natural progression to go from blogging to writing a book? I mean, I can think of a couple of bloggers who did it, but their books are mostly just compilations of things on their sites plus a few additional entries. I think there's a pretty strong disconnect between mommy blogging and becoming an author :?

I don't know, writers do keep blogs, but what they (intend to) publish may be entirely different from what they put on their blogs. If Abigail does little writing other than mommy blogging, then yeah, going from that to becoming an author is a pretty strong disconnect if she's planning on writing anything other than personal musings (which I'm not sure anyone would want to read, she's fucking crazy). I don't pay much attention to her, but she wouldn't be trying to write fiction, would she? Because I'm sure it would be horrid, even if she writes a lot outside of blogging.

[GeoBQn]

I picture any fiction writing by Abigail to be like the anti-abortion short story we tore apart here a few months ago, but with stuff thrown in about how poverty is awesome.