ON BEING A WRITER By: Gerald Gillis

George Orwell wrote in his 1946 essay, Why I Write: "All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand."

A lot of effort goes into writing a book; enormous amounts of time and energy. There are times of great excitement and moments of suffocating doubt. There is hope and promise and turn-the-page anticipation, when creating something in the sweet glow of afternoon where nothing existed in the early calm of morning. There's also the opportunity to gage the thickness of one's skin and the stoutness of one's heart, if rejection comes knocking, at once so marginalizing and discouraging that it seems as if the very demon of Orwell's essay is laughing hysterically at the folly of such a subjective undertaking. High highs and low lows are all part of the package. And by no means is the foregoing restricted to the writing profession, but still it's all there, all over the chart, sort of like the Dow Jones nowadays.

I began writing Shall Never See So Much, several years ago while I was still traveling forty six weeks a year as a member of the corporate world. I wrote at home, on airplanes, in hotel rooms and sometimes made notes (mental mind you) while driving rental cars. I chose the year 1968 to provide a setting that I thought would be interesting. I chose a brother and sister through whom I would tell my story.

I also wanted to write a block-buster best seller, become wildly famous, extensively followed, enormously wealthy and then churn out a new smash hit on my June birthday every year for the rest of my days.

And why not? What writer doesn't covet the literary Heavyweight Championship belt? That's not the whole of it, however. So why do it? Why persevere?

Because writers have a story they need to tell and a point they need to make. My story in Shall Never See So Much, involves the bravery of my characters in their times of turmoil; my point is, my belief that the human spirit is essentially, fundamentally, demonstrably heroic. I believe it because I've studied history. I believe because I've seen it in the lives of everyday people like my grandmother and my parents. I still see it in my wife and kids and now I'm starting to see it in my grand kids. They are heroes to me, real heroes, and they inspire me by their example.

That's the story I wanted to tell and the message I wanted to impart. That's why I write. That's where I find the real worth.

That's my purpose.

Gerald Gillis is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He is married and the father of three grown children. Gerald is a graduate of the University of Tampa (MBA) and the University of Georgia (BBA). After college Gerald served for three years as an artillery officer in the Marine Corps with duty stations in the US and Okinawa/mainland Japan. He then worked as an executive in the medical devices industry where he traveled extensively, both foreign and domestically. Gerald became a full time novelist in 2009. Shall Never See So Much is his second novel. His first novel was published 25 years ago and did reasonably well, but Gerald decided that his business career would better accommodate educating kids and paying the mortgage than a career as a neophyte novelist. Hence, Gerald's writing career has resumed after a bit of a hiatus.

Karma & The Author Interview

My co-writer and I run a website as well as a blog, where we do book reviews and author interviews. Interviewing is a serious business and not something we take lightly. There are certain levels of friendship and trust that must first be established before we will even consider asking an author for an interview. Let's face it, you don't want to friend someone and turn around fifteen minutes later and ask for an interview. It's like meeting someone and calling them the next day to borrow money; it can be done but it is pretty tacky when it is. We never want someone to think that our intentions are selfishly motivated.

It is for this very reason that several of our friends who also happen to be authors have not been interviewed on WebbWeaver. We simply haven't asked them, as the friendship is so much more important than any interview. There are of course, some authors who jump right out there in our 'getting acquainted' stage and ask for an interview. We don't always interview these folks, as we sometimes get that icky feeling of being used and no one likes that. It may sound like a ridiculous, petty thing, but I think there is something to be said for respect. If you take the time to get to know someone as a friend and colleague, then the other stuff just kind of works itself out on a case by case basis.

Having said all this, I have never given too much thought to the stress that can go along with an author interview. Even I sometimes forget that well known writers such as Michael Palmer, Tasha Alexander or even Laren Kate are still just regular people. I have spent the better part of my life being in awe of writers and placing them in that 'elite' status because of what they do. Since I started my writing career, I have gotten an eye opening shot of reality as to the amount of work and time that goes into the craft of novel writing. I see things in a different light than I did and what used to be awe has been replaced with admiration and respect. I love when a little dose of what I put out comes back to bite me in the butt...it always helps to keep me grounded. This time my medicine comes in the form of an author interview...not one where I am the interviewer, but rather the one being interviewed! My interviewer followed all my own personal guidelines and established herself as a friend first and then BAM! just like that, she asked and I accepted. This will be my first interview and it will be a live one hour spot on Artists First Radio. I have spent a year doing author interviews and not once did I think it possible for the author to be nervous, I mean it's their book right? What in the world is there for them to be nervous about? Well, here I sit swallowing a bit of what I have so generously handed out...a good dose of my own medicine. So, for those of you who do book reviews or author interviews always remember that it could be you and sometimes the shoe really does end up on the other foot.

CK Webb

Social Networking and the Writer

Let's all face it...social networking has become HUGE! But with each person, the reason for using social media and how it's used, varies drastically.

There is the 'Magic' social media guy; you know him or her well. They breeze in every few months, type out a line or two, download a hideous photo then, like magic, they are gone just as quickly as they appeared. There are the 'Trendy' social media folks who jump on the bandwagon in short violent bursts, usually when some star makes mention of a site or one of the sites hits the headlines. Then there are the 'Denial' networkers who limit themselves to social media 'only on weekends' or 'only late at night if I'm having trouble sleeping'. There are people who use social media to find lost family, old friends, love, money and fame. Some people even go as far as to create an alternate existence chock full of farm lands, big cities, fake friends, fake pets and alter egos. So, which one are you?
I began testing the social media waters as a means of creating a foundation to introduce myself to the world as a writer. Soon my co-writer & I began to accumulated more and more friends. We then decided to branch out a bit, at first delving into book reviews and author interviews. Today, one year later, we have a review site, web site, multiple Twitter accounts and even a fanpage on Facebook.

So what has been the up side of social networking for me as a writer? Simple... not only have I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people but I have had the chance to really know them as friends and colleagues. We met our agent on Twitter, and several authors were already friends of ours before signing with our literary agency, Tribe Lit. A lot of well known authors have graciously agreed to interview with WebbWeaver because of the rapport we already had with them through social media sites. There are wonderful writer's groups and discussion forums available through social media and a host of advertising possibilities. You can even blog about or showcase your writing on social networking sites. Publishers, editors and agents all can be found on these sites and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you can get the opportunity to not only know these folks, but be welcomed into their circle of friends. Now all this may sound great but there is also a down side to social networking.

If you are planning to use these sites to get your name out there, then there are a few things you should try to remember. Social networking means you have to be 'social', even if you aren't normally. It also means that you would do well to be diplomatic in your wording at times when you would like to be rude. You will have to deal with people that you don't necessarily like but who offer up incite or knowledge into the writing world, that is crucial and necessary for your growth as a writer. There will be spammers who will, no doubt, drive you insane by posting penis enlargement advertisements on your blog, Facebook wall or website. You will most assuredly get a first hand look at back-stabbing and cut-throating which is sadly, a part of life as well as the writing industry. On days when you want to string together a series of obscenities so intricately woven that they could fill the hole in the ozone layer, you can't or rather you shouldn't, because now you never know who may be watching or reading your posts!

And the biggest drawback to this social networking conundrum... it is time consuming. Everyday I say my good morning's to a rather large group of individuals, I post on the fan page or write a review or blog post. These things can take you away from the task at hand... writing your novel. In the time it took me to plan & write this blog post, I could have easily written a couple thousand words on a manuscript. In the time it took you to follow the link from Twitter, Facebook or wherever, and then read this post...You could have done the same.

Co-Writer, Hand Cramps and Swiss Cake Rolls

I set out over a year ago to pick up a pen and paper and begin the tedious task of writing a novel. It was, after all, the one desire I had that had never faltered in all my years. While in the process of writing it suddenly hit me...A wonderful, devilishly wicked story concept. I had never seen or read anything like it and wondered who I could trust enough to run the idea past. Ah-Ha! My best friend, of course. So, that is exactly what I did, and guess what? Turned out she had a natural ability for story development, we were definitely on the same page and she could type...A partnership was born. Everything did not fall into place overnight but it did eventually fall into place. We each found a unique strength and fit in our shared writing abilities. We did, of course, argue and sometimes fight. Once or twice we even talked of absolving the partnership and throwing in the towel, but never did. We were determined, each for their own personal reasons. The fruit of all that labor and months of growing pains became CRUELTY TO INNOCENTS, our debut novel.

Now, tucked neatly away, are hundreds upon hundreds of hand written pages ( Yes! I hand write all my work). The memory of the amount of Ibuprofen I consumed in an effort to battle the hand cramps that would always accompany my writing process and a few extra pounds gained while indulging in Swiss Cake Rolls (writing fuel) was little price to pay. Notebook, pens and Swiss Cake Rolls, and I am ready to work, and my partner is always ready to type.

Perhaps one day I will learn how to type and the process will change completely, but as I understand it, you don't fix what isn't broken. I think I will just stick with my co-writer, my hand cramps and my Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls.