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magnificent1rascal
Over 90 days ago
United States
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Divine Rapscallion
Whether confined to books or a reflection of societal attitudes, it is a disturbing trend. Not only does it imply possession, but it strips the "wife" of her own identity. Is being someone's wife the thing makes a woman interesting enough to write a book about, or is there something about her that could pique our interest?
And that business about the architect and her husband is just shameful.
Here are some of the results of the search Gypsy suggested on Amazon (the 's wife):
• The Tycoon's Convenient Wife by Ros Clarke
• The Aviator's Wife: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin
• The Shoemaker's Wife: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani
• Eat Healthy with the Brain Doctor's Wife Cookbook by Tana Amen and B.S.N.
So I could write a book and claim that my husband's line of work makes me an expert?
• The Candidate's Wife by Isabella Ashe
• Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer: A Novel (P.S.) by Sena Jeter Naslund and Christopher Wormell
Being Ahab's wife is much more relevant than being a star-gazer, apparently.
• The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox
Willful? As in a willful child? How insulting!
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE (An Inspector Samuel Tay Novel) by Jake Needham
• The Tiger's Wife: A Novel by Téa Obreht
• The Warrior's Wife by Denise Domning
• The Anatomist's Wife (A Lady Darby Mystery) by Anna Lee Huber
• The Assassin's Wife by Roger Weston
• The Earl's Inconvenient Wife (Regency Collection Book 1) by Ruth Ann Nordin
• The Inquisitor's Wife: A Novel of Renaissance Spain by Jeanne Kalogridis
• The Mortician's Wife by Maralee Lowder
• The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham
• The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
• The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
• The Sea Captain's Wife: A Novel by Beth Powning
Whether they're convenient, inconvenient, willful, star-gazing or otherwise, clearly the most important thing about all these women is that they're wives.
Yeah, right.
And that business about the architect and her husband is just shameful.
Here are some of the results of the search Gypsy suggested on Amazon (the 's wife):
• The Tycoon's Convenient Wife by Ros Clarke
• The Aviator's Wife: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin
• The Shoemaker's Wife: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani
• Eat Healthy with the Brain Doctor's Wife Cookbook by Tana Amen and B.S.N.
So I could write a book and claim that my husband's line of work makes me an expert?
• The Candidate's Wife by Isabella Ashe
• Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer: A Novel (P.S.) by Sena Jeter Naslund and Christopher Wormell
Being Ahab's wife is much more relevant than being a star-gazer, apparently.
• The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox
Willful? As in a willful child? How insulting!
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE (An Inspector Samuel Tay Novel) by Jake Needham
• The Tiger's Wife: A Novel by Téa Obreht
• The Warrior's Wife by Denise Domning
• The Anatomist's Wife (A Lady Darby Mystery) by Anna Lee Huber
• The Assassin's Wife by Roger Weston
• The Earl's Inconvenient Wife (Regency Collection Book 1) by Ruth Ann Nordin
• The Inquisitor's Wife: A Novel of Renaissance Spain by Jeanne Kalogridis
• The Mortician's Wife by Maralee Lowder
• The Traitor's Wife by Susan Higginbotham
• The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
• The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
• The Sea Captain's Wife: A Novel by Beth Powning
Whether they're convenient, inconvenient, willful, star-gazing or otherwise, clearly the most important thing about all these women is that they're wives.
Yeah, right.
Divine Rapscallion
Awesome! That sounds like it's right up my alley. 
Thanks for posting this, Gypsy.
Thanks for posting this, Gypsy.
Divine Rapscallion
I'm going to give a long reply to your long reply, Gypsy. 
Seriously, you brought up a lot of good points and I want to give them their due.
The different interpretations and questions you raised are why I said "with regard to fiction writing" in my answer. When it comes to news reporting or feature writing for periodicals — those publications that usually end up in the recycling bin or lining the bird cage — I am more than an apprentice, although I hesitate to use the term "master" either. In that way, I agree with the blog commenter who suggested another level between apprentice and master. She put forth "journeyman" as an option, and that's what I'll use even though I'm not sure it is quite right.
The next question is tough to answer: What is an author? In my mind, an author is someone who has written a book-length work comprising a single story arc (either fiction or non-fiction) that has been published. Having work published in an anthology or even a personal collection does not make one an author, in my opinion, because it's not the same thing as writing a complete novel or literary non-fiction book. I am not an author, and I may never be one, because I have learned that my writing niche is the short form. My writing has always been precise and concise; perhaps that is why I was drawn to journalism in the first place, and training in the field only reinforced my natural tendency toward brevity.
What's that you say? A fellow with an active imagination who is prone to lapse into fantastic accounts of his life? That seems awfully familiar for some reason.
Of course I jest. 'Walter Mitty' is a masterpiece of the short story.
What a wonderful memory! If you happen to have a copy of your story tucked away somewhere, I'd love to read it.
I think most of us who have pursued this writing business to any degree have someone like Mr. B to thank for their encouragement and support. Without that sort of positive feedback, it would be even more difficult than it is to make that leap and put our work out there for consumption and critique by others.
I really think journeyman, or whatever you want to call it, is the right label. And furthermore, I think it's better to be a journeyman than a "master." Journeymen work hard and strive to do their best, while masters get lazy and let their work slip. When that happens, the product of a journeyman is far superior to the output of a master.
Well said.
That's all right, Gypsy. It's a complex topic, and I do think Kristen did a good job with it in the forum in which she was working, a blog post. It wasn't intended to be a scholarly essay on the subject, but to get us all thinking about where we are as writers and how to continue moving along the path, and in that it has succeeded, I'd say.
Seriously, you brought up a lot of good points and I want to give them their due.
Quote by gypsymoth
Since I'm not sure, and have been thinking this over since I first read it, I'll either have to come up with something and let you know later, or confess that I'm easily side-tracked, because when reading the definitions for the three categories I came up with some questions, rather than answers. For instance, there are many genres and fields in which one can write - fiction, essays, journalism, critiques, etc. One can write at the level of a Master in, say the field of journalistic writing, but be at the neophyte or advanced level in fiction. One could be at the advanced level in short story writing, but a master when writing a novel.
One can be a writer but not an author, but one cannot easily be an author without being a writer. A playwright is a writer, and author of plays, but would calling him or her an author lead to confusion?
The different interpretations and questions you raised are why I said "with regard to fiction writing" in my answer. When it comes to news reporting or feature writing for periodicals — those publications that usually end up in the recycling bin or lining the bird cage — I am more than an apprentice, although I hesitate to use the term "master" either. In that way, I agree with the blog commenter who suggested another level between apprentice and master. She put forth "journeyman" as an option, and that's what I'll use even though I'm not sure it is quite right.
The next question is tough to answer: What is an author? In my mind, an author is someone who has written a book-length work comprising a single story arc (either fiction or non-fiction) that has been published. Having work published in an anthology or even a personal collection does not make one an author, in my opinion, because it's not the same thing as writing a complete novel or literary non-fiction book. I am not an author, and I may never be one, because I have learned that my writing niche is the short form. My writing has always been precise and concise; perhaps that is why I was drawn to journalism in the first place, and training in the field only reinforced my natural tendency toward brevity.
Quote by gypsymoth
When I was in 10th grade, I had a wonderful English teacher. Part of the course work that year was dedicated to the study of short stories. We would be assigned a short story to read, it would be discussed and analysed in class with a focus on a particular structural element, and how that element worked within the story itself. There would then be an assignment that required that we use that element in a piece of writing, in the style of the story itself.
The one story and consequent assignment that I have never forgotten was The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. After having studied it, we were assigned to write our own story, using Thurber's as a model. We had to follow the structure he used to portray the endearing character of Mitty, and his incredible ability to lapse into his fantasy life.
What's that you say? A fellow with an active imagination who is prone to lapse into fantastic accounts of his life? That seems awfully familiar for some reason.
Of course I jest. 'Walter Mitty' is a masterpiece of the short story.
Quote by gypsymoth
My story was worked out in my head, and I went over it half a dozen times, mentally, before writing it down. It flowed, from start to finish, in one draft. All the corrections and revisions had been done before I put pen to paper. The result was on a single page of foolscap. When I handed it in, it was clear from the expression on Mr. B's face that he was surprised it was so short, but he made no comment: most of the other assignments handed in were two or more sheets of paper, stapled together.
The following week, after he had read and graded our stories, he made some general comments before handing them back. Some people had totally misunderstood the assignment, he informed us, some had done not too badly, some quite well, but there was just one that had nailed it and received full marks. The sheaf of papers in his hand diminished until there was just one, single sheet of paper left. At that point he announced he was going to read that story aloud, the one story that was, in his opinion, perfect. He did, and it was mine.
What a wonderful memory! If you happen to have a copy of your story tucked away somewhere, I'd love to read it.
Quote by gypsymoth
What I learned from that man, and it is a tremendous amount, about the craft and discipline of writing has been priceless to me over time. My debt to him is great in that respect. But it goes deeper than that, because he was the first person who recognised and acknowledged that what I had written was good, and that he had enjoyed reading my work. He was the first person, the first adult who gave me recognition and validation as a writer; all at the age of 15.
I think most of us who have pursued this writing business to any degree have someone like Mr. B to thank for their encouragement and support. Without that sort of positive feedback, it would be even more difficult than it is to make that leap and put our work out there for consumption and critique by others.
Quote by gypsymoth
So I don't know what level I'm at. I'm not a neophyte, that I can say with certainty. An apprentice? I don't think so. At the Master level? Not so sure about that, either.
In her article, Kristen Lamb says this: "Masters have a lot of pressure to be perpetual geniuses." I'm not a genius, but I will not allow anything mediocre to be signed by my name, and believe me, the stuff I write that you don't see, that gets hidden or deleted, is mediocre. Does it mean I'm at that level because I personally will not allow anything I've written be seen by anyone if it hasn't first gained the approval of the harshest critic of my work, namely, myself ? And even after having done that, I then send my text to a dear friend who is my first reader, proof reader, editor and critique partner. It doesn't make me a Master, it just means I have standards for my writing and I hold to them.
I really think journeyman, or whatever you want to call it, is the right label. And furthermore, I think it's better to be a journeyman than a "master." Journeymen work hard and strive to do their best, while masters get lazy and let their work slip. When that happens, the product of a journeyman is far superior to the output of a master.
Quote by gypsymoth
She also states this: "We need to give ourselves permission to grow..." I agree with her. Permission to grow, for me, means that I have absolved myself of the needless requirement to write what has already been written before simply because it is popular at the moment. Liberating myself from some imagined notion as to what is expected from me has been wonderful, and it is advice I've given to other writers...
"If we love and respect our craft, we will always be learning..." That should apply to everything, not just the craft of writing. If we love and respect ourselves, we should always be learning, always willing to learn, and never cease to be curious about the world around us, people, books, anything and everything. It will all feed back into our work in some way. We should also always be on the lookout for sloppy habits, complacency and laziness in the writing we do, particularly if we are going to send it out into the world to sink or swim on its own.
Well said.
Quote by gypsymoth
This is why I can't say which level I'm at.
EDITED to add that after rereading what I wrote above, I still haven't answered the question as Maggie asked it, and have gone completely off topic with that ramble. The ramble was, however, sparked by the question and the prolonged thinking about it that followed.
That's all right, Gypsy. It's a complex topic, and I do think Kristen did a good job with it in the forum in which she was working, a blog post. It wasn't intended to be a scholarly essay on the subject, but to get us all thinking about where we are as writers and how to continue moving along the path, and in that it has succeeded, I'd say.
Divine Rapscallion
Right now I feel quite grumpy because my computer just ate something I'd been working on for half an hour, and won't burp it up.
Divine Rapscallion
Quote by Rumple_deWriter
Ah, that Andy is so...
perspicacious
of acute mental vision or discernment : keen
Ha! I've never posted perspicacious as word of the day because it is always my word of the day. I love that word, I do.
Divine Rapscallion
With regard to fiction writing, I would say I'm at the Apprentice level, but inching along toward the advanced end of it. I know many of the rules (although I need to learn a few more), and I'm confident enough in my writing to break a few of them if the situation warrants it.
Divine Rapscallion
Check out Kristen Lamb's excellent blog on the Three Phases of Becoming a Master Author, then come back and discuss where you think you are on the writing journey. 