Thanks so much for being here today John! š
THE CHALLENGE OF VOICE FICTION
by John Vorhaus
My new novel, LUCY IN THE SKY, is a coming-of-age story set in Milwaukee in 1969, and the writing of it presented some challenges that none of my other books (light mystery and non-fiction) ever did. For one thing, Iām working in a new genre, something I call āvoice fiction,ā by which I mean, simply, writing with something to say. In order to accomplish my goal of having something to say, though, I had to be prepared to confront an issue that many authors struggle with: the matter of telling other people what to think. Philosophically, I have no problem with this. As a longtime teacher of writers, I have consistently taught that, in a fundamental sense, writers are there to explain things to readers. Basically, thatās our job. So this notion of ātelling other people what to thinkā is an implicit part of the package you accept when you first put fingers to keys.
That said, thereās still an emotional risk in telling my readers, āHey, you know what? Being a hippie isnāt about love beads and peace signs. Itās about the choices you make and the stands you take. Thatās whatās important, and thatās what you should pay attention to.ā So thatās me taking a stand, and I canāt help feeling nervous that someone, somewhere, will say, āWhere the heck do you get off telling me what to think, what to do? Who gave you that right?ā Well, I gave me that right ā responsibility, really ā when I became a writer. Still it makes me edgy. At such times I remind myself that part of what a writer must do is just āthrow it out the window and watch to see if it lands.ā So I throw and I watch, and I hope to be understood.
Another issue with Lucy is that itās an emotional memoir. I was not a hippie, but I always wanted to be one, and much of what goes on in this book involves me channeling of a set of experiences and insights that I wished Iād had at that age in that time. I know that every book I write is at least partly autobiographical, and therefore a challenge to my self-acceptance, but this one took that idea and turned it on its head, for in Lucy, Iām not talking about myself but about a fantasy, idealized version of myself. At times during the writing I couldnāt tell whether I was engaged in storytelling or just wishful thinking. (Well, thatās why God invented editors.)
My third issue is my market. Lucy in the Sky is a coming-of-age story, no doubt. As such, it should appeal to young adult readers and adult fans of YA material. And I think it really does. At the same time, though, itās about the 1960s, about hippies and, in a certain sense, about innocence lost a long time ago. It should, then, also appeal to people like me: people who were hippies or near-hippies and who wish to be in touch with those times and those feelings again. At the end of the day I claim that the book is āa sixties trip for young seekers and old geezers alike,ā but I do worry that, from a promotional point of view, that puts me sort of neither here nor there.
How do I resolve all these conflicts? By talking about them and writing about them and posting them in places like this place here. I donāt imagine that this post will sort out all my issues. When Iām done writing this guest blog, Iāll still have insecurity about taking responsibility for my vision, telling the truth of my experience, and selling that truth to an uncertainly defined audience. Yet Iāll feel better for having written (I always feel better for having written), and I hope youāll have a little better insight into what goes through the mind of a writer ā at least this one ā when he crafts and sells his precious gift ā his gift of words on the page.
Winston Churchill said, āWriting a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.ā So this is me, flinging Lucy to the public. You can sample her, and purchase her in print, ebook and author-narrated audio, at www.tinyurl.com/Lucy1969, and judge for yourself whether what Iāve thrown out the window has managed to land.John Vorhaus has written five novels and many books on poker. His comedy writing text, The Comic Toolbox, is considered a classic how-to book for writers, and will be making money for someone long after heās dead, buried and gone. He tweets for no apparent reason @TrueFactBarFact and secretly controls the world from www.johnvorhaus.com.
website: johnvorhaus.com blog: johnvorhaus.com/blog twitter @TrueFactBarFact
amazon author page: amazon.com/author/jv
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Enna P.
Awesome guest post!!!