On Authors and Twigs

In this business--the writing business, that is--it's all too easy to get caught up with marketing our own books that we sometimes forget to reach out to our left and right and help others market theirs. I, myself, am guilty of this. True, we are in a very competitive line of work. But who says that we have to step over each other to reach the top? I believe that an author's competition isn't other authors; it's other forms of media, such as video games and movies. Book reading is slowly becoming a dying art, and if we (writers) don't stand together to promote, not just our own books, but READING in general, we may soon find ourselves in a world with very few readers. I have nothing against these other forms of media; I love a good movie just as much as the next guy. But I can't imagine a world where movies completely replace books, can you? So I suggest that we help each other out. You know the saying, "It's easy to break one twig, but it's near impossible to break a bundle of twigs"? Just something to think about.

So how about them Yankees? :)

Happy Readings,
Casey Sean Harmon
www.caseyseanharmon.com

Life as a Writer

My life as a writer consists of many things. There's the writing, of course. But the biggest part of my writing career actually revolves around finding inspiration and marketing my work. (For me, the two kind of go hand-in-hand.)
   Remember, I am also an active duty Soldier. It is hard for me to establish a daily writing routine since no two days in the military are the same. The mission always comes first, so there are times when I must go weeks, sometimes months, without writing. But during the times when I am not writing or marketing my work, I am watching and listening for things to get my creative juices flowing. Many of the things that I write about were inspired by life events, and many of my characters are based off of real people in my life. Writing is a job that never ends. Even when I am not writing, I am thinking about things to write about.
   When possible, my favorite times to write are either very early in the morning (before PT) or late at night. However, I have found myself jotting things down during staff meetings, in the middle of movies and during wakeful spurts in the middle of the night. Inspiration knows no schedule. It is a living, breathing entity of its own.
   In closing, I would like to say that life as a writer is a lot of hard work. People who are not writers will never know the amount of work and dedication that goes into writing. And being a writer is not for everybody. There are plenty of people out there who are very good at writing, however they choose not to be writers for the simple fact that the lifestyle is very demanding. In the competitive world today, writers must concentrate just as much attention on marketing themselves as they do promoting their work. This, among many other things, includes constant communication with fans, and that can demand many hours of work which can be both rewarding and fun!

   Thanks for reading,
   Casey Sean Harmon
   www.caseyseanharmon.com