I'd Rather Keep Them, Thank You Very Much...
I'm a fan of sticking to the plan, no matter what it takes to get there.
There's a certain novel that has given me trouble in more ways than one, but it still has to come out the way I want it to. And it has also taught me one thing.
Don't make a promise unless you intend to keep it.
Don't set a date unless you intend to make it.
It seems like a simple concept when you think about it, but the truth of the matter is I don't like breaking promises. This is why I've decided to only shadow drop my future novels from this point forward.
When something is ready, it is ready, and it will release on time because it will release when it's done.
In the past days, I've thought maybe I should release it on Valentine's Day. Maybe I should release it on Halloween. But the truth of the matter is it must be released when it is truly ready. Not being truly ready means a sour experience for the reader, and I don't want that to happen as much as it is within my power to prevent it.
I've written my current work in progress in such a way that now I have to format the poetry plaques, and it's taking a bit more time. Balancing the white space and text ratio is far more difficult when these images are in play. But I am one of those weird writers that care about how a paragraph looks on a page.
And that's okay.
I'd rather wait a little longer and release something that's going to hit the ball into the stands versus something that's only a bunt. You know what I mean? You know what I'm saying here?
It's a heartfelt story I've poured myself into, and I hope it resonates out of the pages when I release it. I have so many other works that follow it in tow, and they will release when they are ready as well.
There's a certain power to that, too, knowing something is the best it can be before releasing it.
The Artful Form of Independence
Independence means doing things your own way.
It means not capitulating to the status quo and writing because you want to, because you must. Not necessarily to hit any particular date or follow any marketing schemes of the traditional publishers.
I have a certain nostalgia for older types of stories. I have a certain feeling within my soul when I read things that are echoes of the past.
Some of the stories I write are futuristic. Others are found in the occult's eminence, and still others are even dystopian in some ways. I write through a variety of genres, but one thing I've learned is that I must keep writing in such a way that I don't make a solid promise if I can't keep it.
My catalog includes upcoming novels in romance, phantom thieves, World War II, and a bunch of other subjects. I don't have a set timeframe other than quarters of the year for any of them. My short story collections will also be released when ready, not with an advance announcement.
I write across a vast spectrum of subjects because I feel like stretching my writerly legs is the way forward. I don't want to confine myself to a single genre, and I don't want to be known as someone who only writes in one particular way.
I do experimental crafts in my work, where I make grave utterances in one novel and aesthetic prose in another that sings like lyrics.
That's who I am as a writer.
I believe identity is of the utmost importance.
My Feelings Are My Own
I want someone to pick up a novel of mine and go—and I've said this before—"This is a Bryan Rivera-Rivera novel. There's no mistaking it for something else."
Sometimes, that's going to take a lot more time than you initially thought.
And you know what?
That's okay.
When you read a Stephen King novel, you know it's a Stephen King novel. When you read Sarah J. Maas, you know it's Sarah J. Maas.
In the same way, I want my books to resonate so that when you read them—you know it's Bryan Rivera-Rivera. Weird use of an em dash? That's part of me.
I don't compare myself to these authors in any arrogant way. Lord knows my level is not that caliber just yet.
What I mean is that I want to have my own identity in my writing, where whispers of the themes I always weave into my books come out in such a way that they could only be mine.
Some of my books will be cerebral. Others will be psychologically challenging, and still others will bend the mind in such a way that lines can be read over and over until they make sense in three or four ways.
For my personal standards and where I want to be in my writing career, I feel like I need to push forward in such a way that every book I write is uniquely my own.
Artisanal Is the Goal
I'm of the opinion that you should be an artisanal author versus someone who pumps out books endlessly.
Now, I'm not saying that writing quickly always leads to bad results, but in the way I write my novels, I cannot help but tinker with the prose until it is golden and ornate in splendor.
There are some novels that take us three weeks to write, and there are others that take us three years to write.
Neither one is necessarily the best option because every book is different.
Every book is its own species, some genres their own taxonomy, and its own classification of work.
There's nothing wrong with writing slowly, and there's nothing wrong with writing quickly. We all have our ways, and we all have our options.
I will never denigrate someone else because they did something different.
That's not how I work.
The funny thing is I'm even a writer who believes you should revisit past work if you can make it better. This goes against the writing advice of some, but I don't truly mind going against that advice if it means making a better book in the end.
Think of it like the recent Ocarina of Time remake. Why revisit a classic if the classic was the highest-rated game of all time?
Simply put, everything can be worked on to the utmost, and there's always something you can improve.
I've seen that this game has been reviewed highly across the board, and there are also some things they changed in the latest incarnation.
That's not alien to me because I believe you can always improve on something.
I want to re-release Auminous in a version with gilded edges and gold-foil calligraphy on the front cover. A sort of director's cut, or a final mix, if you will.
If you get the reference, you get the reference.
Switch Tools If Needs Must
I'm seriously considering switching to a Mac at this point because Vellum is looking a lot more tempting than anything the current program I'm using is offering me.
I don't even want to name it.
That's how much I dislike it at the moment.
I don't want other authors to fall into the trap. Now, it's served me well in some ways, I'll admit, but I don't see myself using this program for much longer.
It's great for quick formatting, but it's not good for writing in, even though it advertises itself as something you can write in.
I don't believe that's the case here.
I think of writing as my ultimate solace, the one thing I do that comes to me most naturally, and the one thing that brings me the most joy in my life.
But I've taught myself that I don't want people to feel like I've lied to them.
So again, my release dates will be restricted to only that which comes out when it is ready.
I've learned it is best not to make a promise if you can't keep it.
I'm going to be a shadow-dropping author from this point forward.
Glory in the Language
But this is where I stand at the present moment.
I want to write books because it is the gift I've been given, and how far I go or don't go is irrelevant to the fact that I must write.
Writing is something I must do.
It is something within me I must let out.
There's no other way to say it.
This gift has been given to me, and I will use it in the way I see fit.
Now, I don't have hypergraphia or anything, but the words must come out.
Whether I speak them or type them or write them by hand, the glory of language is in my demand.
