Let's face it ladies and gentlemen, times are tough and not getting any easier any time real soon.  In spite of the fact that we have more technology now than at any time in history, people are still going to have to buckle down and work harder and smarter.  Layoffs and downsizing are now the big buzzwords. 

Traditionally, tough times mean escapisms like books and movies do well while we wait for better for days.  This time is different.  This is our first big downturn in the truly Internet driven digital age.  Escapism is now downloadable video, chatting online, texting friends and family, and firing up the video games.

Sales are down in every sector of the economy.  I heard an estimate today that pained me.  The analyst on the radio predicted that during the next year over 160,000 businesses, large and small alike, would close.  That is a staggering number.  The most frightening part is the fact that it may be a very low estimate.  That is a lot of people out of work and a lot of dead dreams.

I know, you have already heard all of this before, so what does all this mean for us in the writing and publishing end of the financial swamp?  It means that market places are drying up and many small presses will close up shop.  Good books will go unpublished. 

The major publishing houses are scaling back their operations.  Successful editors are having their projects cut back, staffing reduced, and a more than a few are getting laid off.  Magazines are losing circulation and newspapers everywhere are in trouble.  The landscape is not encouraging.  As much as we would like to think that writing and publishing is about the art and the love of the words, the terrible truth is publishing is all about the distribution, the sales, and the money.  Less money being spent means less money being invested.  The less money being invested means the fewer projects being started.  The fewer projects started equals increased competition for fewer opportunities.

Sadly, many writers will make the mistake of investing their own very hard earned money in attempts to publish books that simply should not be published at this time.  You may have a good book and feel that it is ready to go, but I have bad news for you, even in good times, chances are your book would have never sold more than 500 copies.  Now that people are pinching those pennies, good is just not good enough.

Had enough gloom and doom yet?  Good! So have I.  Hard times, while a true pain, are not always a bad thing.  Hard times are not fair by any stretch of the imagination, but they simulate new ideas and growth.  Companies will take the measures that they feel necessary to survive and people will find ways to do the same.  While there will be fewer players in the marketplace when it is over, they will be stronger.  As things improve, new markets will open and new ideas will take root.

So, what can you the frustrated writer do while the marketplace is in the doldrums?  Let's go back to my earlier statement that good is not good enough.  Since everyone from small to large publishers cannot invest a lot of time and money editing your work, that is now up to you.  While there are delays in releases and slush piles are growing to epic proportions, you should be building your body of work and refining your craft. 

It's time to clear the desk of all those ideas you have been meaning to get to.  If there are genres you have always wanted to try, get typing.  The more work you have in reserve the better prepared you are going to be when the markets open.

It is also time to learn.  It doesn't matter how good you may think you are, there is always something new to learn.  There is always room for improvement.  Remember, good isn't going to make it.  Your work is going to have to shine brilliantly if you are going to have any chance of muscling your way onto a bookshelf at a major chain.  Study, read, and compare.  Pick a few best sellers in your favorite genre to write and start dissecting.  Avoid the urge to assume your work is better.  The terrible fact is that it most likely isn't.  Study, try to figure out why that book is on the New York Times Best Selling List (while there is a New York Times) and your last book isn't.  Compare your word usage to that of the best sellers.  Is there a pattern?  Try reading both out loud.  Do you hear a difference?  Learn, learn, and learn some more. 

Don't be discouraged by the current financial downturn, get motivated and get typing.  Now is the time to do the best work of your life.  Go back and rewrite everything you have waiting.  Edit and polish every piece of your work until it absolutely glows.  Get creative and trying daring new works, branch out.  You just may impress your fans and, hopefully, yourself. 

The question everyone wants to know, but normally won't ask, just how much money can you make as a writer? 

The answer is mind-boggling depressing.  The simple horrible fact is that most books (over 90%) will never sell more than 500 copies.  I know, we all hear the stories about the millions being made by a very few writers.  Trust me, it takes talent, timing, perseverance, and more luck than narrowly being missed by lightning while buying the winning lottery ticket on a Tuesday at two.

The talent portion of the program is completely up to you.  Just because you have written a book doesn't mean it is going to sell.  As a matter of fact, the odds say that your book is not going to sell no matter how well written it is.  So why bother?  With out the best possible effort, your book will have no chance instead of a very thin chance.  Be prepared to write your book, then rewrite and rewrite and rewrite until it is the very best you can produce.  Then there is a better than average chance you are going to need an editor.  As writers, we often write passages that we feel are clever.  No one else gets it.  Good editors can save you from yourself.

Timing can be contrived or pure serendipity.  If you see a new topic in the news and you have the feeling that is something you can explore in a story or book don't waste time, get to typing.  You might just hit a wave of interest and ride into increased sales.  If you are good and timely, those are two huge advantages.  However, if serendipity smiles at you smile back, broadly.

Luck!  Let me give my definition of luck.  Luck: being prepared to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself.  This means your lucky break may be passing you by on a daily basis.  You have to buy a ticket if you want to win the lottery.

All of this brings me to perseverance.  Since having a commercially successful / award-winning story or novel is harder to achieve than getting a clear photograph of a Bigfoot in your hot tub, your ability to persevere is your mightiest weapon.  You have to believe in your work, be willing to edit, and keep trying.  I assure you, best sellers are not necessarily by the best writers, but they are by some of the most determined. 

Dig in and keep writing, build up your body of work, constantly strive to improve your style, and, sooner or later, you may just find yourself prepared to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself.

Then you might just make some money!

The big fight scene is often the pivotal point of a story.  It can literally make or break your entire work.  If you have spent thousands of words, chapter after chapter, leading your reader to the ultimate point of conflict, you need to deliver the goods.

Here are a few tips for bringing the fight from your imagination to the page.

*Know your terms.  If you are fighting with swords use the right sword terminology.  Scimitars don't move like katanas.   The same goes for any other weapon real or imaginary.
*Find more interesting ways of saying punched, hit, or slapped.
*Keep your fight physically possible.  Make sure you follow the rules of your world.  Act out your action if you need to.  Friends love to help with this over free pizza.
*Never "discover" a never before mentioned ability.  If your character is going to use some cool technique, the reader needs to know about it in advance.
*Never "find" a way too convenient weapon.  Make sure your reader knows what is available to be used.  Conversely, don't show the reader a weapon and not use it.
*Keep your characters in character.  If you have a shocking twist, make sure the reader has enough information to enjoy your hard work.
*Have a lucky volunteer, more free food, read your scene out loud to you.  If they can't make a smooth reading out if it, don't try to correct them - you have more work to do.

Practice, practice, and do more practice until your fights make sense and flow smoothly.

One condition I hear about over and over again is how to find the time to write.  You have a story burning inside you, but how are you ever going to get it out?  It is amazing how life in general can gang up on you to completely devour every spare moment of your existence.  School, children, work, family, pets, etc all demand huge amounts of your energy, attention, and time.

One mistake most people make is trying to save time.  We are inundated with commercials that promise devices and methods designed to save you time.  I labored for years trying to save time.  It was a pointless effort.

Eventually, I learned three lessons.

1.  There is no way to save time.  It can't be done.  Don't get depressed; there's good news in that declaration.  While we can't save time, we can spend it wisely.  Believe it or not, my life became much more organized the day I figured out that time doesn't save, slow down, or stop.  How quickly something got done was completely up to me.  Now, to be a bit cliché, I learned to plan my work then work my plan.  Then just as a safety, I stopped trying to remember to do stuff later.  If possible, I do as much as possible at the moment I think about it.

2.  Do not confuse efforts with results.  As I began to tackle projects today instead of tomorrow, I found that I could spend a tremendous amount of time being quite industrious and busy.  After a while, it dawned on me that busy was not necessarily productive.  While there are hundreds of small tasks in our day that are mostly busy work, if you approach them from the point of view of how can it be done, finished, it changes your whole perspective about work and productivity.  Again, it took a while for the idea of production instead of busy to come to fruition.

3.  Making the process a habit for me and those around me.  Once I had tamed the chaos just a bit, I found myself making habits out of my tactics.  Setting times to do certain tasks helped make getting to certain tasks easier.  For example, after about 6 weeks of doing the dishes over and over at 8:00, everyone just came to expect that dinner had to be done by 8 because that is when we do the dishes.  Once I found myself forming these habits, I had time for the writing habit.  It may have only been an hour, but it was an hour more than I had. 

While, you may not bang out a novel in an hour, you can get a good start.  If you really want to write, I bet you can find a way.