Blog of the Week

Our Blog of the Week is Contrariwise.org, a growing collection of literary tattoos. I talked with Jen Grantham, the site’s creator.

Q: Are you the original creator of Contrariwise? If so, tell us more about how you first came up with the idea. What inspired the blog? How would you define your role as its “curator”?

A: Yes, I'm the original creator. I purchased the contrariwise.org domain back in high school for a portfolio project. After I graduated, the domain sat unused for several years while I tried to come up with an idea for a website so I could put it in use. Google searching "contrariwise" for ideas brought me to this tattoo, and that prompted the idea for the site. I did a search for "literary tattoos" and found a few online communities and single articles, but no websites specifically dedicated to the topic. So I made one!

Q: When and how was the blog first created?

A: April 2007. The "how" isn't very exciting. I came up with the idea and had the site up a few hours later. I started emailing people whose pictures I found online to ask for permission to use them on the site. I guess word got out, and within a few weeks I was getting thousands of hits a day.

Q: What is the meaning of the name “Contrariwise” and how does it relate to your vision for the blog or your approach to literary tattoos?

A: The name doesn't really have anything to do with the site or literary tattoos. I picked the name "contrariwise" back in high school because I love Lewis Carroll, and he uses it repeatedly in Through the Looking Glass. I thought I'd read somewhere that he actually invented the word, but I can't find that information anywhere now so it's probably not true. In any case, the word is often associated with him. I suppose you could say that getting tattoos has always been contrary to societal expectations, and getting a work of literature inked onto your skin is contrary to traditional tattoos.

Q: Do you have a literary tattoo? If so, please tell us a little about its significance to you. If not, would you ever consider getting one?

A: I don't have any tattoos. I have considered it many times, but as a rule of thumb I won't get anything tattooed on myself if I haven't loved the idea for at least a month. So far I haven't ever made it a whole month, so no tattoos.

Q: What is one of the more interesting tattoos that you’ve come across? Do you have favorites?

A: I'm always drawn to the simpler tattoos, and the ones that come with a personal story. I love this one, and I just posted one a few days ago that someone got for the son he found out wasn't his. I love a good story.

Q: Literary quotes and images for tattoos are pulled from across genres and media (books, politics, plays, quotes, even song lyrics and graphic novels). What separates literary tattoos from other tattoos that might happen to include words? Is there a set criteria for a tattoo to be considered “literary”?

A: This is actually a touchy subject with many of my website visitors. I'm using a very broad definition of literature. If someone got a tattoo of an instruction manual, would I post it? Probably, if it was an interesting textual tattoo. I've posted single words and punctuation before. I love it when people send me tattoos from lesser-known works and even from poems they've written themselves. Generally, if it has words in it, I'll post it. I try not to draw too many lines. Though I do try to balance out the "borderline" posts (things like song lyrics) with tattoos from more well-known works of literature.

This topic came up a lot after I posted a young adult librarian's Twilight tattoo. I received tons of emails and comments from people about how Twilight has no literary merit and shouldn't be featured with writers like Shakespeare. Well, why not? As much as people love to hate Twilight, it's a popular series of fiction novels that has sold millions of copies and won tons of awards. If I'm not allowed to post Twilight tattoos, does that mean all young adult fiction is off limits? What about children's lit? You're probably not going to compare Green Eggs and Ham and King Lear either, but that doesn't mean they don't both have their own reasons to be on the site.

Q: How do you decide which photos are posted? Tell us a little about how many you receive and what it’s like to sort through so many photos and stories.

A: I receive, on average, about 5-10 a day. This number skyrockets when the site is linked on a popular website. When Neil Gaiman linked to my site, I got over 100 submissions. It's overwhelming and to be honest, my selection process is entirely random and makes very little sense. I usually do an inbox search for the first word that pops into my head ("happy" or "hamburger"), which significantly filters the number of emails. I'll then browse through and pick one to post. Reading all of the emails would literally be a full time job. I wish I had more time to dedicate to this project.

Q: A commenter on one of your posts claimed that literary tattoos have become a “trademark” of the emerging “hipster” culture. How would you respond to this comment? Do you see a growing movement in literary tattoos?

A: I can't say I disagree that literary tattoos are becoming popular. A trademark of hipster culture? I'm not sure about that. I've had emails from moms & dads, grandparents, librarians, firefighers, marines, CEOs, university professors, elementary school teachers, and all sorts of professionals. Hipsters definitely don't have the majority on this one.

Q: What, if anything, do you think literary tattoos mean to the floundering world of print? Do you think it speaks to the permanence of the written world? Or is it simply another fad?

A: I don't think literary tattoos mean anything to the world of print. I don't think books are going anywhere - moving to a digital format, maybe, but there is always going to be literature. As long as there is literature and as long as people get tattoos, there will probably be literary tattoos.

Q: Literary tattoos mark an interesting intersection between literature lovers and tattoo lovers. Book snobs scorn those who misapply quotes or who have never read the literary works they tattoo on their bodies. Tattoo lovers often seek to memorialize a phrase or quote that is personally significant. What do you think?

A: I think tattoos are personal. People get them for all sorts of reasons - maybe something extremely significant happened and they got a tattoo to commemorate the event, or maybe they just thought it was pretty. I don't see anyone's reason for getting a tattoo as being less valid as anyone else's. I don't see why someone can't feel a personal connection to a quotation without having read the entire work it belongs to. Who cares what reasons other people have for altering their bodies?

Q: What is your vision for the future of Contrarwise?

A: I hope to update it more frequently! I have lots of things in the works that I haven't had the time to implement yet. I'd like to create a better submission system, and a forum.

Q: What projects are you currently working on?

A: I'm a freelance photographer, so I'm always working on my own projects. Right now I'm working on catching up on my photo editing before Christmas! You can check out my photography site here: http://jengrantham.com

By Patrick Van Gorder

We’ve chosen Writer Unboxed as our second Blog of the Week. Writer Unboxed (www.writerunboxed.com) provides an illuminating and accessible glimpse of the struggles and successes of today’s professional writers. I talked with Kathleen Bolton, one of the sites founders, and the author of Confessions of a First Daughter, under the pen name Cassidy Calloway.

WritersNewsWeekly: What is the creative concept behind Writer Unboxed? What do you hope that it will contribute to the “blogosphere?” Is WU your creation, if so how did you conceive of it?

Kathleen Bolton: Fellow writer buddy, critique partner and now published author Therese Walsh and I started Writer Unboxed as a way to connect with other aspiring novelists and post empowering pieces on the crazy business of writing fiction. We also conduct interviews with novelists and industry professionals in the hopes that the information is of use to writers. We now have ten regular contributors and many guest bloggers post helpful articles about the industry. That's our mission statement: empower other writers to realize their dream, whatever that may be.

WNW: Writer Unboxed is something of an ensemble blog – what are the benefits and challenges of working as part of large team of accomplished writers? Does anyone work as an editor for WU, assigning pieces to other writers, or are your writers all self-directed?

KB: We brought on other contributors because we felt it was important to add other voices about the writer's experience other than just Therese and I, and what better way than to give published authors and publishing professionals a forum to talk about writing. The only direction we tell our contributors is that the post be inspiring or informative to writers -- other than that, they can write about whatever they want. Novel-writing is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and it helps aspiring authors to realize that published authors go through the same doubts, the same writer's blocks, and the same highs that they do.

WNW: You are a professional writer and mother with presumably a lot on your plate. You are also personally very active on WU. Is it sometimes difficult to find time and balance for all of your creative endeavors? How do you think that blogging helps or hurts other aspects of your writing?

KB: Life gets crazed at times, and I'm not gonna lie, blogging does take up a lot of time. Our interviews are a fair bit of work because we read the books of the authors we interview so we can delve into the guts of their creative process. We don't do a "one questionnaire fits all" interview. But it's worth it, especially now that both Therese and I are published. We've had a lot of support from our readers, and we love to cheer them on when they achieve their successes.

WNW: What are the benefits of blogging for aspiring and established writers in terms of being “discovered” or selling copies?

KB: Being online can increase an author's awareness to consumers who may be receptive to their work, that is one benefit. But it's not a magic bullet, either. Networking can help open a few doors, but I don't think blogging in and of itself helps anyone get "discovered". The only way you can get published is if you do the hard work of learning your craft and writing a really great book. There's no magic formula. If there was, everyone would be published.

WNW: What do you think the implications of this relatively new medium – the blog – for creative society as a whole, and the publishing industry in particular?

KB: The great thing about being online is that it closes the distance between us. We have readers from all over the world, and contributors from the U.K. and Australia. The distance between us is basically non-existent. If you have a computer and internet access, you can find the support and inspiration from your fellow writers who are also online.

WNW: Where do you see this technological revolution going? Is paper dead? Will we all have IPhones and Kindles in five years?

KB: Books are not dead for many of us. But the younger generation is definitely more comfortable with digital. If technology continues to get cheaper and more accessible, then yeah, it's possible books might disappear. But the desire for people to be told a good story will never go away. It's in the human DNA.

Kathleen Bolton's author page (under Cassidy Calloway)
http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/35352/Cassidy_Calloway/index.aspx

Therese Walsh's website: http://theresewalsh.com/

By Amanda M. Griswold

The editorial staff at WritersNewsWeekly is excited to announce a brand-new feature—“Blog of the Week”—presented each week to a blog that our staff deems unique, informative, well-designed and worthy of promotion in the writing world.

Our first ever “Blog of the Week” award goes to Backstory, a site we feel strikes an admirable balance of showcasing excellent writing and providing online marketing opportunities for authors. On Backstory, authors are invited to share the specific people, places, and incidents that inspired their latest fiction, from lost loved ones to prophetic fortune cookies. Each backstory features a new author’s “story behind the story,” detailing the inspiration behind one specific work of fiction.

Created and maintained by international bestseller M.J. Rose, Backstory provides a platform for writers to reach out to fellow writers and readers alike. Praised by critics for her unflinching subject matter, sincerity of style and cross-genre appeal, it seems Backstory has inherited all the best of M.J.’s traits. This week, I had the good fortune to interview M.J. to learn more about the vision that inspired Backstory and the balance she maintains between an author’s craft and calling.

WritersNewsWeekly September 21, 2009 interview with author M.J. Rose

WritersNewsWeekly: On its website, Backstory is described as a site “where authors share secrets, truths, logical and illogical moments that sparked their fiction or memoirs.” What would you say sets Backstory apart from the millions of blogs that feature talented authors?

M.J. Rose: We only do one thing – we offer authors a chance to tell us what inspired their current novel. We don’t add anything else. We have really interesting authors all focused on this one moment of revelation.
WNW: When was Backstory created? What made you decide to explore the narratives behind authors’ stories?

MJR: In September 2004, I had an idea that a glog – group blog – would be something fun to try. There were very few of them then. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I didn’t want the blog to be from writers for writers only but rather really be from writers to readers. I am always looking for more ways to get more books in front of more potential readers.

As an author myself (I’ve written 11 novels), there is no question I get asked more frequently than some variation of “how did you come up with your book – what inspired you?” I thought since it’s the one thing everyone wants to know – there should be a place where writers can tell readers that.

WNW: What makes a good backstory?

MJR: The intimacy of the author really sharing the truth behind the inspiration of their current book.

WNW: What is your vision for the future of Backstory?

MJR: That it gets more readership and more backstories. We’re already picked up and on a lot of sites/blogs but I’d love to be more visible still.

WNW: When did you first decide you wanted to become a writer? Or is it a continual process?

MJR: When I read The Secret Garden when I was about eight years old. It was then I first realized that making up stories was a tangible act.

WNW: Romanticized notions of writing (inspiration, muses, writer’s block and a life of intrigue) seem at odds with certain realities of the writing world (deadlines, marketing, and rejection slips). How do you personally reconcile the two?
MJR: With a lot of hard work. I make a real effort to separate my time into segments that are either one or the other – either the business or the art. My favorite expression is – “writing is an art but publishing is a business” – and an oft broken business at that.

I have two computers – one for email and business and banking and marketing and everything but writing – the other computer is only for writing my novels. Nothing else. I also shut off the phone in my writing hours and I take walks and swim and visit museums and do things that inspire me without having a cell phone on.

WNW: What are your current projects?

MJR: I’m working on book four of my Reincarnationist series – the series that has inspired a new TV dramatic series PAST LIFE which will premier on FOXTV in March.

In March The Reincarnationist will be re-released, in April The Memorist will be released for the first time in paperback (it was a 2008 hardcover) and in May The Hypnotist will be released for the first time in hardcover.
WNW: What are you reading now?

MJR: About 40 nonfiction research books that would bore everyone but me. But my most recent fiction reads that I’d love to handyell are The Promised World by Lisa Tucker and ISIS by Douglas Clegg.