Well, I've been writing, but not in vast quantities. In fact, I suspect a lot of what I've spent the last eight hours writing will be reduced to practically nothing. Just one of those writer things I have to deal with.
I did finally hang that plant lamp so I could bring the surviving herbs off the front porch. Every spring I do a vignette of red pots and planters filled with herbs, begonias and pellargoniums, and what isn't brought inside perishes. This year, I bought a shelf and a 4' grow light (really a fluorescent light with 48" plant bulbs) and dragged all the pots inside my dining room. I generally put the Christmas tree in front of the dining room window. This year, no Xmas tree, unless I park it on top of the sideboard. (And I just might. I still have that 3' tree I used to use in my apartment.)
Other winter prep things are on hold, as we are having a Nor'easter with up to 70 mph winds. Snow likely tonight again. They keep saying that, but the rain has been having mixed wet flakes in there all day, even though it's been around 40.
And why am I posting a journal entry on my blog all of a sudden? Horrors! I am becoming what I told myself I'd never be! Aaaaaahh!
G'night all. I have critiques to write for my patient critique circle friends.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Cool Site for the Day
Blog Electric Spec, a speculative fiction site that has just been started. Looks good so far.
Via one of their posts, I found Orson Scott Card's helpful site, Uncle Orson's Writing Class.
He also has a web page at www.hatrack.com. I've enjoyed all of OSC's books, in particular the fantasy novels.
Writing news.
Just going into a long work weekend after three weeks non-stop. Whew! time to write! Looking forward to it, but I have to paint the kitchen cabinets, inside and out, three coats, before Thanksgiving. I have the feeling I'll have them half painted when the guests come over.
We just might get our first snow tonight. It's raw outside, windy, high 30s, and the clouds have that heavy grey that lets you know they are getting ready to drop a load. (And I do mean that in a double-entendre sense, lol.)
Via one of their posts, I found Orson Scott Card's helpful site, Uncle Orson's Writing Class.
He also has a web page at www.hatrack.com. I've enjoyed all of OSC's books, in particular the fantasy novels.
Writing news.
Just going into a long work weekend after three weeks non-stop. Whew! time to write! Looking forward to it, but I have to paint the kitchen cabinets, inside and out, three coats, before Thanksgiving. I have the feeling I'll have them half painted when the guests come over.
We just might get our first snow tonight. It's raw outside, windy, high 30s, and the clouds have that heavy grey that lets you know they are getting ready to drop a load. (And I do mean that in a double-entendre sense, lol.)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Cool Website for the Day
Introducing Simon Haynes, who is an SFF humorist, author of Hal Spacejock books. I liked his blog, hence the link. Funny dude, going on about toast and shampoo.
Sorry, still no time to really write.
Sorry, still no time to really write.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Cool Site for the Day
Sorry, headaches and life are getting in the way of my blogging. I do have enough time to waste at work to find cool sites, though. So here ya go.
Dooce.com has an entry (one among many) with some interesting bits of office shenanigans. Want something to give you story ideas? This may help, if you want to create a dumb or evil boss (bwa ha ha).
Dooce.com has an entry (one among many) with some interesting bits of office shenanigans. Want something to give you story ideas? This may help, if you want to create a dumb or evil boss (bwa ha ha).
Friday, October 20, 2006
Cool Site for the Day
Like comics? Like humor? Like cool pictures...in color? Ooooh!
Blog humor site Chris' Invincible Super-Blog is pretty amusing. He's also got links to his amusing articles at Cracked.com. That's another place you could title an amusing time waster. Go, browse, don't let the boss see you while you're at it...
Blog humor site Chris' Invincible Super-Blog is pretty amusing. He's also got links to his amusing articles at Cracked.com. That's another place you could title an amusing time waster. Go, browse, don't let the boss see you while you're at it...
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Be Nice...Or Else.
Subtitle the following article "How to kill your career as a writer."
http://miss-read.livejournal.com/778.html is another article worth reading.
I hope I never, ever do anything, intentionally or otherwise, which falls into the category of slamming an editor or publisher in public.
http://miss-read.livejournal.com/778.html is another article worth reading.
I hope I never, ever do anything, intentionally or otherwise, which falls into the category of slamming an editor or publisher in public.
Cool Site for the Day
Check out an erudite writer's informative ramblings at bernitaharris.blogspot.com. Link in the sidebar. She titles her blog "An Innocent. A-Blog Journal of a barely post-Luddite Miranda."
Splog Warning!!!
You may be being plagiarized - Updated
Check out this article on bitacle (en dot bitacle dot org). They are ripping off blogs. My ENTIRE BLOG is on their site--including the unpublished draft articles. Another ariticle link to read.
So what's the big deal, you ask?
Well, the deal is this. Sploggers make money off of your writing, because they lift what you have written and drop it onto a page with other articles that have related key words. They name the pages something useful sounding (see below) and the page is covered in ads. They make money when people click on said ads. Many of them are google ads, ironically enough.
And before you say, so what, let's consider who is entitled to make money from what you write. That would be YOU, wouldn't it? And before the big hoopla, bitacle didn't even acknowledge the source of this material. Now it does, as of the past couple of weeks. It's an end run around copyright laws. Read the linked article and decide for yourself, though.
Try an experiment.
Do a bitacle search for your blog name and a key word. In one of my posts I mention migraines. Bitacle had my blog post in a migraine ad-laden site with several other blog sections. It was up for a day or so, and now is gone. Whatever sites you find, they will have a real-sounding webpage name and be covered with adverts.
Splogs are all over.
Bitacle isn't new or unusual. They are just, so far as I can tell, massive. And they weren't using links at all, which really pissed off the blogging community--for damned good reason. The outcry changed things, so they link to the original blog now; but they didn't ask my permission to use my article on "migraine.notes.info".
They have these bots that scrape things off the internet based on key words and drop them on their pages for the sole purpose of making money. They also have a decent search engine, but they aren't in it out of the goodness of their hearts. And having the search engine appears to be the draw for people to come see their ads, as far as I can tell.
I hope this helps explain the issue. Search for your name, and you will find yourself splogged. I didn't know what it was at first; now I do. The pages also come and go, and some list you as the source and some don't.
Drop the RSS feed.
I dropped the RSS feed yesterday for my blog, and so far, nothing on bitacle for yesterday's posts. Since they got ahold of a post that was accidentally up for, like, five minutes, I'd say the feeds were responsible. We'll see. It will slow them down, at least.
Check out this article on bitacle (en dot bitacle dot org). They are ripping off blogs. My ENTIRE BLOG is on their site--including the unpublished draft articles. Another ariticle link to read.
So what's the big deal, you ask?
Well, the deal is this. Sploggers make money off of your writing, because they lift what you have written and drop it onto a page with other articles that have related key words. They name the pages something useful sounding (see below) and the page is covered in ads. They make money when people click on said ads. Many of them are google ads, ironically enough.
And before you say, so what, let's consider who is entitled to make money from what you write. That would be YOU, wouldn't it? And before the big hoopla, bitacle didn't even acknowledge the source of this material. Now it does, as of the past couple of weeks. It's an end run around copyright laws. Read the linked article and decide for yourself, though.
Try an experiment.
Do a bitacle search for your blog name and a key word. In one of my posts I mention migraines. Bitacle had my blog post in a migraine ad-laden site with several other blog sections. It was up for a day or so, and now is gone. Whatever sites you find, they will have a real-sounding webpage name and be covered with adverts.
Splogs are all over.
Bitacle isn't new or unusual. They are just, so far as I can tell, massive. And they weren't using links at all, which really pissed off the blogging community--for damned good reason. The outcry changed things, so they link to the original blog now; but they didn't ask my permission to use my article on "migraine.notes.info".
They have these bots that scrape things off the internet based on key words and drop them on their pages for the sole purpose of making money. They also have a decent search engine, but they aren't in it out of the goodness of their hearts. And having the search engine appears to be the draw for people to come see their ads, as far as I can tell.
I hope this helps explain the issue. Search for your name, and you will find yourself splogged. I didn't know what it was at first; now I do. The pages also come and go, and some list you as the source and some don't.
Drop the RSS feed.
I dropped the RSS feed yesterday for my blog, and so far, nothing on bitacle for yesterday's posts. Since they got ahold of a post that was accidentally up for, like, five minutes, I'd say the feeds were responsible. We'll see. It will slow them down, at least.
Progress report
I am at 106 double-spaced pages on The Beauregrave. I haven't made a heck of a lot of forward progress since my all day adventure last week, but I have been writing an hour or so a day. Much of it is tightening up a little and revising sections that are too vague for me. They need to actively be part of the story before I go on and not be just window dressing. Still, it's about 86 1.5 spaced pages, because I cut another section back out. Going to use it as narrative, but I still hope to reuse sections of it later. It's a cool scene.
I'm doing a wierd pov thing using flashbacks in 3rd person and the present as first person. I want to keep the entire book in Haydn's pov. I don't know if that will change, but that is the present "artistic choice."
I'm doing a wierd pov thing using flashbacks in 3rd person and the present as first person. I want to keep the entire book in Haydn's pov. I don't know if that will change, but that is the present "artistic choice."
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Appropriate Research Venues
Recursive definition
My last blog post has had me thinking about appropriate research venues. I don't think that there is anything more annoying than seeing blatantly bad slang or jargon used on a television show. In books, it seems to be more like an overabundance of same-sounding characters rather than really bad dialog using really bad slang. But you do get occasions where it's bad.
It made me consider, though, my ill considered remark about using movies and television for research. Perhaps that's a case of circular definition. You know, using a word to define itself? Instead, we use a usage to prove it's a proper usage. Only the original is wrong and we found it in a television show or movie.
That's not to say it is wrong; just that using a movie for primary source research is, well, bad technique.
I wrote before I thought. I was mainly thinking that such materials would give a basic understanding to springboard ideas from, not that they were the defining source.
British slang and usage.
Here's a wonderfully amusing site that lists a translator for british to american. www.translatebritish.com. I used it when writing Harry Potter fan fiction a couple of years ago. I still go back for a laugh.
My last blog post has had me thinking about appropriate research venues. I don't think that there is anything more annoying than seeing blatantly bad slang or jargon used on a television show. In books, it seems to be more like an overabundance of same-sounding characters rather than really bad dialog using really bad slang. But you do get occasions where it's bad.
It made me consider, though, my ill considered remark about using movies and television for research. Perhaps that's a case of circular definition. You know, using a word to define itself? Instead, we use a usage to prove it's a proper usage. Only the original is wrong and we found it in a television show or movie.
That's not to say it is wrong; just that using a movie for primary source research is, well, bad technique.
I wrote before I thought. I was mainly thinking that such materials would give a basic understanding to springboard ideas from, not that they were the defining source.
British slang and usage.
Here's a wonderfully amusing site that lists a translator for british to american. www.translatebritish.com. I used it when writing Harry Potter fan fiction a couple of years ago. I still go back for a laugh.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Urban Street Slang
Here's a place to borrow Miss Snark's clue gun. It's when a middle-aged white woman who hasn't been part of the hipster scene for over ten years (and then it was the San Francisco ex-hippy-turned-yuppie sort of crowd) who is trying to emulate realistic sounding urban slang.
For example, I've got one character, a black DEA agent, in a science fiction novel which is temporarily set aside. He's been raised upper middle class, is a Harvard-educated and uptight guy who doesn't play basketball or engage in any of the cliched behaviors you always see foisted on black men in television shows. And he has to go to the 'hood and interact with some guys. And he can't do it well because even though he was born there, he wasn't raised there, and they are definitely not his homies, even if he's related to them and/or knew them as a ten year old. Not to mention the problems that arise when he is working on a case involving a primarily white bike gang. He can't infiltrate well, let's put it that way.
In one book I have to deal with 1) drug culture slang; 2) urban street slang; and 3) biker slang. All have overlapping areas, all have shared slang; but there are different meanings and preferences for usage, too.
Truthfully, short of camping my white ass on a stoop in the back alleys of Boston or New York, I don't think I have much chance of getting first hand experience in how folks talk in these situations. The lingo changes way too quickly and I am now out of the loop, out of date, and suffering the verbal equivalent of a generation gap! So...what's a writer to do?
Answer: The Dictionary of Urban Slang. A handy tool for checking word usage.
However, I think watching movies meant for teens or African American audiences are also quite educational. Movies like The New Kid, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Big Mama's House, etc. are all windows to a world where I don't live. Television shows like Law & Order, among others, are pretty helpful, too.
For example, I've got one character, a black DEA agent, in a science fiction novel which is temporarily set aside. He's been raised upper middle class, is a Harvard-educated and uptight guy who doesn't play basketball or engage in any of the cliched behaviors you always see foisted on black men in television shows. And he has to go to the 'hood and interact with some guys. And he can't do it well because even though he was born there, he wasn't raised there, and they are definitely not his homies, even if he's related to them and/or knew them as a ten year old. Not to mention the problems that arise when he is working on a case involving a primarily white bike gang. He can't infiltrate well, let's put it that way.
In one book I have to deal with 1) drug culture slang; 2) urban street slang; and 3) biker slang. All have overlapping areas, all have shared slang; but there are different meanings and preferences for usage, too.
Truthfully, short of camping my white ass on a stoop in the back alleys of Boston or New York, I don't think I have much chance of getting first hand experience in how folks talk in these situations. The lingo changes way too quickly and I am now out of the loop, out of date, and suffering the verbal equivalent of a generation gap! So...what's a writer to do?
Answer: The Dictionary of Urban Slang. A handy tool for checking word usage.
However, I think watching movies meant for teens or African American audiences are also quite educational. Movies like The New Kid, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Big Mama's House, etc. are all windows to a world where I don't live. Television shows like Law & Order, among others, are pretty helpful, too.
Today's Theme Song
Riding the Storm Out by REO Speedwagon. It keeps running through my head. Probably it was on the radio this morning.
I woke up at 4a.m. and started writing. I just dragged the laptop to the kitchen, plugged the ol' doorstop in and started going. I didn't make much forward progress, but I got two and a half solid hours of getting an important transition scene down. It will need work later, seeing as it's nearly five pages of dialog explaining things and moving the characters toward the raid on Faerie. That's too much. However, all the info needed for later is there.
Besides that, I figured out how and where to recycle two scenes that I really liked but which weren't going anywhere. The info I 'discovered' while writing them is great, so I can take ideas from one scene, and maybe three pages of text from the other. That's always a good feeling. Nothing is ever wasted.
As we are back to the regular winter schedule, I get my days off in blocks, and I actually don't have to work then. It's nice. It will be winter, too cold to go outside, and I can sit inside for three days at a time every week, writing. I like that. It makes up for being gone 13 hours a day.
I woke up at 4a.m. and started writing. I just dragged the laptop to the kitchen, plugged the ol' doorstop in and started going. I didn't make much forward progress, but I got two and a half solid hours of getting an important transition scene down. It will need work later, seeing as it's nearly five pages of dialog explaining things and moving the characters toward the raid on Faerie. That's too much. However, all the info needed for later is there.
Besides that, I figured out how and where to recycle two scenes that I really liked but which weren't going anywhere. The info I 'discovered' while writing them is great, so I can take ideas from one scene, and maybe three pages of text from the other. That's always a good feeling. Nothing is ever wasted.
As we are back to the regular winter schedule, I get my days off in blocks, and I actually don't have to work then. It's nice. It will be winter, too cold to go outside, and I can sit inside for three days at a time every week, writing. I like that. It makes up for being gone 13 hours a day.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Universal Story Form
From Housewife Cafe article interview of Martha Stockton Alderson, author of Blockbuster Plots: Pure and Simple:
On Martha's blog, aka Plotwhisperer, there is more of an explanation. (I haven't read the book yet.)
Interesting concepts. I'll have to keep an eye on the plotwhisperer blog. There is a great section of tips on the web site you might check out, too, although you have to wade through the blatant self promotions and adverts.
So, what is the Universal Story Form?Consider that every element in writing follows the universal story form. The overall book has a plot woven of the three plot threads and includes the four most important scenes: the end of the beginning, the crisis, the climax, and the resolution.
Each chapter follows this same pattern, but rather than a resolution, chapters work best if they end with a cliff-hanger. Sentences that contain this same multi-threaded plot that ends with a cliff-hanger are divinely inspired. Achieving this sort of pattern occurs only after the structure and the plot have been firmly decided upon. Then the trick becomes staying loose enough to let the muse in, to turn off the critical mind and wake up the creative mind fully to make every word count.
On Martha's blog, aka Plotwhisperer, there is more of an explanation. (I haven't read the book yet.)
"...the breakdown of the universal story form and the key scene in each of the three parts:
In the Beginning 1/4 of the project = the scene that marks the end of the beginning
In the Middle 1/2 of the project = the crisis
In the End 1/4 of the project = the climax"
Interesting concepts. I'll have to keep an eye on the plotwhisperer blog. There is a great section of tips on the web site you might check out, too, although you have to wade through the blatant self promotions and adverts.
Overheard in New York
This is a site that has some intriguing bits of conversation. For anyone who is striving to balance getting the point across with realistic wording, you might spend some time browsing here. Of course, writing realistically and reality itself aren't the same things, but we can try to feel real.
Anyhow, this post got me snorting coffee out my nose:
Warning: This Story is Character-Driven
via Overheard in New York, Oct 13, 2006
Anyhow, this post got me snorting coffee out my nose:
Warning: This Story is Character-Driven
Rhodes Scholar wigger: Yeah, we ain't together no more. Bitch had the nerve to dump me.
Friend: What happened? You guys looked fine last week. It doesn't make sense.
Rhodes Scholar wigger: She wasn't down with how I roll. Always dissin' the way I talk and shit--you know, correcting me and shit. Said she couldn't take it no more, that I was always actin' ign-i-ant or some shit. Like she's some brain scientist or some shit. Bitch was always wrong anyways.
Friend: Brain surgeon.
Rhodes Scholar wigger: What?
Friend: You said brain scientist. I think you meant brain surgeon.
Rhodes Scholar wigger: Dat's what I said nigga, you just heard me wrong.
Friend: You know what, suddenly it does makes sense.
--Manhattan bound F train
Overheard by: SandmanEsq
via Overheard in New York, Oct 13, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Great Book: Requeim For The Devil
Haven't finished this one yet, but it's extremely compelling. It's not fantasy, it's actually a work of literary fiction that just so happens to star the devil. He meets a woman and begins the process of falling in love for the first time.
What's intriguing about this piece is that the writing is top shelf and the characterizations--Lucifer discovering a conscience, discovering what his real motivations; Gianna, the girlfriend; the minions Beezelbub, Mephastopheles-- all realistic, all compelling, all enjoyable.
I'll explain more later on. I'll probably repost this blog and give a full book report on it.
Meanwhile, let me know if you care about my book reviews and that will help me decide if I want to continue.
What's intriguing about this piece is that the writing is top shelf and the characterizations--Lucifer discovering a conscience, discovering what his real motivations; Gianna, the girlfriend; the minions Beezelbub, Mephastopheles-- all realistic, all compelling, all enjoyable.
I'll explain more later on. I'll probably repost this blog and give a full book report on it.
Meanwhile, let me know if you care about my book reviews and that will help me decide if I want to continue.
More Cool Sites
http://housewifecafe.com/2006/09/18/interview-with-martha-stockton-alderson-blockbuster-plots-pure-and-simple/ (article quoted by m.g. tarquini)
Friday, October 13, 2006
Book Review - Greywalker
I thought I'd review the occasional book that really took my fancy. Here's one that I wish I'd written.
Yay! A cool new author to read!
Greywalker. Author: Kat Richardson. Roc, 352 pages.
Backmatter blurb:
Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.
But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.
My opinion (FWIW):
This is a dark and gritty urban fantasy and a mystery. If you like early Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake books or Harry Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, you might consider giving this a try, as it has definite similarities.
Along with an engaging main character, Harper Blaine, there is a well-executed plot, interesting characterizations, lyrical prose, and ferrets. You can't go wrong with small, fuzzy critters in my humble opinion. Especially when you have the characters eat them...which, btw, doesn't happen here.
Dark fantasy has been getting a bit stale of late. Much as I love it, like to write it and read it, the same old tropes keep showing up. Not much breaking of new ground. That is what has me really pleased with Greywalker over and above the excellent writing. It is so refreshing to read a fantasy which is genuinely different. Too often the world of fantasy (the current stuff) almost demands readers to be familiar with other writer's conventions in order to follow their own story. Greywalker's universe is unique in my experience.
The author displays excellent craftsmanship. Her complex and lyrical prose reminds me of Gene Wolfe or Storm Constantine, which, if you have read my earlier blogs, means I'm gonna like it, lol. The mystery plots are tight and leave no dangling threads of unanswered questions. Nothing is wasted or dropped, so far as I can see. No secondary characters are extraneous, and the clues and red herrings regarding all the characters and their involvement in the plot and sub-plots are handled well. (And I only noticed one typo!)
There is one area where I can say I was disappointed, albeit mildly: Greywalker can be a bit difficult to follow when the author is describing Harper's interactions with the Grey. I didn't dislike these sections. It's just that they were a bit confusing and frequently required rereading--as well as some liberal interpretation as to meaning on my part. In that sense, the book could have benefited from another edit.
However, I find that the descriptions form a coherent lexicon for the Grey; and that as the book continues, it gets easier to follow. And I expect that this style choice will continue and prove useful in the subsequent volumes of the series. This is a double-edged tactic, and may annoy some readers who dislike putting that level of effort into a novel experience. (Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)
Overall, though, a great read. Very satisfying. I really look forward to the second volume. [Ms. Richardson says in her amazon blog, "Poltergeist is in revision right now and currently scheduled for distribution around August, 2007."]
The author has a web site at www.katrichardson.com
Yay! A cool new author to read!
Greywalker. Author: Kat Richardson. Roc, 352 pages.
Backmatter blurb:
Harper Blaine was slogging along as a small-time P.I. when a two-bit perp's savage assault left her dead. For two minutes, to be precise. When Harper comes to in the hospital, she begins to feel a bit ...strange. She sees things that can only be described as weird-shapes emerging from a foggy grey mist, snarling teeth, creatures roaring.
But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker-able to move between our world and the mysterious, cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift (or curse) is about to drag her into that world of vampires and ghosts, magic and witches, necromancers and sinister artifacts. Whether she likes it or not.
My opinion (FWIW):
This is a dark and gritty urban fantasy and a mystery. If you like early Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake books or Harry Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, you might consider giving this a try, as it has definite similarities.
Along with an engaging main character, Harper Blaine, there is a well-executed plot, interesting characterizations, lyrical prose, and ferrets. You can't go wrong with small, fuzzy critters in my humble opinion. Especially when you have the characters eat them...which, btw, doesn't happen here.
Dark fantasy has been getting a bit stale of late. Much as I love it, like to write it and read it, the same old tropes keep showing up. Not much breaking of new ground. That is what has me really pleased with Greywalker over and above the excellent writing. It is so refreshing to read a fantasy which is genuinely different. Too often the world of fantasy (the current stuff) almost demands readers to be familiar with other writer's conventions in order to follow their own story. Greywalker's universe is unique in my experience.
The author displays excellent craftsmanship. Her complex and lyrical prose reminds me of Gene Wolfe or Storm Constantine, which, if you have read my earlier blogs, means I'm gonna like it, lol. The mystery plots are tight and leave no dangling threads of unanswered questions. Nothing is wasted or dropped, so far as I can see. No secondary characters are extraneous, and the clues and red herrings regarding all the characters and their involvement in the plot and sub-plots are handled well. (And I only noticed one typo!)
There is one area where I can say I was disappointed, albeit mildly: Greywalker can be a bit difficult to follow when the author is describing Harper's interactions with the Grey. I didn't dislike these sections. It's just that they were a bit confusing and frequently required rereading--as well as some liberal interpretation as to meaning on my part. In that sense, the book could have benefited from another edit.
However, I find that the descriptions form a coherent lexicon for the Grey; and that as the book continues, it gets easier to follow. And I expect that this style choice will continue and prove useful in the subsequent volumes of the series. This is a double-edged tactic, and may annoy some readers who dislike putting that level of effort into a novel experience. (Sorry, couldn't resist that one.)
Overall, though, a great read. Very satisfying. I really look forward to the second volume. [Ms. Richardson says in her amazon blog, "Poltergeist is in revision right now and currently scheduled for distribution around August, 2007."]
The author has a web site at www.katrichardson.com
Happy Friday the 13th!!!
I love Friday the 13th. Something about all the hooplah makes it amusing. I'm not superstitious, although I might believe some things other folks find...strange, lol. Nope, for me, it is silly to run about fearing a number. But I love Friday the 13th for a couple of reasons.
1) because people get all wierded out by a date, claiming it has something to do with Jesus' betrayal or some such (tell me if you know the story); and
2) because it's like when the odometer flips over to a cool number pattern. There's just something sorta magical about that kind of thing. Perhaps it is more the anticipation, the waiting to catch the moment as it flies by. Whatever. It's a real experience and I take inordinate pleasure in such things.
[The other day, my car went to 66,666...Wheee!!!]
1) because people get all wierded out by a date, claiming it has something to do with Jesus' betrayal or some such (tell me if you know the story); and
2) because it's like when the odometer flips over to a cool number pattern. There's just something sorta magical about that kind of thing. Perhaps it is more the anticipation, the waiting to catch the moment as it flies by. Whatever. It's a real experience and I take inordinate pleasure in such things.
[The other day, my car went to 66,666...Wheee!!!]
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The Rejecter - cool blog site
Interesting site written by a slush pile reader. The Rejecter blog is pretty cool, and in a recent blog post he goes over how to write a query letter.
I know Miss Snark has posted on this topic, as well as many others, but I thought the post on Rejecter's site was pretty darned clear.
He goes on to list what info should be in the letter. Go check out that article, "The Basics" and learn, young padawan.
I know Miss Snark has posted on this topic, as well as many others, but I thought the post on Rejecter's site was pretty darned clear.
[1-3 Paragraphs introducing your manuscript. It's not so much a summary as an enticement to read the material. Imagine that you are writing a book jacket that is meant to entice potential readers to spend up to $20 on your book. It should hit key plot points, but should not be a summary of what happens. This section of the query should be the best material you've ever written in your life, because it is basically what we judge your work by. Fortunately, if you are a terrific writer with a terrific novel, it shouldn't be hard. The problem is that most people aren't terrific writers. Oh, and don't make it more than 3 paragraphs, quote the text, or list characters unnecessarily]
He goes on to list what info should be in the letter. Go check out that article, "The Basics" and learn, young padawan.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Social Dynamics - Cuteness & Cruelty
Did you realize that "manufactured cuteness" is a means of sublimating cruelty AND a natural fostering of aggression?
Maybe not so, but this article "The Cuteness of the Avante Garde" by Sianne Nagai sort of leads me to think about it along those lines. It's in tangled college-ese, but, basically, she discusses the nature of cuteness. Following are a few quotes, but what I got out of it was basically this:
Cuteness is a socially trained perception and it is two-edged. It objectifies weakness as desirable. And although it can teach "tender and maternal" feelings, it can also train the target audience (children) to discover "ugly or agressive" feelings as well.
Defining cute.
"The smaller and less formally articulated or more bloblike the object, the cuter it becomes--in part because smallness and blobbishness suggest greater malleability and thus a greater capacity for being handled." (Picture Kermit the Frog or Hello Kitty.)
What is pathetic is cuter still.
"From here it is only a short step to see how the formal properties associated with cuteness -- smallness, compactness, softness, simplicity, and pliancy -- call forth specific affects: helplessness, pitifulness, and even despondency. There is thus a sense in which the minor taste concept of cuteness might be said to get at the process by which all taste concepts are formed and thus at the aesthetic relation all of them capture. For in addition to being a minor aesthetic concept that is fundamentally about minorness (in a way that, for instance, the concept of the glamorous is not), it is crucial to cuteness that its diminutive object has some sort of imposed-upon aspect or mien--that is, that it bears the look of an object not only formed but all too easily de -formed under the pressure of the subject's feeling or attitude towards it"
Cuteness can inspire cruelty.
"We can thus start to see how cuteness might provoke ugly or aggressive feelings, as well as the expected tender or maternal ones. For in its exaggerated passivity and vulnerability, the cute object is as often intended to excite a consumer's sadistic desires for mastery and control as much as his or her desire to cuddle."
So, back to my interpretation:
What is cute is vulnerable. You either coo over that baby, or see a victim waiting to happen.
This gives me a few thoughts about world creation.
If cuteness is employed as a device, it can most obviously be used to turn our expectations on their pointy little heads. Robert Rankin, in Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, uses a teddy bear as the heroic private eye in this manner.
In any case, the basic idea of using the Readers' expectations about cuteness against us is quite intriguing. Think about it: The fuzzy toys which we give to our kids out of love may be functioning to support aggression as much as they teach kids to nurture. Tell your kid he can't hit the other kid, fine; but then he goes off and bashes his cute plushy toy, thereby learning what is small and fuzzy (and cute) is weaker and he can get away with that behavior... Hmmm...
The big What If?
Say someone tweaked this two-sided coin of cuteness. Say they actively encouraged one trait or the other... We could train children to "play nice" even better; or we could have the plushy toys really teaching them to be vicious little serial killers! Ooooh, I need to use this someplace!
Maybe not so, but this article "The Cuteness of the Avante Garde" by Sianne Nagai sort of leads me to think about it along those lines. It's in tangled college-ese, but, basically, she discusses the nature of cuteness. Following are a few quotes, but what I got out of it was basically this:
Cuteness is a socially trained perception and it is two-edged. It objectifies weakness as desirable. And although it can teach "tender and maternal" feelings, it can also train the target audience (children) to discover "ugly or agressive" feelings as well.
Defining cute.
"The smaller and less formally articulated or more bloblike the object, the cuter it becomes--in part because smallness and blobbishness suggest greater malleability and thus a greater capacity for being handled." (Picture Kermit the Frog or Hello Kitty.)
What is pathetic is cuter still.
"From here it is only a short step to see how the formal properties associated with cuteness -- smallness, compactness, softness, simplicity, and pliancy -- call forth specific affects: helplessness, pitifulness, and even despondency. There is thus a sense in which the minor taste concept of cuteness might be said to get at the process by which all taste concepts are formed and thus at the aesthetic relation all of them capture. For in addition to being a minor aesthetic concept that is fundamentally about minorness (in a way that, for instance, the concept of the glamorous is not), it is crucial to cuteness that its diminutive object has some sort of imposed-upon aspect or mien--that is, that it bears the look of an object not only formed but all too easily de -formed under the pressure of the subject's feeling or attitude towards it"
Cuteness can inspire cruelty.
"We can thus start to see how cuteness might provoke ugly or aggressive feelings, as well as the expected tender or maternal ones. For in its exaggerated passivity and vulnerability, the cute object is as often intended to excite a consumer's sadistic desires for mastery and control as much as his or her desire to cuddle."
So, back to my interpretation:
What is cute is vulnerable. You either coo over that baby, or see a victim waiting to happen.
This gives me a few thoughts about world creation.
If cuteness is employed as a device, it can most obviously be used to turn our expectations on their pointy little heads. Robert Rankin, in Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse, uses a teddy bear as the heroic private eye in this manner.
In any case, the basic idea of using the Readers' expectations about cuteness against us is quite intriguing. Think about it: The fuzzy toys which we give to our kids out of love may be functioning to support aggression as much as they teach kids to nurture. Tell your kid he can't hit the other kid, fine; but then he goes off and bashes his cute plushy toy, thereby learning what is small and fuzzy (and cute) is weaker and he can get away with that behavior... Hmmm...
The big What If?
Say someone tweaked this two-sided coin of cuteness. Say they actively encouraged one trait or the other... We could train children to "play nice" even better; or we could have the plushy toys really teaching them to be vicious little serial killers! Ooooh, I need to use this someplace!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Definitions of Genre
A few definitions from the Preditors & Editors site:
Dark Fantasy. "Character is up against a conflict that appears too severe to be overcome, and usually is along the lines of a horror atmosphere involving insurmountable odds/evil wizards/evil magic. Can be a modern or mythical setting. A psychological suspense element is often beneficial, perhaps essential."
Light Fantasy. "Humorous. High or Contemporary/Urban, with character conflict including scenes capable of bringing a smile to the lips and a lightness to the heart."
Science Fantasy. "A fictional story in which the science elements are mistaken for magic by the characters."
Sword & Sorcery/Heroic Fantasy. "Character's conflict include resolution by own skills, usually against evil magic/wizard/demon in a gritty, severe mythical setting. Often resolution of conflict benefits the individual more, with any benefit to a greater good being an incidental side-effect. Also, resolution often requires a hefty dose of luck to succeed."
Trope. "A story element that defines a genre. For example, when one reads of a starship and aliens, the reader thinks science fiction."
Dark Fantasy. "Character is up against a conflict that appears too severe to be overcome, and usually is along the lines of a horror atmosphere involving insurmountable odds/evil wizards/evil magic. Can be a modern or mythical setting. A psychological suspense element is often beneficial, perhaps essential."
Light Fantasy. "Humorous. High or Contemporary/Urban, with character conflict including scenes capable of bringing a smile to the lips and a lightness to the heart."
Science Fantasy. "A fictional story in which the science elements are mistaken for magic by the characters."
Sword & Sorcery/Heroic Fantasy. "Character's conflict include resolution by own skills, usually against evil magic/wizard/demon in a gritty, severe mythical setting. Often resolution of conflict benefits the individual more, with any benefit to a greater good being an incidental side-effect. Also, resolution often requires a hefty dose of luck to succeed."
Trope. "A story element that defines a genre. For example, when one reads of a starship and aliens, the reader thinks science fiction."
Strange Terms
Defining some terms.
According to an article here there are some terms that I, as a reclusive, non-conference-attending writer, haven't heard before. To whit:
Recursive SFF
Common Universes - Sharecropped, Franchised, Shared
Tuckerisms
Filksongs
You win a non-existant prize if you know at least one of these.
According to an article here there are some terms that I, as a reclusive, non-conference-attending writer, haven't heard before. To whit:
Recursive SFF
Common Universes - Sharecropped, Franchised, Shared
Tuckerisms
Filksongs
You win a non-existant prize if you know at least one of these.
Any Idea Is Old
The psychic plagiarist.
Ever read something that you'd swear came from your brain first? Well, it happens to me all the time. I just have to remind myself that I thought of it before I discovered this author and use their work to help me make mine different.
What inspired today's blog entry was my having just read a pair of Borderlands novels called Neverwhere and Elsewhere by Will Shetterly. It amused me to observe (yet again) that no matter how much effort I put into creating new twists on old themes (Faerie and Dark Fantasy) there is a definite overlap with other realms imagined by other people.
By the way, these are a couple of good Dark Fantasy reads. I'll have to pick up more Borderlands books.
Damn those psychics, ripping off my ideas that way!
Ever read something that you'd swear came from your brain first? Well, it happens to me all the time. I just have to remind myself that I thought of it before I discovered this author and use their work to help me make mine different.
What inspired today's blog entry was my having just read a pair of Borderlands novels called Neverwhere and Elsewhere by Will Shetterly. It amused me to observe (yet again) that no matter how much effort I put into creating new twists on old themes (Faerie and Dark Fantasy) there is a definite overlap with other realms imagined by other people.
By the way, these are a couple of good Dark Fantasy reads. I'll have to pick up more Borderlands books.
Damn those psychics, ripping off my ideas that way!
Monday, October 09, 2006
Bragging Rights
One hundred pages, double-spaced.
Whee! I wrote about ten thousand words today! I've got a reasonable 65 pages when formatted with my personal standard of 1.5 lines space. I also have a nearly complete plot in hand. You can't see me, but I'm dancing around the room all giddy and gleeful.
What's even more giddy making is that I figured out how to use about thirty pages of stuff that I was afraid I'd have to cut. I still have fifty or so I cannot use, but hey, I'll take it. I might get to keep the scene in the truck with the wayward sheathe dress, too. And I've got all the plot detailed with the exception of the finer details of Faerie (Danu).
The journey through Danu (where George, Haydn and their companions discover what is really going on in Danu and why Haydn is so all-fired important) will have to wait for spontaneous creation as I push the characters along on their adventure. That's because I have observed, the wierder the stuff you are writing, the more it suffers from pre-planning.
That is such a good observation, I am going to say it again, so I remember it as I work on the project: The wierder the stuff you are writing, the more it suffers from pre-planning.
Also worth noting:
I'm eating dried pineapple and dark chocolate. Don't do that. Just don't. My system is in shock. I have to sign off now...
Whee! I wrote about ten thousand words today! I've got a reasonable 65 pages when formatted with my personal standard of 1.5 lines space. I also have a nearly complete plot in hand. You can't see me, but I'm dancing around the room all giddy and gleeful.
What's even more giddy making is that I figured out how to use about thirty pages of stuff that I was afraid I'd have to cut. I still have fifty or so I cannot use, but hey, I'll take it. I might get to keep the scene in the truck with the wayward sheathe dress, too. And I've got all the plot detailed with the exception of the finer details of Faerie (Danu).
The journey through Danu (where George, Haydn and their companions discover what is really going on in Danu and why Haydn is so all-fired important) will have to wait for spontaneous creation as I push the characters along on their adventure. That's because I have observed, the wierder the stuff you are writing, the more it suffers from pre-planning.
That is such a good observation, I am going to say it again, so I remember it as I work on the project: The wierder the stuff you are writing, the more it suffers from pre-planning.
Also worth noting:
I'm eating dried pineapple and dark chocolate. Don't do that. Just don't. My system is in shock. I have to sign off now...
The Untrustworthy Narrator
Devising an untrustworthy narrator.
Here's the deal. I am writing the current work in progress, The Beauregrave, in first person, and I'm having a bit of difficulty finding just the right tone for the narrator, my hero, a young lady named Haydn. She's neurotic, possibly schizophrenic, and she is also a very powerful magician. Because we see everything through Haydn's eyes, it is problematic to show a fantasy world through her perceptions, because she creates a veil of misunderstanding.
This is a tricky thing to accomplish, and since I am still in the very rough draft phase and trying to force myself not to obsessively groom what I just wrote, it is difficult to keep the whole plan in my head while moving forward faster than a snail's pace. However, after a zillion drafts, I want Haydn to be 1) sympathetic and likeable; 2) a real heroic character for willingly undertaking the struggle when all she wanted was to avoid it; and 3) I want her confusion to add to the reader's experience, and I want to use the first person narrative to bring the reader into her confused world view and have the reader understand her better than she does herself, even at the end, when she makes a barbed choice.
Most of all, I want the reader to know that her choice isn't the end of it; that, at the end, the story is not over for the Earthwife. And that's not because I want the opportunity for a sequel, it's because it will leave the echo of dissatisfaction, of opportunity missed, of wondering Did I Make The Right Choice? which, as a middle-aged woman, I am quite familiar with...
Back to the WIP.
What Haydn thinks she knows and what she allows herself to know needs to be transparent. After the readers get to know her, I think I want them to see that she is deluding herself about her emotions. She translates them wrong after her initial experience in Faerie. She is screwed up by the experiences she has undergone, but she both over-and under-estimates her damage. Her self distrust makes her a faulty pov character, and the readers need to see through her failings to what is really going on.
And what is really going on is a drama of errors, something like Shakespeare when he uses mistaken identities for comedic effect, but in my case I am using deliberately hidden or changed identities to move the plot. And Haydn's process through the book involves piecing together these mistaken identities in her past (and thus revising her understanding of her past) even as she is moving through the present and trying to save her cousin and protect her friend George and the others who end up on the journey with her.
That's saying a lot of nothing if you don't know the plot. But basically, it's deception that is the main theme at this point, near as I can tell. Or, what is real? And I think the answer is going to be that what is real is what you believe in.
But we shall see when it's all written, all said and done.
Current topical reading.
I am reading a couple of interesting books on characterization which I picked up at Haystack. One that you might like to check out is "What Would Your Character Do?" by Maisel and Maisel. It discusses situations and what elements of the situation might affect the character. For example, if you know nothing about B&D or S&M, they discuss things that might be at issue in such a setting, things which would affect the character's decisions, emotions, actions, or even the plot because of the rest of it.
PS--This is not procrastinating!
You know something? I am finding that, if used properly, writing this blog is very good for my writing. I didn't have an inkling what the book was really about before this; but now I do. I didn't have more than a general idea of how I want Haydn to be confused, and how it affected the book; but now I do. (FYI the book is not going to be an easy read. I'm aiming for somewhat fractured and dense with lyrical prose and lush description...and probably unpublishable, but it is supposed to be Gene Wolfe-ish.)
Here's the deal. I am writing the current work in progress, The Beauregrave, in first person, and I'm having a bit of difficulty finding just the right tone for the narrator, my hero, a young lady named Haydn. She's neurotic, possibly schizophrenic, and she is also a very powerful magician. Because we see everything through Haydn's eyes, it is problematic to show a fantasy world through her perceptions, because she creates a veil of misunderstanding.
This is a tricky thing to accomplish, and since I am still in the very rough draft phase and trying to force myself not to obsessively groom what I just wrote, it is difficult to keep the whole plan in my head while moving forward faster than a snail's pace. However, after a zillion drafts, I want Haydn to be 1) sympathetic and likeable; 2) a real heroic character for willingly undertaking the struggle when all she wanted was to avoid it; and 3) I want her confusion to add to the reader's experience, and I want to use the first person narrative to bring the reader into her confused world view and have the reader understand her better than she does herself, even at the end, when she makes a barbed choice.
Most of all, I want the reader to know that her choice isn't the end of it; that, at the end, the story is not over for the Earthwife. And that's not because I want the opportunity for a sequel, it's because it will leave the echo of dissatisfaction, of opportunity missed, of wondering Did I Make The Right Choice? which, as a middle-aged woman, I am quite familiar with...
Back to the WIP.
What Haydn thinks she knows and what she allows herself to know needs to be transparent. After the readers get to know her, I think I want them to see that she is deluding herself about her emotions. She translates them wrong after her initial experience in Faerie. She is screwed up by the experiences she has undergone, but she both over-and under-estimates her damage. Her self distrust makes her a faulty pov character, and the readers need to see through her failings to what is really going on.
And what is really going on is a drama of errors, something like Shakespeare when he uses mistaken identities for comedic effect, but in my case I am using deliberately hidden or changed identities to move the plot. And Haydn's process through the book involves piecing together these mistaken identities in her past (and thus revising her understanding of her past) even as she is moving through the present and trying to save her cousin and protect her friend George and the others who end up on the journey with her.
That's saying a lot of nothing if you don't know the plot. But basically, it's deception that is the main theme at this point, near as I can tell. Or, what is real? And I think the answer is going to be that what is real is what you believe in.
But we shall see when it's all written, all said and done.
Current topical reading.
I am reading a couple of interesting books on characterization which I picked up at Haystack. One that you might like to check out is "What Would Your Character Do?" by Maisel and Maisel. It discusses situations and what elements of the situation might affect the character. For example, if you know nothing about B&D or S&M, they discuss things that might be at issue in such a setting, things which would affect the character's decisions, emotions, actions, or even the plot because of the rest of it.
PS--This is not procrastinating!
You know something? I am finding that, if used properly, writing this blog is very good for my writing. I didn't have an inkling what the book was really about before this; but now I do. I didn't have more than a general idea of how I want Haydn to be confused, and how it affected the book; but now I do. (FYI the book is not going to be an easy read. I'm aiming for somewhat fractured and dense with lyrical prose and lush description...and probably unpublishable, but it is supposed to be Gene Wolfe-ish.)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Procrastination attempt
What I get up to when I can't seem to get it in gear.
Sure is easy to procrastinate or avoid writing while sitting here at the keyboard. I have been trying to get my head into writing all day. I have trouble with migraines, and that doesn't help; but a bad headache is pretty normal for me, so I can't use that as the excuse.
What really helps when you can't focus is to get physical. And since I live alone, that leaves housework, you dirty-minded cretins. I KNOW what you were thinking (snicker). Of course, since it's dark out, I can't go mow the lawn, but vaccuuming is useful. Cleaning the catbox. Scouring the tub. I could always get starting replacing the wainscoting in the kitchen (the tools have only been in the dining room since June) but that might be expecting a bit much of me right now.
Mood Music.
Did I mention www.pandora.com the free radio station? You can tell it what music you like and listen on line. If you want peaceful, tell it Tangerine Dream, Kitaro, Carlos Nakai and Yanni and you will be surprised at the mix you get. (Yes, Yanni. His stuff is easy to write to.) I've also just discovered Mike Oldfield and his "Tubular Bells" album, which appears to go on forever. It's a bit too repetitive, enough it could get on your nerves if you were not in the proper frame of mind. Overall, though, I do like his stuff. So far.
And now, back to writing. Must. Move. Forward. Must. Write. Something.
Sure is easy to procrastinate or avoid writing while sitting here at the keyboard. I have been trying to get my head into writing all day. I have trouble with migraines, and that doesn't help; but a bad headache is pretty normal for me, so I can't use that as the excuse.
What really helps when you can't focus is to get physical. And since I live alone, that leaves housework, you dirty-minded cretins. I KNOW what you were thinking (snicker). Of course, since it's dark out, I can't go mow the lawn, but vaccuuming is useful. Cleaning the catbox. Scouring the tub. I could always get starting replacing the wainscoting in the kitchen (the tools have only been in the dining room since June) but that might be expecting a bit much of me right now.
Mood Music.
Did I mention www.pandora.com the free radio station? You can tell it what music you like and listen on line. If you want peaceful, tell it Tangerine Dream, Kitaro, Carlos Nakai and Yanni and you will be surprised at the mix you get. (Yes, Yanni. His stuff is easy to write to.) I've also just discovered Mike Oldfield and his "Tubular Bells" album, which appears to go on forever. It's a bit too repetitive, enough it could get on your nerves if you were not in the proper frame of mind. Overall, though, I do like his stuff. So far.
And now, back to writing. Must. Move. Forward. Must. Write. Something.
On Backing Up
Gentle reader, I thought I would offer a reminder to safeguard yourself against the depredations of others' evil intentions: BACKUP YOUR FILES. Be very ingenious about it too. You'll hate yourself the day you need something and you don't have it.
Keep a printed copy.
If this is a work in progress, you will hate me, but print out and keep all draft versions and your Outtakes files, keep them in a box or binder or file folder. When you have the book published, it is your decision whether or not you want to keep the copy, but just a hint, you might want to paw through the outtakes and such at another time. I find hard copy is easier.
Electronic copies don't last forever.
Thought I'd mention that CDs might only last a few years. And remember that electronic storage can degrade. Floppies, USB and even CDs will fail with age. CDs may take a few years, but that great idea you had ten years ago will go away on you if you don't redo it occasionally. Hence, keep a printed copy. Repeat again: keep a printed copy. Use ink that won't fade in a year like some faxes do. How about a photocopy in an undisclosed location in the Bahamas?
Most convenient:
To ensure that you have old files when you need them, you should have all your files on your ginormous computer hard drive. To keep it convenient, back the writing up, together, on a regular basis. Say, once a month? If it won't fit on a single CD, perhaps upgrade to that DVD drive. If I can fit most of my files in less than a 100Mb, surely this will work for you?
That way, you don't have to worry about aging media...so long as you keep it all together and keep backing it up regularly.
Backup media should be finalized
You need to be sure than some other computer can read your disc. My particular software requires I "finalize" the disc for this. Otherwise, it is left open so I can add more data. Don't be cheap, finalize that $.50 CD and store it somewhere safe. Do it now, okay? And be sure you test its readability elsewhere so you know you did it correctly.
In case of fire
Keep a recent set of backup copies in a location that cannot burn down with your office. Use media of your choice, USB thumb drive, CD, floppies, Zip drive, SD card, whatever. Just be sure that you update the backups regularly and keep them separate from your house. I keep mine in my locker at work. Thumb drive and CD. Printed copies are at the house because I don't have vermin-proof shed.
Save as something your software can read years from now.
I can't use the carefully preserved Word*Star files. Darn. Never know what was on those. Or that Mac I used to use... So, save everything as .txt or .rtf or even as .htm if that turns you on, just so you can read the darned thing later on. I gather you can save data on a DVD, too, so that may be the best bet for now. I, however, am not going to go there just yet. I was just getting used to CDs!
Keep a printed copy.
If this is a work in progress, you will hate me, but print out and keep all draft versions and your Outtakes files, keep them in a box or binder or file folder. When you have the book published, it is your decision whether or not you want to keep the copy, but just a hint, you might want to paw through the outtakes and such at another time. I find hard copy is easier.
Electronic copies don't last forever.
Thought I'd mention that CDs might only last a few years. And remember that electronic storage can degrade. Floppies, USB and even CDs will fail with age. CDs may take a few years, but that great idea you had ten years ago will go away on you if you don't redo it occasionally. Hence, keep a printed copy. Repeat again: keep a printed copy. Use ink that won't fade in a year like some faxes do. How about a photocopy in an undisclosed location in the Bahamas?
Most convenient:
To ensure that you have old files when you need them, you should have all your files on your ginormous computer hard drive. To keep it convenient, back the writing up, together, on a regular basis. Say, once a month? If it won't fit on a single CD, perhaps upgrade to that DVD drive. If I can fit most of my files in less than a 100Mb, surely this will work for you?
That way, you don't have to worry about aging media...so long as you keep it all together and keep backing it up regularly.
Backup media should be finalized
You need to be sure than some other computer can read your disc. My particular software requires I "finalize" the disc for this. Otherwise, it is left open so I can add more data. Don't be cheap, finalize that $.50 CD and store it somewhere safe. Do it now, okay? And be sure you test its readability elsewhere so you know you did it correctly.
In case of fire
Keep a recent set of backup copies in a location that cannot burn down with your office. Use media of your choice, USB thumb drive, CD, floppies, Zip drive, SD card, whatever. Just be sure that you update the backups regularly and keep them separate from your house. I keep mine in my locker at work. Thumb drive and CD. Printed copies are at the house because I don't have vermin-proof shed.
Save as something your software can read years from now.
I can't use the carefully preserved Word*Star files. Darn. Never know what was on those. Or that Mac I used to use... So, save everything as .txt or .rtf or even as .htm if that turns you on, just so you can read the darned thing later on. I gather you can save data on a DVD, too, so that may be the best bet for now. I, however, am not going to go there just yet. I was just getting used to CDs!
Organizational Tools
A few vital organizational tools:
- Computer (with writing software & relational database preferred)
- Notecards & convenient storage box
- Colored permanent markers with fine tips (Sharpies preferred in a fistful of colors, for taking notes and distinguishing plotlines)
- colored highlighters (sp) (another fistful of colors, for distinguishing plotlines if you prefer using one color ink for writing.
- Pads of paper (for notetaking, of course)
- Voice-activated mini tape recorder (for note taking while you are driving)
- Dictaphone machine (if you do the tape thing a lot)
- Up to date reference books related to your project. (The term up-to-date is relative. Obviously, my copy of the Encyclopedia if Arms and Armour is not going to be a handicap at ten years old, since I am using it to research Medieval armor and weapons. My dictionary of Urban Slang, however, should be a recent copy if I am using it.)
- Recent dictionary and thesaurus. (Note: software versions are not as good as the books. They have fewer words!)
- Filing system. (Style of your choice. However, do keep a backup printed copy of everything you submit and old versions of things.)
Why all the poetry?
Heh. Bet you wondered what's with all the poetry posts all of a sudden. I just wanted an excuse to post my photos. I got a new digital camera and have been taking all kinds of shots. And you cannot beat photos of Autumn in New England.
I just wish I had more time to spend taking them. If you are serious about photography (which I am really not) you have to find locations and then get there when the light is right. For example, the photo below, which is of hayrolls. I unfortunately had to bypass this opportunity when the light was right (it was just past dawn) because I was on my way to a doctor appointment in another town.
When I came back the sun was from the other direction, and the haybales were in shadow. And, sadly, I won't be able to go back and take more shots until next year. Oh well. I might use this one as a image in a painting at some point...if I can ever get back to painting. Writing must come first, after all!
I just wish I had more time to spend taking them. If you are serious about photography (which I am really not) you have to find locations and then get there when the light is right. For example, the photo below, which is of hayrolls. I unfortunately had to bypass this opportunity when the light was right (it was just past dawn) because I was on my way to a doctor appointment in another town.
When I came back the sun was from the other direction, and the haybales were in shadow. And, sadly, I won't be able to go back and take more shots until next year. Oh well. I might use this one as a image in a painting at some point...if I can ever get back to painting. Writing must come first, after all!
Poetry Moment #3
Vanguards
When autumn leaves bloom,
the roses swell, pregnant,
and sun goes south
by slow looping increments
and winter arrives
by stages,
by borrowing bits of summer
here and there
and failing to return them,
then stars grow brittle,
and earth is draped
with groundcloth white
while trees are painted
starkly.
Photo is of East Grand Lake on the US/Canada border, shot from the Canadian side in Fosterville, NB looking toward Forest City, Maine. Sorry it's a little fuzzy; I had a long exposure time to get the color saturation and I didn't have a tripod with me. Now the leaves are all down so I can't get any more shots until next year.
If I Could Write Like Someone Else...
I have a short list of writers whose styles I love and who I try to learn from. Not that I don't try to learn from everything I read; but these folks make me admire their skill. There are a lot more, but you have to say to yourself, is this how I want to write? And if the answer is yes, then that particular writer is listening to the muse whom you'd like to strike a deal with.
However, if I could pick only one author to emulate, I'd have to say I want to write like Robin McKinley. That's paring a half-dozen others off my list, including Gene Wolf, Ursula K. LeGuin, Storm Constantine, Neil Gaiman, Frank Herbert and Tanith Lee. These are all great authors, but Robin McKinley's stories have the human relationship elements in them just how I like them. It is a hard thing to describe, but she walks that fine line between telling too much and too little so that I get to feel smart for figuring out the character's motivations and yet also have an intimate relationship with the character. I admire her craft and I thoroughly enjoy reading what she writes.
Robin McKinley has a great site, as well, here. If you haven't read her most recent book, Sunshine, do so. Ms. McKinley is an excellent author, but this is her best book yet, IMO. I love this book. I call it Dark Fantasy, but it really walks the line between plain old fantasy and the darker variety. Maybe, if we are lucky, her muse will dictate a sequel to Sunshine. Or we might get another Damar book. The Blue Sword was the first one of hers I read, and I reread it on a regular basis.
However, if I could pick only one author to emulate, I'd have to say I want to write like Robin McKinley. That's paring a half-dozen others off my list, including Gene Wolf, Ursula K. LeGuin, Storm Constantine, Neil Gaiman, Frank Herbert and Tanith Lee. These are all great authors, but Robin McKinley's stories have the human relationship elements in them just how I like them. It is a hard thing to describe, but she walks that fine line between telling too much and too little so that I get to feel smart for figuring out the character's motivations and yet also have an intimate relationship with the character. I admire her craft and I thoroughly enjoy reading what she writes.
Robin McKinley has a great site, as well, here. If you haven't read her most recent book, Sunshine, do so. Ms. McKinley is an excellent author, but this is her best book yet, IMO. I love this book. I call it Dark Fantasy, but it really walks the line between plain old fantasy and the darker variety. Maybe, if we are lucky, her muse will dictate a sequel to Sunshine. Or we might get another Damar book. The Blue Sword was the first one of hers I read, and I reread it on a regular basis.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Even the Best Get Rejected.
I have been seeking and reading web sites for some of my favorite authors.
On Ursula K. Le Guin's web site, she posts a rejection letter for Left Hand of Darkness. No editor is perfect in his/her judgment, in other words. Ms. Le Guin gives this letter to us as encouragement, and I definitely appreciate her sharing.
She also has a page of essays on writing, which is worth perusing.
On Ursula K. Le Guin's web site, she posts a rejection letter for Left Hand of Darkness. No editor is perfect in his/her judgment, in other words. Ms. Le Guin gives this letter to us as encouragement, and I definitely appreciate her sharing.
She also has a page of essays on writing, which is worth perusing.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Poetry Moment #2
Caged birds
All among us they reside:
caged birds, singing,
stale canaries huddled in their rusty plumes,
replaying tarnished songs encrusted with memory’s grime;
banging out off-kilter and defiant
nickelodeon tunes, warped-record blues
in faded rainbow tones, but never dirges,
still struggling and striving
to shine.
They plan escape,
a jail break happening one day soon,
when guard is weak or tired or slow:
Oh yes, these caged birds will revolt
any day now, knowing this heart
beating, oh beating them up
in the name of love
means well, would reform them,
mold them into model citizens
whose passions conform in painless
frozen doilies of desire: Canned
fish, lime jello molds, flat 7-Up
to sip and settle the upset
of sour stomachs and sour days...
But out they'll go, clacking
like the joke set of teeth
cousin Albert lost behind the sofa;
rustling like the almanac
shivering lonely in the privy,
doing time for counting days;
or like the whale singing across a watery world,
reaching out and reaching out
for love...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Positive Thinking & Your Writing
Here's a novel idea...
Oh, don't throw shoes at me, I couldn't resist that one. I have been revisiting a bunch of New Age philosophies (that aren't that new) and reminding myself about the power of positive thinking. This because a friend insisted I watch The Secret, a movie about the Law of Attraction. It has a series of interviews with doctors, physicists, philosophers, writers, and a number of others who follow the belief that what you think creates your reality. And they back it up with actual physics.
A couple of factoids.
First, thoughts are energy and positive thoughts apparently have a lot more 'juice' than negative ones. Second, when you visualize doing an activity, there is literally no difference between visualizing and doing to your brain. The lesson? What you think, you actually experience in your mind. It's as real as any subjective experience can get. Hmmm.
They go on to discuss things that are more metaphysical, and state that if you put out positive thoughts, positive things will be attracted to you. In my experience, it can be more your perception that things are positive rather than actual positive events; but in either case the end result is that you have a better experience emotionally. But I also noted a streak of good things happening to me when I practiced positive thinking.
Shakti Gawain has a nice little intro book called Creative Visualization. It is basically a westernized version of eastern philosophies about the power of positive thinking. The Secret deals with this in the medium of video. The Secret is really the same stuff, but with western science to back it up: physics. There are other books out there too, of course, if you are interested.
How does this apply to your writing?
My rambling talk is supposed to be about writing. So, here is the deal: If you practice positive thinking about your creative efforts, and focus on the outcome you want (best-selling book, Pulitzer Prize, a million dollar royalty check, or something more modest along the lines of writing a thousand words every day) you can achieve it. Supposedly.
Thought Experiment.
As a thought experiment, why don't you try this: For a month, spend a few minutes in the morning when you first wake up, and consider all the things for which you are grateful. Even if it isn't quite true, be grateful for thing such as the fuzzy kitty that you wake up to every morning; the good health you are experiencing; your spouse; your kids; your financial freedom. Whatever. Just imagine it ideally, and not with codicils like "I am grateful for my health, but I hate my big butt." Nuh-uh. Change that over to "I am grateful for my health. I feel great and have a great physique."
Positive thinking about your writing.
Practice positive thinking to 'reprogram' the universe to respond to you. Consider the novel you are writing as a best seller. Visualize receiving a million dollar royalty check from the publisher. Don't visualize bills in the mail or a rejection letter from the publisher.
The interesting thing about the concept of what you think creates your reality is that the energy of a positive thought is apparently If you think about what you don't want, you attract that thing, because you're thinking about it. I don't want to hit a moose on the highway, so I drive along, picturing the accident I don't want. All the universe hears is "accident with moose" and that is the energy you put out, attracting the accident to you.
So, think about the million book sales you want, not the image of the book's rejection letter you don't. At the worst, your mood improves because you are not focusing on negative emotions and experiences. At the best? Well, we are writers, we all want to have written a good book!
Because the only morale boost that works is the one you allow yourself to have, and which you give yourself.
Live long and prosper, fellow writers!
Oh, don't throw shoes at me, I couldn't resist that one. I have been revisiting a bunch of New Age philosophies (that aren't that new) and reminding myself about the power of positive thinking. This because a friend insisted I watch The Secret, a movie about the Law of Attraction. It has a series of interviews with doctors, physicists, philosophers, writers, and a number of others who follow the belief that what you think creates your reality. And they back it up with actual physics.
A couple of factoids.
First, thoughts are energy and positive thoughts apparently have a lot more 'juice' than negative ones. Second, when you visualize doing an activity, there is literally no difference between visualizing and doing to your brain. The lesson? What you think, you actually experience in your mind. It's as real as any subjective experience can get. Hmmm.
They go on to discuss things that are more metaphysical, and state that if you put out positive thoughts, positive things will be attracted to you. In my experience, it can be more your perception that things are positive rather than actual positive events; but in either case the end result is that you have a better experience emotionally. But I also noted a streak of good things happening to me when I practiced positive thinking.
Shakti Gawain has a nice little intro book called Creative Visualization. It is basically a westernized version of eastern philosophies about the power of positive thinking. The Secret deals with this in the medium of video. The Secret is really the same stuff, but with western science to back it up: physics. There are other books out there too, of course, if you are interested.
How does this apply to your writing?
My rambling talk is supposed to be about writing. So, here is the deal: If you practice positive thinking about your creative efforts, and focus on the outcome you want (best-selling book, Pulitzer Prize, a million dollar royalty check, or something more modest along the lines of writing a thousand words every day) you can achieve it. Supposedly.
Thought Experiment.
As a thought experiment, why don't you try this: For a month, spend a few minutes in the morning when you first wake up, and consider all the things for which you are grateful. Even if it isn't quite true, be grateful for thing such as the fuzzy kitty that you wake up to every morning; the good health you are experiencing; your spouse; your kids; your financial freedom. Whatever. Just imagine it ideally, and not with codicils like "I am grateful for my health, but I hate my big butt." Nuh-uh. Change that over to "I am grateful for my health. I feel great and have a great physique."
Positive thinking about your writing.
Practice positive thinking to 'reprogram' the universe to respond to you. Consider the novel you are writing as a best seller. Visualize receiving a million dollar royalty check from the publisher. Don't visualize bills in the mail or a rejection letter from the publisher.
The interesting thing about the concept of what you think creates your reality is that the energy of a positive thought is apparently If you think about what you don't want, you attract that thing, because you're thinking about it. I don't want to hit a moose on the highway, so I drive along, picturing the accident I don't want. All the universe hears is "accident with moose" and that is the energy you put out, attracting the accident to you.
So, think about the million book sales you want, not the image of the book's rejection letter you don't. At the worst, your mood improves because you are not focusing on negative emotions and experiences. At the best? Well, we are writers, we all want to have written a good book!
Because the only morale boost that works is the one you allow yourself to have, and which you give yourself.
Live long and prosper, fellow writers!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Happy Autumn, a week late!
Pumpkin colors everywhere. Golds and reds and flourescent oranges. The smell of burning leaves and wet loam. Crazy squirrels running all over the lawn and driving my cats insane on their window sill perches.
At night, the winds howl and rain spatters along the steel roof. It sounds like someone crying sometimes. Maybe it is? This time of year, some traditions say the veil between the worlds is thin, and the dead can come to speak with us. Perhaps, if you whisper through the crack of a half-open door, you can reach them yourself...
We hear ancient legends that ruffle our necks with a chill, and fear winds between our ankles like a bad luck cat... Perhaps keep that door fully closed, then, and pull the covers over your head...
That's Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween... And if you do not recognize that the season is a winding down of things and the turning toward the dark of Winter, the season of contemplation and the huddling together to nurture the light, consider the ancient traditions.The Yule log, kept to kindle the new fire for the next year. The Oak King giving way to the Holly King in Winter. Demeter & Persephone, doomed to split the seasons. The sacrificial king. Many of these old legends and beliefs stem from the urgent need to assure the continuation of the world, to ensure that, as the seasons turned, they would return and the year wheel would come about once more from the dark of the year to Spring.
Autumn is that final, shining gasp of life in the world before it tucks itself away to hibernate.
And isn't it glorious?
Poetry Moment #1
I had posted a couple of poems last month, but rethought it when I considered possibly starting to submit the silly little things again. But, hell, so what? Poetry is ego and the woodcarver's vision (without the wood, of course). So anyhow, here's one of the drafts I never went any further with. Pretty much nothing I post of my poetry will have been polished up. Just so you know. (In plain speaking, it's not really good, lol.)
Reflections of Summer in Winter
Outside, frozen air hangs
clouding the sky, rises up my flesh
like a memory of cool sheets in summer
shrinkwrapped tight by sweat.
The car turns over with a whine.
We lurch down the frozen lane,
an act of faith and patience,
of going in between, stringing beads of time.
Trees gleam, their cold sleep draped
in diamond spangled lace, ball gowns
of hoar frost, caught in frozen poses
as sun rises. It is a perfect peach,
that perfect shade of ripeness,
lush in the moment, a reminder of summer
coaxing me into the sharp-edged light
of a frost-bitten morn.
Reflections of Summer in Winter
Outside, frozen air hangs
clouding the sky, rises up my flesh
like a memory of cool sheets in summer
shrinkwrapped tight by sweat.
The car turns over with a whine.
We lurch down the frozen lane,
an act of faith and patience,
of going in between, stringing beads of time.
Trees gleam, their cold sleep draped
in diamond spangled lace, ball gowns
of hoar frost, caught in frozen poses
as sun rises. It is a perfect peach,
that perfect shade of ripeness,
lush in the moment, a reminder of summer
coaxing me into the sharp-edged light
of a frost-bitten morn.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Rough Draft vs. First Draft
What is a First Draft?
Circumstances have caused me to think about levels of preparedness as it pertains to fiction. That's a wordy way of saying...What the hell is a first draft, anyhow?
In having actual conversations with published novelists this past week, I can say that they all agree on one thing: Most of the drek which people slap down at a critique circle or on an internet critique group is woefully short of this goal.
They were not being snobby, nasty or cruel. They were stating something they have all experienced. I've experienced it as well. And it isn't meant to be mean but helpful when I say that novice writers who want assistance should consider a few factors before baring their souls (as well as their throats) by the sharing of WIPs. Be sure that your work is not a rough draft.
There are two kinds of first drafts.
One is the author's. That is the rough draft. The other is the reader's. And that is the first draft. They are vastly different.
A rough draft can be just about anything, but the one thing all of them have in common is: They are written just for the writer. This sounds like the audience is not considered during the rough drafting process; but that couldn't be further from the truth. No writer works without considering the reader. For you must consider the audience you are directing the book toward in order to plan the project. The expected audience affects plotting, characterization, theme, and everything else. As an example, I wouldn't place any sex scenes in a YA fantasy novel--not if I actually hoped to sell it.
The rough draft is often more notes and memory-joggers than a story. It is likely barely comprehensible to someone who just picks up the manuscript and tries to read it. And the methods writers use to get the basic story down are wholly individual.
Some writers jam through a rough draft in a mad rush, leaving notes for later, questions, and plot holes big enough to sink a tractor trailer. Others are more methodical, and the plot is mostly there, the text readable; but there are still innumerable messy bits with confusing grammar, bad spelling and other problems to a lesser degree than the first method. Some are like me and they are obsessive/compulsive and must make sure the sections are fairly polished before they can bear to press on, leaving tedious reams of text that will need to be clipped like a poodle's matted fur, just to find the plot.
When is the WIP a first draft?
There is a difference, a huge difference, between the rough draft I describe above and this stage. Optimally, what I call a true first draft is one which can actually be followed by the average reader from your target audience. (If you are not able to determine this, you need to read a few books on writing or take a few classes.) At the very least, a critiquer must be able to follow the story. Grammar must be decent enough it isn't confusing; plot holes shouldn't allow anything to drop through larger than a compact car; and the basic structure of the book should be clear. It won't be perfect; but it will feel like a book to someone reading it cold.
That's the minimum. I would expect from a more experienced writer that the submission is a hell of a lot more cleaned up than that, however. That is due to experience, the old practice makes perfect aphorism proving itself to be true once again.
But for a novice, a readable and comprehensible manuscript will do.
Why a novice writer needs to recognize a first draft.
Novice writers need gentle treatment. They need to be encouraged. Some of them are lacking in experience but have talent. Some are hopeless. But how can I or any other reader know the difference if your work is not polished enough to be a reasonably first draft? I cannot.
It is hard work to critique bad writing. At first I tried to critique some of the worst examples in hopes that it would help. But when they were so bad, what I ended up doing was to be kind, so as not to crush their dreams. I rapidly discovered that my kindness was misplaced; it encouraged hopeless writing habits in those incapable (yet) of knowing there stuff was miserable. So I stopped critiquing their stuff at all, deeming it the kindest thing I could do. You know, Mom said it all the time when you were a kid: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
Some people are not so considerate of the beginning writer, and it's like watching a train wreck when they shred the work into pieces. I no longer belong to one of the more open forums for that reason.
Consider your critiquers' valuable time: take a class.
For a novice writer, your best reader in the beginning is an English or Creative Writing professor. Take a class. Get some experience with critiquing by taking a "live" workshopping class, if you can manage it. You need to learn to read like a reader and how to think about writing so you can edit yourself.
Most of all, you need to learn to understand and respect the time and effort that most critique circle participants put into going over your work.
Writing a critique is draining, painful and agonizing when the work is bad. I want to help you, not shame you. Help me help you, for crissakes.
Find a Beta reader.
Now here's a saint waiting in the wings for his or her halo: The Beta reader. Someone who will actually say when things don't work, who can provide insight as to problems, plot holes, pacing issues and the like. Sometimes it is a fellow writer with whom you trade the favor. Sometimes it's the rare friend who can comment on your stuff honestly instead of gush. (Most of our friends will gush, and that is a really valuable service, too, or we'd probably all run away screaming with our hair on fire and never get a thing published.)
How many drafts does it take to actually finish?
And finally, how many drafts does it take to finish a novel? You won't like the answer. But it's going to be at least five, and, more likely, probably at least ten, maybe twenty.
Put that in your thinking cap for later pondering, folks.
Circumstances have caused me to think about levels of preparedness as it pertains to fiction. That's a wordy way of saying...What the hell is a first draft, anyhow?
In having actual conversations with published novelists this past week, I can say that they all agree on one thing: Most of the drek which people slap down at a critique circle or on an internet critique group is woefully short of this goal.
They were not being snobby, nasty or cruel. They were stating something they have all experienced. I've experienced it as well. And it isn't meant to be mean but helpful when I say that novice writers who want assistance should consider a few factors before baring their souls (as well as their throats) by the sharing of WIPs. Be sure that your work is not a rough draft.
There are two kinds of first drafts.
One is the author's. That is the rough draft. The other is the reader's. And that is the first draft. They are vastly different.
A rough draft can be just about anything, but the one thing all of them have in common is: They are written just for the writer. This sounds like the audience is not considered during the rough drafting process; but that couldn't be further from the truth. No writer works without considering the reader. For you must consider the audience you are directing the book toward in order to plan the project. The expected audience affects plotting, characterization, theme, and everything else. As an example, I wouldn't place any sex scenes in a YA fantasy novel--not if I actually hoped to sell it.
The rough draft is often more notes and memory-joggers than a story. It is likely barely comprehensible to someone who just picks up the manuscript and tries to read it. And the methods writers use to get the basic story down are wholly individual.
Some writers jam through a rough draft in a mad rush, leaving notes for later, questions, and plot holes big enough to sink a tractor trailer. Others are more methodical, and the plot is mostly there, the text readable; but there are still innumerable messy bits with confusing grammar, bad spelling and other problems to a lesser degree than the first method. Some are like me and they are obsessive/compulsive and must make sure the sections are fairly polished before they can bear to press on, leaving tedious reams of text that will need to be clipped like a poodle's matted fur, just to find the plot.
When is the WIP a first draft?
There is a difference, a huge difference, between the rough draft I describe above and this stage. Optimally, what I call a true first draft is one which can actually be followed by the average reader from your target audience. (If you are not able to determine this, you need to read a few books on writing or take a few classes.) At the very least, a critiquer must be able to follow the story. Grammar must be decent enough it isn't confusing; plot holes shouldn't allow anything to drop through larger than a compact car; and the basic structure of the book should be clear. It won't be perfect; but it will feel like a book to someone reading it cold.
That's the minimum. I would expect from a more experienced writer that the submission is a hell of a lot more cleaned up than that, however. That is due to experience, the old practice makes perfect aphorism proving itself to be true once again.
But for a novice, a readable and comprehensible manuscript will do.
Why a novice writer needs to recognize a first draft.
Novice writers need gentle treatment. They need to be encouraged. Some of them are lacking in experience but have talent. Some are hopeless. But how can I or any other reader know the difference if your work is not polished enough to be a reasonably first draft? I cannot.
It is hard work to critique bad writing. At first I tried to critique some of the worst examples in hopes that it would help. But when they were so bad, what I ended up doing was to be kind, so as not to crush their dreams. I rapidly discovered that my kindness was misplaced; it encouraged hopeless writing habits in those incapable (yet) of knowing there stuff was miserable. So I stopped critiquing their stuff at all, deeming it the kindest thing I could do. You know, Mom said it all the time when you were a kid: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
Some people are not so considerate of the beginning writer, and it's like watching a train wreck when they shred the work into pieces. I no longer belong to one of the more open forums for that reason.
Consider your critiquers' valuable time: take a class.
For a novice writer, your best reader in the beginning is an English or Creative Writing professor. Take a class. Get some experience with critiquing by taking a "live" workshopping class, if you can manage it. You need to learn to read like a reader and how to think about writing so you can edit yourself.
Most of all, you need to learn to understand and respect the time and effort that most critique circle participants put into going over your work.
Writing a critique is draining, painful and agonizing when the work is bad. I want to help you, not shame you. Help me help you, for crissakes.
Find a Beta reader.
Now here's a saint waiting in the wings for his or her halo: The Beta reader. Someone who will actually say when things don't work, who can provide insight as to problems, plot holes, pacing issues and the like. Sometimes it is a fellow writer with whom you trade the favor. Sometimes it's the rare friend who can comment on your stuff honestly instead of gush. (Most of our friends will gush, and that is a really valuable service, too, or we'd probably all run away screaming with our hair on fire and never get a thing published.)
How many drafts does it take to actually finish?
And finally, how many drafts does it take to finish a novel? You won't like the answer. But it's going to be at least five, and, more likely, probably at least ten, maybe twenty.
Put that in your thinking cap for later pondering, folks.
Book series I love
(in no particular order)
Most of these are fairly recent series that I've been picking up as they are produced. Some are undoubtedly out of print and possibly even dated for readers of today's contemporary SF or Fantasy markets.
One thing that is really sad is when a series continues to the point of being boring. Several of these are at that point. Several are still in the first couple of iterations, and after the third volume they may start going south as well. Who knows? But they are still among my favorites.
Hardcore science fiction
Honor Harrington - David Weber
Miles Vorkosigan - Lois McMaster Bujold
The Skokian Empire - Catherine Asaro
The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison
Dune Chronicles - Frank Herbert
Diadem Series- Jo Clayton
Fantasy
Riddlemasters of Hed - Particia McKillip
Green Rider - Kristin Britain (two so far!)
Wraethlu Chronicles - Storm Constantine
Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser - Fritz Lieber
Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffery
Earth of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter - Laurel K. Hamilton
Meredith Gentry novels - Laurel K. Hamilton
Southern Vampire Series - Charlaine Harris
Dante Valentine series - Lilith Saintcrow
Kitty the Werewolf - Carrie Vaughn (two so far!)
Howl's Moving Castle - Dianna Wynn Jones (duo)
Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Avaryan Rising - Judith Tarr
Ozark Planet - Suzette Hayden Elgin
Fionavar Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay
Earthsea - Ursula K. LeGuin
On the Lighter Side
Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett
Betsy Queen of the Vampires - Mary Janice Davidson
Aisling Grey, Guardian Series - Katie MacAlister
I'll add more as I have time to paw through my bookshelves
Most of these are fairly recent series that I've been picking up as they are produced. Some are undoubtedly out of print and possibly even dated for readers of today's contemporary SF or Fantasy markets.
One thing that is really sad is when a series continues to the point of being boring. Several of these are at that point. Several are still in the first couple of iterations, and after the third volume they may start going south as well. Who knows? But they are still among my favorites.
Hardcore science fiction
Honor Harrington - David Weber
Miles Vorkosigan - Lois McMaster Bujold
The Skokian Empire - Catherine Asaro
The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison
Dune Chronicles - Frank Herbert
Diadem Series- Jo Clayton
Fantasy
Riddlemasters of Hed - Particia McKillip
Green Rider - Kristin Britain (two so far!)
Wraethlu Chronicles - Storm Constantine
Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser - Fritz Lieber
Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffery
Earth of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe
Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter - Laurel K. Hamilton
Meredith Gentry novels - Laurel K. Hamilton
Southern Vampire Series - Charlaine Harris
Dante Valentine series - Lilith Saintcrow
Kitty the Werewolf - Carrie Vaughn (two so far!)
Howl's Moving Castle - Dianna Wynn Jones (duo)
Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Avaryan Rising - Judith Tarr
Ozark Planet - Suzette Hayden Elgin
Fionavar Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay
Earthsea - Ursula K. LeGuin
On the Lighter Side
Discworld Series - Terry Pratchett
Betsy Queen of the Vampires - Mary Janice Davidson
Aisling Grey, Guardian Series - Katie MacAlister
I'll add more as I have time to paw through my bookshelves
I haven't forgotten the Blog, my posts are being eaten!
I've written a couple of posts that have mysteriously disappeared. Honest. So I'll rewrite them when I get a chance. And my dog at it.
Meanwhile, not much time to write, much less blog. Work, work, w
ork!
Left, you can see just how depressing my place of business is. (And in case someone actually would believe that: No, I don't really work at Alcatraz making license plates or clubbing inmates. )
Something's also screwy in that I couldn't upload any photographs. Oh wait! I uploaded when I stopped using my new browser Firefox...Hmmm. Isn't it supposed to be less glitchy than Explorer? Meanwhile, Blogger is also having really serious problems with uploads in general. I guess you cannot complain when it's free. I should have saved my work, I guess. Duh. Like I didn't know better. Anyhow, this is sounding far too whiny...which must be because I have to go get ready for work.
Meanwhile, not much time to write, much less blog. Work, work, w
ork!Left, you can see just how depressing my place of business is. (And in case someone actually would believe that: No, I don't really work at Alcatraz making license plates or clubbing inmates. )
Something's also screwy in that I couldn't upload any photographs. Oh wait! I uploaded when I stopped using my new browser Firefox...Hmmm. Isn't it supposed to be less glitchy than Explorer? Meanwhile, Blogger is also having really serious problems with uploads in general. I guess you cannot complain when it's free. I should have saved my work, I guess. Duh. Like I didn't know better. Anyhow, this is sounding far too whiny...which must be because I have to go get ready for work.
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