Update and Thoughts for New Writers

Back from the Thanksgiving slide fatter and a bit sick. Ah, well, so be it. I stil managed to break 61k today on RD.

Knocked out the next page of T-Saurs yesterday to Kevin via Gmail.

I reworked an old short recently called Incursion. I'm happier with it now, but the original story and the revised story are actually two different narratives. I've done this before with ROGUE 8812, so it's not surprising. Original was about 3.8k. Revised version is 6.5. Go me! I completely blew by my 5k self-imposed target.

Just shoot me now. Then again, it didn't stretch to 10k, so I think I'll be grateful instead. Woot! Beer and pretzels time.

And let me say that writing first-person present-tense is tiring. Definitely not my favorite thing to mess with. I can do it, but I'm not pretentiously wit-waw-wawy enough to make it my life's work.

Okay, I said hints for new writers, didn't I?

Let's see:

1) No, if I don't want to use your new idea for a story, I really doubt a "Name" author will either. It's your idea, either you write it or it dies. If you work at it, it might even be a unique spin on an old idea.

2) Yes, it's been done before. Everything at some level has been done before. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it again, because this time IT'S YOURS. (Not mine. See item 1)

3) When all the wonderful writing advice is said and done and you're scared of putting words on a page, you've got to shut off your internal editor and write in your spoken voice. You're putting YOU on the page as a storyteller. Your "sound" and your impressions are what make the words unique. Editing can happen later. Write first.

4) One comment is a point. Two is a trend. Three is concensus. That having been said, if you can get three people to read your work and comment, you've already won at some level. Have a party.

5) To break in, you have to stand out. You stand out by having a clean, technically smooth manuscript that still has a "voice". In fact, "voice" alone can sell stories, so don't freak when you find boo-boos after you dropped the MS in the mailbox or e-mail outbox. If the piece has a soul, it'll find a market.

6) Guess what? Unfinished manuscripts don't sell, whether for shorts or novels. Some people have the Blarney blessing enough to sell novels on proposal. Unless you've been able to sell bridges on speculation, though, I can't recommend it. If you're gonna look for work in the field, prove your ability to produce.

7) Yes, once you have a name you can break SOME rules. No, you don't have one yet so quit asking and go send off some stories until you do.

8) Yeah, the market sucks. Unfortunately, it's the market you've got. So you either play or you spectate. Them's the rules, make your choice.

I'll type more later if the mood strikes and I'm not lynched.