The Short Story Experiment - Results

In January, I announced that I was going to try to write a short story a week for the first three months of this year. Probably unsurprisingly, I had some mixed results.

I did not accomplish a story every week. I think I ended up with 5 finished first drafts and at least one or two other stories that puttered out into bleck. What surprised me was that most of my stories ran much longer than I had expected them to. So some of them, I was just working on for more than one week.

My other problem, is that I kept getting ideas for the new novel I wanted to start. I got more and more excited about working on it that I ended up going back to it in the middle of March, so I didn't go quite the whole twelve week working on just short stories.

Now, however, I've gotten to a point where I need to do some significant research before I can move on in the novel. So I think I may try to return to short stories so I don't stop writing while I do the research.

Problem is, I also need to squeek out some time to edit the short stories so I can decided which of them might be worth sending out. So much to do!

Some good news - an older and very very short story of mine has been accepted for the Cast of Wonders podcast. I don't have a date yet, but I will post it as soon as I know. But don't wait for that - I have loved every story I've listened to over there so far. Check it out.

So that's where I'm at with the writing! Ta-da!

Skipping the Resolutions

I'm not doing the resolution deal this year. Like 99% of the rest of the world, they just don't ever end up doing much for me. I think change has to come from a deeper place than a calender. Or I'm lazy. Or both.

I did recently make a decision to change my writing direction a little, but I decided and started that just after Christmas. I've read in a few places over the years about a writing challenge of writing a short story a week for a year. That sounds fun to me, but I don't like the 'for a year' part. So I'm going to take this a quarter at a time.

So for three months, I'm going to write short stories, one after another, aiming for one a week, but if one goes longer, I won't stop it. I'm already on my second story (as I should be) and I can tell this one may take me more than a week to finish.

Some things that I'm hoping for with this experiment:

I will be finishing a lot of stories. Finishing is my worst writing area. I need practice.

I can play around in some other genres like I've wanted to.

I'll have things to submit, since I will have to finish.

I'd like to try submitting again to Writers of the Future every quarter until I win or am disqualified for my pro sales.

I'd like to have some fiction to post here, and if I finish enough stories, I'll have plenty to post. 

This is good timing I think. My novella is ready for revisions, and my next one is started, but I need to do research before it can really go any further. So short stories will keep me writing, but hopefully also leave me time to read and revise some too. After three months, if I like how it's going, I'll commit to another three months. If I'm ready to go on the novel, I may switch to that then. We'll see.

To Fix or To File?

Earlier this year I actually finished the story I wrote about in the previous post. It's the story that got stuck in my brain after not writing for 25 years, and brought me back. Finishing is my biggest writing block, so this was huge for me. I think I'd tried, and started over with this story at least 4 or 5 times. Changing point of view, changing what characters are it it all together, changing tense, changing from a short story to a novel. Finally I just wanted the thing done. And now it is.

Or is it?

While it is done in the sense that I wrote it all the way through to the end, it is an unreadable mess right now. I decided to set it aside for a month before starting on draft #2, and fixing the problems I know about. Not really such a daunting thing. Big changes are needed, for plot points that changed a long the way, and need to be brought in line in the beginning, and things like that. I kept what I think are good notes along the way. So I think it's doable. But is it worth doing?

I'm happy I finished. I'm proud even. My dilemma is that I just don't know if I feel that even with all the repairs done, and polished up as best I can, that it'll be an interesting story. Honestly, if it isn't, it doesn't upset me like I thought it would. It was still a great experience, and I learned a lot. I think I'm a better writing now than when I began even the latest version. Looking at it as a very long, wandering writing lesson would be fine by me.

So I guess I wonder my writing time would be better spent writing something new than fixing up something that will then live quietly on my hard-drive. There are doubtlessly lessons to be learned in the revision process as well. There is learning to be found everywhere, after all.

I had decided to let the story sit for a month before starting on the revisions. It has now been 2 months, and I still haven't peeked back at it again. I'm leaning toward pulling it out in the new year, and seeing if the distance of time as really changed my view of things, like so many folks tell me it will. I suspect, I will try to fix it up, if only so I can feel more finished with it.

I'm curious about you other writers out there and how you handle your revisions. I've read blogs that advise sticking to Heinlein's rules, including "Never rewrite." Then there is the camp that believes "Writing is rewriting.". Where do you land on the revision/rewriting spectrum?

Next Big Thing

I was tagged by Amanda Borenstadt over at A Fortnight of Mustard.

You should go read about her Next Big Thing. She's funnier than me. Then go to the person she sends you to, and so on. It'll be fun.
The rules of the blog hop are simple: Answer ten questions about your WIP (Work in Progress) and tag five more writers/bloggers to do the same.

What is the working title of your book?

Perception.  

For a very long time, I thought this was perfect, but I don't like it anymore. Thinking of something better. . .

 

Where did the idea come from for your book?

It was so long ago, I don't remember. I do remember that this was the idea that brought me back to writing after 15 years away from it.

What genre does your book fall under?

Science Fiction. Aliens, spaceships, all that.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I've recently discovered that when I stand in the supermarket check out line, I no longer know who anyone on the magazine covers are. So I don't feel qualified to answer this. However, since it takes place on an alien planet with lots of different types of aliens wandering around, I think a fair amount of it would need to be computer animated.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

A team of researchers underestimate the small, blind aliens on a previously unexplored planet, and must correct their mistake and gain the alien's help if they hope to make it home again.

Wow. I never tried to get it down to one sentence before. That was hard.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I have no idea. Right now, it is too much of a mess to imagine anyone reading it. It is also going to end up being way too short for a traditional novel. I haven't let myself research publishing options for novellas until I get it fixed up into a presentable shape.

How long did it take to write the first draft of your book?

That depends on what you call the first draft. I wrote a 7,000 word short story with this idea back in 2005, when I started writing again. It was awful and only resembles my WIP in the overarching idea. I also wrote this as a NaNoWriMo novel for two separate years. Neither of them worked well for different reasons. My current incarnation is the best so far, but I've lost track of where one version started and where they ended.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

In most of the Sci-Fi I read the aliens are either walking and talking, or of the cute stupid fluffy type. I guess it might be somewhat like Sundiver by David Brin in that there are intelligent aliens that no one really understands, but that would be the only similarity.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

It was just a "what if" idea I had that kept poking at me. I don't think humans are very good at recognizing intelligence in other species. I imagined this problem would be far worse when it came to alien life that was so vastly different from us.

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

In addition to the aliens, it is also about doing something new, and scary. The main character has to learn to trust herself when she has no guide to follow.

I don't think I know any writers who haven't already been tagged. If I think of some, I will actually tag them this time because I love reading about other people's writing process.

2012 NaNoWriMo

I was not going to participate in National Novel Writing Month this year. The main reason was that, having actually won NaNoWriMo once, I now know exactly what sort of mental energy it takes and I just plain don't have that in me right now.

But. . . .

I am darn close to finishing my work-in-progress (I've stopped calling it my novel since it will be far to short to fit that term). It has many problems and holes that need fixing. I know exactly what and where they are. I've kept a list, but haven't let myself fix them until I finish, since finishing is such a big problem for me.

It is very tempting to get to the end, and immediately start in on the rewrite, but all the advice I've heard says not to fall to that temptation. Instead, I understand it is wise to set the piece aside, give it a little time and distance, then I'll have a better perspective when I dive back in.

The timing seems perfect to let NaNoWriMo be that distance. Now, I'm not doing NaNo for real. I'll be breaking lots of rules. I may not be 100% finished with my WIP by Nov 1st, so I may work on that a few days first until the first draft is done. Also, as I mentioned, I can't cope with 1667 words a day, every day. So my own personal goal will be to just write every day. So I suppose I'm participating more in spirit than as an actual NaNo novelist.

I do have my idea though, and I plan to try to push myself a few hundred words past where I would normally stop writing each day.

So what are you doing for NaNoWriMo this year?

The Internet is Full of Lies

I think that most of you are savvy enough to know that a whole lot of lying goes on online, but I think most of us don't really think about how much lying is really going on. I know I don't - I don't want to. I like to think people are trustworthy and generally good. I was reminded today that, especially online, this just isn't so.

What brought this to mind was this article from The New York Times: The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy. I was disappointed when I read that authors (or maybe publishers even? Who knows.) were paying for book reviews. At least many of them were willing to accept honest reviews (if a paid review could be called that), but many were buying positive reviews. I was disapointed - but not surprised. I will bet money that books are not the only things out there paying for fake reviews.

A few years ago I frequented freelance writer boards looking for opportunities to write. That was where I started to learn how dishonest the internet was. There were frequent listings looking for writers to write fake forum posts recommending products as though they were from real people. Lots of calls for articles endorsing something or other that would be posted around on those content sites. Even one form a man who was "too busy" to respond to his personal dating website messages, so wanted to hire a writer to correspond with the women there for him - pretending to be him. Charming.

So this is just a public service reminder. The internet is easy to trick. It is a web of lies. Don't trust it.

And to end on a fun fake review note, I send you to the UK version of Amazon to read the entertaining reviews for BIC Pens for Her. You'll be glad you did.

What I Read in July

Several other bloggers that I read regularly post a list of what they've been reading. Even though it just makes me want to read even more stuff that I will probably never get to, I like it anyway. So I'm stealing it.

Creating Unforgettable Characters by Linda Serger
This is mainly about screenwriting, but it promised to also apply to novel writing. I guess some if it did, but not as much as I was hoping. Although much of what it suggested, I'd heard or read in other places as well, so I suppose that supports it as being sound advice. I was just hoping for something new - to me anyway. Many of the examples I didn't find useful, especially the ones involving commercials. Even really wonderful commercials I just don't get a great sense of character from, so these examples just fell flat for me.

Even so, I was never tempted to skip ahead or stop reading altogether, and even if some of the suggestions were things I'd heard before, hearing them over again can only help to get them through my thick skull. So I'm still happy to have invested my time in this book.

Cat Daddy by Jackson Galaxy
This is less a book about cat behavior and more a memoir of Mr. Galaxy's life. Although he does weave some cat information into the narrative because his life has been influenced by cats more than a little. He has struggles with multiple addictions in his life and goes into that topic in a good amount of detail. The cat behavior information is mostly good, solid stuff, but it was nothing new to me. I've never seen his show, so I had no expectations for the book, and I generally enjoyed it.

Redshirts by John Scalzi
As both a Scalzi and a Star Trek fan, I'd been looking forward to this one, and was happy to receive the Kindle version for my birthday. Honestly, I had a little trouble getting into it. I knew it was going to be a comedy, but the first few chapters just felt sort of. . . stupid to me. Then I realized this wasn't a 'playing it straight' sort of comedy, but more of an over the top, full blown silliness kind of comedy, and I almost instantly started enjoying it more. A lot more.I couldn't wait to make my family read it kind of more.

It's a shorter book, and there are three codas at the end that tie in to the main story but happen outside the central narrative. I read several Amazon reviews that suggested not bothering with the codas, but I'm glad I ignored that. The codas were some of my favorite parts. By the time I was done, I'd gone from 'meh' to five stars in my opinion of the book.

Return of the Silkmoth

Well, not really a return exactly.

Today I needed to use my iron, that I haven't used in a few months. Yes, really. It sits on top of a bookshelf above where I kept the silkworms when they were spinning their cocoons. Inside of and attached to the wrapped up iron cord I found a cocoon. So that means a caterpillar climbed up out of its box, and to the top of this (admittedly kind of short) bookcase.

It has a hole in it, telling me that somewhere, maybe behind the bookcase, is a dead moth too. It never ends, I tell you.

P.S. The photo is a reenactment, as I unwound the cord before I realized a cocoon was attached to it.