Systematically Organizing
So my girlfriend and I have been organizing my writing according to “promise” and level of completion, which is a rather strange way of organizing one’s work. We’re trying to figure out which works are worth continuing while also figuring out which works need only editing, which works are good and need finishing, and which need rewrites or are simply too “unfinished” to really say whether they suck or not. So far it’s looking good. Quite a few short stories prove to have some value, which makes me feel happy considering some of these stories are from years ago when I wasn’t all that serious yet–I was sort of serious, but I admit that a lot of my writing at that point was going in all directions, so I have become a bit more focused today.So far it’s proving interesting, but we’re just in the beginning of the process. I’m hoping this shift in my writing will really help in the long run. I would like to have a novel at least written by December of this year (not including The Spellweaver of Dern). So, that’s that, just so you all know what’s going on with the writing and what not, in case any of you care. Anywho! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
SBS Mag: We’re Officially Public and Open For All Submissions!
SBS Magazine is now a public magazine. What that means is we are open to submissions from anyone, provided it follows the guidelines. Check out the website here for more information. With the magazine being public, that means anyone reading this blog is more than welcome to submit (again, if you meet guidelines)! Feel free to spread the word about us too! We’d like this to be a successful project with a regular publication schedule (biannual would be nice). We’re shooting to have our first issue out come this December. And yes, it will make a great Christmas gift! If you have questions you can email me, or send an email to the email provided at SBS. Anywho! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Writing: More Analysis On Myself
I’m now starting to work in a new direction. Well, that’s not entirely true. What is happening is I am switching a bit on where I’m placing my focus. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on short stories. While I don’t believe that is an entirely negative thing I have noticed that this focus has sucked away the time I spend on other projects–namely novels. True, I want to write short stories, get some published, and be known as someone who writes good shorts, but I also want to write good novels and, well, with my spending so much time on shorts it’s hard for me to get a lot of practice in on writing novels. I’ve only finished one novel–WISB–and really, I should be writing more novels. Let’s face it, the short market isn’t as viable as it once was. Novels are the big career makers and I want to have a career at this–this being writing,of course. I want to go on tours and meet new people and do autographs and have people tell me “hey, I read your book and it was good” even if it’s only one person saying it. Yet I’ll never finish any of the many novels I have in the works if I don’t take a moment to actually finish them.The Lies of Venicia is about 1/3rd finished, maybe 1/5th depending on where the story goes. I’ve started a novel for young readers–The Mysterious House of Mr. Whim–and I’ve barely dug into it. I have many other novel ideas in the works, some partially written, some that began as short stories before I realized they were something more, but put to the side because I couldn’t devote the time they deserved to finish them. That said, I have at least ten novels in various genres that I could be writing, fixing, editing, formatting, and submitting to agents. That’s what I should be doing. I know, short stories are great, and I won’t stop writing them, but I have to focus on the novels long enough to get one in submittable condition.Additional to this, I’ve noticed that I’ve spend so much time writing shorts that I’m not editing them, or putting enough focusing into the editing. This is creating some issues in the writing that are now coming to my attention. Some stories feel strained, others feel like they are missing something important, or have too much going on.So here is what I’m going to start doing: All short story writing is officially on hold except in the following cases: Finishing stories that have been started, but still need finishing. In the event that some super crazy awesome idea comes to me that I must write down or I’ll die, or implode, or explode like a supernova, thus causing irreparable damage to the inner solar system…you should beg me to write the story then, for all our sakes… Assessing all the shorts and novels I have to find those I feel are most promising for publication. Weeding out stories that were written so long ago that they aren’t worth working on anymore due to my style having changed or my writing having matured. Editing stories that have been finished to make them publishable. Submitting those stories and keeping my shorts in circulation until they are published, since that is one of Heinlein’s rules. Writing the novels that need to be finished. The Lies of Venicia, The Mysterious House of Mr. Whim, The Spellweaver of Dern, for starters. Also, planning these novels as necessary. I feel like this is an appropriate change to the way things have been going. I can still push the short story market, still bring in new material, and also focus on finishing a few other projects that are simply being set aside and ignored, which isn’t fair in some respects to you guys–my readers–since some of you might be waiting for me to finish The Spellweaver of Dern. So, that’s what’s going to go on here!
SBS Mag: Official Website and Such
I’m not sure if I mention there there is an official website now for Survival By Storytelling Magazine. It’s mostly to provide a more “professional” atmosphere for the magazine so it doesn’t become cluttered by YWO. In any case, there you go.Also, we’re now open to non-fiction submissions, for anyone wanting to become a member of YWO and submit to the magazine. We’re still open to fiction and poetry too. Heck, we’re interested in just about anything right now. With three stories and one poem already slated to be in the first issue, we’ve got space we want to fill with more good stories, poems, and articles (and four contracts have gone out already, which is really cool). This has been a fascinating experience thus far for me, being an editor and all and knowing this thing is actually going to see the light of day as an actual publication of talented writers younger than myself. I should be jealous. Anywho! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
Ask the Bloggers Series: Question #5 (I’m in it!)
And I’m in yet another of Grasping For the Wind’s Ask the Bloggers gizmos. Feel free to check it out. The question this time was: Should SF&F books have maps included for the readers? Are there any special conditions when they should or should not? Was there ever a book you wished had map that didn’t? Or vice versa? What do you think? (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
SoD: The Problem and the Resolution
I have officially figured out what the problem is with The Spellweaver of Dern. I’d thought it was a problem before, and I was right. The Presh storyline is all wrong. In fact, after thinking upon it earlier I’ve decided that I hate it. Sure, it’s good on its own, but it doesn’t belong in SoD. Why? Because it isn’t WISB; it’s something else. I noticed it while listening to a podcast and thinking about where I wanted to go with the story. There is humor there, but when I thought about that humor I realized that it doesn’t work. Presh and Fidge feel more like characters from a different fantasy world (Altern, to be specific). There is a lot of quirkiness there, and WISB isn’t that quirky. True, WISB has Pea, who is strange, fun, and, in my mind, hilarious, but Pea is also an incredibly serious character who is funny not necessarily because of his jokes, but because of how he deals with serious issues. Take his first appearance, which I won’t ruin here in case you haven’t read it. James discovers something about Pea that Pea takes great offense about, but to us is rather humorous both because Pea makes a scene about it and because what happens is somewhat funny. But it’s not funny to Pea, and it’s certainly not funny just as a comedic moment, but as other things as well, since it establishes the character and gives us some much needed cultural inclusion. With Presh and Fidge there isn’t a lot of that. True, there is culture, but their storyline feels more like a big joke to me, and I don’t want WISB to feel like a joke. WISB’s humor is in conjunction with some serious issues, particularly for James because of all he has to go through to succeed on his “quest/journey/mission/etc.”. I didn’t feel like Presh and Fidge were going somewhere of equal importance. I had intentions for them to go there, but it felt more like they were going somewhere that isn’t in WISB, but perhaps in Altern instead.So with that, I’m making an official decision on the fate of Presh and Fidge: I’m cutting them out of SoD. They don’t belong. I intend to keep them for something else, or at least if I have something else that I can use them in. I want to focus mostly on James and Laura, and their companions, and have come up with a plan that keeps you readers in-the-know about what is happening on Traea while the other characters are fleeing. That was the prime reason for Presh and Fidge, and now that I have an idea how to go about keeping that inclusion without them, things may work better. I want the issues in WISB to remain serious, with some comedic relief, rather than becoming a quirky fantasy novel.There also is a major connection between the world of Traea and our world, which will be realized either in SoD or in the next book…at least if you’re paying attention (I’m not going to go “here it is, look and be amazed” with the connection, because I already did that). So having said that, it’s done. I hope it’s alright with everyone who has been reading. I just want to push James and Laura forward, and I find it difficult knowing that Presh and Fidge were problem characters for me. Thanks!