The writing journey
Recently, I’ve read that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at anything. That means that we need to read (like writers) and write for 10,000 hours to build a foundation from which to launch our art.
How much reading and writing do you do?
It’s a relief to say that we have a new president-elect in the USA . Big sigh of relief! Maybe now I won’t be considered a traitor when I disagree with him. [tongue in cheek]
The writing’s been slow these past months. Making a big move has taken all my attention and energy. Although I wrote a flash piece, I haven’t gone back to it to incorporate the comments I received from the workshop.
I’m watching The Starter Wife on the USA channel. She’s started her writing career after a divorce. Her first attempt was a children’s book – which was published but didn’t sell well. Then she joined a writer’s group and read a passage from her journal. They were all amazed – and she found her "voice." Now she’s written a screenplay, and it’s liked by the two people who have reviewed it.
This story reminds me that not all writers should write all things. Some of us are better at stories. Others are great at nonfiction. There are those who need the words in long stories to get to everything. And there are those who can cut through the crap and give us everything in very few words.
Then there are those of us who aren’t sure where our real strength lies. And we keep trying different things to find out. I’m still exploring – are you?
As a firm believer in working on our strengths, instead of our weaknesses, I also believe that a positive mental attitude carries us farther.
Recently, my positive attitude has been sorely tested. We’re working to make a big change in our lives and I’ve become fatigued. Not tired. Fatigued.
Mind numbing. Thought swallowing. Brain wading through quick sand. That kind of fatigued. It also includes muscle weakness. And don’t forget the pain – joints and muscles.
So I’m finding it difficult to stay positive. Difficult to know and use my strengths. I can’t write and I can’t read.
When this quote was sent in a newsletter that I get, it struck a chord in me. And I felt better instantly.
It’s not our disadvantages or shortcomings that are ridiculous,
but rather the studious way we try to hide them, and our desire
to act as if they did not exist.Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837)
Poet
I’d love for my body and brain to work like they used to, but that’s not going to happen. Instead of wasting time and energy ignoring – or even worse, denying – these challenges that I have, I’ve decided to work with them. Rest when I need to rest. Even when that means that I can’t write for a week. Hire people to do physical labor that tires me out. Even though that costs a lot.
If I’m going to continue writing, reading, taking care of my animals, and spending quality time with my husband, I have to change my attitude.
Have you ever wondered what an editor, agent, publisher really wants in a story? Do you have story ideas that seem great in the moment, but become just like everyone else’s? Is your story a cliche?
If so, you’re not alone. We all come up with a plot that has conflict. Conflict has only three ways of being: self with universe, self with other, self with self. How many variations can there be?
Lots of agents are blogging these days. And some publishers are, too. Here are a couple of blogs / sites where you can read what the folks who do the buying and selling want – and don’t want.
Nathan Bransford, literary agent, Curtis Brown Ltd. http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/
Strange Horizons , weekly online magazine http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction-common.shtml
A couple of months ago, the managing editor of Flashing Swords Magazine asked for volunteers to read submitted stories. The magazine publishes mostly Sword and Sorcery (SS) stories, so I was very interested.
The editor sent me a story to review and comment on, and I sent her my comments. After that, I was on the team of first readers. Woo hoo!
The main reason that I do this is to help other writers while I learn from them. Every story is as unique as its writer. The plot, characters, settings, etc. are different in every story, so I learn excellent techniques in every part of story telling. When I think about what worked in the story, and what didn’t, I have to go deep into the writing craft. That helps me to think about everything in my own stories.
The managing editor of FS, CrystalWizard, has a mission. She makes sure that every writer who submits a story to the magazine receives a critique of that story. It goes above and beyond anything I’ve experienced. I love being a part of that mission!
Take a look at the magazine: Flashing Swords Magazine. And while you’re there, look at the new anthology called The Return of the Sword. If you’re into SS, this collection of stories is excellent!
I’m writing a novel. Oh, yes. Just like everyone else.
My novel is a hybrid of mystery and thriller. There is a mystery at the core of the story, but there’s a lot of action before it’s solved. Like all good mysteries, the plot needs to take the reader to different places before the mystery is revealed. The plot needs to be good enough that even the most astute mystery reader can’t guess where it’s going.
I think I need to put together a "plot line." Something that shows me the main mystery, several subplots that lead to nothing, and the final revelation. I’ve decide to use a process map to do that.
Business process mapping is a tool that people use to figure out the processes that are in place at companies. Using this method, repetitive steps are revealed, along with places where there is no process. It’s visual which is easy for me to follow.
I’ve just bought a book about plotting. When it arrives, I’ll settle in for a good read. Until then, I’ll create my "plot line."
I won second place in a short story competition! Woo hoo!!
This story is a flash fiction piece named Of Spiders and Monsters. The theme for the contest was “snowbound.” Since the magazine is all about science fiction, fantasy, and horror (with fantastic elements), I wrote about what a human mind does during extreme isolation.
You can read the story here: Electric Dragon Cafe
Let me know what you think – leave a comment.
This blog is the ongoing account of my writing career. Coming to this career later in life – I’m no eighteen year old wonder – it’s both easier and harder than I thought it would be.
For me, the easy part is coming up with story ideas. The hard part is creating the vessel to carry the story to readers.
The hardest part of all is submitting my work to publishers or contests. Will they like what I wrote? Is it valuable to them? Or am I without a single ounce of talent? 
Slowly but surely, I’m learning that the story one person loves is the story that another hates. It’s all a matter of personal taste. That’s as true of editors and publishers as it is of the person on the street. We like what we like.
Join me as I tell about my experiences – fear, joy, sorrow, pain, embarrassment, frustration, etc. – as I travel the writer’s road.