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Writerly Ways
Sep. 4th, 2023 10:37 pmSince I had to get out the vacation stuff before I forgot it, I pushed this til today. Things to say hmmm, as much as I'd like to join up with blue sky there are a few reasons to at least peek in on Twitter. Today I was greeted with a message from Lou Diamond Philips to my lament over that rejected story, telling me to never give up (and yes it's his account, same one before Dipshit started playing fuck around and find out). Lou really is a sweet dude. Got another rejection today (that one didn't hurt, it was a long shot) and sent out another one. If you were eyeballing that Hearth open call I posted (last week? week before?) they had SO many responses they cut two months off their open call. I did wing mine in under the new wire.
So let's talk about 'my story's idea is too similar' There is of course a real concern there but maybe it's not as big as you think. Sure if your story looks like a multiple point for point retelling of something then yeah, probably not a great idea. On the other hand, we all could start with the same prompt and come up with vastly different stories. A lot of fanficcers know this from prompt communities (go ahead write my bingo column. I'm planning to run down column N this month and see how similar our stories are).
If I thought there was interest I'd toss out a monthly prompt and we could compare stories at the end of the month. There are a couple of magazines out there that do this (First Line and Last Line are two instantly to mind) that give you a line everyone must use as their first line but of course the stories are going to be different.
Another example THe Enchanted Hacienda and Bittersweet in the Hollow two stories I finished over the weekend. Both star a female 'witch' (the magic realism sort) who are all from families of a) all women b) extremely close siblings/cousins/aunts c) all have magic of some sort d) both are struggling with their magic.
No seriously they both contain all these (and I didn't pick them because of it, I didn't even know it until I began reading). You'd think they are far too similar. They are not. Enchanted was billed as SF/F by my library but it's not, it's straight up magic realism romance (not my thing but well written enough to keep me going). Bittersweet is a YA horror/mystery (much more my thing) so you have two highly similar plot points/character types and two stories that couldn't be more different.
So if you are in that situation, maybe talk to someone familiar with the other story and have them look it over, get a second opinion, give your story a chance.
Open Calls
47 Themed Submissions Calls for September 2023
Astrolabe Fall 2023 Window
Assault Team Military SF
Mythaxis October 2023 Submission Period
Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror 2023
Translunar Travelers Lounge Second 2023 Window
Mystic Owl Magazine: Now Seeking Halloween Themed Submissions
From Around the Web
Be Afraid! Creating Fear in Your Characters
5 Tips To Show Time Passing In Deep Point Of View
Using Sensory Triggers to Prime Your Brain for Writing
50 Sites Offering Free Images for Commercial Use: An Author’s Guide
What to Do When the Ink Runs Dry
From Betty
Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make
Strange New Worlds Shows Us How to Avoid Empty Edginess
Five Fake Turning Points Storytellers Keep Using
here.
Maximizing Your Author Website's Potential with Blogging
Book Parts and Better Engagement - Anatomy of an Afterword.
How to Find the Writer Within, Your Creative Self
The Weight
Long Forgotten (But Cool) Medieval English Words
Writing About Pain: Describing Minor Injuries
Writing about Pain: Describing Major & Mortal Injuries
Character Type & Trope Thesaurus: Christ Figure
And since I forgot music monday last time here we go, me soft balling it in. Eda's Requiem. I was going to put the actual scene from The Owl House up but it's rather spoilery so here's someone who looped it for an hour (well that's excessive mind you) with no video. It's really a pretty piece of music that the showrunners went all out to have composed for it.
So let's talk about 'my story's idea is too similar' There is of course a real concern there but maybe it's not as big as you think. Sure if your story looks like a multiple point for point retelling of something then yeah, probably not a great idea. On the other hand, we all could start with the same prompt and come up with vastly different stories. A lot of fanficcers know this from prompt communities (go ahead write my bingo column. I'm planning to run down column N this month and see how similar our stories are).
If I thought there was interest I'd toss out a monthly prompt and we could compare stories at the end of the month. There are a couple of magazines out there that do this (First Line and Last Line are two instantly to mind) that give you a line everyone must use as their first line but of course the stories are going to be different.
Another example THe Enchanted Hacienda and Bittersweet in the Hollow two stories I finished over the weekend. Both star a female 'witch' (the magic realism sort) who are all from families of a) all women b) extremely close siblings/cousins/aunts c) all have magic of some sort d) both are struggling with their magic.
No seriously they both contain all these (and I didn't pick them because of it, I didn't even know it until I began reading). You'd think they are far too similar. They are not. Enchanted was billed as SF/F by my library but it's not, it's straight up magic realism romance (not my thing but well written enough to keep me going). Bittersweet is a YA horror/mystery (much more my thing) so you have two highly similar plot points/character types and two stories that couldn't be more different.
So if you are in that situation, maybe talk to someone familiar with the other story and have them look it over, get a second opinion, give your story a chance.
Open Calls
47 Themed Submissions Calls for September 2023
Astrolabe Fall 2023 Window
Assault Team Military SF
Mythaxis October 2023 Submission Period
Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror 2023
Translunar Travelers Lounge Second 2023 Window
Mystic Owl Magazine: Now Seeking Halloween Themed Submissions
From Around the Web
Be Afraid! Creating Fear in Your Characters
5 Tips To Show Time Passing In Deep Point Of View
Using Sensory Triggers to Prime Your Brain for Writing
50 Sites Offering Free Images for Commercial Use: An Author’s Guide
What to Do When the Ink Runs Dry
From Betty
Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make
Strange New Worlds Shows Us How to Avoid Empty Edginess
Five Fake Turning Points Storytellers Keep Using
here.
Maximizing Your Author Website's Potential with Blogging
Book Parts and Better Engagement - Anatomy of an Afterword.
How to Find the Writer Within, Your Creative Self
The Weight
Long Forgotten (But Cool) Medieval English Words
Writing About Pain: Describing Minor Injuries
Writing about Pain: Describing Major & Mortal Injuries
Character Type & Trope Thesaurus: Christ Figure
And since I forgot music monday last time here we go, me soft balling it in. Eda's Requiem. I was going to put the actual scene from The Owl House up but it's rather spoilery so here's someone who looped it for an hour (well that's excessive mind you) with no video. It's really a pretty piece of music that the showrunners went all out to have composed for it.
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