Writerly Ways
Jun. 20th, 2022 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessLetting some time for your story to sit and ‘age’ is never a bad idea. Mostly the idea there is give yourself some distance and then come back and edit with fresher eyes. If you’re like me writing on a deadline, you might not have time for that as you throw that hail Mary pass over the finish line.
On the other hand sometimes you can let it sit too long like me and These Haunted Hills. I finished the novel in either late 2018/early 2019 and then Prodigal Son happened and that fandom ate me alive. I wrote over 200 stories in 2 ½ years and six of them are novel length (there might be another one or two and several novellas). I’m embarrassed to say it but I set my story aside and then 2021 I fell. Not much happened after that. Hell we’re halfway through 2022 and I’m FINALLY taking that novel off the shelf because it’s being submitted this damn year even if it really could use a beta reader.
But here’s a thing that happened. I had wanted it anchored in my area so I put in all kinds of little touches. By Name. Several didn’t survive Covid. I’m editing them all out even if they had. While dating a novel is inevitable some feel much more dated than others. Maybe having a bunch of local restaurants in it isn’t the best idea. Maybe Avalanche pizza wouldn’t want to be in my novel. Or Athens Uncorked (which is now gone). I decided in those intervening months that maybe this was a bad idea and I should leave them unnamed or at least invent my own places.
But more than this, something much more unexpected happened. If I finished in 2018 I probably wrote the novel in 2017. I’m not sure I knew five, six years ago that Rowling was such a problematic TERF. Josh had a Harry Potter tattoo. He doesn’t anymore. He referred to John Barrowman at cons positively. Since then John has apologized for his behavior but him crawling bare assed naked through hotel halls, plopping his penis on coworker shoulders, apologies or not, what makes anyone think this (especially the latter) is acceptable behavior? I decided against leaving him in as well. It’s funny how things change, sensibilities, people. We can change and grow. We can change and become worse. Sometimes you wait on a damn story so long you have to write out celebs that disappoint you.
Open Calls
Cosmic Horror Monthly Fall 2022 Window
Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores July 2022 (they have a strange submission process)
The Other Stories #88: Tunnels tunnel theme
Mysterion Fall 2022 Christian themed only
34 Orchard Fall 2022 Issue (thinking of submitting the baby farm story)
ZNB Presents 2022 Window
Enchanted Conversation: 2022 July Window weather theme
Mythulu Magazine #6: Symbiosis co-authored stories only
The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways
From Around the web
Tension, Microtension, and Keeping Your Reader Hooked
3 Ways to Infuse Character Voice
Why Every Writer Should Play Dungeons & Dragons
short form to long form
How William Lindsay Gresham’s Life Delivered Us Nightmare Alley
Tropes: A Storytelling Staple (But Beware The Cliché)
What Makes A Great Villain?
From Betty
Understanding the Underworld of a Story’s Third Act
Essential Fiction-Writing Tools of the Trade
Writing a Compelling First Line
How to Write a Synopsis for Your Book: A Guide for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers
Slinging The Slang
Smashing Your Blocks (about writing when your day job sucks the creativity
Are You Using This Simple Way To Get More Shares On Social Media? 9 Tools To Help You
5 Reasons for Book Trailers with Guest Shannon Redmon
Six Signs Your Story Is About the Wrong Character
Respectfully Depicting a Character Adapting to a Disability I see their point but I'm betting they never had a life altering event, just saying
Four Horror Stories in Unexpected Places
How to Make Your Character Selfless
“They’re All Gonna Die!” Wait, Why Does That Matter?
Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Religious Characters
Fear Thesaurus Entry: Losing the Respect of Others
How to write a synopsis for a novel
On the other hand sometimes you can let it sit too long like me and These Haunted Hills. I finished the novel in either late 2018/early 2019 and then Prodigal Son happened and that fandom ate me alive. I wrote over 200 stories in 2 ½ years and six of them are novel length (there might be another one or two and several novellas). I’m embarrassed to say it but I set my story aside and then 2021 I fell. Not much happened after that. Hell we’re halfway through 2022 and I’m FINALLY taking that novel off the shelf because it’s being submitted this damn year even if it really could use a beta reader.
But here’s a thing that happened. I had wanted it anchored in my area so I put in all kinds of little touches. By Name. Several didn’t survive Covid. I’m editing them all out even if they had. While dating a novel is inevitable some feel much more dated than others. Maybe having a bunch of local restaurants in it isn’t the best idea. Maybe Avalanche pizza wouldn’t want to be in my novel. Or Athens Uncorked (which is now gone). I decided in those intervening months that maybe this was a bad idea and I should leave them unnamed or at least invent my own places.
But more than this, something much more unexpected happened. If I finished in 2018 I probably wrote the novel in 2017. I’m not sure I knew five, six years ago that Rowling was such a problematic TERF. Josh had a Harry Potter tattoo. He doesn’t anymore. He referred to John Barrowman at cons positively. Since then John has apologized for his behavior but him crawling bare assed naked through hotel halls, plopping his penis on coworker shoulders, apologies or not, what makes anyone think this (especially the latter) is acceptable behavior? I decided against leaving him in as well. It’s funny how things change, sensibilities, people. We can change and grow. We can change and become worse. Sometimes you wait on a damn story so long you have to write out celebs that disappoint you.
Open Calls
Cosmic Horror Monthly Fall 2022 Window
Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores July 2022 (they have a strange submission process)
The Other Stories #88: Tunnels tunnel theme
Mysterion Fall 2022 Christian themed only
34 Orchard Fall 2022 Issue (thinking of submitting the baby farm story)
ZNB Presents 2022 Window
Enchanted Conversation: 2022 July Window weather theme
Mythulu Magazine #6: Symbiosis co-authored stories only
The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways
From Around the web
Tension, Microtension, and Keeping Your Reader Hooked
3 Ways to Infuse Character Voice
Why Every Writer Should Play Dungeons & Dragons
short form to long form
How William Lindsay Gresham’s Life Delivered Us Nightmare Alley
Tropes: A Storytelling Staple (But Beware The Cliché)
What Makes A Great Villain?
From Betty
Understanding the Underworld of a Story’s Third Act
Essential Fiction-Writing Tools of the Trade
Writing a Compelling First Line
How to Write a Synopsis for Your Book: A Guide for Fiction and Nonfiction Writers
Slinging The Slang
Smashing Your Blocks (about writing when your day job sucks the creativity
Are You Using This Simple Way To Get More Shares On Social Media? 9 Tools To Help You
5 Reasons for Book Trailers with Guest Shannon Redmon
Six Signs Your Story Is About the Wrong Character
Respectfully Depicting a Character Adapting to a Disability I see their point but I'm betting they never had a life altering event, just saying
Four Horror Stories in Unexpected Places
How to Make Your Character Selfless
“They’re All Gonna Die!” Wait, Why Does That Matter?
Avoiding Stereotypes in Fiction: Religious Characters
Fear Thesaurus Entry: Losing the Respect of Others
How to write a synopsis for a novel
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no subject
Date: 2022-06-21 12:36 pm (UTC)I agree with you on letting a story sit for a bit before going back to it. There's something to be said for looking at it with fresh eyes.
no subject
Date: 2022-06-21 06:27 pm (UTC)fresh eyes always help
no subject
Date: 2022-06-21 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-21 10:02 pm (UTC)