What are you Writing?

[AmateisGal]

Managed to get in some writing last night and after I was done, I didn't want to throw my laptop into the bathtub! So, progress, of a sort.

 

[Benzadmiral]

3/4 of the way done with the short story. I know how the climax will work out, but not the very end . . . which might mean I don't need a "very end," a tag scene, at all.

ETA: Over the hump of the climax and sliding down to the end. I hope to have it done, and licked into shape enough * by Monday, that I can bring the first half to my writing group on Monday night.

(* I seem to recall reading that the ancients believed that some, or maybe all, animals were born as shapeless lumps, and had to be licked into shape by their mothers so that the newborns would grow up to resemble the rest of their species. That kinda describes the process of rewriting, doesn't it? The story emerges from your mind as a glob, and you have to lick it into readable, printable shape?)

 

[AmateisGal]

(* I seem to recall reading that the ancients believed that some, or maybe all, animals were born as shapeless lumps, and had to be licked into shape by their mothers so that the newborns would grow up to resemble the rest of their species. That kinda describes the process of rewriting, doesn't it? The story emerges from your mind as a glob, and you have to lick it into readable, printable shape?)

That sounds about right!

I FINALLY figured out how to end my story and tie everything together. Huge relief. So now I just need to write it and get it done.

 

[MikeKardec]

About halfway through this Weird West story. I'm experimenting with technique, as I often do. This time I'm trying to weave flashbacks into the narrative to fill in needed backstory while not stopping the main action at all. Any tips on doing this?

Sorry I didn't see this earlier! Yeah, you just need to have the needed things available to inspire the memory of the protagonist. "He glanced at the Rolex watch his father had given him for graduation" = upper class childhood. "He remembered his father telling him, 'it may not be the best watch these days but the brand name allows you to pawn it anywhere in the world if you get in trouble.' = upper class dad, yet worldy and cautious ... maybe a dad who hasn't always been upper class. Info delivered, move on. I'd call these micro flashbacks. Pepper the narrative with them, a couple of sentences at a time, to build the picture of the past you want to show. It's best to drop hints, like I just did, and let the audience assemble the picture themselves rather than "telling" them the back story.

That's the best lesson that working in film has for fiction: Just allow the audience to OBSERVE behavior, don't spoon feed anything to them, don't explain, their imagination will do more work for you for free than you could ever do for yourself. This sort of thing is VERY hard to do in a first draft, however. You need to really know what you're up to with the story so that you get in and get out when you do this sort of thing.

(* I seem to recall reading that the ancients believed that some, or maybe all, animals were born as shapeless lumps, and had to be licked into shape by their mothers so that the newborns would grow up to resemble the rest of their species. That kinda describes the process of rewriting, doesn't it? The story emerges from your mind as a glob, and you have to lick it into readable, printable shape?)

I got a laugh out of that! It's very true. I find myself spending a lot of time poking at projects, aimlessly shifting things around ... I don't really know what I'm doing then, suddenly, the form is there and the thing is the drool covered animal that it needs to be. The trouble is that it's as haphazard to me as it looks from the outside.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier! Yeah, you just need to have the needed things available to inspire the memory of the protagonist. "He glanced at the Rolex watch his father had given him for graduation" = upper class childhood. "He remembered his father telling him, 'it may not be the best watch these days but the brand name allows you to pawn it anywhere in the world if you get in trouble.' = upper class dad, yet worldy and cautious ... maybe a dad who hasn't always been upper class. Info delivered, move on. I'd call these micro flashbacks. Pepper the narrative with them, a couple of sentences at a time, to build the picture of the past you want to show. It's best to drop hints, like I just did, and let the audience assemble the picture themselves rather than "telling" them the back story.

That's the best lesson that working in film has for fiction: Just allow the audience to OBSERVE behavior, don't spoon feed anything to them, don't explain, their imagination will do more work for you for free than you could ever do for yourself. This sort of thing is VERY hard to do in a first draft, however. You need to really know what you're up to with the story so that you get in and get out when you do this sort of thing. . . .

I set it down as two short paragraphs in italics, sort of a running memory, and a third one a little later adding some more important info. The protagonist is asked why he's heading south, and he explains in two short sentences that his wife and child have vanished. (Cue first memory.) Then he's asked if he has a lead, and he says yes. (Cue second memory bit, which includes what that lead is.)

 

[MikeKardec]

I set it down as two short paragraphs in italics, sort of a running memory, and a third one a little later adding some more important info. The protagonist is asked why he's heading south, and he explains in two short sentences that his wife and child have vanished. (Cue first memory.) Then he's asked if he has a lead, and he says yes. (Cue second memory bit, which includes what that lead is.)

Sounds good.

I'm doing more "postscripts", articles on the story behind the story of various books, I took a couple of days off to re-familiarize myself with the actual book I'm working on rather than just the early drafts and notes and now I'm back at it. This wont be the last one I do but it does get me to the end of my contracted commitment. A landmark of sorts and it's always good to have the publisher off my back well before deadlines!

 

[Benzadmiral]

An old story of mine has found a home! "Mr. Carlino's Project" was written in 2009, I think, and first appeared on a now-defunct website called Crime and Suspense. A member of my writing group has been acting as editor for Beneath the Rainbow ("Short stories, poems, and essays from today's contemporary authors. Updated weekly"). What they had in the slush pile for this issue was "drivel," said my colleague, and suggested I send this story to the website.

Have a look: http://beneaththerainbow.com/

 

[AmateisGal]

An old story of mine has found a home! "Mr. Carlino's Project" was written in 2009, I think, and first appeared on a now-defunct website called Crime and Suspense. A member of my writing group has been acting as editor for Beneath the Rainbow ("Short stories, poems, and essays from today's contemporary authors. Updated weekly"). What they had in the slush pile for this issue was "drivel," said my colleague, and suggested I send this story to the website.

Have a look: http://beneaththerainbow.com/

Congrats!!!! How exciting!

 

[AmateisGal]

I'm nearing the end of my novel. AT LAST. This sucker has been giving me fits for over two years now. A year longer than I wanted to spend on it.
I'm thinking i might even be able to wrap it up this week if i work on it every night...

 

[Benzadmiral]

I'm nearing the end of my novel. AT LAST. This sucker has been giving me fits for over two years now. A year longer than I wanted to spend on it.
I'm thinking i might even be able to wrap it up this week if i work on it every night...

As I near the end of a long writing project, it becomes like a black hole, one I want to dive into. The novel pulls me into it by its own gravity. I take a few days off from work and do almost nothing besides write, eat, and sleep, until I can type the words THE END. (Well, okay, there's some reading and TV watching, but they become shades of their former selves in my life. The previous three are all.)

After I type THE END, too, I take a leaf from Stephen King's book and type the beginning and end dates of the project. The start is usually sort of generic, e.g., "May 2010," since when I start something I often don't know what I'm beginning . . . but the end date is that day.

One day in the late summer of 2001, I typed THE END on a mystery novel, got up to get coffee, turned on the TV . . . and saw the World Trade Center burning. That finish date will be easy to remember: September 11.

 

[MikeKardec]

Got a new idea for a fantasy story; and bumped into a possible anthology I could submit an earlier SF tale to.

However, I'm uncertain if my story (with some slight rewrites) will fit their guidelines. They ask for a positive spin on possible futures connected with our recent Presidential winner. And if the spin is to be only positive, where's the conflict going to come from?

Writing is usually about giving a protagonist a goal then having all sorts of horrible things happen to them in the pursuit of that goal until they finally either achieve it or learn some important lesson so I'd guess a positive spin on literally everything would be pretty undramatic. BUT it is interesting and creative (especially for SF) for a magazine to to be soliciting positive-Trump-future stories just because most writers would tend to go the other way! I may not have any ideas but if I were writing this sort of stuff I'd find it a healthy exercise!

Actually, a movie that almost fits the bill, though it's political elements are rather subtle is "Monsters." It is SF and it contains a gigantic version of The Wall.

 

[Tiki Tom]

An old story of mine has found a home! "Mr. Carlino's Project" was written in 2009, I think, and first appeared on a now-defunct website called Crime and Suspense. A member of my writing group has been acting as editor for Beneath the Rainbow ("Short stories, poems, and essays from today's contemporary authors. Updated weekly"). What they had in the slush pile for this issue was "drivel," said my colleague, and suggested I send this story to the website.

Have a look: http://beneaththerainbow.com/

I read the Mr. Carlino story and quite enjoyed it. Well written. I especially liked how you let the reader figure things out (the universal wrench) and don't rush to spell it out. Nicely done. Some small details (foot on wallet and the Aikido wrist manouver) made me appreciate your knowledge of what we used to call "spy craft". Good story. Thanks.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I read the Mr. Carlino story and quite enjoyed it. Well written. I especially liked how you let the reader figure things out (the universal wrench) and don't rush to spell it out. Nicely done. Some small details (foot on wallet and the Aikido wrist manouver) made me appreciate your knowledge of what we used to call "spy craft". Good story. Thanks.

Thank you, sir,

I wrote this tale so long ago (2009 time frame) that I forget now where I researched those details!

 

[AmateisGal]

An old story of mine has found a home! "Mr. Carlino's Project" was written in 2009, I think, and first appeared on a now-defunct website called Crime and Suspense. A member of my writing group has been acting as editor for Beneath the Rainbow ("Short stories, poems, and essays from today's contemporary authors. Updated weekly"). What they had in the slush pile for this issue was "drivel," said my colleague, and suggested I send this story to the website.

Have a look: http://beneaththerainbow.com/

Just read your story. I really enjoyed it. Well done!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Just read your story. I really enjoyed it. Well done!

Thanks, Melissa. It arose when I played in a radio-on-stage adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life and fell to wondering, what if George Bailey of Bedford Falls had been a hit man . . .?

There is a sequel. My writing group complained, however, that it relied on coincidence, and I can sort of see their point, except that the coincidence makes things harder for Mr. Carlino, not easier. (I know better than that.) The coincidental element just kicks off the story -- it doesn't resolve it. How do you and the other writers here feel about that? Is coincidence taboo under any and all circumstances?

 

[Benzadmiral]

A funny list of dangling and misplaced modifiers: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CommonErrors_BestMod.html

 

[AmateisGal]

Thanks, Melissa. It arose when I played in a radio-on-stage adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life and fell to wondering, what if George Bailey of Bedford Falls had been a hit man . . .?

There is a sequel. My writing group complained, however, that it relied on coincidence, and I can sort of see their point, except that the coincidence makes things harder for Mr. Carlino, not easier. (I know better than that.) The coincidental element just kicks off the story -- it doesn't resolve it. How do you and the other writers here feel about that? Is coincidence taboo under any and all circumstances?

I don't think it's taboo at all if handled correctly. Because let's face it; coincidence most certainly happens in real life. Of course, there's a quote from a famous author floating around about how fiction has to make a lot more sense than real life.

 

[Tiki Tom]

After setting it aside for a few months, today I finished in-putting my wife's edits into my Hawai'i murder mystery. I also did my own editing and reworked the final chapter a bit.
I know I'm biased, but I love this book: mostly because it has a great cast of simpatico characters that play off each other very well. It also contains sea planes, tramp freighters, spies, big wave surfing, lots of true Hawaiian history and real unsolved historic mysteries, ghost stories, food porn, and even a little romance. And, oh yeah, (almost forgot!) a pretty good murder mystery.
So far --of course-- no agent wants to read it. I had high hopes for a Honolulu publishing company that specializes in Hawaiian themed books, but not even they want to invest a dime by reading it. And so it goes. (If any of you have an agent who might be interested, let me know.)

In other news: I will self-publish my Vienna book in the fall. My employer has reviewed it and cleared it... only editing out a few pages. (Yup, it is in my contract that I can't publish without their o.k.) Crazy. Oh well.

 

[AmateisGal]

After setting it aside for a few months, today I finished in-putting my wife's edits into my Hawai'i murder mystery. I also did my own editing and reworked the final chapter a bit.
I know I'm biased, but I love this book: mostly because it has a great cast of simpatico characters that play off each other very well. It also contains sea planes, tramp freighters, spies, big wave surfing, lots of true Hawaiian history and real unsolved historic mysteries, ghost stories, food porn, and even a little romance. And, oh yeah, (almost forgot!) a pretty good murder mystery.
So far --of course-- no agent wants to read it. I had high hopes for a Honolulu publishing company that specializes in Hawaiian themed books, but not even they want to invest a dime by reading it. And so it goes. (If any of you have an agent who might be interested, let me know.)

In other news: I will self-publish my Vienna book in the fall. My employer has reviewed it and cleared it... only editing out a few pages. (Yup, it is in my contract that I can't publish without their o.k.) Crazy. Oh well.

That novel sounds absolutely fascinating! How many agents have you tried sending it to?

 

[Tiki Tom]

That novel sounds absolutely fascinating! How many agents have you tried sending it to?

So far I have queried 6 Agents and 1 publisher. I’m not killing myself, as I have lost faith in the process. With the advent of the internet, agents are awash in thousands of unsolicited query e-mails and I suspect that the delete key is their best friend. (Shrugs.) When I’m in Honolulu this summer, I might drop by that Hawaiian Publisher’s office with a printed copy of my manuscript and a box of hot, sugar-dusted malasadas. Nothing says “read me” like goodies straight from the bakery. Yes, I have no shame.