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dr_pretentiousSo far, all the beta comments that have come back about the novella propose minor changes, one-sentence or two-sentence fixes. Very strange. If this trend continues for another week, I may just cut the 2500 words that need cutting, clarify the dozen small things that need clarifying, and ship it out before the month's half gone.
I spent the afternoon looking at submissions guidelines for genre magazines that publish novellas. Once "Atlantis Cranks Need Not Apply" gets down to 25K, there are places it can go. I have notions now about where to send it first. I've spent the evening marking the ms for cuts, and I think I've found all the cuts I need without touching anything I really want to keep. Jane's parents, who never appear on stage, have no lines, and are mentioned in exactly four sentences, are going. A bunch of dialogue tags are going. I've discovered two new tics I didn't know I had. While the tics might arguably add flavor in a couple of places, nobody needs nearly that many moments in which the characters eye things suspiciously, and nobody needs there to be dozens of occurrences of the words "pretty much."
If I'm deluded in my hope that the revisions for this piece will be minor, do please let me know. I'd far rather hear about the gaping plot hole, the massive structural flaw, the implausible character, etc., from you than from the editors of any of the magazines I targeted today.
Email, lj comments, phone, whatever. And thanks to everyone who offered.
I spent the afternoon looking at submissions guidelines for genre magazines that publish novellas. Once "Atlantis Cranks Need Not Apply" gets down to 25K, there are places it can go. I have notions now about where to send it first. I've spent the evening marking the ms for cuts, and I think I've found all the cuts I need without touching anything I really want to keep. Jane's parents, who never appear on stage, have no lines, and are mentioned in exactly four sentences, are going. A bunch of dialogue tags are going. I've discovered two new tics I didn't know I had. While the tics might arguably add flavor in a couple of places, nobody needs nearly that many moments in which the characters eye things suspiciously, and nobody needs there to be dozens of occurrences of the words "pretty much."
If I'm deluded in my hope that the revisions for this piece will be minor, do please let me know. I'd far rather hear about the gaping plot hole, the massive structural flaw, the implausible character, etc., from you than from the editors of any of the magazines I targeted today.
Email, lj comments, phone, whatever. And thanks to everyone who offered.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 10:20 pm (UTC)I got the critiques from the group as usual, and then afterwards I realized that... there really wasn't anything all that bad about it! :) Basically, there were various minor things to fix up, I needed to take out a bunch of adjectives and adverbs from the very beginning (I knew something felt wrong about that part), and one of the two main characters needs additional character development (which I also already knew about, and tried to fix somewhat, but apparently not enough).
So, likewise I have to wonder... what happened to the gaping plot holes, the massive structural flaws, the characterization issues that I didn't notice? What happened to the friendly and well-intentioned critiques that nonetheless make me wonder if I should go back to the drawing board? What, it's actually _good_??? I'm a good writer??? What the heck happened??? :)
By the way, side question... do you have any advice for writing a really good query letter? I'm at that stage now, but I find myself somehow rather intimidated about it...
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 10:03 am (UTC)All the advice I could offer is secondhand. Better you should go straight to my source.
I've studied Romance Writers of America's online tutorial for writing queries and synopses, even though I'm romance-illiterate. Their templates might not work for literary fiction, but I gather that they're applicable to genre fiction, with some adaptation.
Alas, www.rwanational.org is in the midst of a big update, so the tutorials aren't back online yet. Just checked, before sending you on a wild goose chase. Watch that space, though. RWA is really generous about offering new writers the tools to become professionals.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 10:24 pm (UTC)(I'm still working on getting to the last quarter of the first half finished so I can get the rest of it. Maybe I'll move it to the laptop and take it on the plane.)
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 10:04 am (UTC)The big book, you mean?
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Date: 2006-02-06 10:46 am (UTC)And did you get our updated email call? That could be important...
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Date: 2006-02-06 03:11 pm (UTC)About the second half of the big book...bear in mind that it's much rougher than the first. Chronologies have been revised, events superseded. A few of the chapters are in badly done omniscient POV. The ship's informer isn't there, at moments when he really does need to be added. (Bavred himself is a very minor character, but his function is pivotal.) The bones of the plot aren't changing in the next revision. The major characters aren't changing in the next revision. But lots of smaller-scale stuff is.
And there are places where I interrupt myself with bracketed fix-me comments, like [SARAH, IF YOU CAN'T LOOK SQUARELY AT THE GUYS IN THE EVIL T-SHIRTS, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN STORY YET], or [THIS IS A HIDEOUS SENTENCE. REPLACE IT WITH SOMETHING SPLENDID]. These may be amusing, but they do rather disrupt the waking dream of the narrative.
If reading drafts that rough makes you twitch, you might want to wait.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 03:35 pm (UTC)*sigh* What price paranoia?
lisen underscore of underscore the underscore wood at hotmail dot com
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 03:48 pm (UTC)Let me know when you're ready for Vol 1 Pts 3&4.
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Date: 2006-02-06 10:07 pm (UTC)Ironically your email was sent to the spam folder. Damn hotmail; but thanks to this message I found you! I have pinged you back and we're ready to roll.
Silly isn't it.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 11:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 08:34 am (UTC)One thing sticks in my mind, but remember, I only read it once, so I may be recalling this incorrectly: The first time the kouros makes a reference to "my Rugosa," I thought he was making some kind of statement of feeling like he belonged to Jane's coven. Then later, when he makes the reference again, I realized he was talking about his own group at home. My confusion could just be due to reading it once, and quickly, but that's the only other thing I could think of right now. I agree with everyone else it seems; the story is solid.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 10:10 am (UTC)When I said to myself, "If you put crucial information in the mouth of a character who doesn't speak English well, make sure the result is only as confusing as you want it to be," this is exactly the point I was thinking of.
Thought I'd fixed it. It should be easy for me to fix it further. You're right, it's a really important point.
Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2006-02-06 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-07 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-08 06:05 pm (UTC)I've just stripped a whole bunch of extra commas out of the novella draft. Maybe I should save them up for a special occasion.