Is a lot A LOT of often unnecessary words!
I spent yesterday editing a section of the novel-in-progress down to make it eligible for a short fiction call.
It started at 7,750 wds or thereabouts. I had already 'tightened' to c 5,750.
The call is for work no longer than 3,000 wds.
Wow. Not possible. 7570 to under 3000?
It certainly is. The story that came through in Bridport last year was a heavily edited part of the same novel, losing at least half that section's bulk.
More is not necessarily better.
Less is often more.
The trouble is, every novel I pick up now does the same to my head..."You could have said this in a quarter of the words... or less. Why have I paid to read the extra?"
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
TOM'S VOICE MAGAZINE
My ezine, a special ezine.
Mimi might take a look at this:
LINK TO TOM'S VOICE MAGAZINE and laugh, because we know what Mimi's like.
This ezine was started a few years back to give those who are struggling with addiction issues (their own, or those of friends and family) a voice.
I used to take writing sessions at a tough residential rehab. Early on I lost a student to an overdose, but he left his poems... in the last few months, he had found a voice.
He was Tom. The mag is Tom's Voice...see?
The next issue has some extraordinary writers adding support. What are they saying? mainly "We're here. We understand..." by sending me fiction, non fiction, poetry. Not 'about' addiction... necessarily. Anything. Its their gift.
Take a look at the mag, and if you have something to say, say it. I welcome submissions, and love reading work from potential new contributors.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
THE CHEERING NATURE OF TRAGEDY
Can I send my reader (Mimi? Are you still around?) to this post by Fictionbitch?
FICTIONBITCH HERE
I am often stumped for an answer when people ask why I don''t write 'happy' stories. "You are such a happy person, most of the time..." they say.
Am I?
Be that as it may, and putting aside those party masks we all put on when socialising, I never know what to say.
But the books and stories that have most affected me are not 'happy'. I am most affected by the ones I remember, think about, that make me feel something deeply when reading. Not the 'happy' twiddles I might read on holiday when I need a fizzy drink.
The music that moves me is not 'happy'. I am moved by music with depth, an ache. It's music that makes me think. Is beautiful music ever really 100% 'happy'?
So it is affirming to read Fictionbitch this morning.
And it goes back to my inability to get excited by creating 'more people like the ones next door' that do not do much other than live as they already do.
There has to be something else....
FICTIONBITCH HERE
I am often stumped for an answer when people ask why I don''t write 'happy' stories. "You are such a happy person, most of the time..." they say.
Am I?
Be that as it may, and putting aside those party masks we all put on when socialising, I never know what to say.
But the books and stories that have most affected me are not 'happy'. I am most affected by the ones I remember, think about, that make me feel something deeply when reading. Not the 'happy' twiddles I might read on holiday when I need a fizzy drink.
The music that moves me is not 'happy'. I am moved by music with depth, an ache. It's music that makes me think. Is beautiful music ever really 100% 'happy'?
So it is affirming to read Fictionbitch this morning.
And it goes back to my inability to get excited by creating 'more people like the ones next door' that do not do much other than live as they already do.
There has to be something else....
Friday, 4 January 2008
THE SHORT REVIEW
Issue 3 of Tania Hershman’s ‘The Short Review’ is up, with another ten collections and anthologies featured.
I reviewed two collections: firstly, Walking the Labyrinth by Welsh writer Brian George, a beautifully produced hardback from Stonebridge Press, and secondly, Two Tall Tales and One Short Novel, a paperback from Apis Books.
A tough call. One I loved, and the other I partially loved.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SHORT REVIEW ISSUE 3
Tania has also included interviews with three of the writers, Brian George, Rusty Barnes of Night Train fame, and Chrissie Gittins. I think this adds a sparking dimension to an already strong mix.
And that's not all... there is a link to lists of the short fiction collections scheduled for publication in 2008, and the list is.... huge. Who said the short story was languishing!!!
Check it out. It is a must for anyone interested in short fiction, either writers or readers.
And more reading:
I am having a great time reading two Comma Press collections for review: Phobic (modern Horror) , and Under The Dam (David Constantine).
.
.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Honest critiques are the best critiques
I was taught to critique work straight and honest. Never to say ‘I like this’ or ‘Er, this isn’t quite working but with a tiny bit of work I’m sure it would win something really big!”
And sadly, that’s what you get on so many places where writers gather.
I don’t want flannel, I want to be told how an intelligent writer/reader sees the piece. I want to know where it works for them, where it doesn’t, and I want examples, not generalisations.
THEN I can go back to the work and reappraise.
Just to prove a point: Recent comments among many on a story I'd written three years back, posted on The Workhouse, doing my ‘edit old stuff, tidy up and sub’ routine.
This comment was made about the voice:
“They all speak as though they're suffering from head injuries while navigating a second language, and the net effect is that there's a writer engaging in a kind of facile literary tourism”
Do I rush away to find a lace handkerchief and sob, vowing never to write again, or to give that person a bad review in return? (Oh yes they do... Ive seen this for myself on some very big workshops...)
FANTASTIC feedback! I almost danced round the study!
I do understand that many writers just don’t want this sort of feedback. Maybe when you are a very raw beginner, it could hurt feelings. And maybe, for those who are in this purely for ego, it might stop them writing… a dose of reality. At least that’s what I’ve had said to me many times by the ‘dress up negatives in cotton wool’ school.
It didn’t stop me.
But now I have a problem. In addition to the above, I have two critiques from writers who know about the culture and setting of the story far closer than I do. One found it poor overall. One found it good, but with some minor details wrong.
So in the end I have to do what all writers need to do with feedback. I will not rush around changing everything according to every item said, but I’ll listen to every comment with care, balance them and think, and rewrite in a few weeks time when it’s all had time to sink in.
And that voice will need work!
But also, people forget that the writer isn't the only person hopefully moving forward in this situation. The critiquer learns a huge amount...and I'm delighted if my stuff has been a good learning tool.
It's words. Not blood!
And sadly, that’s what you get on so many places where writers gather.
I don’t want flannel, I want to be told how an intelligent writer/reader sees the piece. I want to know where it works for them, where it doesn’t, and I want examples, not generalisations.
THEN I can go back to the work and reappraise.
Just to prove a point: Recent comments among many on a story I'd written three years back, posted on The Workhouse, doing my ‘edit old stuff, tidy up and sub’ routine.
This comment was made about the voice:
“They all speak as though they're suffering from head injuries while navigating a second language, and the net effect is that there's a writer engaging in a kind of facile literary tourism”
Do I rush away to find a lace handkerchief and sob, vowing never to write again, or to give that person a bad review in return? (Oh yes they do... Ive seen this for myself on some very big workshops...)
FANTASTIC feedback! I almost danced round the study!
I do understand that many writers just don’t want this sort of feedback. Maybe when you are a very raw beginner, it could hurt feelings. And maybe, for those who are in this purely for ego, it might stop them writing… a dose of reality. At least that’s what I’ve had said to me many times by the ‘dress up negatives in cotton wool’ school.
It didn’t stop me.
But now I have a problem. In addition to the above, I have two critiques from writers who know about the culture and setting of the story far closer than I do. One found it poor overall. One found it good, but with some minor details wrong.
So in the end I have to do what all writers need to do with feedback. I will not rush around changing everything according to every item said, but I’ll listen to every comment with care, balance them and think, and rewrite in a few weeks time when it’s all had time to sink in.
And that voice will need work!
But also, people forget that the writer isn't the only person hopefully moving forward in this situation. The critiquer learns a huge amount...and I'm delighted if my stuff has been a good learning tool.
It's words. Not blood!
Wednesday, 2 January 2008
Should Writing be Fun?
This has been worrying me. Should writing be ‘fun’?
I went to a drinks thing this evening, and met a friend who is writing a novel.
“Its fun,” he said. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.”
That got me thinking.
Writing is not ‘fun’ for me. It is lots of things; it is challenging, drives me bloody spare sometimes, annoying, lots of similar adjectives.
But it keeps me alive, in many ways.
Is it ‘fun’ for you?
----------------------------------------------
Why is it not 'fun'?
It hasn’t been ‘fun’ relying on a dwindling supply of short fiction to keep some submissions out there. Or wondering if I am so hooked on the ‘write write write sub sub sub’ ethos I have worked at for four years that I can’t get writing satisfaction from just calmly, slowly writing the longer work.
That worries me.
It has not been ‘fun’ paying out for loads of comp entries then seeing work hit a few good ones, and the lots of solid but littler ones (with the same entry fees) ignoring stuff from the same brain.
Or realising that the good solid magazines want strong, realist, postmodern work… and if what you do is not that, the places that want your stuff are limited, and that’s just how it is.
It hasn’t been ‘fun’ as such, working on the novel. It is painfully painfully slow. I miss the occasional buzz from the fast writing I used to get when writing short fiction regularly.
And it certainly is not fun working at writing raw words. It is hard. But as someone once said ‘No gain without pain’ or something.
BUT
What SURROUNDS writing is ‘fun’. I love the buzz of the places I work, I love meeting up with other writers, talking, seeing what gives. I love reading, but don’t do enough. I love teaching. Facilitating. Whatever it’s called.
It has been great ‘fun’ working with Salt Publishing on Words from a Glass Bubble, and learning about how to market yourself, your book. It is ‘fun’ sometimes, working fast, in flash sessions. It is ‘fun’ playing.
But whereas when I started out some years back, writing was 'playing' in buzzy, creative splurges,… now it is ‘what I do’, and as soon as things become ‘what you do’ they lose something, perhaps….
I went to a drinks thing this evening, and met a friend who is writing a novel.
“Its fun,” he said. “If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.”
That got me thinking.
Writing is not ‘fun’ for me. It is lots of things; it is challenging, drives me bloody spare sometimes, annoying, lots of similar adjectives.
But it keeps me alive, in many ways.
Is it ‘fun’ for you?
----------------------------------------------
Why is it not 'fun'?
It hasn’t been ‘fun’ relying on a dwindling supply of short fiction to keep some submissions out there. Or wondering if I am so hooked on the ‘write write write sub sub sub’ ethos I have worked at for four years that I can’t get writing satisfaction from just calmly, slowly writing the longer work.
That worries me.
It has not been ‘fun’ paying out for loads of comp entries then seeing work hit a few good ones, and the lots of solid but littler ones (with the same entry fees) ignoring stuff from the same brain.
Or realising that the good solid magazines want strong, realist, postmodern work… and if what you do is not that, the places that want your stuff are limited, and that’s just how it is.
It hasn’t been ‘fun’ as such, working on the novel. It is painfully painfully slow. I miss the occasional buzz from the fast writing I used to get when writing short fiction regularly.
And it certainly is not fun working at writing raw words. It is hard. But as someone once said ‘No gain without pain’ or something.
BUT
What SURROUNDS writing is ‘fun’. I love the buzz of the places I work, I love meeting up with other writers, talking, seeing what gives. I love reading, but don’t do enough. I love teaching. Facilitating. Whatever it’s called.
It has been great ‘fun’ working with Salt Publishing on Words from a Glass Bubble, and learning about how to market yourself, your book. It is ‘fun’ sometimes, working fast, in flash sessions. It is ‘fun’ playing.
But whereas when I started out some years back, writing was 'playing' in buzzy, creative splurges,… now it is ‘what I do’, and as soon as things become ‘what you do’ they lose something, perhaps….
Narrative Structure
Over on The Workhouse, we are having some interesting discussions, and some new things to keep us on our writing toes, dragging us into The New Year!
A good discussion on Narrative Structure has to head my list, looking at which structures work best to deliver a story, and more importantly, why. It is particularly interesting to get a viewpoint from someone who is very into screen work, visual media. It makes me realise how hard every element has to work to make a seriously strong story.
Link to very good comprehensive paper on narrative structure HERE.
Then one member has proposed that we have a formal, regular reading group, rather than occasional pieces posted as the whim takes us...and we are starting off with a short story by Anton Chekhov.
Flash blasts are now going to happen every fortnight instead of every month...
members are going to post a week's worth of writing ideas every Sunday
...
I don't think we are going to get much sleep.
A good discussion on Narrative Structure has to head my list, looking at which structures work best to deliver a story, and more importantly, why. It is particularly interesting to get a viewpoint from someone who is very into screen work, visual media. It makes me realise how hard every element has to work to make a seriously strong story.
Link to very good comprehensive paper on narrative structure HERE.
Then one member has proposed that we have a formal, regular reading group, rather than occasional pieces posted as the whim takes us...and we are starting off with a short story by Anton Chekhov.
Flash blasts are now going to happen every fortnight instead of every month...
members are going to post a week's worth of writing ideas every Sunday
...
I don't think we are going to get much sleep.
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