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Thanks for your encouragement in the Nano site, Blade_of_tyshalle. (Also, as a repeat, thank you again for your critiques on my entry in TD from back in March, Echo Cian and God Over Djinn.) I look forward to some more TD ripshit after November. I have what I guess might be a fairly specific question about transitions. How do you guys handle glossing over time which has passed during a narrative? Say the protagonist is injured and there's a long recovery time that isn't all eventful, or there's a long trip from location A to B and you really just aren't gunning for a re-imagining of The Road. Do you have any recs for fic out there that handles the passage of this low key time well?
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Oct 28, 2014 21:27
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I've definitely done both of those things, but in workshop feedback, people seemed uncertain about whether time had passed. Not sure if I should chalk that up to a bad workshop or me somehow burying the transition. Thank you. I do overthink. That's one of the biggest barriers between me and output.
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Oct 28, 2014 22:27
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Grizzled Patriarch posted:Just write everything in the form of diary entries with clear date stamps. What, someone's still on livejournal? I think there's something in using fiscal accounting periods for writing fiction, there, B_o_t. Or maybe I'm still scarred from last quarterly closing. Good to know this is something I can expend way less mental energy on.
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Oct 28, 2014 23:15
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I find waiting awhile useful. During that interim, I forget what I meant to write; that permits me, when I return to the draft, to find stupid errors (for example, "loaves" where I meant to write "loves") and unclear phrases more easily. Otherwise I would probably gloss over mistakes, only seeing what I'd intended to write, and miss vague portions, understanding what I meant and failing some critical theory of mind poo poo since nobody else will know what the hell I was going for.
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Oct 31, 2014 15:50
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Generally he/she said is so unobtrusive that even though you feel like it's repetitive while you're writing, you'll rarely notice it in other people's work. For first person, another useful way to approach reducing the "I" is just stating things as fact. No need to qualify with "I think/feel/see" on everything, even if the information is subjective or false.
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Dec 3, 2014 17:20
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systran posted:screaming idiot post your poo poo, rip off the band-aid, get crit Yeah man I'll read your poo poo and crit the poo poo out of that poo poo. (For what my crit's worth, at least!)
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Dec 16, 2014 20:48
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Maybe a separate thread for project toxxes, Sitting Here? I'd be in for something like that. I finished the first rough draft of my novel, and now it's languishing while I gently caress off doing other poo poo. I need to get back on that train.
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Jan 26, 2015 16:46
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I'm toxxing myself to have the second draft of this 102k mess done by March 31st as well. A normal person should be able to edit in that time, right? Ugh, this means I've got two  threads.Not sure how to make it easy for someone to verify that I'm not a shitlord. Should I just put a link to a gdoc with the original rough?
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Jan 27, 2015 23:20
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Generally when people say an action scene is good, I think it means that they can actually follow what's happening (more or less). They're able to imagine it. Less about dynamics, more about clarity. That's strictly anecdotal, since I'm not psychic, and comes from my own experiences in giving/receiving critique on action scenes.
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Jan 30, 2015 15:59
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I'm really partial to Iain Banks'. They tend to be brief, too, and always happen in an interesting space.
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Feb 3, 2015 22:33
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RedTonic posted:I'm toxxing myself to have the second draft of this 102k mess done by March 31st as well. A normal person should be able to edit in that time, right? Ugh, this means I've got two I am being super good. Finished my initial pass, cleaned up names that I changed halfway through the story, put some scenes in a more sensible order, and identified areas in need of more polishing/actual transitions. "Super" here is obviously relative. I'm kinda at that stage where I don't even want to look at this mess, but the rest of me just wants to get the novel done and out there.
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Feb 10, 2015 18:18
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Kgummy posted:Well, if you're looking for something that will point out that kind of thing, there's the Hemingway App thing. I'll just quote the post, since it gives a good enough description of it. That and I haven't messed with it enough yet myself. That is cool as hell. I'm going to use the poo poo out of this. I'll also echo excitement about a new nano topic. The manus-cramp I'm trying to wrap up is from nano 13-14. I'm excited to read others' work!
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Feb 12, 2015 15:56
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The last workshop I was in outside of school was a complete hugbox. I got very little feedback at all, with even less of it aimed at saying "this was boring" or "this is dumb" or "this is confusing," even. (It was extra irritating for me, since I thoroughly line by lined everything that my workshop peers gave me, regardless of how interesting I found it. At least they got some diligent feedback.) Bromplicated, your current workshop sounds totally crazy, though. Is it a prof leading it or a TA? Whoever's in charge needs to rein that hot mess in.
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Feb 13, 2015 22:03
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crabrock posted:this is every thunderdome crit i've ever written. Man, I didn't even get that much. I would've been grateful for it. I'm certain good live workshops exist, but the best I've experienced has been mediocre. The most helpful critiques I've had came from people I know on the internet. Maybe it's because there's more of a disconnect, and that reduces the perceived risks associated with saying "yo man, this thing you presumably worked hard on isn't even good enough to use as toilet paper."
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Feb 13, 2015 22:19
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Superb Owls posted:I've come to a horrible realisation that having a scathing critique of your work is a lot more soothing than editing your own work yourself. Is there something wrong with me? Sounds correct to me, so that makes at least two of us.
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Feb 21, 2015 17:42
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General Battuta posted:On impulse I wrote some poo poo about a specific type of sentence I hate: connective sentences that waste energy on unclear structure and waste a chance to tell us about a character. Here it is if it's interesting! I'm up to argue about exactly how they should be handled. Just want to say I read your essay and it's neat. Might refer back to it as I keep working on this revision. (Also glad to know that someone else thinks accounting is a fundamentally overlooked aspect of scifi.  )
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Feb 26, 2015 19:04
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Hungry posted:General question for the thread: does anybody else here suffer from a need to seek approval even when trying to "write with the door closed"? If so, how do you deal with it, what kind of mental tricks or workarounds have you employed? I'm brute forcing my way through the feeling, and often compare current writing with older writing to reassure my brain that it's at least better now than in the past, but I'm certain there must be more productive ways to channel this. As much as scathing critique is helpful, yeah, sometimes I need a little hugbox, too. (I make my spouse read it, he tells me I'm the best ever, and that more than satisfies the ego need and boosts marital harmony.)
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Mar 15, 2015 15:22
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RedTonic posted:I'm toxxing myself to have the second draft of this 102k mess done by March 31st as well. A normal person should be able to edit in that time, right? Ugh, this means I've got two I finally finished the first revisions to my manuscript! Now I'd like to not look at this again for a few weeks. I'd rather not post a public link to the gdoc actually, but if anyone wants to ensure that there are actual words in sentences, I've got plat and can share.  I guess I can volunteer Agent Cooper and Sodacan as witnesses too.
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Mar 25, 2015 02:37
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Screaming Idiot posted:Thankfully, as a body-thieving parasite from another dimension I can live as any variant of human I desire. Unfortunately I've only been a white male, since that's the easiest option. The others keep getting killed or enslaved or otherwise oppressed. I'd read this trade paperback. 
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Mar 30, 2015 14:20
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I had a dream last night that I was gonna forget to sub. I don't wanna fail with a complete entry on my harddrive. Now it's time to change gears to long form again. Does anyone have a rec for a style guide? I'm out of love with Strunk & White.
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Apr 19, 2015 19:35
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Screaming Idiot, your inbox is full. What are you storing in there?
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Apr 20, 2015 16:27
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thehomemaster posted:Meh, this doesn't tell me anything. Seems you came in with an agenda and stuck with it. 50% of your writing is superfluous. Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit. Sorry I gave the impression of having some agenda, I didn't have any intention aside from giving a quick crit. I'll keep your tip in mind.
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Apr 28, 2015 00:38
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angel opportunity posted:Does Scrivener have or plan to have a cloud application? Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no native cloud capability. I do not know if there is any plan for that function, either. You would have to come up with a workaround.
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May 1, 2015 13:40
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Martello posted:Also you can take my italics from me when you kill me. I finally figured out how to change the italics to underline setting for manuscript compilation.  Took me way too long to realize which menu I should have been looking at.As someone who formerly used tons of sticky notes and index cards for organizing story beats, Scrivener is my jam. If you're sick of losing jotted down notes, I think it's one of the best ways to go. I was trying to use google docs in a similar manner, but obviously that can be a pain in the rear end. I just use docs supplementally now.
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May 5, 2015 15:22
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Screaming Idiot posted:
Oh hey, I have more commentary going your way! I've been out of town for a bit and for once couldn't sneak in Internet time. Don't think I've forgotten about you.
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May 12, 2015 14:46
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Hey, Idiot, why did you write three pages about a kid getting ready for school?
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MantisToboggan posted:just write from start to finish, or different pieces at a time? I only have a rough outline in my head. Write the scenes you're motivated to write. But it may be a good idea to actually write your outline down, too, so that between now and getting to those scenes you're less than ready for, you won't forget the beats you intended to hit. It's also worthwhile to sit down and think about why you're not as excited about some scenes.
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Jun 15, 2015 13:14
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The real answer here is apitherapy. But on a serious note, I try to do a lot of free association in the windows of time between lying down and falling asleep, or waking up and getting out of bed, or those gaps in sleep I experience as an insomniac. It can be pretty useful in both generating ideas and motivating oneself to write. Though if you're having a lot of obstructive anxiety, self-care comes first.
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Jul 2, 2015 15:26
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Since we really don't have a non-self-pub thread... Let me share a cautionary tale of complete stupidity. The following events consumed my weekend at a time when I really needed to be doing other poo poo, like squeezing out the rest of this month's Long Walk words and getting my poo poo together to have an overly elaborate wedding ceremony in a language I don't speak. I have a couple of full manuscripts because I love to shart out bad words. I also have some projects with a co-author. He and I participated in a few pitch contests back in June. We got some hits from agents and small presses. One of the small presses is called Pandamoon Publishing. I checked out Pandamoon's website, researched them online, and asked a few people I know who have more experience with small presses than I do (and until recently, my experience level was 0 points). Pandamoon's principals did not seem to have any real prior publishing experience - they certainly weren't naming names if they had worked for publishers or agencies. The CEO, Zara Kramer, describes herself as a serial entrepreneur and marketer. From Linked In, her career looks like it's been mainly heavy industries stuff before she hopped on the small press bandwagon. Their book covers were unimpressive at best. Amazon showed that they (in June 2015) hadn't published anything on Amazon since 2014, and several books were out of print and only available for purchase through other parties. That was a little unnerving to see. Their available covers ranged from amateur to hideous despite promoting their in-house designer(s). I also found word that they've been struggling to hire staff, which isn't a great sign. All this to say that I didn't think they were professional or sufficiently experienced and they were much too young as a company for my tastes. I gave them a pass and moved on to query agents instead. My co-author decided to submit one of our manuscripts, though. He sent a query, synopsis, and partial per Zara's instructions. Within about a week, she requested a full manuscript. That was the last thing we heard for a few weeks -- not unusual at all. Saturday, he received an email from Pandamoon's submissions account notifying him that Pandamoon had set up an account for him at Authors.me and that they had moved his submission materials there. Authors.me hasn't been around for long. They bill themselves as the fastest-growing database of their kind. They are trying to become a one stop shop for agents and editors to peruse queries and manuscripts like Submittable. The site opened for beta testing in December 2014 and has almost no online footprint. I found three sources of information when I went hunting - a speaker list on Publish15, Pandamoon's own social media accounts, and a thread on Absolute Write about Pandamoon. This is how I learned that Pandamoon apparently signed up other authors without any prior notice. We weren't alone! Authors.me's terms of service include the irrevocable, perpetual (and non-exclusive) rights to all content posted to their site, including the ability to sub-license. I'll just quote the relevant bit: Authors.me Terms of Use posted:You hereby grant to Company a nonexclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright and publicity rights you have in the Submissions, in any media now known or not currently known. You agree that Company may store, translate, or re-format your Submissions on the Services and display your Submissions on the Services in any way Company chooses. This is what we were signed up for without our knowledge or consent. My co-author had not explicitly waived any rights in his emails with submissions@pandamoon.com. He had neither received nor signed a contract. Pandamoon moved our materials over to Authors.me for their own convenience without giving any attention to this blatant rights grab. Pandamoon provided our personal information, query letter, synopsis, and full manuscript to Authors.me. When my co-author logged in, he found that he could not delete the account or edit its contents - the options had all been grayed out. He took screenshots of everything. I inquired with other authors who reported that they had been signed up by Pandamoon for Authors.me and found out that the ability to edit accounts had either been completely removed or obscured shortly after one of them started asking Pandamoon and Authors.me on Twitter. My co-author immediately emailed Pandamoon to withdraw our submission from consideration, then emailed the Authors.me contact email to request that his author account be deleted, given that he was signed up without his consent. At this point, I figured Authors.me might gently caress with us, so I started looking into how to file a DMCA takedown and I registered to Absolute Write so I could help corroborate other authors' stories. gently caress it - these guys deserve to have some light shed on them. By Sunday, there were two totally different stories up about why we could not delete our Authors.me accounts. Zara made a blog post on the Pandamoon blog to the effect that account deletion had not been developed for the Authors.me platform and Pandamoon had not been aware of this. Zara also disclosed that Pandamoon is Authors.me's launch partner. @AuthorsQuery, run by David O'Brien (one of the Authors.me founders), claimed that the deletion function had been removed because Authors.me didn't want any authors accidentally deleting their accounts. After all, that meant the authors would have to go through the submission and query process on Authors.me again! David O'Brien started to back down from the Terms of Service quoted above, but as far as I can tell, nothing has changed. He appears to be making good on deleting accounts Pandamoon set up for authors, though I cannot verify right now whether my co-author's account was deleted. I'll follow up here when I can. We have not heard from Zara or Pandamoon since withdrawing our submission. Basically, as someone else put it, Pandamoon indulged a sloppy rights grab from Authors.me for the sake of convenience. Pandamoon's principals apparently did not read Authors.me's terms of service; in general, they neglected to perform reasonable due diligence, and showed poor judgment in disclosing submitters' personal information to a third party. We have their reassurance that only Pandamoon (and, naturally, Authors.me) can see the materials loaded into our accounts, but we do not have any way to confirm this. I do not know how secure Authors.me is, I do not know exactly how much information was shared with them, and I know vanishingly little about their CEO. What I do know is that Pandamoon doesn't behave professionally and probably shouldn't be trusted with unpublished work.
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Jul 27, 2015 16:23
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Keromaru5 posted:Have you contacted Preditors & Editors about them? I haven't, thanks for the reminder. I'm sure someone else has, but more voices can't hurt. Victoria Strauss from Writers Beware seems to know about this, but Writers Beware is on hiatus right now.
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Jul 27, 2015 17:40
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I entered SFF pitch, pitch to pub, and page 70. I had better luck with the first and got some partial requests out of it, which was exciting. One has rejected, two outstanding. I'm concentrating on revising right now instead of querying more. (Also just trying to write faster.) A lot of editors started offering discounts around the tail end of pitch to pub and page 70 pitch, so I get the sense that it's a way to build a client pool for them. Not sure how I feel about that? It's very practical of them, but also feels weird. Actually, Samantha Fountain built a site like Authors.me--Writer Pitch--down to the ToS. I think hers launched earlier, though. Waiting is the worst part. I sulked a bit after my first rejections but it also felt kinda cool because even a form R is an acknowledgment. e: Didn't want to double post but here's an update - received a response this morning (7/29) from yourfriends@authors.me by David O'Brien that he is in the process of removing our materials and deleting our account. POOL IS CLOSED fucked around with this message at 15:11 on Jul 29, 2015 |
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Jul 28, 2015 02:59
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Varicelli posted:can someone direct me to somewhere I can ask for critique You've got the Farm megathread here for short pieces, otherwise, make a new thread with a link to a shared Google doc of your work. Use a Google doc link so you can revoke access when/if needed. If you post your work into a thread, you might not get around to moving it before your thread is archived. Also, participate in Thunderdome.
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Oct 26, 2015 14:12
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flosofl posted:So, like a clip-reel. Should I make sure to put the flash-back in italics? Italicize it and -- this important -- add doggerel between every couple of paragraphs. Readers love that poo poo.
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Nov 2, 2015 19:51
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NiffStipples posted:Questions! Please look at Mag7's posting history regarding his novel and take that as a guide to determine the kilos of salt you take his publishing advice with. Mag, you're totally well-meaning... But your judgment on publishing matters is pretty suspect. Skim this thread for gems from General Battuta, who was just traditionally published. You may want to take a look in the Self-Pub thread as well; obviously it's oriented towards going your own way, but it's much more business-oriented than the FA thread. When I re-up on Plat, feel free to PM me as well -- I am going through the querying process on a couple of novels and we can at least commiserate and swap tips. There are not many posters here querying novel-length work at this time.
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Nov 5, 2015 17:13
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ravenkult posted:I'm gonna put out a soft recommend for those Twitter pitch events that happen now and then Yeah, these can be good; just, as ever, do your due diligence with any agents or publishers who show interest. Not all of them are worth your time! You can check back on some of my posts in here for a bad experience with Pandamoon. Querytracker is great, by the way. I check it regularly.
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Nov 6, 2015 14:22
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NiffStipples posted:If I'm querying for my 4 book series, would it be better to write the query based on the entire 4 book series, or should I write them as one book at a time? For your reference, my first book's major plot line comes to a tidy resolution, save for a few Chekhov's Gun plot devices that are used throughout books 2-4. One book at a time. It's good that the first book comes to a clean resolution. The "one book" thing is because as a new author, nobody knows whether or not your first book will make enough sales to warrant picking you up again for sequels.
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Nov 9, 2015 15:08
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General Battuta posted:100k is perfectly reasonable for a first time author, especially in fantasy. I've gotten responses from agents indicating otherwise, so... 
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Dec 7, 2015 15:19
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Narrative maps are good. They help stuff gel when even outlines fail.
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Dec 30, 2015 05:07
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Those of you who are researching publishers and agents, Preditors & Editors hasn't been consistently updated since around 2014. The project was taken over by Andrew Burt after the founder passed away. Seems like he's had his hands full with his other work. If you can't find a name on there, make sure to check QueryTracker and other sources. Writer Beware is a good one for businesses who behave badly, too.
POOL IS CLOSED fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Jan 8, 2016 |
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Jan 8, 2016 17:18
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An agent's solicited a query from me for a manuscript I don't really like and now I'm nervous. 
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Feb 15, 2016 01:39
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CaptainCrunch posted:Jut out of curiosity, and because I wasn't able to determine if it's been mentioned yet in this thread, has anyone had any experience with or opinions on authors.me? Filter this thread by my posts. It's bullshit and it doesn't fill any niche besides the site's operators separating people from their money. Don't participate. hth
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Mar 3, 2016 21:32
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