workshop adultery department
Just now catching up on my Interzone reading. Enjoying the Domonic Green special, in particular his story 'Glister'.
Since I've applied myself to critiquing I've come to notice that in terms of on-line groups, the On-line Writers Group tends to have a much higher standard off submissions and critiques than Critters. I still appreciate the help I've had through critters, and I'll still use them, but I'm starting to feel more at home on the OWW. The good thing about Critters is the folks there who will give me detailed spelling and grammar corrections on my manuscript. At OWW, people will generally pick me up about plot points and/or other structural things which is very important too. I'm enjoying being promiscuous, in other words.
In other news, I've completed a hard slog of a rewrite on a short story, and have another one which I'll start on what most likely will be a hungover sunday. After that, I have several mild rewrites to complete and then I'll take a look in my notebook to see if any of the late night fragments I've written here and there need to be dug up and brushed off and sent out into the real world.
Still not happy with the Halloween flash piece.
Next year I want to consciously take a break from the kind of stories I've been writing and see if I can hit a sweet spot elsewhere. More exotic milieu's, more ambition in terms of world building. This year has been mostly about admiring M. John Harrison and Ramsay Campbell and being very English, and several stories feel like progressions on a broad theme that frankly I've pretty much plundered.
Since I've applied myself to critiquing I've come to notice that in terms of on-line groups, the On-line Writers Group tends to have a much higher standard off submissions and critiques than Critters. I still appreciate the help I've had through critters, and I'll still use them, but I'm starting to feel more at home on the OWW. The good thing about Critters is the folks there who will give me detailed spelling and grammar corrections on my manuscript. At OWW, people will generally pick me up about plot points and/or other structural things which is very important too. I'm enjoying being promiscuous, in other words.
In other news, I've completed a hard slog of a rewrite on a short story, and have another one which I'll start on what most likely will be a hungover sunday. After that, I have several mild rewrites to complete and then I'll take a look in my notebook to see if any of the late night fragments I've written here and there need to be dug up and brushed off and sent out into the real world.
Still not happy with the Halloween flash piece.
Next year I want to consciously take a break from the kind of stories I've been writing and see if I can hit a sweet spot elsewhere. More exotic milieu's, more ambition in terms of world building. This year has been mostly about admiring M. John Harrison and Ramsay Campbell and being very English, and several stories feel like progressions on a broad theme that frankly I've pretty much plundered.