4049: Debris
Letter to unknown drummer, from Paul McCartney
This [Ryan Estrada's comment] is somewhat my mentality behind a lot of what I do, and why I'm a little annoyed but ultimately not THAT disappointed I keep getting rejected for things like Machine of Death [though I would've been proud to be part of a book that pissed off Glenn Beck].
[[really one of several, since Keith Richards's did the same]]
[[[but still]]]
The important thing is that even trying and failing isn't the complete loss people always think it is. I turned my would-have-been-terrible-in-MoD-1 story I ended up hating into a significantly-improved-as-a-novel story that I really like. I wrote two stories that impressed the hell out of the actual writer of the editors, save some expected, easily remedied novice mistakes [see below for explanation]. Failure is simply another step in the process of refinement.
It just feels really bad sometimes [re: job thing again, but you're aware of that].
I've been having a tough time drawing of late, because I can't sit still for two minutes, seems like. I start drawing, then I think of something, then I'm Internetting, then this is me T_T The most I've been able to sit down and finish what I start is when I finally started picking up the odds and ends around the house that never got done, like these sewing jobs I kept out as a reminder but never got around to doing until my eyes hurt from computering and that seemed like the best thing to do. Even laundry, I usually forget about for what reason or other until three hours after the cycle's done [and my laundry has been sopping wet for as long], but largely because laundry isn't really something I keep at until it's done--most of it is waiting.
Well, I guess it's difficult to stop vacuuming in the middle once I start. I haven't done that since the last Shmupmeet, though, even though there are a few odd places that could use it. Part of the problem is stuff in the way, though, which is part of what I've been trying to remedy.
I also KEEP getting story ideas! For MoD! I can't do anything with them now! |=( or, nothing productive, at least. I may as well work on Neopet Comics if I'm going to do that, 'cause at least I get closer to the NT avatar with each submission they use 9_9 The next MoD book most likely won't be taking submissions for another four years or so, given the space between volumes 1 and 2...
Granted, four years is a good amount of time to spend revising, but I have other shit to do in the meantime... T_T
But... for all the ideas I get, it's difficult to come up with really good "breakout" stories. Like, one of the recurring mistakes I see in other rejected stories I've read is
I'm not even talking about MoD stories, either. I'm struggling on my current Nano novel, Claim to Fame, because it just doesn't stand out. I don't have any idea of who the characters are, to the point where I barely know any of their names until I pick them out of a hat. What am I really writing, besides a thinly-veiled chronicle of my own, not interesting life? [I'm not describing what I'm writing for a number of reasons, including that saying it's based on certain real events might get me in trouble.] I don't know what the moral is besides a heavy-handed "Celebrities are people, too" that is largely anecdotes and what I perceive and [aforementioned things that would get me in trouble]. What am I doing to make it NOT another Twilight novel but without sparkling vampires and werewolves with hot abs?
[rhetorical question, 'cause none of you know what I wrote, maybe never will]
This is what I learned from writing for MoD2: There's more to writing than just surprising people once. The initial reaction is important, but the Fridge reaction is even more important for various reasons. In the aforementioned rejected story, there wasn't even a good initial reaction. In my good rejected story, there was a good initial reaction, but it felt bloated on repeated readings [which is why I felt it wasn't up to snuff, but now I realize I was trying too hard--OOPS--to get in elements that didn't add anything]. In my bad rejected story, the initial read was crap, and its sensical resolution came too late to redeem the story [and re-reads just emphasized the contrivances].
It's tricky, and I do find myself glazing over others' stories [and posts, even] as a result. If I skim and don't see the meat, it feels like it's not worth paying closer attention. I don't know if it's this:
...well, no, it's not. That comic's just insulting, really >=' As though becoming an author = never reading another book again! Or putting out a book = market saturation, as though everyone and their grandmothers' books suddenly fill Barnes & Noble's shelves. They buy the ones most likely to sell, ya know! They don't just appear there just because they're on Amazon!
[Why is he watching Amazon on the telly, anyway?]
[[OH DAT SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF]]
[[[pfffff]]]
Anyway, yes, it's difficult to write to get attention, because it's supposed to be so easy to write. Ease of production DOES convert to saturation, but that's why the importance of breaking out, making a title that stands out on teh Amazon and etc. I've said this before, but that's why I find Nano's failure to emphasize the "NaNoEditMo" portion of the project that they did when I started in 2005 disappointing. Just creating is hard, but creating for success is ridiculously hard.
Unless you're a genius [and I'm not] =p
Anyway WOW I GOT NOTHING DONE TODAY T_T Yup, I'm sure breaking out of dat rut... -_-
This [Ryan Estrada's comment] is somewhat my mentality behind a lot of what I do, and why I'm a little annoyed but ultimately not THAT disappointed I keep getting rejected for things like Machine of Death [though I would've been proud to be part of a book that pissed off Glenn Beck].
[[really one of several, since Keith Richards's did the same]]
[[[but still]]]
The important thing is that even trying and failing isn't the complete loss people always think it is. I turned my would-have-been-terrible-in-MoD-1 story I ended up hating into a significantly-improved-as-a-novel story that I really like. I wrote two stories that impressed the hell out of the actual writer of the editors, save some expected, easily remedied novice mistakes [see below for explanation]. Failure is simply another step in the process of refinement.
It just feels really bad sometimes [re: job thing again, but you're aware of that].
I've been having a tough time drawing of late, because I can't sit still for two minutes, seems like. I start drawing, then I think of something, then I'm Internetting, then this is me T_T The most I've been able to sit down and finish what I start is when I finally started picking up the odds and ends around the house that never got done, like these sewing jobs I kept out as a reminder but never got around to doing until my eyes hurt from computering and that seemed like the best thing to do. Even laundry, I usually forget about for what reason or other until three hours after the cycle's done [and my laundry has been sopping wet for as long], but largely because laundry isn't really something I keep at until it's done--most of it is waiting.
Well, I guess it's difficult to stop vacuuming in the middle once I start. I haven't done that since the last Shmupmeet, though, even though there are a few odd places that could use it. Part of the problem is stuff in the way, though, which is part of what I've been trying to remedy.
I also KEEP getting story ideas! For MoD! I can't do anything with them now! |=( or, nothing productive, at least. I may as well work on Neopet Comics if I'm going to do that, 'cause at least I get closer to the NT avatar with each submission they use 9_9 The next MoD book most likely won't be taking submissions for another four years or so, given the space between volumes 1 and 2...
Granted, four years is a good amount of time to spend revising, but I have other shit to do in the meantime... T_T
But... for all the ideas I get, it's difficult to come up with really good "breakout" stories. Like, one of the recurring mistakes I see in other rejected stories I've read is
- Start with really awesome-sounding prediction,
- Write how it resolves,
- In a surprise twist [that isn't].
I'm not even talking about MoD stories, either. I'm struggling on my current Nano novel, Claim to Fame, because it just doesn't stand out. I don't have any idea of who the characters are, to the point where I barely know any of their names until I pick them out of a hat. What am I really writing, besides a thinly-veiled chronicle of my own, not interesting life? [I'm not describing what I'm writing for a number of reasons, including that saying it's based on certain real events might get me in trouble.] I don't know what the moral is besides a heavy-handed "Celebrities are people, too" that is largely anecdotes and what I perceive and [aforementioned things that would get me in trouble]. What am I doing to make it NOT another Twilight novel but without sparkling vampires and werewolves with hot abs?
[rhetorical question, 'cause none of you know what I wrote, maybe never will]
This is what I learned from writing for MoD2: There's more to writing than just surprising people once. The initial reaction is important, but the Fridge reaction is even more important for various reasons. In the aforementioned rejected story, there wasn't even a good initial reaction. In my good rejected story, there was a good initial reaction, but it felt bloated on repeated readings [which is why I felt it wasn't up to snuff, but now I realize I was trying too hard--OOPS--to get in elements that didn't add anything]. In my bad rejected story, the initial read was crap, and its sensical resolution came too late to redeem the story [and re-reads just emphasized the contrivances].
It's tricky, and I do find myself glazing over others' stories [and posts, even] as a result. If I skim and don't see the meat, it feels like it's not worth paying closer attention. I don't know if it's this:
...well, no, it's not. That comic's just insulting, really >=' As though becoming an author = never reading another book again! Or putting out a book = market saturation, as though everyone and their grandmothers' books suddenly fill Barnes & Noble's shelves. They buy the ones most likely to sell, ya know! They don't just appear there just because they're on Amazon!
[Why is he watching Amazon on the telly, anyway?]
[[OH DAT SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF]]
[[[pfffff]]]
Anyway, yes, it's difficult to write to get attention, because it's supposed to be so easy to write. Ease of production DOES convert to saturation, but that's why the importance of breaking out, making a title that stands out on teh Amazon and etc. I've said this before, but that's why I find Nano's failure to emphasize the "NaNoEditMo" portion of the project that they did when I started in 2005 disappointing. Just creating is hard, but creating for success is ridiculously hard.
Unless you're a genius [and I'm not] =p
Anyway WOW I GOT NOTHING DONE TODAY T_T Yup, I'm sure breaking out of dat rut... -_-