(no subject)
AAARGH.
I have a short story to revise by Wednesday. I do not actually like the story very much. I know how to fix some of the problems in it, but not all of them.
Specifically, I really don't have a clue who my main character really is. All I know is that he's in his late twenties working for a literary magazine in New York and he went to Columbia for journalism. I don't know anything about what makes him tick, and I'm beginning to realize that the problem is that I don't know where he is. I've never physically been to the places he's been to, they're just names for me. I'm so worried about screwing up New York, but I'm also worried about screwing up anything beyond Columbia-journalism-grad-twentysomething-literary-editor, because I don't know anything about who he is or how he got there. People ask me questions about him and I can't answer them. I don't know what your motivation might be to do what he's done. Or rather, I know what my motivation might be for something like this, but I've already gotten enough criticism about his character sounding too much like me (most of the criticism is entirely deserved).
And this was supposed to be a challenge -- a chance for me to write outside my comfort zone -- a chance for me to work on two things I never do: writing a short short story, and writing from a male POV. The two critiques I got most frequently? "It needs to be fleshed out" (aka made longer) and "He sounds like a girl."
Now, of course I was expecting this. That's what happens when you try to move outside your comfort zone -- it's not easy. But what annoys me is that they just told me these things weren't so good, and didn't really give me any useful advice about how to fix them.
I have a short story revision due on Wednesday, and no desire to ever touch the thing again. Maybe I should just get back to writing mammoth short stories about women my age (or younger). Maybe this out-of-comfort-zone thing has taught me something I didn't want it to.
I have a short story to revise by Wednesday. I do not actually like the story very much. I know how to fix some of the problems in it, but not all of them.
Specifically, I really don't have a clue who my main character really is. All I know is that he's in his late twenties working for a literary magazine in New York and he went to Columbia for journalism. I don't know anything about what makes him tick, and I'm beginning to realize that the problem is that I don't know where he is. I've never physically been to the places he's been to, they're just names for me. I'm so worried about screwing up New York, but I'm also worried about screwing up anything beyond Columbia-journalism-grad-twentysomething-literary-editor, because I don't know anything about who he is or how he got there. People ask me questions about him and I can't answer them. I don't know what your motivation might be to do what he's done. Or rather, I know what my motivation might be for something like this, but I've already gotten enough criticism about his character sounding too much like me (most of the criticism is entirely deserved).
And this was supposed to be a challenge -- a chance for me to write outside my comfort zone -- a chance for me to work on two things I never do: writing a short short story, and writing from a male POV. The two critiques I got most frequently? "It needs to be fleshed out" (aka made longer) and "He sounds like a girl."
Now, of course I was expecting this. That's what happens when you try to move outside your comfort zone -- it's not easy. But what annoys me is that they just told me these things weren't so good, and didn't really give me any useful advice about how to fix them.
I have a short story revision due on Wednesday, and no desire to ever touch the thing again. Maybe I should just get back to writing mammoth short stories about women my age (or younger). Maybe this out-of-comfort-zone thing has taught me something I didn't want it to.