I is a writer?
When I first started trying to develop my writing skills to actually write fiction, I never thought it would actually work. After all I've tried many many things creatively but all failed because basically I'm too much a perfectionist and want to do it in one take.
This however I think is the outlet I've always wanted. Why the @*#(@$*$# is it, I learn of these things too late? I could have been doing this since high school.
Humpfs.
No sense crying over split milk however.
Anyway, I started with a synopsis of several old old stories at the my local writing guild, and one took hold. Code named: TLC, started, stopped, agonized over, re-wrote the prolog about 8 times. (your talking about 4,000+ words re-writing) and finally shelved it. But when I decided to get it done before the 1st anniversary of my local writer's guild (the one that started this.) I sat down re-read all the old plots, and merged a bunch together into a really good prolog. I'm pleased on how it's coming out. It has an 1800s feel too it, while the other part is modern. Now even at the 1st anniversary, it won't be done. This will be stage 1 draft. But the core of it's finished.
Stage 2 will involve me adding new stuff such as sensory data, character descriptions, and anything else.
Stage 3 is basically all the T's dotted, and I's crossed. Whereby then I'll have to see about submitting it. It's now about 8000 words long (around 60 8.5"x11" double-spaced pages.)
The biggest problem is; where to publish it? It can't go to Asimov, or Analog, since it's not sci-fi. I have no clue at the moment, but if you can help I'd appreciate it. It's a christmas story, with a ghost twist.
Anyway, this has really energized me. Not only have I got one nearly-completed story, but a 2nd one I started at a whim; code named "SW" is actually working. For four months I've been sort of going in circles with it, but in the last two weeks I learned some valuable tips that got me back on the right path, and today and yesterday I finally fully mapped out the complete SW. This will help me finally get this story to stage 1 draft by 31 December.
After this story, I'm not totally sure what to do. I've been considering several:
I've got a goal that at least one will be on paper in 2013, for a paid one however, I cannot guarantee when that'll happen. But at least I'm optimistic it will happen.
If you'd like to be a proof reader for any story, drop me a note at: shadwalk@gmail.com and I'll send you stage 2 drafts.
Oh of all people, I need to thank frosttalon for his help in starting me. I just needed a vision to start this. His brilliant stories (My first uplift ones) was all I needed to actually see what I was envisioning. "In the Beginning", and "She's a Lady" and it just took off from there.
- Shado
This however I think is the outlet I've always wanted. Why the @*#(@$*$# is it, I learn of these things too late? I could have been doing this since high school.
Humpfs.
No sense crying over split milk however.
Anyway, I started with a synopsis of several old old stories at the my local writing guild, and one took hold. Code named: TLC, started, stopped, agonized over, re-wrote the prolog about 8 times. (your talking about 4,000+ words re-writing) and finally shelved it. But when I decided to get it done before the 1st anniversary of my local writer's guild (the one that started this.) I sat down re-read all the old plots, and merged a bunch together into a really good prolog. I'm pleased on how it's coming out. It has an 1800s feel too it, while the other part is modern. Now even at the 1st anniversary, it won't be done. This will be stage 1 draft. But the core of it's finished.
Stage 2 will involve me adding new stuff such as sensory data, character descriptions, and anything else.
Stage 3 is basically all the T's dotted, and I's crossed. Whereby then I'll have to see about submitting it. It's now about 8000 words long (around 60 8.5"x11" double-spaced pages.)
The biggest problem is; where to publish it? It can't go to Asimov, or Analog, since it's not sci-fi. I have no clue at the moment, but if you can help I'd appreciate it. It's a christmas story, with a ghost twist.
Anyway, this has really energized me. Not only have I got one nearly-completed story, but a 2nd one I started at a whim; code named "SW" is actually working. For four months I've been sort of going in circles with it, but in the last two weeks I learned some valuable tips that got me back on the right path, and today and yesterday I finally fully mapped out the complete SW. This will help me finally get this story to stage 1 draft by 31 December.
After this story, I'm not totally sure what to do. I've been considering several:
- Code name: TM - One I made into stage 1 draft around 1996 a fantasy/mythology story
- Code name: H - another re-write, and one of my first 'uplift' stories
- Code name: LBF is one I started about 10 years ago, but lost the near-1st stage draft! I still have the outline in my head but never tried to re-write it. It was going to be for Flinthoof (Flinter's) fanzine. That is still an option but we'll see.
- Code Name: ADA2015: Another sci-fi one, but it is purely human based.
- Code name: OMD: Another fantasy one that I showed the synopsis to the local writing guild. They like it, but it not only hit a brick wall, it fell off a 1,000 meter cliff. :\
- Code name: TGR: Another pure human sci-fi story. I got this idea from my 2nd writer's guild meeting.
- Lastly I've had a story series in mind for a VERY long time. One of my great passions, aside from uplift is time travel and history. So (CODE NAME: BPS) is my idea for a time-tourism story series. Basically it involves a time traveler ping-ponging back and forth though history, and the reader is shown where he ends up, and sees the historical event though his eyes. (Like landing just weeks before the Kennedy assassination, he'll be there in that plaza for example.)
I've got a goal that at least one will be on paper in 2013, for a paid one however, I cannot guarantee when that'll happen. But at least I'm optimistic it will happen.
If you'd like to be a proof reader for any story, drop me a note at: shadwalk@gmail.com and I'll send you stage 2 drafts.
Oh of all people, I need to thank frosttalon for his help in starting me. I just needed a vision to start this. His brilliant stories (My first uplift ones) was all I needed to actually see what I was envisioning. "In the Beginning", and "She's a Lady" and it just took off from there.
- Shado