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mary rosenblum
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Hello all!
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mary rosenblum
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Welcome to our Friday After
Hours!
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question'
button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the
screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me!
Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if
that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you all had a chance to
join me last night as we visited with Jay Lake, Editor of Polyphony.
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mary rosenblum
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He was a lot of fun and had a
lot to offer on the subject of slipstream fiction.
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paja
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Jay Lake was a tremendous
encouragement. Most of my stuff is a mix of genre.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, he was.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe me, fiction covers a
wide spectrum.
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patchworkcat
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I followed the link he gave and
read the story he said was inspired by those orange butterflies on the
snow. Good story!
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mary rosenblum
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I had some questions about
character driven fiction from a regular...
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mary rosenblum
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and he made a good point. I
use the term a lot...
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mary rosenblum
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and like many terms in
writing, it becomes so familiar that I forget that some people may not...
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mary rosenblum
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really understsand what
'character driven' means.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question'
button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the
screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me!
Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send bar if
that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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'Character driven' means that
the character conflict drives the plot, rather...
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mary rosenblum
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than the external conflict.
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mary rosenblum
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Fiction can have a: an
external plot only. b: an external and internal plot c: an internal plot
only.
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mary rosenblum
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In novels, we nearly always
find b...internal and external plots, usually several, when you count main
and sub plots.
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mary rosenblum
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In short fiction it varies.
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mary rosenblum
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An action adventure
story...much as you'd find in a comic book...might be strictly external.
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mary rosenblum
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Spiderman beats The Penguin.
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mary rosenblum
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In most genre fiction, you
find both an internal and external and one may dominate the other.
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mary rosenblum
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In 'Analog Magazine' for
example, the external plot often dominates...
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mary rosenblum
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since it is a hard science
fiction magazine where the science fiction is the most important part.
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mary rosenblum
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Same thing in mystery, where
the mystery plot needs to be the most important part of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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But in mainstream, for
example, there is often little external plot...no major crises...
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mary rosenblum
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and it is the conflict between
characters that provides the dramatic tension.
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mary rosenblum
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there may be littl external
conflict at all...
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mary rosenblum
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the story might take place on
a bus ride, or at the dinner table.
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patchworkcat
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Could you give an example of
each?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure patch.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's start with the external
plot-driven story.
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mary rosenblum
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Our POV character has been
transported back to the era of the dinosaurs in a time machine...
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mary rosenblum
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and must survive and find a
way to get back to the present.
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mary rosenblum
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That character is busy finding
ways to survive being eaten, maybe keep a small group of other people
alive, basically reacting to the situation.
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mary rosenblum
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That's an external plot.
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mary rosenblum
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The story is 'driven' by the
danger of the moment, by the need to find a way back to the present, by
plot elements in other words. It is a plot driven story...
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mary rosenblum
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and we don't really have to
know the POV intimately, just enough that we're willing to cheer him or her
on.
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mary rosenblum
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Hollywood does this a lot.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, the opposite...the
completely character driven story.
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mary rosenblum
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We have two sisters on a tour.
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mary rosenblum
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And as they wander through
museums, they face a conflict as one wishes to talk about their abusive
father...
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mary rosenblum
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and the other does not. Our
POV character must either find a way to deal with the issue or she will
lose her sister forever.
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mary rosenblum
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The moment of climax might be
when that POV sister realizes that she is making a mistake and backs down.
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mary rosenblum
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It is the conflict within the
POV character...her need to talk about this even if it costs her her
sister...that drives the story. There IS no external threat.
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mary rosenblum
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Our 'middle ground' might be a
mystery where our POV solves the murder, and at the same time perhaps
settles the ghost of his domineering father.
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mary rosenblum
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In this example, the murder
plot would dominate, but the characater conflict of dealing with the past
would be a strong second.
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coway
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so to put it different, does
that mean an action plot is same as plot driven?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it might be part of the
character/action combination, coway.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of SF for example, has
an external SFnal plot and a character plot.
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klr
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What if the conflict is within
the character?
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mary rosenblum
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It often is, KLR. It might be
our character's need to realize that she has closed of other people and is
lonely.
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mary rosenblum
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The resolution of that
internal conflict would be the moment when she finds a way to reach out to
others.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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It is indeed harder to write
character driven fiction than plot driven fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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In a plot driven story, you
can create vivid character that we don't really have to know very well.
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mary rosenblum
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If we have a Young, Handsome,
Nice Hero, we're cheering for him as he tries to save his family from
tigers. No problem.
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mary rosenblum
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We don't have to know him very
well.
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mary rosenblum
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But if Nothing Happens, then
we have to know the POV character well enough and care enough about that
person to find real conflict in that internal problem.
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mary rosenblum
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The ideal balance, in my
opinion, is the story with a strong plot, but with a character conflict
that matters to the reader.
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mary rosenblum
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That is, of course, what I try
to do with about 90% of my fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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And judging by the reader and
award response...it works.
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, a few pros and
myself did a poll of readers at the recent Austin, TX con.
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mary rosenblum
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We asked the readers..the
audience...what they wanted from a good story.
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mary rosenblum
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And they unanimously said
characters they could care about.
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speckledorf
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When creating characters readers
love...what is the main way to do this? Do we give them faults that readers
can identify with or something else?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep, speck...and not just
faults.
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mary rosenblum
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Ask youself...why am I friends
with...[fill in the blank]?
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mary rosenblum
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Why is this person a friend
and that person merely an acquaintance?
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mary rosenblum
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Hmmm?
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mary rosenblum
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WE find points of similarity
in our friends...
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mary rosenblum
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and things we can admire...
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mary rosenblum
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we can understand each other.
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curseofthe44
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What do the majority of editors
prefer, character or plot driven?
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mary rosenblum
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Nearly every editor I know
(and Jay is actually an exception...he LOVES style)...wants character
driven fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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It is pretty rare, because it
is HARD to do.
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hedwig
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So a character in a
"character driven story" needs a lot of depth, be they a good guy
or bad guy?
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mary rosenblum
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What they need are 'velcro
attributes' hedwig.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember...we need to find
things we can identify with, things we can share (oh, I KNOW what you mean)
and things we can admire.
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mary rosenblum
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So the more traits you give
your character...trivial and major...the more 'velcro points' that
character has.
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mary rosenblum
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Let's take Darin.
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mary rosenblum
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He's a college basketball star
(we admire that) who now helps inner city kids succeed through sports (we
admire that), and he has a hard time keeping his credit card balance down
(lots of folk can wince and recognize that problem), and he loves ice cream
and thinks he's a hot barbecue cook...
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mary rosenblum
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and his girl friend is always
on him about his messy apartment...
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mary rosenblum
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I could go on with lots of
other traits, but these things are likely to 'stick' to a wide variety of
readers. He loves dogs...hey, I can identify with that!
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mary rosenblum
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He is a bad
housekeeper...maybe I can't, but lots of readers will...that sort of thing.
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mary rosenblum
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Every time we think "I'm
with you there...' we feel more strongly that this guy could be a friend.
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curseofthe44
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But short fiction usually
doesn't allow the word count for lengthy character description. So, then
what?
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mary rosenblum
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But you don't do this in
lengthy char. description. Not even in novel form.
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mary rosenblum
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Lengthy character description
is narrative...YOUR voice...and boring.
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mary rosenblum
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You simply let the character
SHOW his traits to us.
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mary rosenblum
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In one scene you could have
our POV finish a pickup game with a bunch of street kids, take a few out
for ice cream, meet his girlfriend who gets on his case...
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mary rosenblum
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for putting the charge on his
credit card and asks him if he's cleaned up his apartment yet.
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mary rosenblum
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We're talking maybe half to
three quarters of a page and you have a LOT about this character, plus an
idea of what his relationship with the girlfriend is like.
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mary rosenblum
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And NO telling.
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hedwig
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So that is why quirky characters
are often so endearing to readers!
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mary rosenblum
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Quirky characters are
interesting. They are fun. Most of us secretly wish we dared be more
'quirky'. :-) BUT...
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realityczech
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But what about the oddball
character that ISN"T like the majority of other people? How do we make
readers relate to him?
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mary rosenblum
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That's the 'but'.... we have
to identify with that quirky character, too.
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mary rosenblum
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So along with the
quirks...good or bad...he or she has some 'human normal traits'.
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mary rosenblum
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Quirky can love cats.
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mary rosenblum
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Quirky can be scared of mice.
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mary rosenblum
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Or snakes.
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mary rosenblum
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In the old Indiana Jones
movies, his fear of snakes was a clever thing on the part of the
screenwriter.
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mary rosenblum
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Indiana Jones was such a
superhero that who could identify with him well? But fear of snakes...that
makes him VERY human and we either feel a bit superior (_Im_ not scared!)
or we identify with him. (BRRR, me, too).
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hedwig
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I was thinking of Anne Tyler who
has made a living out of writing novels about quirky people.
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mary rosenblum
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But Anne Tyler's people do
just that...
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mary rosenblum
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we can smile at them because
they are SO wacky...and enjoy them while feeling a sneaky little pleasure
that we are more functional...
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mary rosenblum
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or find a familiar attribute
that lets us think...yeah, I'm kind of that way, too. How cool.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
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It's all about identification.
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mary rosenblum
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And TELLING the reader about
your character will NOT do it. Ever.
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mary rosenblum
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I can tell you about my friend
Jane and how she is a great dog trainer and a perfectionist housekeeper...
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mary rosenblum
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and has this boyfriend
problem...and do you feel as if you know her? Is she your friend?
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mary rosenblum
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Nah. You're probably not even
paying a whole lot of attention to what I am saying. You might be busy
planning what you're gonig to do tomorrow.
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mary rosenblum
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Same thing in fiction.
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klr
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What about the bad guys? Do
readers need to identigy...
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klr
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with them?
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mary rosenblum
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klr, this is one of the most
wonderful challenges in fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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Most bad guys are cardboard.
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mary rosenblum
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They are SO evil they are two
dimensional. We don't identify with 'em and we sure don't want to .
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mary rosenblum
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And if you can sort of sneak
in under the radar and make the reader suddenly, uncomfortably aware that
this person really is..well...gasp...sort of like me...
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mary rosenblum
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you will make your reader VERY
uncomfortable and they will NOT forget you.
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realityczech
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But if you show Jane's
frustration over her own pet's accident on her snow white sofa, we might
start to feel a little sympathy (along with a little "serves her
right"), right?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, the reader who cares
about the perfect house is feeling VERY sympathetic. The reader who is a
pet owner whose house is covered in dog hair is rolling his eyes. :-)
You'll have to snag THAT reader later...
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mary rosenblum
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when Jane is devastated by a
pet's illness. See? Many different tiny attributes snag a wide range of
readers.
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t green
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do you mean when you make your
reader care about your bad guy, your reader won't forget you in a Good way
or in a Bad way?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it doesn't seem to keep
them from reading you. I pull that off every so often and yeah, I have fans
who accost me at conferences and kind of grumble at me for it. BUt I notice
they also bring me more stuff to sign. :-)
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lbaggins
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If you get your ideas from your
life for your writing, why
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lbaggins
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is it not good to adapt a story
to a real life event?
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mary rosenblum
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There is nothing inherently
wrong with donig that, and actually, most fiction has at least an indirect
connection with real life. We DO write what we know.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT..that said.
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mary rosenblum
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Real life events can really
restrict your fiction. When you are creating that delicate balance of
character, plot, and setting...
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mary rosenblum
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real events simply may not
maintain that balance. An actual event may be too 'over the top' for the
story to work. We have a saying -- 'Truth is no excuse for fiction'.
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mary rosenblum
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Most of the 'factual' personal
narratives out there are seriously tweaked. :-)
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lbaggins
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How do I get my mind out of that
mode,?I'm stuck...
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mary rosenblum
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Reality, you mean?
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mary rosenblum
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For some people, fiction is
simply 'lying' and they can't do it.
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mary rosenblum
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It may help to simply start
with a character.
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mary rosenblum
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If you create a person you
know well enough to call a friend...
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mary rosenblum
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you know this person's
history, problems, desires, dreams, fears...
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mary rosenblum
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put them into that 'real'
story and if you let that person do what he or she would really do...
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mary rosenblum
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you will have a fictional
story because that character will change your plot.
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mary rosenblum
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A GREAT exercise that I give
to workshop groups a lot....
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mary rosenblum
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Is to write a scene using a
particular character. Make it a long enough action scene that we get a good
sense of that person.
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mary rosenblum
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Now create a dramatically
different character and plug that character into the same scene.
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mary rosenblum
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That scene will have to change
becuase the new character won't react to events the same way.
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mary rosenblum
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This is why you don't have to
fear for idea theft.
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mary rosenblum
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Another exercise I do is to
give the participants the exact same story plot...
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mary rosenblum
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only they each create their
own characters. The stories end up VASTLY different...
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mary rosenblum
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even though the plot outline
is identical.
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lbaggins
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Yes, reality...I can't get my
mind off of what I'm going thr
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mary rosenblum
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Everyone is different, but I
have to say that my reaction to tough times in real life is a profound
desire to start a new story.
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mary rosenblum
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Me, I go play in my fictional
universes and I can forget about whatever looms on the real life horizon.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing with character
driven fiction...
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mary rosenblum
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is to know your character very
well.
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mary rosenblum
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It's the old iceberg thing
again.
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mary rosenblum
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Your knowlege of your
character is the iceberg. Only the tip shows up in the story, but you need
the rest of it to float that tip.
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paja
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If you could have a backlog
which would you prefer and why: characters or plots?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, plots are EASY.
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mary rosenblum
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I can think up a plot to suit
any story.
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mary rosenblum
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But characters take
longer...because I have to know them deeply enough to know what problem
they need to solve...
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mary rosenblum
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and when I do, then a plot
usually pops into being.
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klr
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Is their a difference in a story
in which the plot is...
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klr
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developed first and the one in
which the charac...
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klr
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is developed first?
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mary rosenblum
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Good question, klr, and yes
there is.
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mary rosenblum
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When I started writing, I
mostly did characters first and found a plot where they could solve their
problems.
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mary rosenblum
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Now I often come up with a
plot first.
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mary rosenblum
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And one benefit to starting
with a plot is that you then know what kind of character you need...
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mary rosenblum
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and can evolve a character who
really can work for that plot.
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mary rosenblum
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If you begin with a character
and try to involve that character in a plot that won't solve his or her
internal problem...
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mary rosenblum
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that character simply won't
work.
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realityczech
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(Sorry to jump off topic for a
minute) My critique group meets tomorrow morning, and we had a question for
you: If one publisher asks for a synopsis, and another asks for a plot
summary, is there a difference, or is it simply a matter of semantics?
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mary rosenblum
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I would say that's a semantic
difference, reality. Basically, they want to know what the story is about,
if it has a beginning, strong middle, end and a good dramatic arc.
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mary rosenblum
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As long as you get that
across, what you call it isn't important.
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mary rosenblum
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Editors are not testing you
about your knowlege of vocabulary.
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mary rosenblum
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They are in the business of
publishing stories that sell.
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mary rosenblum
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All they want to know is...can
you tell a story? Your plot summary answers that question, whether you call
it a summary or a synopsis.
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mary rosenblum
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Now various books and articles
will give you very precise definitions, page counts, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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Forget it. Just give the
editor something that tells what the story will be and how it ends.
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mary rosenblum
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That's ALL he or she wants.
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mary rosenblum
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As to length.
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mary rosenblum
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Do it as briefly as you can in
order to tell the main story line fully.
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mary rosenblum
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Not ALL the subplots, just the
main story arc and make it strong, clean, and as short as you can.
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mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a
Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question mark at the
top of the screen in order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't
reach me! Or you can use /ask and type your question into the regular send
bar if that works better for you..
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mary rosenblum
|
To digress just a bit...
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mary rosenblum
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I know you all hear a double
message all the time...
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mary rosenblum
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on the one hand, us pros will
say...be professional, use this format, do it this way...
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mary rosenblum
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and then we'll turn around and
say...'it really doesn't matter'.
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mary rosenblum
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And I know that is confusing.
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mary rosenblum
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But both versions are right.
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mary rosenblum
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You do want to come across as
professionally as possible since you don't have a lot of publishing credits
to offer.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...editors are not teachers
giving you a grade.
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mary rosenblum
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They make their living by
finding good storytellers and selling their words to the public.
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mary rosenblum
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They WANT to find you. They
NEED you.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you don't dot your i's
and cross your t's and tell a good story...who cares about your formatting!
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mary rosenblum
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BUT since editors are
overworked and in a hurry, you don't want one to think you can't write
because your ms looks like a second grader typed it.
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mary rosenblum
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Action is certainly easier.
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mary rosenblum
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Characterization does take
some words and time...so often, a strong action hook will keep the reader
involved...
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mary rosenblum
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long enough to begin to reveal
the character.
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mary rosenblum
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Character driven fiction does
tend to be longer than plot driven...
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mary rosenblum
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so if you are writing for a
short short market, you are better off to focus on plot and use a vivid if
less developed character.
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catydorr
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mary what is your feeling about
going after the high quality publishing like glimmertrain, hayden review,
polyphone as well as others-this is from the viewpoint of a fairly new
writer--is it worth it?
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mary rosenblum
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Of course.
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mary rosenblum
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Always start at the top.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a very good rule to
follow.
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mary rosenblum
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You don't KNOW that editor
will reject you.
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mary rosenblum
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Why sell yourself short?
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mary rosenblum
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When I started out, I would
make a list of five markets for each story, starting with the biggest and
working down to the 'for copies only' small press.
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mary rosenblum
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When a story came back, I
checked that market off, put it in an envelope to the next one on the list
THAT DAY.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why Jay said he had
dozens of stories in the mail.. That's what he's doing.
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janp
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Tweaking a personal narrative is
a lot like an angler's fish story. That fish was ________long
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, indeed, Jan. d:-)
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mary rosenblum
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Or visiting a family reunion.
It's hard to believe some relatives are describing the same event!
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catydorr
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interesting and good way to do
it too--i like the list
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mary rosenblum
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It keeps you from falling into
that black pit of depression when you get the ms back. As soon as it's out
again, you can again hope for the best!
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klr
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When you begin a story, do you
write the beginning...
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klr
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the middle or the end first?
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mary rosenblum
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I always _write_ it from
beginning to middle to end...but I evolve my stories completely in my head
before I ever sit down at the keyboard...
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mary rosenblum
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even my novels. So I may not
_evolve_ them in that linear fashion. Usually I start wiht a scene and
build a story around it in my head.
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mary rosenblum
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I might think that scene is
early, only to find that the real story starts much earlier than I thought
and that original scene is really near the end.
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marty
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should you send to only one mag
at a time
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mary rosenblum
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Marty, most magazines will not
accept simultaneous subs.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you don't get caught,
it's not big deal if you obey or not.
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mary rosenblum
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If two editors try to buy the
same story...you will make an enemy of one of them.
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janp
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I sent an article to a top mag,
the reject letter came from the editor himself. Now, although my
subscription expired a long time ago I still get the mag. Simple mistake or
gentle hint that he might like to see more
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mary rosenblum
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Hard to say, janp. In a large
circulation mag, the circulation dept...they do the subscription
stuff...may not even be in the same building. But in small press, it is.
And then yes, it might be his doing.
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marty
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how will they know
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mary rosenblum
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They won't unless they both
want to buy the story, marty . Then you have to say no to one of 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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Writers don't SAY no, I
changed my mind unless they sold it somewhere else. LOL
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paja
|
did you get to have that class
on thinking in your head what, last Friday, or did the Olympics cancel it
out?
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mary rosenblum
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We sort of did it from the
con, but it was kind of thin, so I'm going to do it again next week.
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mary rosenblum
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Tuesday, as a matter of fact.:
Writing With A Day Job.
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realityczech
|
But what about a smaller press
that has a great reputation, say, for literary fiction? Can't you make a
name for yourself without the big advance?
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mary rosenblum
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What big advance. Reality I am
laughing!
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mary rosenblum
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You don't make money
publishing short fiction! I WISH.
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mary rosenblum
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The TOP price for fiction is
10 CENTS per word.
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mary rosenblum
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Most markets pay around 5
cents.
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mary rosenblum
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Polyphony pays 6 cents.
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mary rosenblum
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A 10,000 word story only
brings in from a top market and there aren't that many short fiction
markets.
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mary rosenblum
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You don't pay the rent well
with short fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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But it DOES make your
reputation.
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shayon-joseph
|
Mary, I've seen in several of my
writing "how-to" books, that in order to get a clear
[iceberg-like] portrait of one's character, one needs to develop a bio,
physical attributes (I've even heard of authors doing genealogies on
characters a few generations back). This, to an extent seems like over
kill. How do you handle it?
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mary rosenblum
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It's not at all overkill
shayon.
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mary rosenblum
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My characters become real
people. I may or may not know their grandparents, but I sure know how they
grew up, what scarred them what inspired them what frightened them as they
grew.
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mary rosenblum
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They move into my house, they
live with me, they talk to me while I fix dinner.
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mary rosenblum
|
By the time I write paragraph
one, I don't have to think much about how he or she will act...I KNOW>
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mary rosenblum
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It's not overkill. Stories
with real characters are what readers remember.
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mary rosenblum
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You WANT readers to remember
you!
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realityczech
|
Sorry, I meant for selling
NOVELS! (And the Cricket Corp. pays .25 per word, if you can sell to them).
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mary rosenblum
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In novels it's not reputation,
reality, it's distribution.
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mary rosenblum
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You can publish a brilliant
book thru iUniverse, but if nobody reads it, so what?
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mary rosenblum
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People are not telepathic.
There must be a mechanism to alert readers to a good new book.
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mary rosenblum
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YOU can do it, or a publisher
can do it by putting it on reviewers' desks and into the media and onto the
bookstore shelf.
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shayon-joseph
|
Good! I don't feel like a nut
anymore, because I do know the grandparents of the characters in my novel
project---LOL
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mary rosenblum
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Good for you.
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dsurrett
|
do you develop characters in
short stories as much as in nov
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mary rosenblum
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As in novels, dsurret.. Oh
yes. I will tell you as a short fiction writer first, novelist second...
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mary rosenblum
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that as much creative work
goes into my short stories as goes into a novel. I just use fewer words.
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mary rosenblum
|
Short fiction is harder to
write than novel form.
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marty
|
how do you get were you are
today?
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mary rosenblum
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How did I get where I am
today? I wrote and sold a LOT of stories... more than 50 to date,
published. I stopped counting at 50...
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mary rosenblum
|
I am one of the top ten
authors for number of stories publishedin the history of Asimov's magazine.
That means a lot in SF.
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mary rosenblum
|
I write. I write I write. I
send work out. I write. I send work out.
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mary rosenblum
|
THAT and ONLY that is how you
succeed.
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mary rosenblum
|
And of course, you pay
attention to what you read. You analyze how this writer made that work...
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mary rosenblum
|
how that writer did
description so well. And you get better.
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lbaggins
|
I feel at a loss to write a
novel because my worst problem
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lbaggins
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is organization.
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mary rosenblum
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The don't organize! Do what
works for you. Start on page one and just WRITE.
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mary rosenblum
|
Lots of selling authors do
that. Yeah, you'll probably revise more than I will, but if that gets the
novel written, so what?
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mary rosenblum
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Do what works for you.
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lbaggins
|
I'll try what Jay does then!
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mary rosenblum
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Do. Try everything!
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mary rosenblum
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Nothing is ever WRONG.
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mary rosenblum
|
It may not work, but it just
might. Try it and see.
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mary rosenblum
|
I kind of blame our education
for a lot of beginner problems.
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mary rosenblum
|
We spend at least twelve years
learning that there is a wrong and right way to do everything.
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mary rosenblum
|
Nope.
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mary rosenblum
|
Dosen't apply to writing.
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lbaggins
|
I'll try it
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mary rosenblum
|
Good!
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marty
|
publishing yourself for ministry
good idea
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mary rosenblum
|
Publishing yourself is fine if
you have a market to sell to and don't mind promoting, marty.
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mary rosenblum
|
I'm just roughing out a book
on dog training.
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mary rosenblum
|
I will probalby try a
traditional publisher, but if that doesn't work, I have enough network in
the dog word to do a POD or self publish if I needed to.
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zany
|
do you need an agent to work
with on selling novels?
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mary rosenblum
|
Depends, zany.
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mary rosenblum
|
Only SF and fantasy
traditional publishers will take unagented fiction.
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mary rosenblum
|
Small press does. You don't
need an agent for those and most agents won't work with small press.
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lbaggins
|
I have a severe perfectionism
problem
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mary rosenblum
|
That's a real problem. Give
yourself permission to write something awful.
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mary rosenblum
|
Tell yourself it's a first
draft. You don't HAVE to publish it or ever let anyone see it.
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mary rosenblum
|
See if you can't give yourself
some slack.
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mary rosenblum
|
Marty I'm not sure what you're
asking about cost.
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mary rosenblum
|
You can send me questions in
several short segments...
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mary rosenblum
|
or type ask/ in front of your
question in the regular send bar.
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lbaggins
|
It runs in my family!
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mary rosenblum
|
Oh it does in my family, too,
LOL. I have defeated the tendency nicely, although I still get guilt
twinges.
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marty
|
cost of printing etc,
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mary rosenblum
|
Go to iUniverse, marty. I
interviewed a rep. It's in Interview Transcripts. They are honest, they do
nice books, and they don't cost much to set up the book.
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mary rosenblum
|
You get royalties if you sell
copies.
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mary rosenblum
|
I'll have iUniverse back
again.
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mary rosenblum
|
Well, it has been a fun hour.
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mary rosenblum
|
I need to get some work done
tonight.
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shayon-joseph
|
Mary are there any
"unwritten rules" in regard to level of vocabulary an author
might use for his story. Not the characters voice but rather the
storyteller's voice?
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mary rosenblum
|
Depends on who your readers
are, shayon. Entirely.
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mary rosenblum
|
My voice changes according to
my audience.
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realityczech
|
There should be a PA:
Perfectionists Anonymous. Problem is none of us wants to admit we have a
problem! LOL
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mary rosenblum
|
LOL Good idea, reality.
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zany
|
How do you find an agent?
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mary rosenblum
|
http://www.aar-online.org/index.html
Association of Authors' Representative homepage
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|
mary rosenblum
|
Agents homepage
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|
mary rosenblum
|
They provide a full education
about how to select an agent and have member contact info.
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zany
|
Just remember we live in an
imperfect world !
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mary rosenblum
|
Yep!
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owlybear
|
Thanks Mary..great forum
again...i think you've convinced me to start sending out stories
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mary rosenblum
|
I HOPE so! About time!
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mary rosenblum
|
Well, in MY imperfect world, I
have a couple of student ms still to do.
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mary rosenblum
|
See you all Sunday for our
open chat!
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mary rosenblum
|
It's at 5 pm Pacific, 6 mt, 7
central, 8 east coast...just talking about whatever!
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mary rosenblum
|
Have a great weekend, all!
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