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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all.
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you've had a great week
so far!
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mary rosenblum
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Ready for the weekend?
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. Tonight we're talking about
organizing one or many projects. 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
visit with Melanie Snyder last night.
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mary rosenblum
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She has really gone from
hoping to write full time on day to doing it, two years post Long Ridge...
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mary rosenblum
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and some of her advice will
save you LOTS of rejection slips!
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patchworkcat
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Mary, I took your advice, revised
Assignment #6 and sent it off to Grit Magazine last Tuesday.
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mary rosenblum
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good!
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mary rosenblum
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As I have said before, you all
should be TRYING to get rejection slips
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mary rosenblum
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They are not signs that you
are not good enough...they are proof to the editors out there that you are
trying seriously and editors will begin to keep an eye on you.
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owlybear
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It was a good visit with
her...She sure told me a thing or two...LOL... :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Nothing _I_ haven't told you,
dear!
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info
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the more rejection slips we get,
the better we become, right?
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mary rosenblum
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As long as you keep working on
your craft, yes, info...
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mary rosenblum
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and more importantly, they are
a sign to editors that you ARE working on your craft.
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mary rosenblum
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If they only see one
submission every two years, they don't take you seriously...
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mary rosenblum
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but if they see regular
submissions and they notice that you are improving, they'll buy you sooner
rather than later.
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wingedwarrior24
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where can I get a list of
magazines? The one's I hear people talk about are not on shelves
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mary rosenblum
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What kind of magazines,
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mary rosenblum
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winged?
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gail
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Mary, my hubby works irregular
shifts during irregular work "weeks." I've tried -- very
unsuccessfully I might add -- to work around his schedule...it isn't
working for me! Any ideas on organizing my "own writing
schedule?"
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mary rosenblum
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This is the basic issue of
every writer's life...
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mary rosenblum
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whether you have ten kids and
a demanding hubby or live along and don't have a day job.
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mary rosenblum
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It's nice if you can have a
regular period of time when you ALWAYS sit down and work...I WISH>
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mary rosenblum
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But you can teach yourself to
make every fifteen minute break count.
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mary rosenblum
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instead of organizing your
TIME...you may not have any control over that time...
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mary rosenblum
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organize your PROJECTS.
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mary rosenblum
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What are you working on? A
revision? A first draft? Maybe a query letter?
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mary rosenblum
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Which of these three can you
work on for fifteen minutes while you wait for a pan full of cookies to
bake?
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mary rosenblum
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Which can you work on while
sitting outside the kid's swim lesson?
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mary rosenblum
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Which one will take your
undivided attention? Save that one for the precious bit of private writing
time you get.
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ashton
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Hello Mary! So what do you do
when you are holding on to a story (and working and reworking it every
night) because you know you can make it better if you just give yourself
some more time?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, ashton, we can ALL keep
making things better forever, but there comes a point when a bit more
'gloss' isn't going to be noticeable to a reader...
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mary rosenblum
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and that's when you should
send it off. You might ask yourself if maybe it's not safer to keep working
on it? I mean, as long as it's not out, nobody can reject it, right? Hmmm?
Possible?
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wingedwarrior24
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do you suggest sending out work
before your instructor, as you are mine, give the go ahead?
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mary rosenblum
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If you're my student, warrior,
I usually suggest specific markets when I think a particular piece has a
good chance of selling...
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mary rosenblum
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Often assignments may simply
not be good, saleable pieces in the early few stages.
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mary rosenblum
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Or they may need revisions
that I figure the student will learn how to do in another assignment or
two.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you have stumbled
across a market that would work, by all means, send it off!
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes, I just can't think
of a particular market for a piece.
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gail
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I must have A.D.D. -- if I get
into writing while I'm baking cookies, the first sign I'll get of their
being "done" is the smoke detector going off! Yikes! :-o
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mary rosenblum
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Well, ahem, I won't tell you
just how many pots I have had to throw out because they boiled dry and warped...sigh.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm lucky I haven't burned the
house down... I DO have good smoke detectors!
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...You can stand in the
kitchen with a pad on one end of the counter and the mixing bowl at the
other and do most of the work in your head...
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mary rosenblum
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scribble down the great bits
of dialogue, the plot ideas, the future scenes...
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gail
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May I be a fly on your wall --
would you give me an example of a "typical" writing day for you?
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mary rosenblum
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Typical writing
day...sure...how about today?
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mary rosenblum
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I get up about daylight most
of the time...about 7 this time of year...fed dogs, checked email, and
sorted a bunch of SF books a friend sent me...
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mary rosenblum
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had to give my tax numbers to
John, my accountant so drove to Vancouver, talked to him there about getting together after tax
season because I want to pitch..
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mary rosenblum
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the mystery novel I'm using as
an example in the novel course to publishers...MC is a 'forensic
accountant' and John is my source. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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thought about plot devices for
that all the way back, and made notes on paper when I got home. Did LR
students and website maintenance...
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mary rosenblum
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went out to clear
blackberries...am working on plot for next SF novel and working out
complicated setting society...
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mary rosenblum
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am here...when I'm done, I'll
probably work on the novel course for an hour or so before bed...
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mary rosenblum
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and in between, here and
there, I did a load of laundry, fed my chickens and dogs, did some basic
dishes and houseework stuff...
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mary rosenblum
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looked at the half done
pruning and promised myself that I'd finish it Sunday...
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mary rosenblum
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Went and picked up bread for
my chickens from the food bank...
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mary rosenblum
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All sort of mixed and matched
together...
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mary rosenblum
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Now on another day, I might
spend three or four hours at the computer..
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mary rosenblum
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turning all these scribbled
notes into coherent form and maybe racking up another 15 pages on the novel
course...
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mary rosenblum
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or revising a story. Just
depends on the day. This was a 'scribbles' day.
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mary rosenblum
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Other days are 'writing' days.
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gail
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So, you do move from project to
project within a day... Do you find this helps you creatively? Or, is it
necessity that has you working on several projects at once?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yeah. I"ve worked on
my new mystery, the new SF, and the novel course.
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mary rosenblum
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That's just today... I always
switch frequently. It keeps me fresh and interested.
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wingedwarrior24
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are there taxes on articles and
short story sales?
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mary rosenblum
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Income is income, winged.
Uncle Sam or his Canadian equivalent, wants his share.
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ashton
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Sounds like your life is as
chaotic as mine, Mary. I'm surprised I have a free minute at the end of the
day to write anything at all. That's MY problem...MAKING time when I have
none, to write.
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mary rosenblum
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Ashton, I learned long ago,
when my kids were small and I was a single mom, that writing HAD to be
important. If I really felt like working on the next scene...
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mary rosenblum
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I did. Unless the kids HAD to
be somewhere for a school function or something...
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mary rosenblum
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Everything just plain got put
on hold...and I gave myself an hour.
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mary rosenblum
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I survived. They did, too. I
eventually got whatever I put off done...
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mary rosenblum
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I just didn't do it FIRST. I
WROTE first. And then I found the time to do whatever it was I didn't do in
order to write.
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mary rosenblum
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If I'm hungry for writing
time, I tend to write MUCH better than if I have all day and nothing to do.
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gail
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Do you think that writing in
"snatches and scribbles" has made you more creative when you do
have the opportunity to actually sit at the computer?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh it has improved my writing
vastly. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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The more I sit and stare at
the screen, tying to figure out how to make something work...
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mary rosenblum
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the less alternatives I can
see. I get 'locked in.'.
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mary rosenblum
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But if I go do something else
and say 'fooey'...
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mary rosenblum
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pretty soon, the alternative I
need is nagging me for attention.
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mary rosenblum
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Prose is like a dog...ignore
it and it bugs you. Call it and it scampers off. :- )
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mary rosenblum
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My dogs are trained better
than my creativity, actually.
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wingedwarrior24
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heard fantasy was hard to write,
true?
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mary rosenblum
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The only thing that is hard to
write, winged, is what you do not read.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. Tonight we're talking about
organizing one or many projects. 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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gail
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Do you primarily write fiction?
If so, how many stories (not novels) will you have on the go at one time?
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mary rosenblum
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I do, gail. If I wasn't
teaching and doing the website for LR, I'd probably write mostly
nonfiction...
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mary rosenblum
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but to me, nonfic is a day
job.
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mary rosenblum
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I have at the moment...
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mary rosenblum
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let me see now...
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mary rosenblum
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One SF novel in plotting
progress, one mystery that needs rewriting, one mystery in plotting stages,
and three SF short stories, one in revision and...
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mary rosenblum
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two in plotting mode.
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deb1234
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Why do you say NF is a day job?
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mary rosenblum
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That's just how _I_ feel about
it, deb.
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mary rosenblum
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While writing fiction thrills
me, writing nonfiction is enjoyable but I like teaching writing better...
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mary rosenblum
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Some people LOVE nonfic.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm good at it. I just don't
LOVE it.
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ashton
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How long does a short story
typically take you to write, verses a novel?
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes longer, ashton.
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mary rosenblum
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just depends on what works.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes I'll be all done in
a week.
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mary rosenblum
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If I can't solve problems, I
just move on to something else.
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mary rosenblum
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It'll come to me eventually..what
is needed.
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deb1234
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Could you explain more?
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mary rosenblum
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About fiction/nonficiont, deb?
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mary rosenblum
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Just a matter of personal
preference.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd write fiction whether I
got paid or not. I'd rather write fiction than eat.
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mary rosenblum
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But while I can write a good
article and much prefer doing that than many other types of day jobs...
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mary rosenblum
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I do 'em because I get paid to
do 'em, and that's the only reason.
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mary rosenblum
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My friend Deborah, a pro nonfic
writer, is just the opposite.
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mary rosenblum
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Stories give her a headache.
:-) But she LOVES to write a good, clear article.
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lil-duv
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how do you know what you do
better (fic or non) if you haven't been published?
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mary rosenblum
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You will do better what you
LOVE to do most. BUT...while you may love fiction you may be much more able
to sell your nonfiction.
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mary rosenblum
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That's why I say that if I
wasn't teaching for LR, I'd be doing freelance nonfic.
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mary rosenblum
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It would be my nearly full
time job.
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mary rosenblum
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It's very unlikely I will ever
fully support myself with fiction...its' MUCH easier to sell regularly in nonfic
and nonfic pays much better.
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deb1234
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I'm half way through the course
and scared to try NF. I haven't a clue about it and don't know what topics
to try anyway.
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mary rosenblum
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It's very easy, deb. Most of
my LR students have the ability to sell nonfic. The only hard part is
learning SLANT...that is how to write for your market.
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mary rosenblum
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Melanie had a LOT to say about that
last night. :-) And that's the only reason new nonfic writers don't sell..
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mary rosenblum
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they don't write something the
editor can use.
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gail
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Do you find it difficult to
switch between F & N-F projects? I do...can't seem to do both in one
day.
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mary rosenblum
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That's just a matter of
practice, gail..
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mary rosenblum
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and I have some tips for you
all on that..
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mary rosenblum
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When I started out, I had
trouble switching between fiction stories, never mind fiction and non...
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mary rosenblum
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and at the time, I WAS writing
nofic regularly.
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mary rosenblum
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You get better and better at
switching voices quickly, the more you do it...
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mary rosenblum
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but one way to give yourself a
boost, and it helps if you're writing in snatches...
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mary rosenblum
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is to go back and revise the
last couple of pages you wrote and then continue...
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mary rosenblum
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that revision gets you back
into your story world, or the style and voice of your nonfic project...
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mary rosenblum
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and it helps you make a smooth
transition into the new segment.
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mary rosenblum
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I found that if you sit down
and start right were you left off...
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mary rosenblum
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there is often a noticeable
'bump' because you're voice isn't quite the same.
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geezer
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When doing non-fiction,I have
core melt-down trying to reconcile what I learn from LR with what I was
taught for tech writing. Am I weird?
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mary rosenblum
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Not at all. You can't recocile
them. They're utterly different styles of writing, geezer...
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mary rosenblum
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and pretty much mirror images!
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mary rosenblum
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What you DO want for tech
writing is NOT good for most popular nonfic...
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mary rosenblum
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but hey, I used to write
scientific journal articles in research...
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mary rosenblum
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and that is the TOTAL
antithesis to popular nonfiction!
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wingedwarrior24
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is a guitar 'how too' sellable?
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mary rosenblum
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If someone wants to buy it,
winged, it sure is. And this is how you do it.
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mary rosenblum
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You go browse Barnes and Noble
or whatever and look over the music mags...even try some family mags...
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mary rosenblum
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and see if they feature articles
about kids learning instruments.
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mary rosenblum
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As you browse, ask
yourself...do they have any articles about instrument how to like mine? and
if they do ...but not EXACTLY like yours...try a query.
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wingedwarrior24
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how many students do you handle
at once?
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mary rosenblum
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I don't know exactly. Over
200, but not a lot over, I think.
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mary rosenblum
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They don't all send in stories
at the same time, folks. :-)
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paja
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Mary, you work on several
projects at a time. How to you store/file/keep track of them?
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mary rosenblum
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This is where a
character/setting/storyline file is critical, paja.
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mary rosenblum
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While you can keep track of
one story at a time, no problem..
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mary rosenblum
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when you're working on a
novel, or several stories..
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mary rosenblum
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you are NOT going to remember
every detail about every character, place, and so forth.
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mary rosenblum
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Nor will you remember if your
character went to the bank on Mon or Tues! And you will spend HOURS...
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mary rosenblum
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leafing through pages, trying
to find that critical detail.
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mary rosenblum
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So when you create a new
document for your story/novel...
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mary rosenblum
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start a character file, a
setting file, and a timeline and religiously add details to these files as
you go...
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luv2write
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I have limited space for storage
of files. Where do you keep everything?
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mary rosenblum
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You mean computer space, luv?
I keep mine on the hard drive and print out copies while I'm working.
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mary rosenblum
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I create a new folder for each
novel and store all my chapters and notes files in that folder on my
computer.
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luv2write
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Mary, I do a lot of my first
draft stuff by hand, I mean for paper files.
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mary rosenblum
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I have plenty of them, too, luv.
I buy cardboard file boxes and use them with hanging files. I have a stack
in my office, most of the time. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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There are ms everywhere in my
house...closets, basment, bedroom, guestroom..throw a table clothe over a
stack and it makes a good plant stand, LOL
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mary rosenblum
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I have a small house.
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labtek2
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How do you keep up with all
these different stories/articles
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mary rosenblum
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labtek, I print out a working
copy of everything I'm in the writing stage of...and pages of story notes
for the planning pieces...
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mary rosenblum
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and they are in a stack in a
box on my desk...
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mary rosenblum
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and every so often I riffle
through them to see if one of them jumps up and yells 'work on me'...and
then I do.
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labtek2
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Tell us about this time line,
how's a good way to keep one?
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mary rosenblum
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You can do 'em two ways,
lab...and I do both.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll start out with Mon: Paul
goes to school, meets new kid, they sneak off and get into trouble {ch 1}
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mary rosenblum
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Tues: Paul is grounded, Dad
takes him fishing and to talk. boat capsizes [ch 2} Aunt Min comes over and
mentions new kid [ch 3]
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mary rosenblum
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That kind of thing...
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mary rosenblum
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and since they're on the
computer, it's easy to add events as I revise and bring in subplots, make
change, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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OR...for novels, I will often
draw a timeline on a piece of white butcher paper...
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mary rosenblum
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a couple of feet
long...especially if the novel covers a long stretch of time...
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mary rosenblum
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and mark in events, days,
weeks, years,
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labtek2
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do you keep a separtate file for
story lines ?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, I do, lab...I usually
have a story summary that i'm always changing as I go.. AND I have a
'revise file' of notes to myself to plant or fix things in earlier chapters
as later events dictate them.
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mary rosenblum
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I don't go back to fix things
on the first draft, but I want to remember on draft 2.
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labtek2
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where do get the butcher paper?
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mary rosenblum
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Grocery store. Freezer wrap.
White paper with a plastic back. Works just fine. Look in the section that
has canning stuff, or on the aisle with wax paper, plastic wrap and the
like.
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paja
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What format do you use for these
char/set/story reference docs? And how do you find info in them? I easily
focus on the small and overlook the large consepts.
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mary rosenblum
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Large concepts are mostly in
my head and plot summary, paja...
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mary rosenblum
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as to the character files, I
organize them by name. In a novel, when I have dozens of characters
(because I include ALL characters, even spear carriers), I use my search
tool of my word processor to find a particular name...
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mary rosenblum
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You can organize setting and culture
files the same way...
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mary rosenblum
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ecology...mythology...religion...plants...animals...
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mary rosenblum
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Give each section a heading
you can find with your 'find' tool.
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tory
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Mary, do you--and if so, for how
long--save copies of drafts of your stories/novels--for comparison or tax
documentation, or any toher reason? Or toss them once you have a final, submittable
draft?
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mary rosenblum
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I usually have a working draft
that gets written all over and revised...I send that to readers and do
another revision and a polish run...
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mary rosenblum
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and I keep a copy of my
submission draft for myself...forever!...
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mary rosenblum
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although if I do a full ms
revision for the editor, I'll replace it with the revised ms...
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mary rosenblum
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and keep THAT forever.
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mary rosenblum
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And it's a good thing I do. I
just sold one of my out of print sf novels to a French publisher...
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mary rosenblum
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and I wrote it on an old Apple
II G computer and I have NO electronic file of that story...the pages of
the ms I kept will be scanned for the translator.
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ashton
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I was knocked off, so forgive me
if I ask this question again. Not sure if it went through.....Have you ever
revised a story and taken something out, only your mind still believes its
in there and you end up leaving your reader hanging? (say, like you let a
friend read it first before you send it off and she catches it)
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, goodness, ashton ALL the
time! I know ...we ALL know...the story WAY too intimately to see gaping
holes in it. LOL...
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mary rosenblum
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My readers point them out to
me with great enthusiam! Always give your story or book to a good reader.
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mary rosenblum
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You really know the story far
too well to catch the weak spots that a read who doesn't know your world
will have trouble with.
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mary rosenblum
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OR you can let your ms sit for
six months or so and then you'll be better at seeing those weak spots.
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telcontar
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What defines a "good
reader"?
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mary rosenblum
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A good reader goes far beyond
"I liked it" or "I didn't like it" A good reader tells
you specifically..
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mary rosenblum
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what worked in the story and
where the story left him/her with questions.
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mary rosenblum
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A good reader write in the
'huh', 'where?', 'how come?', where they occur to him/her.
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mary rosenblum
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they give you INFORMATION not
just a general opinion.
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mary rosenblum
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Most of the time, another
aspiring writer is your best reader.
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joker
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Mary, Off topic question. I
submitted a non-fiction short story to a magazine on Jan 5, have not
received the SAS post card yet. "Magazine Markets " says editor responds
in one month. Should i wait or inquire?
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mary rosenblum
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Joker, I'd query. Some editors
don't return the sase because they don't open your ms until they're ready
to read it...
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mary rosenblum
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but it might have gotten lost
in the mail.
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mary rosenblum
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I'd write a polite query
offering to resend if it hasn't arrived.
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tory
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But that's the only one you
keep?
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mary rosenblum
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The revised or submission ms?
Yes, it is, tory. I don't make huge changes from ms to ms...no point in
keeping earlier copies..I have ENOUGH stacks of paper around here as is!
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mary rosenblum
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Now while you're working on
your story/novel, DO keep earlier copies on your harddrive.
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mary rosenblum
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If you decide you like the
original version better...there it is.
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info
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when you sell to like a French
publisher, do you pay for the translator out of your pocket or does it come
out of whatever you get paid?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, goodness, info...that's
their department not mine! They asked me for the book...they get to
translate it! Remember, money flows TO the writer!
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mary rosenblum
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I sell most of my work
overseas...and it is always the task of the publisher to translate it.
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mary rosenblum
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It's their expense not yours.
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gail
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My hubby WAS my reader, but he
gushes more than I need or want. So, I joined an on-line (my only access
living in rural Alberta) writers group. But, I was just made aware that if ONE
PERSON reads your work, it is considered "published." Am I in
trouble when selling 1st rights if I've posted a story to this critique
group?
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mary rosenblum
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That's incorrect information, gail..
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mary rosenblum
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Your work is only published if
it is made available to the public. A critique group is not public...it's
private..
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mary rosenblum
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Unless you are all posting
your work on a public website open to everyone.
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luv2write
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What if your computer is older
than the hills and you don't trust it not to eat your files?
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mary rosenblum
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luv I don't trust ANY computer
not to eat my files!
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mary rosenblum
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I back up on CD...I back up on
paper...
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mary rosenblum
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I back up temp files on
floppies.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. Tonight we're talking about
organizing one or many projects. 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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wingedwarrior24
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do you keep the rights to short
story or article after it is bought?
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mary rosenblum
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You should always keep your
copyright, winged..which is why you never sell All Rights...
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wingedwarrior24
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when you are writing a story and
get in depth about somthing you don't know, how do you research it?
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mary rosenblum
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I start with google, although google
does not include work that is not published on the internet..at least not
yet.
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mary rosenblum
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I use peridical search engines
at our local university and med school library, or I talk to experts, I
spend time in our public library, the univeristy library or the med school
library..
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mary rosenblum
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you can find out a LOT believe me.
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gail
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No, we are NOT posting publicly.
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mary rosenblum
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Then you're fine. At least 3
to 5 people have read everything I write before it goes out.
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ashton
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I should know this......but when
going through a small press, the money should still flow TO the writer,
right?
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mary rosenblum
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ALWAYS...NO EXCUSES!!!!
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mary rosenblum
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Pardon the shout, but there are
a host of fake 'small presses' ...that feed on novices...
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mary rosenblum
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by convincingly telling them
that oh, they need to pay for editing...or oh, they need to pay for a
cover...or oh, they need to pay...
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mary rosenblum
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you get the drift? The book is
never really marketed...the publisher makes money from the poor author.
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wingedwarrior24
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I got no readers for my work,
any suggestions?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. Hang out in the chat
rooms, make friends, and find people to read your stuff! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Lots of folk here swap work.
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mary rosenblum
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wirtermom..I just blew it and
deleted your announcement instead of posting it...SORRY...
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mary rosenblum
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could you resend that please?
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mary rosenblum
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Many apologies.
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tory
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Mary (off topic) I've written a
children's story and while trying to find a publisher, I modified it for
use by my church as a Christmas play which 5000 people saw. Since it was a
modification, could I still sell the story as ist rights?
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mary rosenblum
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yes and serial rights are
totally different from play rights, tory.
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mary rosenblum
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Shouldn't be a problem at all
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wingedwarrior24
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are people able to tell between
the older and younger writer?
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mary rosenblum
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Not unless you give your age
away in your writing, winged. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It's like pretending to be 13
in a chat room when you're fifty.
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mary rosenblum
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You can do it very well...or
you can do a lousy job...
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mary rosenblum
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It's acting...or characterization
if you want to use the prose equivalent.
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mary rosenblum
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When you're writing
nonfiction, for example...that's one reason why you need to read the
magazines...
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mary rosenblum
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You need to sound like the
demographic of your audience.
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mary rosenblum
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if you're writing for women's
world, you're writing for working women, often single, in their 20s mostly.
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mary rosenblum
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You're going to sound very
different if you're writing for the readers of Modern Maturity...or you'd
better be if you want to sell.
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mary rosenblum
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You will sound like your
audience's age group.
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks! Writermom...I won't
mess up this time.
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writermom
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I am once again putting out a
call for suibmittals written by UNPUBLISHED moms and dads. I will accepts
fiction, nonfiction and poetry of a 1000 words or less. There are no theme
lists all I ask is that you abide by the guidelines posted at Just For Mom.
The section is Timout for Parents and provides an opportunity for
UNPUBLISHED moms and dads to get their work posted. Please send your work
to timout@justformom.com Attn. Chris Weigand. Please include a short
introduction so I know who you are.
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mary rosenblum
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There you go, folks...
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post it in the New
Markets section, if you'll email me the info, too.
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mary rosenblum
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I saved it as a text file, writermom...I
have it, thanks.
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wingedwarrior24
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as the course continues, will
the stories become longer?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, they will, winged. Don't worry,
you won't be stuck with 1000 words forever.
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mary rosenblum
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The main thing about
organizing your writing life and projects is to find a method that is easy
to access with half a brain...
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mary rosenblum
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because for most of us,
writing time is precious and if it takes you a half hour to get everything
assembled...you may not have any time to work.
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ashton
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If you goof as a novice and send
a query to a market without really knowing their mag, will they be more
likely to ignore you when you query the next time?
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mary rosenblum
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If you do it once, they roll
their eyes and trashcan your query.
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mary rosenblum
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If you do it ten times in a
row or so, they stop even reading your query!
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mary rosenblum
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Remember..editors are real
people. They know that beginners make beginner mistakes...they don't expect
otherwise...
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry...got booted off.
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mary rosenblum
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What I started to say is that
editors are people...
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mary rosenblum
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and they expect beginners to
make beginner mistakes, but they also expect beginners...
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mary rosenblum
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to grow into pros pretty
quickly if they want to sell!
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mary rosenblum
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So they'll watch you. If
you're getting better, you'll sell eventually.
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owlybear
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this organization for
stories/articles is like keeping an appointment book for each item you're
writing, as well as organizing your own schedule to take care of each
story...kinda like I'll pay the phone bill today...the electric bill tomorrow..etc.
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mary rosenblum
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There you go, owly!
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senicynt
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Writermom - Is that just for
writers who have children still living at home or can any parent submit?
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writermom
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senicynt any parent as long as
they are unpublished
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mary rosenblum
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Having several projects in
different stages allows you to go from the one that has stalled..
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mary rosenblum
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to one that is enticing
again...
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mary rosenblum
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and it allows you to work on
the one where you can scribble notes when you can't be at the computer.
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labtek2
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going back to your box, do you
just pull out something
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labtek2
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to work on?
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mary rosenblum
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That's my cure for writers
block, lab. :-) If I just don't feel like working on the couple of project
that are on the 'front burner' right now...
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mary rosenblum
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I'll riffle through the stack
of stuff that's not getting my foremost attention...
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mary rosenblum
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and work on whatever leaps up
and yells 'work on me'!
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mary rosenblum
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Of I may just suddenly be
moved to work on something that has been stalled for a couple of months...
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labtek2
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I knew I should have brought
that cardboard box home!
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mary rosenblum
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There you go.
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mary rosenblum
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Now there IS a reality here I
haven't mentioned...and that is the publishing deadline.
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mary rosenblum
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When you have one of those...you
DO that project. First. Foremost. Instead of everything else.
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mary rosenblum
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But then you have money and a
legal contract on the line, too.
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mary rosenblum
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And those ARE important.
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geezer
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How long do publishers typically
give to get a novel done?
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mary rosenblum
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AS a first novelist, you will
have to have your novel finished before a publislher will buy it, geezer.
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mary rosenblum
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Then, your agent negotiates
the length of time. My agent always asks for nine months. She knows I can
do one in six, but nine lets me take my time.
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senicynt
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Once a publisher accepts your
work for publication, what is the average time before it hits the shelves?
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mary rosenblum
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one to two years, generally.
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mary rosenblum
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For a novel...
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mary rosenblum
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six months to a couple of
years for short work.
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wingedwarrior24
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is there an advancement on a
first novel?
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mary rosenblum
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For traditional publishers,
yes, winged. Small press houses rarely pay advances. They can't afford to,
but they pay higher percentages in royalties.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun Oregon hour...and
talk about getting distracted in the kitchen! LOL... I forgot to put the
roast in for dinner. Gonna eat late...but that's okay...I want to work on
the novel notes I scribbled down today...
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mary rosenblum
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see how it works? Now I have
an extra two hours to work. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Oh well...better than a boiled
dry pot!
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks for coming all! Try
working on those multiple projects...
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mary rosenblum
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my productivity went way up
when I discovered that secret!
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mary rosenblum
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Good night all, and see you
Sunday evening for our open chat...
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mary rosenblum
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same time same station.
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