A Weekend of Words.

I managed to escape my work, my studies and the city for a weekend of writing, laughs and red wine. Over the past two years, I haven't done anywhere near as much writing as I would like. This is mostly due to studies and other life events.

With four other writers, I headed into the countryside to a small cottage for a writers' retreat. We were all very good - well, most of us - and actually spent a lot of time writing. I brought a couple of stories I wanted to revisit. One I particularly like, but it needed work. I've attempted minor adjustments over the past year or so, but this time I went in and attacked the whole ending, which to me was the part that didn't quite work.

Now it does. It still needs another look, and a polish, but I feel it's much closer to the story it promises to be.

The other story is one I'm rather proud of.  Again, it's close but needs something. Before I left Australia, a writer friend gave me a solid critique.  This weekend another writer friend (both excellent writers, by the way) also gave me a critique.  What stunned me was how similar their comments and advice was. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect collusion.

At least I now have a clear plan for the story.

We went out for a meal, drank wine, talked a lot, laughed a lot, and played a fabulous card game for many hours on end. Thanks, team, for the retreat.  I really needed that weekend.

Meanwhile, it's back to work and onwards with these stories.

How Will I Know?

I've been writing again. Re-writing, actually. But this isn't just a skim and edit, I'm completely rewriting the entire story, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, and trying to be ruthless with it. In fact I spent about three hours today completely restructuring a 350 word opening.

I hope it's improved.

This is a story I love, and it received great personal rejections from three pro-level markets. So there's hope for the story, and I'm hoping the changes I'm making at the moment give it the push it needs. I'm using those comments, as well as a solid critique from another writer, as my guide. These people know what they're doing, so I'd be a fool not to pay attention. The question is can I get it right.

But wait, as they say in the infomercials, there's more.

A couple of years ago a well-known and admired writer very kindly sent me three pages of notes and advice on things she'd learned along the way. At the time I read these notes, tried to apply them and thought I'd done a decent job. This week, as I prepared to delve back into this story, I re-read the notes. And that little light metaphorical bulb in my brain went on. Now I'm approaching the story with so much more rigour and determination than I've ever applied before.

Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees, and I just now as I re-read what I'd written, I had doubts as to whether it was better or not. And that's why distance and time, and a decent beta-reader, makes all the difference. So I'll get this piece done, have another set of eyes go over it, then send it out into the wild world.

Who knows? This time it might even survive.

Return Of The Notebook.

A couple of years ago I started carrying a notebook with me. From time to time I'd write descriptions of things I saw, interactions between people, quotes, signs, and story ideas. I figured it might be a good resource to keep, a way to get my brain working creatively. For a while I kept it up to date. Sometimes I felt like I was forcing words onto the page, and I was concerned it might read as pretentious - an insincere effort to describe things that weren't as interesting as I'd imagined (or pretended) them to be.

And so it fell by the wayside. Occasionally I'd think of something I'd seen, reach for the book and write it down. But the entries were sporadic at best. Months would go by without any new words in there. And then, a few weeks ago, I picked up the notebook and read through it. And I enjoyed what I read.

While the notes are not intended to be shared, I needn't have worried about how they came across. I enjoyed them, they relit memories of events. I recalled forgotten incidents and moments. And best of all, I found a few story ideas congeal in my brain.

So I've started writing notes again. I don't keep it with me all the time - it's a little impractical, but I'm using it regularly and the notebook is filling up.

I have Numbers Two and Three all lined up and ready to go.

More Tension.

Crank it up.

The tension, that is.

It's something I've been told many times during my writing career. More tension. More pain. I thought that was exactly what I was doing, but it's only in the past year that I've started to realise exactly how little  the crises I was creating were.

So many of the characters in my earlier stories were far too passive, and not enough happened to them. The crises within stories been to be amped, the fears of the characters need to be raised, they need to face the risk of losing everything.

This is something I now try to do with all my stories. Sure, there are stories and times when the whole passive thing works. But mostly not.

If you're not hurting your characters, then you maybe need to consider it.

More crises. More tension. More pain.

Writing Aimlessly.

I've had a very productive couple of months.

I've completed the first drafts of seven or so stories since October, rewritten two of those, subbed five, had a reprint, sold two and I'm waiting on the rest.

But for the past ten days or so, I've found it difficult to get my teeth into any one story in particular. I have maintained my daily wordcount average, but mostly I've written openings, a few paragraphs that may or may end up going somewhere further. Admittedly, I've been very busy finishing up at work, and all those other reasons that prevent me writing as much as I'd like. But I just couldn't get the groove happening. And then two nights ago I started a piece that has hooked into my subconscious and has started taking on a life of its own.

For me the most important thing was to keep writing, to get something that fired up and felt like a story could occur. And it has.

Will this story see the light of day? Possibly.

Sometimes we wander aimlessly when we're not sure where we want to go, and the places we discover when we don't plan too much  can be exciting and wonderful.

Shhhh! Good news!

I have good news, although I can't share it yet. In fact I have three pieces of good news, and I'm hoping I'll be able to share two of those within the next few days. But for now, shhhh!

Yes, all are writing related. Three separate things that relate to projects which I've wanted to achieve for some time. As you young folk would say, achievement unlocked.

One of these I've known for several months. And I've wanted to tell people since I was first told. It can be frustrating at times, hanging onto news when you long to share it but editors won't permit it. I do, however, understand why that occurs. And I suppose it's better announced closer to fruition rather than far too early.

As for those stories hanging out there in the void? Let's hope I'll have even more good news to share shortly.

Ideas From The Backburner.

I've recently written a few stories for which I had little more than an idea that had been floating around for a while.

Of course an idea alone does not equal a story. It's merely the launching point. But I thought these were pretty good ones, and I dutifully wrote them in my notebook several years ago. At the time I didn't run with them for two reasons. Firstly, because I didn't know what to do with them, how to develop them into something more. Secondly, I didn't feel I had the skill to pull off the descriptions I knew these particular ideas would require.

But a few weeks ago I knew I had to ignore both those self doubts and just start writing them. And I did write them. And I finished them. And I'm really happy with how they turned out.

I usually have a rough idea of where a story is going to go, and tend to work within that loose framework. From time to time they take me in unexpected directions. And this is what happened with both these stories. It was actually rather exciting to see where they went, because in at least one of them I had nothing beyond the original idea and the first paragraph of setting and character.

These are good stories. They will sell. You will see them.

But now they're settling, before I go back in a week or two and give them the second draft they so long for.

The Waiting Continues.

I don't usually sweat on stories.

Once they're written I send them off and do my best to forget them. At some later point I hear back, either a rejection or acceptance, and I'm either happy and beaming for a day or so, or annoyed for about five minutes. With a few rare exceptions, the days of stewing for days over rejections are long gone.

Mostly I have some idea as to when I expect to hear back from the editor or publisher. The submission guidelines give some clue of how long they expect to take. Other websites such as Duotrope or The Grinder keep data on submissions so a writer can anticipate response times.

But this week I've actually been checking my email a little more often than usual. I have six stories out, and most of them appear to be overdue a response, based on the data I'm seeing online. These are stories I have high hopes for, and I'm keen to receive a couple of acceptances.

But there's danger in reading too much into long response times. No news, after all, is nothing but no news.

In the meantime, I'll be over here refreshing my email.

Letting Go.

I keep a list of story ideas. Sometimes there's a whole paragraph, other times there are only a few words. I have a list of titles I think may fit somewhere along the line, a few quotes I've seen that may come in useful. Even stories I've commenced that have nowhere to go yet.

In the past few weeks I've been trawling back through this list, grabbing some of the ideas and writing the stories. It's a wonderful feeling when I finish a piece that had its genesis some time ago and has since been kicking around in the back of my brain.

When I sit to write I have some idea where I'm heading, but I don't usually end up exactly where I thought I was going, or I take unexpected detours along the way to where I was going. And the end result is always better than my original thoughts.

I learned some time ago to let the story go where it wants, to let it have its head.

And it works. Whether it's your own subconscious taking over, because it has a better sense of what's needed than you do, or whether its just an element of randomnity, I don't know. And it doesn't really matter.

Learn to let go. It's something I've started doing, and thus far I've been thrilled with the results.

On The Move Again.

You know that plateau I mentioned a couple of weeks ago? The one where I thought I was stuck and my writing wasn't improving?

I think I've started moving again.

No, I have no new sales to report, although I'm hopeful I'll be able to announce some soon - once those editors read my masterpieces stuck in their slushpiles. But I'm writing with a renewed confidence and self-awareness.

The penny finally dropped. A couple of things I learned a long time ago have finally fallen into place. I knew these writing guidelines/techniques in my head, and I even thought I was applying them to my writing. But this week I realised I wasn't, not to the extent I should have been.

And BAM! It all made sense.

I'm really enjoying the process of writing at the moment, and I really like the resulting stories. And I look forward to having them published.

Pah, Proofreading Is Over-Rated Anyway.

About two weeks ago I was facing a writing deadline with twenty four hours to go and a story that wasn't working.

The story is fine, it just wasn't going where it needed to go. It needs time to sit and congeal, before being reshaped and lashed into place. It will happen, but it wasn't going to happen in time for this deadline.

The deadline was firm. Online submission system means they shut you out at midnight, and they don't take late subs. After deciding to abandon my work-in-progress, I was left with two alternatives. I could either not worry about submitting to them, or start something new.

I didn't want to miss this market, and I felt it wouldn't be good for my own self- discipline as a writer if I let it slip past, so I decided to start a new story.

I banged out words, banged out some more the next morning, and finished the first draft only twenty minutes before the deadline. I quickly printed a copy, started proofreading and making minor changes on the screen. Unfortunately I only managed a couple of pages and then realised there were five minutes left.

It's a good thing I write quite clean copy. I had no choice. I sent it and received the automated receipt with a couple of minutes to spare.

Then thought of the one short paragraph I should have included.

Sigh.

I tried not to let that bother me too much. I tried to forget the story - no point crying over spilled milk and all that. In fact, I haven't even gone back to look at it since.

Until now.

I picked it up a couple of minutes ago and read the ending. It's pretty decent, and I'm pleased with it. I'll have a great story to tell if I receive an acceptance for a first draft. It's a good story, though, and I have no doubt it will sell. It won't need much in the way of revision.

And who know, it might just go as it is. It's fresh, hasn't been polished yet and sometimes that works. Plus, miracles do happen.

Two Deadlines.

I'm currently working on two stories, both of which I need to finish by the middle of next week.

One of them is fine - it's sailing along nicely. I'm expanding it, because it needs to be a little longer than it currently is. It's been critted by some of the scariest minds I know and their comments have been taken into account.

The other story, on the other hand, is causing me headaches. I know roughly where I want it to go. I've decided to just write it and see what happens. Let the details take care of themselves. Unfortunately I'm only 1500 words in, and I'm kind of stuck. I know what I have to write, I know the scene I want to write, but it's just not writing.

Lunch, some coffee, and back into it.

With deadlines, these things have a way of working themselves out.

See you on the other side.

Ideas Into Stories.

People ask me where I get ideas from.

Ideas are plentiful. Everyone has them. What they don't have are stories.

As an example, I usually tell my students a story. A true one. At this point I start to smirk and laugh as thought it's hilarious.

"My wife asked me to get some milk on the way home last night. So I stopped at the supermarket, and went in and bought some."  Now I laugh as though I can't help myself. "And so I paid for it, and then drove home. Cool story, huh?"

They tell me it's not a story, and so we then discuss the reasons why. And they are the ones who come up with conflict/problem/difficulty overcoming these/resolution, etc.

An idea. A man walks into a pet store and buys an alien life-form. Cool. I might even use that at some point. But there's no story there - yet. It needs more.  What's going to happen with this alien pet? Type of food it needs? Size it will grow to? Not a pet but sentient?

Where's the problem and how is it resolved.

Sometimes you have to laminate a couple of ideas, extend them, play with them, exaggerate them, try them in different settings, and so on.

I have pages and pages of ideas jotted in my notebook. From time to time I peruse those pages, something clicks and I start creating a story.

You might have ideas. Do you have stories?

Lazy Writing?

I read a few short stories this week that completely underwhelmed me. These stories weren't written by newcomers, writers who could be excused for not nailing all the conventions of storytelling, but pieces by established authors, names that any SF fan would instantly recognise.

I suspect that if I'd submitted some of these under my own name, they would have received a formal rejection.

(It would be an interesting experiment, wouldn't it? I submit one of my stories under an established name, and they submit one of their weaker ones under mine...)

I'm not talking about taste here. There are always going to be stories that appeal to me more than others. But these stories missed entire elements, had 'idiot' plots, (where the protagonist is required to be an idiot in order for the story to work), loose ends, unanswered questions, ridiculous coincidences that allowed characters to overcome difficulties, and in one particular case, no real story at all - that is no crisis or problem for the main character.

Why is this? Is it laziness on the part of the writer, or is it simply a matter of the writer having become a factory and churning stuff out?

Or, like Paul McCartney, are they unable to see their own work is rubbish and there is no one around game to tell them their work is sub-standard. Maybe they need an equal, a 'John Lennon' along side them who can give an honest critique.

As I've written a few times recently, these things are becoming more apparent to me in my own writing. I'm recognising my own weaknesses and working hard to address them. I'm understanding the elements required to create a satisfying tale. And I can see why my earlier work (in some cases) was rejected so quickly.

I truly hope that I continue to learn and improve. I never want to rest on my laurels.

This Week So Far.

A good week's writing so far. I've broken the back of a story that was giving me a few problems. I knew what I wanted to do in part of it but just couldn't find my way into it. I'd tried a number of different approaches, re-wrote the beginning of a scene several times, but none of these worked. So yesterday I tried something different and it was much better. There's been a change in personality of the character that needed to be introduced in this scene and this has changed elements later in the story. And it's made a vast improvement.

Now the story is pouring out of me and I'm happy with how it's progressing.

I plan to wrap this beast up this afternoon and get onto another story. Next to my computer I have a list of stories that need to be revised or started. I plan to complete all the revisions and start a new one by Friday. Tomorrow is going to be hot. Very hot. A perfect day to sit inside and write.

And then by early next week I must have all my available stories back out in circulation. They'll never sell if they're not out there.

Never Tell Me The Odds.

One thing to always remember about odds is that they only pertain to chance - and generally only when all outcomes are equally possible.

When a writer looks at Duotrope (sigh...) and its acceptance rates, it's important to remember this. An acceptance rate of  .25 does not mean you have a one in 400 chance of selling to that market. That would presume that all submissions are of an equal standard. From what I've been told, as much as 90% of submissions are rejected before the end of the first page. Most editors can reject a story after reading only a paragraph or two.

I still find it hard to believe, but I've been told that one SF market (and I'm sure this is true of most markets) receives submissions of all sorts; non-fiction, articles, poetry and even recipes/cookbooks. Don't people read guidelines?

And so the odds are actually much lower than advertised, once you reach a certain standard. But even then it's not a random selection. It comes down to competing with the other submissions regarding quality of writing, editorial tastes, themes, differences to other recently accepted stories, word length and even whether you have a recognised name.

It's not a crap shoot. The odds don't matter.

Think I'll Go And Eat Some Worms.

A weekend of disappointment.

My internet provider disconnected me for no apparent reason, and their customer support is only business hours, so I had no real internet access on the weekend. I received three story rejections, and at least one of those I thought was a really strong candidate for acceptance. I had another rejection on another matter, of which I thought I had a better chance than that.

On a positive note, two of the story rejections were personal and supporting. "Liked the writing style, well written, just not a fit" type of thing.  But I suppose you never really know, do you?

The non-fiction rejection was not overly surprising, and I was less disappointed than I thought I'd be. Always a good sign, I suspect.

As for my internet provider? They've made this mistake before. Time for them to lose a customer.

Chumbawamba anyone?

Authentic?

After spending thirteen years on the force, I think I have some idea how an investigation is undertaken. As a result I have a hard time reading crime fiction as very few detective or police novels ring true to me. I just don't believe them.

On a wider scale, I've recently read a few short stories that simply annoyed me because the characters didn't ring true either. Something felt wrong - their actions and reactions or thought processes seemed unlikely. Even entire situations asked for a much greater suspension of disbelief than I was prepared to give.

Some short stories require certain actions from characters in order to drive the plot, and these never work for me. Others require a situation to occur that is all too unlikely, and again that is where the writer loses me.

In my real life, I've had the most amazing co-incidences. My wife moved to Australia from the UK only to discover that her long-lost relative (who they didn't even know was in Australia) had a grandchild in my class at school. Afterwards people said "You wouldn't read about it."

That's true. Co-incidence in fiction doesn't work with the reader because it's recognised as being created in order to move the story along.

I still have a long way to go with my writing, but I think I'm getting better at creating characters and situations that are believable.

Well, at least as believable as a Bug-Eyed Monster from Planet-X can be.

A Competition.

Like it or not, getting published is a competition.

Rejections from a market simply mean the stories that were selected over yours were better, or fit the requirements more closely.

Of course there are standards of writing, and standards of storytelling. And from what I've been told, a large percentage of submitted works are rejected simply on the basis of not being of an acceptable standard.

Sometimes writers ask what's wrong with particular stories, why they weren't bought. It's not a school test with a pass or fail mark - or a benchmark or rubric with anything over a designated level is taken. It simply has to be a better story than the others.

And so it's a competition.

I aim to be the best, or at least be better than most of the others. (And no, before anyone asks, this post wasn't written from a sense of despair or in response to a rejection. I am waiting on a couple of responses any day now, though.)

Write, submit, wait, write some more.

Targeted Reading.

Every writer knows that in order to write well, you need to read also. My reading is wide - everything from non-fiction to a range of fiction genres.

But have you considered targeted reading?

My skills continually develop but when I'm writing a piece I sometimes feel as though it's not quite working as I would like it to. Maybe the setting isn't quite right, or I'm just not getting the mood I want. About a year ago, I started targeted reading in those instances. I grab out a short story or novel I recall having a feeling similar to mine, and read that section. The stories are usually nothing alike, and more often than not even the setting isn't exactly as I recalled it. But what I do see is how certain things are done by better and more experienced authors, and I can analyse why the writing created that feeling in my mind. From that I learn.

Of course I don't do this for every story I'm writing, just those ones where I feel stuck. I don't have time to read stuff in the middle of a writing session. After all, the computer is distracting enough.