an interesting homework

in the writers' group i attend we had a fun homework.

we were given a list of seven, really serious writing mistakes.

we had to write a short story (more of a flash fiction) and we had to commit all the seven mistakes at least once.

as soon as i found out the plot i began writing and began seeing the characters behaviour and interaction.

it was a shorty short piece and i kept it under 250 words.

at first i wrote the 'good version' and then the 'bad'.

:)

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limiting word count is an extremely useful tool. it shaves off all the unnecessary words and the useless ones, too.

i can't thank Jason enough for introducing me to this technique.

i use it even when i write articles for the agricultural monthly paper.

:)

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and Vesper, this little exercise was uplifting. i liked writing it, liked the polishing and kind of like a naughty child, liked committing the mistakes. hee :)

fearing the influence?

a friend of mine is the middle of writing her first novel  - i didn't know about that and offered her the first anthology our writers' group had published two years ago.

since this friend of mine has just joined our group i wanted to give her some perspective about it.

i think it was a neat idea, hm?

she politely refused, saying that she was writing at the moment and didn't want any influence on her style.

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she may be right - even if the writer has his/her own strong way of writing, there is still an unwanted influence.

when i was writing Copper Moon, i read nothing.

right now i don't particularly write anything, so i read a lot. books, all style, articles, scientific or everyday.

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how about you?

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is 'not reading' while being heavily engaged in writing is the sign of uncertainty? a sign of weakness? or is it just the lack of time?

can a certain reading have a positive influence on your writing?

say one of your characters is a vain young lady and you read something about the hype around the opening of a new shopping center. this might just be the necessary bit of information to make your young lady more alive. hm?

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what are your experiences?

snowflakes in the spring

does any of you have experience with the snowflake method (speaking of writing)?

right now, just right now, i am not writing anything fiction, but i have an idea (or three) in my head.

since i consider myself a plotter (as opposed to a pantser) i have a serious intention to give the snowflake method a go.

any personal experience, good or bad is welcomed.

rewriting

i wrote a short story while attending the online writers' course along March-May 2012.
our job was to show what we gathered during the course.
but i think the study topics were just too fresh for me and they had not yet settled in properly and my old routines show. which means that while descriptions, narration and characters areall right, the story lacks a real plot. there are just too many things jammed into one.
some make sense, others do not. it is like a big lake with lots of currents. you don't see which is important, which is not and you get lost.
there isn't any real conflict at all.
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i let the story rest awhile, but during the last two weeks i revisited it.
i marked each different plotline with a different color.
i made myself think to create one real conflict. or a threatening aspect.
i tried to create an arch; where characters start and go somewhere and have a goal.
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unfortunately it is in hungarian so there's no use sharing it here with you... :)
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there are three betas plus my two kids to guide me.
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and yes, this was the first time i re-wrote fiction with a definite target audience in mind.
and also, this was the first time my protagonist was punched in the stomach. so far my characters avoided any harm and i was taught that characters need to undergo soma harsh times to develop and to show their real face.
on a second thought i don't think this punch went really well this time, but hey, i have to start somewhere.

drama needed

last night i attended a lecture on dramaturgy.

the speaker dealt with short stories and novels alike, focussing mainly on weaknesses. she suggested solutions and potential exercises to move towards the elimination of such problems.

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she pointed out that speaking of conflict, also known as a 'drive of a good story', there are 'good' characters and 'bad' ones. 'good' characters are determined, stand up to their right and ready to face challenge and conflict, have strong motivations. these characters trigger and sustain a good conflict or two.

'bad' ones on the other hand, have no real motivation and tend to drive away from actions and/or conflicts. they are not consistent. they may want one thing at one moment and another at another, meaning that they are relatively cool with whatever happens to and around them. a 'bad' character does not stand up, because for most of the time, anything is good for him. which takes me to the conclusion that a 'bad' character is either a complete moron or highly enlightened. :)

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jokes aside, i do think a good writer can pull off a story with 'bad' characters. simply because if you take a look around among people, not everyone is full of consciousness, not everyone is strong-willed, not everyone is ready to take a conflict.

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i know i am not a moron, nor enlightened, but technically speaking i am a 'bad' character. i am good with what i have, i do not seek conflict - but i have my 'unless' moments. that is i step out of any conflict unless it involves the future of my kids, the ethical stance of my nation, you name it. so there is hope one day i write about conflicts. and a good novel.

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the speaker suggested writing dialogues. which advice i will gladly take.
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photo credits to: szatmar.ro

determined to not write a novel or what?

the picture below is NOT to judge any differences between novelists and other authors. it did seemed appropriate though to demonstrate different approaches. and i don't know if there is a chance to switch between a hare and a tortoise. i don't even know if it is necessary to yearn for such a change.

here's the story.

the gazillion's read of my Copper Moon concluded in finding said novel a short story. an extremely looooong short story. there are no real conflicts, no real evolution of some of the characters (well, at least the main character should show some signs of development - and i don't think the mental and physical changes she present qualify as signs of major development...)

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the story i wrote lacks some of the important elements of a novel. period.

but as for the reason behind?

here are my takes (and i hope to hear yours in the comments section .... )

it is either

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1. the result of my previous experiences with writing.

you know, i am a free-lance journalist. i mostly write on agriculture-related subjects like how to deal with rodents in your house, how to build up a glass house and what are the most important gardening activities of a month and the like. i translate scientific papers. it's all neat and dry and i have no problems with that.

but a garden pond has no character development and the species composition of arthropod assemblages of potato fields show no conflicts either.

it is all description.

and as for literature? some of you might have read some of my pieces.

it's short prose at its best, but mainly flash fiction and poetry.

these are reflections of a state.

no development. nothing long-ish that starts somewhere and goes to a definite direction.

flash fiction is okay, because that reveals a status quo.

but composing a decent short story had gave me hard times and i did not excel at all.

so, reason number one: lack of experience.

potential reason number 2.

my status. my own character.

what if some people are just not 'natural born novelists'?

what if a person's certain psychological factors determine one's affection towards a certain type of writing?

say, a person who loves life, indulges in many activities, lives whole heartedly tends to write romantic stories with lots of actions?

say, someone else, who tends to analyze people around him favours to write psychological stories instead, with less of real actions but more beneath the surface?

what if a natural conflict avoider just can not bring his characters into a real conflict?

someone who is content with contemplating the events of life without interruption just finds content in describing status quos?

if the latter is the case, it is not my characters who are in trouble.

i am :)
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as for the time being i read, and read, and read :)
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photo credits:
http://dscottangle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tortoise-and-hare.jpg

the pack is diverging

i started to read my novel again, but stopped at about page 5.

i kind of tried to read it with the eye of someone completely fresh to the story.

isn't it frightening that it took me two years to get the necessary distance?

i'm kind of okay with that - as long as it helps me, though.

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this time i found that the pack is quite a diverse one.

it was not a brand new experience, though. i kind of knew it right from the beginning.

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let me explain the simile.

in my novel, there are parts, sections or paragraphs that are filled with actions. the characters move forwards, confront each other, try to explore something.

there are other parts where they ponder about their lives and relationships and some other parts that are descriptions. sure the descriptions are there to underline a feeling, or make the reader anticipate an action and so on...

but then again, some, if not most, of these descriptions are just tapestry. decoration. almost poetry, if you like. and not tightly needed in the course of actions. these descriptions are valueable. i like them dearly. most of them are palpable, full with emotions and all that stuff we love in emotional poetry.

not the cheesy kind, mind me. not in my novel, or any of my writing.

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so, back to the 'pack'. i fancy my novel a pack of wolves. (my main character is a werewolf, btw, a really good one at that, with lots of social awareness. she only kills 'bad' people.:)

there are individuals, but they all have to behave as one, as a pack.

and as far as i see now, my individual wolves are not acting as one.

they diverge.

see what makes me sad about my novel?

i'm thinking about splitting the pack.

with lots of considerate writing, i'd have a crime-story like novel with less emphasis on the description and more on the investigation and action.

and as for all that poetry-like stuff?

i fancy of saving them for other times.

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any suggestions?
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the photo above was taken from this website.

in the distance 2

where i stand today, i see the mistakes, or most of them, of Copper Moon - and also the merits, if any, of the novel.

from where i stand, it is not easy to see the merits, but there surely are some.

you know, the time spent between today and the novel's writing has grown large enough.

i see Copper Moon as a writing.

it kind of hurts.

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having taken part in a writers' course in March-April 2012, and having been part of a writers' supportive community eversince, i have been given lots of great insights and useful advices, either directly or indirectly.

but all these information made me weaker. i can no longer step up, raise my head and pronounce in a clear and definite voice that yes i am a writer.

i am just someone who used to write.

these days i just can not write.

i know so many rules yet i know i don't know much at all.

i felt much better when i used to write just by instinct.

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in the distance

I often listened to Mariza, sometimes the same song on and on again, while writing Copper Moon.

I am now fairly familiar with some of the main features that made the writing inappropriate for publishing.
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Some writers are able to look at their own writing as someone else's, from a distance, but for me, creating this well-wanted distance took about one and a half years.

I know see that at some particular parts of the novel, my words simply do not, or not completely convey the background, the meaning I intended to say.

Sometimes main points and reasons are missing.

I mean, I make little of these explanations avaiable for the reader.

Yet some readers do prefer obscure writing and like to discover the story on their own.

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Strangely enough, some of the actions in the story have the opposite mistake. They are described to the most minute detail, leaving not really much to imagination.

Now I see all those mistakes.

Are those really mistakes?

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I do not consider myself broken, although the music now makes me sad.

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At the same time it makes me proud of what I accomplished with having written Copper Moon.

It may take a while to polish to let it shine.
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Cheers,

uhm, bad news :(

the second editor did not find my copper moon worthy enough for an e-book.

i asked for a detailed explanation.

i tried not to make a drama out of it, but asked, very politely, for an explanation that may help me working towards being a better writer.

the only answer i got so far that the novel had a bad dramaturgy. oh, the irony. they must be right for i am sort of unfamiliar with the meaning of dramaturgy.

:(

writing course

the large publishing house, the one that had the novel contest is starting a virtual writers' course. the curiculum is tailored to each and every writer's needs. 

there will be tasks and lectures on various aspects of writing.

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the bottom line? is that the course sounded great, but due to the high fee, was out of my reach.

and just guess what happened today?

three writers who took part in the novel contest were selected to enter the course free of any charge.

guess what, i am one of them.

i can't tell you just how excited i am.

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i will surely let you know about some details as the course commences.

some more info

ahem, i am better informed as of now :)

Copper Moon was found good by one of the two editors (that is one positive reaction) and has not yet been seen by the publishing house main editor (sorry for not being familiar with the English terms, but i think you get the meaning :)

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the story now will get read by the second editor.

if s/he accepts it, my novel goes to the main editor.

if s/h finds it good, too - the novel will be published as an e-book.

and the main editor might find it good enough for paper.

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publishing on paper is expensive, more expensive than on e-material, anyone can see that, but i've been told that if the first (electronic) story does well, my second story might get easily published on paper.

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so this is where we are now.

more news on that by the end of this month.

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i find the option about the 'second novel' a bit funny, and out-of-reach, because i don't just write a novel on order and i don't write it easily ... :))

another good news

next friday, the writers' group i attend will hold a meeting with one of the editors, who accepted my story. of course, the reason for asking her to attend our regular meeting is not my story :)

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she will be here to give a short lecture about editors, about what editors expect from authors, about the inevitable cooperation between editor and author and so on.

on a side note, my copper moon will be acknowledged for having been selected for an e-book edition as well.

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howl along with me :)

for i am excited.

at the end of the second round the editors UPDATE: one of the editors chose my writing to get published as an e-book.

i know next to nothing about e-books.

i don't know if this ruins/lessens/alters the chances of getting it printed in a traditional book.

for when it comes to e-material, i for example, don't spend a penny.

ahem, i know, it is quite a debated issue, so let's not talk about it :)))

still...

i am EXCITED, excited and excited a bit more, and i howl for two reasons:

1

it is full moon

2

full moon has a definite key position in my story. if it was of any doubt for any of you, my Margaret is a werewolf :)))

being excited is one thing, and i am still to hear your similar stories. share any of your strange reactions when your first/second short story/novel/thing was accepted/published.

the second round

now my story is in the second round. it is currently being revised by an editor, but at the same time, the second chapter is now public for readers, practically to anyone. within a couple of days i get to know whether my writing gets to the third round. if it gets a negative response from one editor, it is over. if it gets a positive reaction, it goes to the second editor. this is how the selection works in this competition.

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one of the readers commented. he said that the first chapter was disappointing to the point of being unreadble for him, but this second chapter was something completely different. he quoted some of my lines saying how much he liked them... go figure :))) 

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another reader, a woman said she found my sentences two short, and was expecting something interesting to happen. but that never did. i agreed with her: the length of the sentences are in reverse order with the intensity of the story. if you write in long, winding sentences, your story slows down. short sentences suggest intense action. well, i had short sentences, but nothing intense happened. i agree, this might disappoint the reader.

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the third reader, another woman disliked the characters and did not found enough motive for their behaviour. she liked that the reader is introduced into the mind of Nancy, but i think she was expecting some action instead. there was a metaphore which she did not noticed for example and found it confusing. at the same time she was right saying that some explanations are necessary for the readers' involvement. - -

the first round

as you may have gathered from some of the posts below, a publishing house was asking for my story.

there were 54 contestants and i shared some readers' opinion about the first few pages.

now the first round is officially over and 13 authors had to say goodbye.

guess what, i'm in among the 41 to go for the second round! yay!

:)

the first few feedbacks

the first two chapters of my novel called 'Copper Moon' were published on a website of a publishing house. they are having a challenge for a month, i guess: each day a new novel (the first 10 thousand characters of it) are published and the readers are encouraged to read, comment and criticize the excerpts.

the publishing house does not really relies on the results of the public - they have their own editors to evaluate the writings.

those who are found good by the editors will get published, either on paper or on e-book, or both.

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well, today was my day and so far i have a ratio of 1 (positive) to 3 (negative) comments.

mind you, those that disliked my novel were phrasing their opinion quite matter-of-factly, so nothing intrusive or personal. the most important failures of my novel, according to these people, are: the unexplainable time and event shifts; overflow of poetic description, which they found boring; and finally they found it hard to follow, they thought it was obscure and fuzzy.

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the one person who liked it said my sentences are gorgeous and that she liked my style.

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i guess both parties have just points.

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go figure.

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and i'm just learning the way to react and accept these reactions.

not easy, not easy.

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one moment i'm all 'my writing sucks and these people have pointed out my flaws so correctly....', while in another moment i'm seeking potential ways of improvement, while yet in another moment i'm all 'what the hell do these people know about my protagonist, anyway?', and in yet another again: 'jeez, it's not enough if i know a lot about my mc, i have to make other people know more about her in the right and proper way.'

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happy thanksgiving for those who celebrate it!

NaNo 2011: a decision

i call it quits.

as official.

well, may be, later on, or next November.

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i am not heavy hearted, or anything.

this decision just seemed logical for many reasons:

1-lack of strong drive to write the story. feeling unprepared.

2-being excited about the possible new jobs

3-being occupied by many really important tasks around 'the opening of the season'

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okay, i'm moving on.

implying i'm gathering new elements, analyzing experiments and emotions from the past - all these will later be incorporated into my story.

as for a working title, i am thinking about Lunae Saturni, latin for Moons of Saturnus :)

i wish to connect/relate events and/or people in the story to certain different moons. i fancy about getting information about the celestial objects and find relation to certain issues/persons/plotlines within my story.

i think it sounds nice and may, yes, may turn out great in writing, provided that the writing is good. :)

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note to myself: what is this new found obsession with moons?

reality check :)

do i like the thing i wrote in 2010?

yes.

do i like the idea i was about to write about in 2011 as much as i liked the idea of copper moon?

no.

do i feel the drive, the need to write as much as i felt in 2010 about copper moon?

no. not ever near.

do i have two job offers pending?

yes.

are they quite good?

yes.

have they appeared quite out of the blue?

yes, very much.

did i have any job possibilities in 2010?

no.

does our family have financial problems this year?

very much, yes.

do i prefer being reasonal?

yes.

do i give up on NaNo 2011 altogether?

no.

it this self-interview over?

yes.

did you like it?

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oh, shoot.

dear visitor, take a look at the sidebar :(

see me in shame for not having written a word in this year's NaNo...

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but.

but!

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the thing i wrote in 2010 got the interest of an editor. she asked me to send it in and now i have a couple of days to polish it.

i think it is quite reasonable to stick to reality.

i have copper moon and it might get some publicity.

i rather care about something that is within reach and only needs a bit of touch* here and there - than letting it go for something that does not even exist...

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and it's only the second day...

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* i know, i know...that littler touch here and there might take days or weeks...pondering, re-phrasing, re-structuring... whatever...

copper moon _is_, the other thing (the novel i am supposed to write in 2011) is not.