tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post6687752762206051452..comments2024-03-10T04:29:20.044-04:00Comments on Mad Genius Club: BEING AlienSarah A. Hoythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-22822215920929247782009-12-17T17:53:03.079-05:002009-12-17T17:53:03.079-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-5376796041740664792009-12-17T17:52:58.895-05:002009-12-17T17:52:58.895-05:00Karen,
If that was directed at me, you need to loo...Karen,<br />If that was directed at me, you need to look for Sarah D'Almeida and Elise Hyatt as well. (I'm the woman of a half dozen names.)<br /><br />As for your fear of never being published, my understanding is that if you keep trying and improving, you will. I know, I know. I too doubted it when I heard it... But it works.<br /><br />OTOH if you are... er... unusual, like I seem to be (even my urban fantasy isn't dark, the first hardcover cover not withstanding. Or it's dark in a completely different way from everything else) and if most "literary" bestsellers bore you to tears, you'll find yourself having to do your own promo and find fans one by one like Juan valdez, because the publishing establishment will have no idea what to do with you. They'll buy you then go "who reads this?" "uh... uh... uh." :)<br /><br />As for Euclid... He's a special cat, he is. I need to post about the cat wars for tentistan, again, soon. They've been very active.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-11364450526141579202009-12-17T10:51:46.102-05:002009-12-17T10:51:46.102-05:00That wasn't supposed to have been from "A...That wasn't supposed to have been from "Author". Sorry 'bout that.Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-30755542452758067792009-12-17T10:44:12.281-05:002009-12-17T10:44:12.281-05:00My biggest fear - and it's nearly paralyzing m...My biggest fear - and it's nearly paralyzing me right now - is that I'm so way off the mark that I'm not publishable. I read advice to writers such as "make it zing". Does mine zing? I haven't a clue. The NYT best-selling author who wrote that has books out I won't even read because they're unbearably dark. If his works zing, I'm SOL. I much prefer something more lighthearted like your Euclid's post...which I found, somehow, through his website just yesterday. I'm headed to the library to check out what you have that's published. Maybe it will give me the courage to go on.<br />Anyway, thank you for sharing your humor - and yourself - with others. I appreciate that.k m kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201119068196061672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-41948905037751418532009-12-16T23:15:20.771-05:002009-12-16T23:15:20.771-05:00Chris,
I had the same fear. I only started taking...Chris,<br />I had the same fear. I only started taking writing seriously after I nearly died of pneumonia at 33. And that was why. Because while lying there, fairly sure it was time to check out, I realized all my worlds would die with me. As is, even if I'm never big, maybe I'll inspire someone else and in that way my worlds will go on.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-54071701817756295342009-12-16T22:41:02.844-05:002009-12-16T22:41:02.844-05:00Ah, matapam. Good point.Ah, matapam. Good point.Chris McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883058490702361466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-62112309950180625282009-12-16T21:56:07.838-05:002009-12-16T21:56:07.838-05:00Chris, consider the alternative. An old man, wonde...Chris, consider the alternative. An old man, wondering why he never wrote that book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-36107500516294773692009-12-16T21:07:55.232-05:002009-12-16T21:07:55.232-05:00Oh my. Scary stuff indeed.
For me it's that &...Oh my. Scary stuff indeed.<br /><br />For me it's that "they" will figure out I'm only pretending to be normal and come after me again. I hide it in all sorts of ways until I feel "safe" in a particular group - the "Kate" people get depends on the group and what I'm trying to be, but it's very rare that I actually relax and let myself be - mostly because when I do I have this unfortunate tendency of scaring the living crap out of people. Stuffed if I know why.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-49729925465368039262009-12-16T20:41:22.550-05:002009-12-16T20:41:22.550-05:00My writing fears revolve around the same things as...My writing fears revolve around the same things as my worse nightmares - where I keep making the right decisions but everything keeps getting worse and spiraling out of control - and I am usually increasingly isolated.<br /><br />I guess I fear I will keep doing 'the right things' - writing, editing, sending out, trying new projects, putting in the hours - but that the end goal of being a successful published author will always slip away. I keep banging away, but the Universe seems to be completely silence on teh issue. I guess I fear being an old man who looks back on a wasted life from atop a pile of waste paper. Cheery, huh?Chris McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17883058490702361466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-69375932290489629192009-12-16T18:23:42.205-05:002009-12-16T18:23:42.205-05:00Amanda,
Okay, being afraid they'll laugh at yo...Amanda,<br />Okay, being afraid they'll laugh at your stuff is akin to being afraid everyone is taking note of everything you do at cons. I won't use the word ridiculous because it might not get it across, instead I'll laugh myself silly.<br />Look, they're busy, they're overwhelmed. Laughing at you would take time and you'd need to be a special kind of bad. How special? <br />Let's just say the one story we laughed at when we were editing a magazine made the world's worst book (those of you whom I've introduced to it know what it is. The other ones... give thanks on bended knee.) look like a flawless piece of storytelling. I mean it was beyond suckingly bad while still retaining coherent sentences (which most bad stuff doesn't) so that the end result was like a parallel dimmension populated entirely by crazy people and cartoon characters. You couldn't write anything like that anymore than you can paint the cistine chapel. It is my considered opinion it takes years of training and a perverse taste to be THAT bad. No sane or semi-sane person could achieve it.<br />Because it's you, and you won't believe me, let's just say the story was entitled "Pretty x-color Planet" and read like one of those colored jokes from the seventies you know "the little purple man got up in his purple house, etc." which ends with "And the green nurse was ordered off hte purple operating room because she wasn't in the joke."Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-87823514379190018712009-12-16T18:17:18.691-05:002009-12-16T18:17:18.691-05:00RJ,
Yeah on the imperfections. Also, the thing is...RJ,<br />Yeah on the imperfections. Also, the thing is if you're a perfectionist and overdue it, you pack too much information per sentence -- as it were. So that you end up with stuff that gives you the idea of "Take notes, there will be a test afterwards." I know whence I speak (ruefully.)Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-80920373745740436452009-12-16T17:49:37.549-05:002009-12-16T17:49:37.549-05:00What do I fear? Well, you have already hit one --...What do I fear? Well, you have already hit one -- that they will laugh and laugh and laugh when they read my submission. Not because it's that good, but because they think it is that bad. I can see a youtube video poking fun at it and it being sent around in an email to all the editors and agents as one of those "OMG, can you believe this?" sort of things.<br /><br />Oh, I also fear the pointy toe of your boots connecting with a certain part of my anatomy for having the above fear. ;-p<br /><br />I also have to fight the fear that my short story or novel isn't good enough and needs to be edited "just one more time". <br /><br />Okay, going back to the mad Russians to finish them up, hopefully, before the New Year.Amanda Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927312739323222344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-38761399297574243332009-12-16T17:18:22.069-05:002009-12-16T17:18:22.069-05:00Y'know Sarah, you make a very good point about...Y'know Sarah, you make a very good point about over-editing; it's the tiny imperfections that make a story unique -- kinda like a diamond.<br /><br />Reminds me of an anecdote about when they were filming <i>The Manchurian Candidate</i> (the original with Frank Sinatra): in one of the climactic scenes with Sinatra and co-star Lawrence Harvey, they discovered after the first take (which was just an excellent take) that the camera was out of focus. So, they re-focused and re-shot. Unfortunately, Frank Sinatra was the kind of actor who usually did his best work on his first take, and this time proved no exception. So, after repeated takes just didn't measure up, they decided to sneak the unfocused take in and hope nobody noticed.<br /><br />Well, when the movie was released, people <i>did</i> notice -- and they raved about how brilliant director John Frankenheimer was for perfectly capturing the out of focus perspective of Lawrence Harvey's emotionally-shattered character. And it worked because the storytelling was so well done that a technical flaw actually added to the film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-76305497257991428062009-12-16T15:52:14.147-05:002009-12-16T15:52:14.147-05:00Rowena,
Natch, I also felt like a stranger in Port...Rowena,<br />Natch, I also felt like a stranger in Portugal. I'm convinced PTerry was talking about writing when he describes his witches as the ones who stand aside and watch, and have the first sight and the second thoughts. I enjoyed a bried popularity when I -- well, 's truth -- invented role playing games and got the whole school playing them in third and fourth grade. Robin Hood, mostly. But in the bigger middle school no one wanted what I was selling. It took till late highschool and boys before I was sought after again -- for entirely different reasons (G)<br /><br />OTOH when I moved here, for the first few years it was different. I felt that my inner works were not only different but radically different. Different enough people would turn on me if they knew. It was stupid, of course, and a minor form of paranoia, but everyone in that writers' list who'd been born abroad reported that.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-5825418591963124332009-12-16T15:49:08.861-05:002009-12-16T15:49:08.861-05:00Rowena,
On stopping editing. Give your inner edit...Rowena,<br />On stopping editing. Give your inner editor a name. Then teach him some manners. Mine is Fred. He's small, has a clipboard, glasses and speaks in a nasal whine. I've performed all manners of indignity upon Fred when he breaks out of his dungeon at an inappropriate time. Mostly, I like to gag him and dangle him by one foot over an alligator pit while I write.<br />Little do the alligators know he's indigestible!Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-12640939688231953692009-12-16T15:47:08.695-05:002009-12-16T15:47:08.695-05:00Matapam,
THey have slush readers. I've made ...Matapam,<br /><br />THey have slush readers. I've made it through slush and so can you. The thing is, in most mags, you'd no longer go into general slush. You have one pro sale. This is a much smaller field and possibly fewer dead tribesmen.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-42006833074843934462009-12-16T15:46:16.310-05:002009-12-16T15:46:16.310-05:00Chris,
STOP now. Let me tell you about the first...Chris,<br /><br />STOP now. Let me tell you about the first story I sold. Three times. And which also was an honorable mention in year's best (94. wow) Okay -- I wrote it and sent it out, and no one wanted it, and everytime it came back, I found more stuff to edit. Until I had it "perfect" and still no one bought it. So one day I brought out that "perfect" story and read it. I was lifeless. So I went and read the first one... and it rang with life. I discarded the perfect version, sent out the "unedited" one. And lo and behold, Thirst sold. Four times.<br />Chances are you're overeditting. Almost all the stories I sold had at least one spelling mistake. THAT's not the important part. Now, if the story has glaring ones, and everywhere, that's one thing -- though some authors sell even so. BUT some errors won't prevent you selling. STOP worrying about the words. Concentrate on plot and character. To make me happy -- that's your goal in life, right? -- read both swain books. Also Self Editting for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and David King. Then try again. But remember, what has to be perfect is NOT the wording, but the story telling. Don't believe me? Read the first three Laurell Hamiltons. The French is not really French, the spelling... the grammar... the characters that change heights and hair color. Doesn't matter. Still sold.Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-89664842553531857522009-12-16T14:58:08.246-05:002009-12-16T14:58:08.246-05:00Matapam,
Do you have slush overload?
It is proba...Matapam,<br /><br />Do you have slush overload?<br /><br />It is probably a technical term in publishing. 'Save me', the intern cries, 'if I read another slush manuscript I'll go stark raving mad.'Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-82775474988965262832009-12-16T14:56:28.728-05:002009-12-16T14:56:28.728-05:00Sarah,
Really enjoyed your post. You say you alwa...Sarah,<br /><br />Really enjoyed your post. You say you always felt like someone was going to walk up behind you and say, you don't fit in.<br /><br />I feel that way about life. I spent my childhood watching all the other children, trying to work out why they did the things they did. Even though they spoke English, it was like they operated on an alien system of values.<br /><br />I still have patches of feeling like that, like there's this whole conspiracy where other people know what's going on and I don't. <br /><br />So, when I send a manuscript off, I know intellectually, that it will just sit there until a stressed editor gets around to reading it, but emotionally, I see them picking it up and saying, she still doesn't get it.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-60732234763287368432009-12-16T14:52:43.232-05:002009-12-16T14:52:43.232-05:00Kelsey.
Editing can grow to fill the time availab...Kelsey.<br /><br />Editing can grow to fill the time available. At some time you have to stop.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-6359610531430447522009-12-16T12:51:44.934-05:002009-12-16T12:51:44.934-05:00Okay, I have no idea what happens to a short story...Okay, I have no idea what happens to a short story. I suspect it's even worse than what happens to a novel submission (me).<br /><br />So I'll guess. <br /><br />It sits. <br /><br />Finally someone _has_ to read it. In theory, in much less time than a novel sub gets. Two paragraphs and off goes the rejection.<br /><br />My main worry is that because I don't regularly read short stories, I'm writing things that have been done to death, over and over.<br /><br />Sort of like those Fantasy writers who think they have to wipe out all but one member of some remote tribe in the first chapter, so as to motivate said survivor into fighting the Great Evil. I think they're the main reason no one wants to read slush.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-29227671897106883132009-12-16T11:47:52.762-05:002009-12-16T11:47:52.762-05:00The thing that pretty much halts me in my tracks i...The thing that pretty much halts me in my tracks is the editing. It seems like I edit a story and fix a bunch of errors, think it's pretty good, then come back later to re-read it and find even more errors. And it never stops! I think Microsoft Word spawns errors on purpose for me.C Kelseynoreply@blogger.com