I’ve done it!
Really and truly. First I gave birth to a beautiful child. Now I have accomplished something else.
I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT.
I shouldn’t be so excited considering how much work is left to do….but I SO am!!!! “Write a book” has been one of my life’s goals since time immemorial. And now I’ve done it.
Sort of.
I didn’t realize at the time the difference between “Write a book” and “Write a good book. Publish it. Become awesome.” Cause I really meant the latter.
So, new work, here I FINALLY come!!!!
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Congratulations on the draft! I admire the ability to write fiction. I currently have 50,000 words of a memoir taking up space on my hard drive (just like most first time writers, I thought I was interesting enough to write a whole book about.) I shopped for a agent/publisher for a while, but it crushed my soul. I’ve decided to do a massive rewrite, but I can’t bring myself to start. I will take the first step next week though.
I’d love to read you book!
Lissa Lander (from Challenger)
WOOOOOO HOOOOOO Congrats Miranda! That is a huge huge accomplishment. Not that I know what I’m talking about, but I would imagine you’ve gotten over the hardest part: The “Become Awesome” part.
Lissa, you should totally take it up again. Or you could always write something new. Let me know if you’re interested in joining either of my writing groups. I know a guy, I bet I can get you in. /wink
Lol. Thanks Ade. I guess the kind of awesome I’m seeking is the awesomeness of being a published writer. Someday I will know what that feels like. This I vow!!!!
That is so awesome. I have this bad habit of writing short story collections. Anytime I think one is done I come up with another story that needs to go in it. I have two large collections and I hope to finish one in the near future. Your success has inspired me. Congratulations and good luck on the next step.
R.
Step 1: Write a book.
Step 2: Edit until it’s good.
Step 3: Keep sending it out until you get a publisher.
You’re one step closer than 90% of the aspiring authors out there, including me. Congratulations!
R- I love short stories. Well, reading them. I’m not great at writing them. But two collections finished? That’s amazing. Start getting them out there! Then tell me how to do it!
Ben- so simple, and yet so hard. When I was on step one, I thought it was the hardest. But I knew better. I knew in my heart step two would be harder. And yet, even now, I face a darker truth: step three is the hardest of all! But thanks for the encouragement!
I’m afraid I commented in the most opaque fashion. I have two short story collections that I don’t know will ever be done because every time I think they might be I get another story idea. That is the down side to short story collections; with a novel you have the story arcs and you write out and it is ready for the next step. The short stories just keep coming and coming, especially if you’ve been lucky enough to have your characters really come to life. David Drake once said, in reference to his Lord of the Isles series, that he should never have done those without an overall story arc (because they are all supposed to be stand alones) because it never ends. He can just keep writing and writing and there is no closure. I feel the same way about my short stories. I assume the day will come when I will have more words than are possible to sell in a collection and I’ll have to send it out and move on.
Short stories do have a lot different pace than novels, as well as different expectations for detail and resolution. Like most writing, reading in the genre is probably the most helpful thing if you want to give it a try. Writing short fiction could be a nice diversion for you while you work through your editing. If you haven’t read them I recommend Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, Ernest Hemingway’s entire short story collection (there are several different editions), Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, Bret Anthony Johnston’s Corpus Christi and Other Stories, and David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers stories (he has published four or five collections about these guys). There are also a lot of short story anthologies in different genres. I’m not sure what you like to read or write but Norton did an anthology of science fiction edited by Ursula LeGuin that is a fantastic study.
I really can go on and on, but hopefully that is helpful.
R.
R-
I was thinking of it totally wrong. I was thinking of short stories as unrelated bits. I have read the Martian Chronicles, though it was long ago. I don’t think I have ever read a collection in which all the stories centered on the same characters. I have read mostly themed collections, like stories about dragons or stories about my life in a series of unrelated anecdotes. I don’t think I could write a serial like Holmes, ie, come up with a character and then give him short cases to deal with. I guess (to make a horrid comparison) its sort of like writing a TV show versus a movie. One goes on and on and changes all the time. The other has its two hours and then stops. Unless it has sequels, but let’s not go there.
Anyway, I am not actually interested in becoming a short story writer, but I do enjoy reading it! I want to read more Bradbury in general. Short stories are great cause you can sit and read one and when it’s over, if you can’t pick up the book again for a week it’s ok. I like that.
Good luck with your stories! What is the premise?
Well done. Good luck with the editing and rewriting. I think you have overcome the hardest obstacle (lack of a written book) and proven to yourself that you can do it. Confidence does wonders in about every facet of life. Ride this high as long as you can and even if this book never gets published-in your lifetime-you can always look back on it as the “I can” moment that created the next Dan Brown.
/lick
I’m coming to this post very late, but I wanted to pass along my congratulations. It’s a wonderful place to be. We’re proud of you!!