After reading a particular portion of my novel my agent expressed an intense wish to defenestrate me.
That’s the kind of thing that happens when your agent has a fancy Ph.D.
To be fair, he was so very right about the section. Snip snip.
Note: Sure, it sounds great and all to have a learned agent, but I was literally raised in a “holler.”
I shall go and take a stab at it
That is what I shall do
We shall later see if this, my thrust
Is found to have been true
Nathan Bransford, who is some big-time agent, has a great post about what is up with publishing these days.
Mostly it focuses on how the power in publishing continues to shift. Very informative.
It’s called Moving the Needle.
Writers, check it.
What makes for great art? I won’t say I have no idea, but I am certainly on the shallow end of the pool, treading slowly and carefully deepward. One thing that does appear essential to me is the idea of limits. Without limits, and maybe more importantly, contrast, we don’t have much to show that will harmonize with reality on any level. Nevermind delight.
When I had the rare chance to learn from the brilliant Orson Scott Card, one thing he emphasized in world creation was this idea of limits. Our group had a long, involved, discussion that he directed on the limits of magic in stories. He emphasized that characters who can do anything and are not opposed by evil, even strong evil, are not memorable, or worthwhile.
He pointed out that Superman, at one point, had blown out a sun with his breath (like a candle). Boring. Good job Superman, but what now? Can this be the least bit interesting from here on? He said that shortly after that kryptonite was introduced, saving the character. This is why, perhaps, Batman is so much easier (seems to me) to tell a good story about than Superman.
Give me a limited, even a self-limited, character any day.
Limits are essential; cost is essential. Pain, suffering, and struggle are central to all worthwhile storytelling.
And so it is with the life of man.
We are, after all, art.
“When we are born, we are granted by God a specific number of exclamation points. When we use them up, it is our time to go.”
Dean Koontz
HT: @RachelleGardner
In the spirit of my post Tuesday –The Hunt for (a more widely) Read October– and on the anniversary of my first year at the Rabbit Room, I am posting this original essay which first appeared one year ago today on October 2, 2008 in a dimly lit corner of said Rabbit Room. The regulars laughed. Some walked out. But some stayed and some new chaps came and started small fires which caused hundreds of quid in damages. The original RR post is here. -sam
“Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.” –Joyce Kilmer
There are few finer pieces of practical theology I have read (outside of Scripture) than those tremendous words. I want to consider them in light of the Word of God, and alongside some thoughts by three guys I met at a football game -guys named Lewis, Tolkien and Milton. OK, to be honest, it wasn’t a football game. It was in books. Books are things people used to read before they invented text messaging. Sadly, these three amigos are unlikely to appear at any football games I may attend. But if my fantasy life is ever fully realized then you may see Jack Lewis coming on to kick the game-winning field-goal for the West Virginia Mountaineers with an able hold, laces out, by “Tollers.” Milton, blind as a bat, would be the long-snapper.
Writing is a business fraught with innumerable obstacles and marked by disappointments. No, it’s not like fighting-a-war hard, but it is simply very challenging if you are serious. That may seem silly but it won’t to anyone who has ever tried to get beyond the “I have a few ideas” stage and actually set to work. I don’t say that to garner pity (alone) but to say that it is easy to get discouraged about a lack of progress. I have been fighting that feeling off with varying degrees of success lately, and trying to keep my frustration in check. Then here comes October.
This October reminds me of last October. Last October was a good month for me in my efforts to be a “real writer.” I got my first paying gig writing fiction for West Virginia South magazine as they accepted my proposal to publish The Fledge Chronicles. The first story was published last October, “The Lion, the Bridge, and the Wardrobe Malfunction.” Since then they have continued to publish an installment of the serial in each publication. I am very thankful for Audrey Stanton, the editor of WVS, for being willing to publish the stories, and for her abundant supply of enthusiasm for them.
Last October I also debuted at the Rabbit Room, by the whimsical invitation of Andrew Peterson. I have posted two, or three times a month there (as AP requested) for the last year. It has been a joy to be in the company of such incredible artists and to get to know some of them a lot more betterer (see, writing is hard). The readers and posters over there have been a big encouragement to me, and I am so thankful to Andrew, and to the whole gang.
So, all in one month, I was being read by a lot more people and getting paid for it. Reflecting on this has been humbling for me this October. Who knows what awaits for me this October? Maybe more literary success. Maybe not. But I have reasons not to grumble.
Further, God seems to be kicking me in the pants with numerous exhortations to be grateful. Reminders of the mercy I’ve been given are jumping out in front of my car in a way impossible to miss. Mainly it’s the Gospel –pardon and peace with God! But it’s also babies, books, and bluegrass and many other things all singing from the same sheet music.
So October comes again. It’s another reason for skipping grumbling and going straight to gratitude. Who gets thanks? The God of Abraham.
I received word that I did not win the West Virginia Fiction Award. This was a disappointment, but it was an honor to have been included among the finalists.
It was mostly difficult because chief among the criticisms I received from the final judge were formatting issues that could have only been altered after the story was sent in (electronically).
I was asked to paste the story in the body of an e-mail (as well as attaching it in a Word document) and I can only assume that it was then copied and pasted again where the original formatting was lost.
So it was a bummer to read a detailed critique mostly about formatting issues (“Never, never, never, ever send in a story without page numbers!”) when almost all of those were in the original story.
Oh well. Such is life. Next time I’ll be sure to ask if that kind of thing is being done. And I’ll ask for UN observers. Hopefully this won’t affect my Heisman campaign.
One wonders what would have happened if the judge would have seen the story as originally formatted. But I really do still think I would have lost.
As a wise man once said, “Somebody call the waaaaambulance.”
Next week at this blog: Even more whiney action! Don’t miss it!
Here’s a link to a helpful resource from Smashing Magazine: 50 Free Resources For Writers. I don’t know about the rest of the magazine, but this part really is smashing.
If you have a blog (or communicate in some way by means of the written word) you will find it useful. I haven’t spent a lot of time with these yet, but if I post it here then I’ll be less likely to forget it exists.
As you have likely noticed, I could use some help on some areas of grammar. Like this one particular challenge: when to use effect and when to use affect (Ten Flagrant Grammar Mistakes).
#5: Effect for affect
No: The outage shouldn’t effect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn’t affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn’t have any effect on users.
Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.
Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:
No: The outage shouldn’t impact any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldn’t affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.
There’s a lot more where that came from, as that represents one part of one of the fifty resources.
Maybe we should all spend some time there, if for no other reason than to laugh at everyone else’s tweets/status updates.
I know Andrew is laughing at mine now.
HT: Michael Hyatt
The latest installment of The Fledge Chronicles is out and you don’t want to miss it.
I took that last sentence from Cliché Adverts Plus and inserted “The Fledge Chronicles” where it said “your product name.”
I am a marketing genius.
This story is called Missing Inaction and it’s the heartwarming tale of a two lovers who hate each other at first and then later they fall in love and save the factory and heal old wounds. It’s a fun ride for the whole family.
Again, Cliché Adverts Plus. I inserted “Missing Inaction,” which is the real name of my real story and it doesn’t have anything to do with two lovers and saving the factory and healing old wounds.
It’s really about what happens when a man spills coffee on his shirt while trying to exit his vehicle by means of his window. Then other stuff happens after that. There’s funny parts.
You can subscribe to West Virginia South if you want to have these stories and so much more delivered to your house anywhere in the United States.
Again, Cliché Adverts Plus.
But, there literally is a picture of a cool biplane on the cover of WVS.
The editor says in the table of contents (which is a table where magazines store their contents) that this S.D. Smith fellow will have you “roaring with laughter.” This is funny because there’s a part about a lion (recall: roaring) in this little yarn which was first discussed in The Lion, the Bridge, and the Wardrobe Malfunction. That being the first Fledge story published, this being the last –latest. This one follows up on the lion fiasco a bit.
OK, I am officially out of marketing-juice and I’d rather be punched and kicked in the corner for a few hours than look at this keyboard for ten more seconds (ever feel like that?).
Thanks to you for reading and for sending me full boxes of Big League Chew.