There must be some value to all this hurtful no-thanks, right?
Of course there is. It’s a clear sign that you’re on the right track. Why? Because a huge majority of the people calling themselves writers are not sending anything out to anyone.
Sure, if you try, you might fail. And I do. Frequently. But the surest way to fail is to not even try… every day that you don’t try, you have already failed. And the only way to succeed is to put yourself through the risks.
Like every writer (EVERY writer) I get lots of rejections, and they hurt. But it’s worth it. This is a labor of love. Love is always worth the risk.
Pain lets you know you’re alive.
So it turns out I only wrote half the novel I thought I had. Apparently, the other main character needs a whole thread of his own, from his viewpoint.
How did I find this out? My wonderful critique group, Denver Fiction Writers, told me. Well, what they told me was that they did not like the guy (my other main character) at ALL, and thought that what the female lead was doing for him was not at all justified. And they also told me that too much of the novel was happening offscreen.
In both cases, these were things I sort of knew about the story, but didn’t know how to fix, and certainly never put together into writing the other half of the novel in the male lead’s point of view.
This is why we have our work read by others!
Well, my excellent critique group, Denver Fiction Writers, has a treat – a new website design. It’s beautiful and more active, with more frequent posting and easier to follow pages and links. Nice!
In addition, we have a retreat! That’s right, this weekend, July 9th, we will be hiding behind the doors of a beautiful condo in Winter Park, where we will have writing exercises, unscheduled time, food fights and complete silliness. Food fights not guaranteed. But there will be a hot tub. And a short story writing challenge! Can’t wait!
I am truly in love with my writer’s group. The critiques are useful, the friendships are great, the motivation level is terrific. If you’re in the Denver area, why not join us?
This year we will be hosting a retreat on the weekend of July 9th, to the mountains, where we will have lots of dedicated writing time and some activities and souvenirs. Very exciting! At least 7 people are going to get to go.
Find us at http://www.denverfictionwriters.com
Heart of Gold is nearly finished. Since the main body of the work was written at such headlong speed, and since I have a terrible head for names, what it is mostly going to need is a serious going-over for inconsistencies and mixed up names of places and people.
However, it will be nice just to finish it! I’m hoping the ending is better than they usually are. Endings, the last quarter of the book, seems to be where I start suffering. Even if I have it laid out ahead of time. I’m not sure why.
Any thoughts?
So Denver Fiction Writers, my truly phenomenal critique group, is considering doing two amazing things this year. In the summer sometime, probably in late June or early July, we’re planning a writer’s retreat. We’ll sneak into the mountains, rent a cabin, and allow no one else to come. We’ll write, perhaps we’ll shop, we’ll definitely giggle, and the television will stay off.
We might also be trying to get a chance to host a panel at the Mile Hi Convention, in October. Wouldn’t THAT be cool!
Hello folks, my internet is back and functioning after a very long and frustrating outage. Huzzah!
The steampunk project I’ve been twittering bits of is kind of… stalled. I hope to restart it, but I may have to go back about a quarter of the expected length and redo. If that happens, it will be shorter, I think, which is all right, and more condensed. Meaning, more action packed, of course!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend!
Hi everyone! I haven’t been very good about updating this site, have I? I’ve been very occupied with NaNoWriMo, and then with collapsing briefly after that, before the hurry of the holiday season. I wish everyone the very best this winter!
Storied Treasure has been a big success. The original print run is about 75% sold out, and we’ve had so many good comments about it, I can’t tell you. Thanks to everyone who bought it!
And if there’s a storyteller in your life, you already know that the gift of added repertoire is something they’d… well… treasure!
