October 31, 2009
NaNoWriMo Is Upon Us
NaNoWriMo begins very, very soon. I wait until midnight when I’ll start my writing engine…and fall off a cliff.
I picked the satirical fantasy. Fingers are crossed that I can actually be satirical and not moody or violent as is my want in the fantasy genre.
Join me if you are so inclined. It’s not too late to begin that wonderful and maddening journey of insanity through the lands of novel writing in a month’s time.
October 12, 2009
NaNoWriMo Ideas
My NaNoWriMo planning is at a very odd place. I have two ideas that I want to work on come November. The problem lies in which one I like more (the way I always choose between two ideas) – I like both equally. Working on two novels at once might very well kill me, however, so I’m trying to narrow it down to which will be more enjoyable.The first, I have spent two years thinking about and working on here and there. The second is a fairly new idea but the kind of novel that I’ve always thought would be fun to write (and would match NaNo’s madness perfectly).
- Broken Threads: “chick lit”
Allery Mason is a free girl. No longer bound to her parents’ oppressive rules and manipulative ways, she moves out of their house to find a new life in the bequeathed home of her late grandmother. But the abuse she has endured for twenty-one years is more than skin deep. Encumbered with the harsh realities of living on her own, Allery’s dreamy future crashes around her as she is forced to confront the deeper issues of her own emotional scars. But will it be enough to regain the man she loves?
- Untitled: satirical fantasy
A dragon on the loose. A kidnapped princess. A summons to adventurers far and near to save the kingdom from a madman and win the hand of the missing princess…provided the would-be hero finds her first, of course. Alastriona’s probation from the wingless fairy council means that she should avoid trouble at all costs but a simple mistake soon puts her right in the middle of these events. What’s a fairy with a reputation for disaster to do when her wings are at stake but humans are oh-so cute?
October 11, 2009
Story Length
One common question asked by many writers is: “How long should my story be?” The simplest answer is: as long as it takes to tell the whole story.
However, there are certain word lengths that editors prefer to see when submitting work.
- Micro-Fiction: up to 100 words
This very abbreviated story is often difficult to write and even harder to write well, but the markets for micro fiction are becoming increasingly popular in recent times. Publishers love them, as they take up almost no room and don’t cost them their budgets. Pay rates are often low but, for so few words, the rate per word averages quite high.
- Flash Fiction: 100-1,000 words
This is the type of short, short story you would expect to find in a glossy magazine, often used to fill one page of quick romance (or quick humor, in men’s mags). Very popular, quick and easy to write, and easier to sell!
- Short Story: 1,000-7,500 words
The ‘regular’ short story, usually found in periodicals or anthology collections. Most ‘genre’ zines will features works at this length.
- Novelette: 7,500-20,000 words
Often a novellette-length work is difficult to sell to a publisher. It is considered too long for most publishers to insert comfortably into a magazine yet too short for a novel. Generally, authors will piece together three or four novellette-length works into a compilation novel.
- Novella: 20,000 – 50,000 words
Although most print publishers will balk at printing a novel this short, this is almost perfect for the electronic publishing market length. The online audience doesn’t always have the time or the patience to sit through a 100,000 word novel. Alternatively, this is an acceptable length for a short work of non-fiction.
- Novel: 50,000 -110,000
Most print publishers prefer a minimum word count of around 70,000 words for a first novel and some even hesitate for any work shorter than 80,000. Yet any piece of fiction climbing over the 110,000 word mark also tends to give editors some pause. They need to be sure they can produce a product that won’t over-extend their budget, but still be enticing enough to readers to be sale-able.
- Epics and Sequels: over 110,000 words
If your story extends too far over the 110,000 mark, perhaps consider where you could either condense the story to only include relevant details or lengthen it to span out into a sequel or perhaps even a trilogy. (Unless, of course, you’re Stephen King – then it doesn’t matter what length your manuscript is – a publisher is a little more lenient with an established author who has a well-established readership.)
In most cases, industry standard preferred length is 250 words per page so a 400 page novel would be at about 100,000 words. If you want to see what size book is selling in your genre, take a look on the shelves. If the average length is 300 pages, you’re looking at a 75,000 word manuscript (approximately). One reason it’s harder for a new author to sell a 140,000 word manuscript is the size of the book. A 500+ page book is going to take up the space of almost two 300 page books on the shelves. It’s also going to cost more for the publishers to produce, so unless the author is well known, the book stores aren’t going to stock that many copies of the ‘door-stopper’ novel as compared to the thinner novel.
Remember, these word- and page-counts are only estimated guides. Use your own common sense, and, where possible, check the guidelines of the publication you intend to submit your work to. Most publishers accepting shorter works will post their maximum preferred lengths, and novels are generally considered on the strength of the story itself, not on how many words you have squeezed into each chapter.
October 10, 2009
Christian Fred
Copyright © 2009 by Jessica M.
Christian Fred tried to avoid introducing himself whenever possible. He kept his head down when people approached him, shuffled his big feet faster than they could politely follow, and hummed “mmhmms” through his clamped lips when dialogue became a necessity. This had led the villagers to regard him as sullen and rude, characteristics most disturbing in his frivolent and outgoing species. They tried to remedy this by throwing him lavish parties and cornering him on market day when he came into town for provisions. But, to their exasperation, he hunched his shoulders and walked right through the streamers every time.
A seven-foot Dominion, Christian Fred was neither Christian nor a Fred. His Freugian mother had attempted to subvert the impulsive Dominion extravagance she feared he would develop by instilling her own race’s values. She thought to solidify this by giving his Freugian senses a serious name to contemplate: that of the two human governing bodies. But she did not foresee the Freds turning anarchist nor the Christians sealing themselves inside ancient temples.
To the public eye, members of either group did not have names; they were “Fred” or “Christian” and that was all anyone needed to know.
As Christian Fred did not wish to be labeled a saint or a cutthroat, he kept his name to himself and allowed the humans to call him whatever they wished. Their simple human minds could think of only one viable option: “Rude.”
October 8, 2009
Weeping Willow
Copyright © by Jessica M.
Screams and metal clash. Chainmail and steel collide as bodies are tossed about in a free-for-all. Shrieks from the wounded and the dying fill the air below the sounds of battle. Many have already died in gruesome poses.
These dead, however, act very much alive. One peeks at his fallen friend. Another chortles at the expressive death grimace of another corpse. A few whisper to one another, their words hidden by the battle raging around them. No blood drips from their wounds; no patch of skin bears the white pallor of death. They shout encouragement and advice to their living comrades, who in turn pretend to kick at them as their attackers wait patiently for the battle to continue. When swords do clash, there is an interesting hollow thwack that accompanies it.
This is the scene I’ve watched every single day of every single month of the last five summers. While other teenage girls spend their free days shopping for things they don’t need and getting some cute-guy action underneath the mall’s escalator, I’m at the Renaissance Fair, wrapping wooden swords in tin foil for the reenactments. The cute guys that come through here consist mainly of little tykes in their strollers with ice cream smeared all over their fresh face paint. Only one guy has ever made a move for my lips and he was an elf. It ended in a clumsy wrestle on the floor when his pointed shoes tripped me.
My mother says it builds character. This is from the woman who used her divorce settlement money to purchase a permanent booth at the festival so she could begin living her dream as a full-time fortuneteller. Personally, I think the dresses she makes me wear give me plenty of character all by themselves with their big, billowing sleeves and plunging necklines.
Oh, yeah, didn’t I mention that? While she sits in her shady, multi-colored tent, looking at sweaty palms and smudged tarot cards, her sixteen-year-old daughter is a barmaid at the “Busty Maiden” snack booth. I carry watered-down lemonade and lukewarm beer to greasy, overweight customers who ask if my breasts are real and how much it would cost to take me home. They don’t even tip. I’d be making more money for less abuse at Hooters.
October 5, 2009
NaNoWriMo
Now that I am more or less finished with my novel, my attention has moved to November and National Novel Writing Month. If you have not heard of this and have always wanted a fun way to get a rough draft of a novel down, visit the site. 50,000 words in one month is not as impossible as it sounds. It can actually be quite fun.
This will be my sixth year and it still hasn’t lost its appeal. In fact, I think I may be addicted beyond repair. I’m still trying to decide on my plot and genre this year. Yes, I may be crazy for going straight from one novel to another, but I get a rush from it.
October 4, 2009
Rejected
I received another rejection slip in the mail yesterday. Not a form letter, which is nice, but “doesn’t pique my interest” is not something you want to hear every day. I am not downtrodden or even depressed, simply disappointed. This is the second short story I’ve sent to this magazine and, based on the answers both times, I suspect the story was rejected because it is not “modern edgy.” I don’t do fads, sorry. Which is starting to make me think that none of the BIG magazines will ever publish my work. No fads, no money.
Whatever. Here’s to hoping Apex likes it.
Fun stuff: my short story, A Soldier’s Regret, is out this month in the new science fiction anthology, Shelter of Daylight (edited by Tyree Campbell, editor of Aoife’s Kiss).
October 1, 2009
Novel End
I worked through the night (literally), slept for a couple hours this morning, then sat down to it again. Technically, I made my goal: I finished editing the book. However, when I read back through the chapters I had just finished, I decided to rewrite one of them, take out some stuff I just don’t like in another, and add two chapters to the total because the information is too good to pass up.
The desire to nitpick the thing to death is overwhelming. Now I know what my mentor meant when she said, “None of my novels have ever been finished. I simply abandoned them and threw them to the wolves [i.e. publishers].”
(Be assured, I will eventually abandon mine, as well. Anthony has been proofreading my earlier chapters for me so I only have until he catches up to where I am to fiddle with it.)
September 30, 2009
Personal Deadline
Today is technically the last day of my novel editing, according to my own personal deadline. My brain wants to freak out. I got behind by two very long chapters yesterday. Today I have edited two but still have three left. Tomorrow I will write more. My goal was to be finished by October 1st; whether it is morning or 11:59 PM on October 1st means nothing: it will still be within bounds.
That’s my excuse. I’m sticking to it. I cross my fingers, pray, hope, and beg that I am finished with this by day’s end tomorrow. I am ready for a rest and a guilt-free-while-doing-nothing day.
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” -Douglas Adams
