#PhantastikPrompts 23.5.:
Was würdest du im Zweifel eher ändern, das Ende, auf das deine Geschichte hinläuft, oder den Weg, den die Figuren nehmen? Warum?
Ich bin zwar Pantser, aber das Ende ist für mich meistens gesetzt (feel-good stories).
Daher ändert sich manchmal der Weg, den meine Figuren nehmen. Ab und zu überraschen sie mich nämlich mit seltsamen Entscheidungen - aber die stellen sich meistens als richtig heraus.
#PennedPossibilities 323 — What's a piece of advice for writers that you listened to and are glad for?
Write what you enjoy.
I've followed that for all my writing life. The few times I tried to write for the market, it didn't work - I either didn't finish the book or it twisted away from the idea.
I do try to hit both - and the (relative) success of my Wolf Shifter series shows that I can make it happen, to a degree. (My Shifters are not spicy and don't have Alphas...)
#PennedPossibilities 323 — What's a piece of advice for writers that you listened to and are glad for?
An Australian author, Lucy Sussex, told us at Clarion West 1998 to be shameless in promoting ourselves. Being a shy person, networking and promotion has been a heavy lift, but I working on it and I know it's going to help. Mastodon: ☑️
After trying for months to plot out a story, I abandoned it in frustration and just started writing. I've written over a thousand words today, and it feels right.
But I have no idea where it's going. Am I a Pantser? Pantsers, please advise. I'm scared. #writingcommunity
If you’re a fan of podcasts, there are over dozen podcast dedicated to #JaneAusten and the Brontes. If I’m missing any, let me know so I can update the list!
#wordweavers 22/5: Is your antagonist more a dragon or a dragon rider?
Once you’ve explained what a dragon is…
Ask Perriad and she’ll probably see herself as a dragon rider (or else as a slayer of dragons!).
Ask Jerya, or anyone else who‘s butted heads with Perriad, and they’ll see her as a dragon—and they won’t mean it as a compliment. #writingCommunity#ThreeKindsofNorth#TheSunderingWall#VowsAndWatersheds#writing#books
#WritersCoffeeClub 21/5: Format as you write or at the end?
I format my WIP solely to suit myself—preferred font, spacing, etc. It looks nothing like Standard Manuscript Format, or like my finished books, but that’s cool. The one trick is to make consistent use of Paragraph Styles so that when needed I can change all the parameters in a few clicks.
My other essential for happy writing is never to use Word. #writingCommunity#ThreeKindsofNorth#TheSunderingWall#VowsAndWatersheds#writing#books
#PennedPossibilities 322 — What piece of advice, as an author, did you once receive but hadn’t followed? Looking back on it now, you might wish that you had.
I probably should have learned about writing blurbs a lot earlier. Also should have started building a good newsletter list years ago...
But I cannot change the past.
I can only change what I do now, and I'm working to make those parts of my author business better.
#PennedPossibilities 322 — What piece of advice, as an author, did you once receive but hadn’t followed? Looking back on it now, you might wish that you had.
Advice: Don't only write novels. Write lots of shorter pieces.
When I started I saw that you could only make a living if you sold novels, so I wrote novels. That completely discounted the fabulous practice you get completing lots of smaller stories. Completing a novel takes lots of time and there's a mounting anxiety that in the end the plot will fail or no publisher will be interested. Yeah, true with short fiction, but the investment is far lower (or should be if you're doing it right). There used to be lots of magazines you could sell short fiction to... for pennies a word, but it was something, and it offered a chance to build a brand name and a following. Such notoriety could help you sell novels, too.
@DonDeBon Yep. Ray Bradbury. I think both him and Asimov told how they wrote a story DAILY for a few years (and submitting) before making that key first sale.
It was impossible to write 52 bad short stories in a row. One of them had to be good.
SLOW RENGA Respond with #haiku using the suggested first lines & start each haiku with the same first lines below: DISSONANCE… or LISTENING TO RAIN… Post haiku in comments, enjoy mulling over the first line and considering your options at different points during your day. Look forward to reading your haiku and seeing where these lines take you. #Writing#poetry#creativity#wellbeing#write#writingcommunity#amwriting#poem#writer