This Year in the Life...

Hello, Hello all.  This is probably going to mark the beginning of a short hiatus from the web for me.  I’m getting married soon and will be off on wonderful adventures for a while.

So, quick end-o-the-year writing re-cap:

*Thirty two short story outlines were created.

*Sixteen Stories made it to the writing stage (no less than 2,000 words in the document at this time).

*Ten stories made it from beginning to end.  Six completed to my satisfaction.

*Six stories currently making submissions rounds-- 2 novelettes and 4 shorts.

*Seventeen submissions made, equaling no acceptances, 12 thus-far rejections, and one WotF Finalist. 

*And then tens of thousands of words spent on three stuttering novels...

Which all adds up to...

Me needing to get myself in check!  Those numbers are pathetic, man.  I’m doing this full time, do those look like full time accomplishments?

I know I’m incredibly slow when it comes to the editing stage-- fixing consistency errors, believability issues, etc.  I don’t re-write things, but I do a good deal of chopping and adding. I’m sure as time passes I’ll get quicker, and also not need to do as much fixing.  That all comes with writing maturity that I probably don’t have yet.

Though my daily writing goal (set only a few months ago) was 2,000 words, on average I made 1,000.  Not so bad, but I definitely need to force myself to meet the goal.  What’s the point of having a goal if I don’t have the gumption to make myself reach it?  So, that has to change.

Now, I also have a tendency to write 1,000 words one day, and get rid of them the next.  Sure, it’s practice, but it’s not product.

Also getting in the way was life, as I discussed a little previously.  I’m supposed to be writing every weekday, but some times I didn’t have the time to do more than a couple of sentences, which sucks (and I don’t count those as days I wrote).  But, that means I have to find the time no matter what, even when my day is full.  No excuses.

And, I have focus issues!  I am easily distracted.  Not cool.  I’ve been working on an entry for the Illustrators of the Future contest, and that’s eaten a little into my writing time.  It takes me way longer to get a finished illustration than it does a finished story, believe it or not.  I can do one in a month if that’s all I do.  So, if I miraculously win, quality won’t be sacrificed. 

So, come the new year I need to get it together.  That’s it. 

Have a great holiday season, guys!  See you next year!

~Marina

Emotions going "Whole-Sale"?

So, bear with me a moment, I’m going to talk a little tragedy, but it really does relate to writing, you’ll see.  (And forgive me if I go all train-o-thought on you.)

I’ve been a bit subdued on-line wise lately, and it’s because I’ve got two major stresses in my life taking up most of my time.

One: My grandparent’s illness.  My grandfather just passed away a couple of days ago from Alzheimer’s complications.  He is the second grand parent I’ve had pass away this year, and it’s been tough.  He’s survived by his wife, who also has dementia. 

Two: My wedding is just around the corner.  Getting plans finalized is a hassle.

My wedding has gone hand in hand with tragedy in the family since the beginning.  But, what I’ve realized is that instead of tainting the happiness of my marriage, the impending wedding has actually served to soften the blow of my loved one’s passing.

My great-grandmother died the day after I bought my wedding dress, but that doesn’t mean my excitement about it was short lived.  I am so thankful I was able to tell her about it before she passed away (she was far too sick to leave the house, of course).  I had flown back to Oregon to go wedding dress shopping with my mom and grandma, and my great-grandma lived just long enough that I was able to share it with her.

So, the writing point:  When death accompanies birth or marriage in books, it almost always signifies more impending tragedy, or some sort of emotional black-cloud that looms over the event. 

Having experienced what I have in the past year this theme is (for me, I realize other people react to tragedy differently) unrealistic. 

Instead of lamenting that my grandparents can’t come to my wedding, I’m eternally grateful that they got to meet my fiancé and be part of the preparations before they died.

Now, I can see the sentiment being “black cloud” if the deaths were unexpected or sudden.  Neither of the ones I’m talking about were.  My great grandmother was 97, my grandfather had been sick for years. 

So, perhaps that’s the difference.

What’s I’m trying to get at is emotional situations in writing should not be treated “whole-sale,” and they often are.

Not everyone grieves the same way.  Not everyone loves the same way.  There is no equation for feeling, no “this event = this emotion.”

As a writer, I need to get into a character’s head and know how they would specifically react to given situations.  As a reader, I often see sets of standard-reaction-cards being put in place of real emotions in stories.

Why is this?

I think it comes from the same place clichéd sayings come from.  We see it repeatedly, and it becomes an ingrained, knee-jerk description (like “knee-jerk,” for example).   It’s not the most effective way to get the point across, but it’s convenient.

In plots and prose, convenient is a dirty word.

So, how to overcome it?

When you’re in that moment, feeling those feelings, write it down.  When I was grieving for my great-grandmother, that’s what I did.  Just an hour after she died I knew I wanted to capture what I was going through in words (to be honest, more so for my personal sake than my writing’s, but it translates well).

On my wedding day, I plan to have a note-pad on stand by.

The key to this exercise is not to use any words that are standardly associated with the feeling.  If you can’t find a more specific way to write it, at least use little-used synonyms.  This will divorce your thinking from the whole-sale carbon copies.

I’ve found this to be a very good way to stay genuine and not have stereotypical pseudo-feelings creep into my work as much as they would other wise.

Have you ever done this before?  If not, maybe you’ll find it useful too.  Hope so!

~Marina

Rejections with the goal of 100: a measly 9

The Funny Thing About Being Funny

After all the praise I gave the place, Barns and Noble goes and interrupts my Mojo.  What did they do?  They took away all my outlets!  Screwed nice little safety plates over the lot of them.  So now I’ve been forced to either buy a second battery for my laptop (which my fiancé is skeptical will ever get charged), or find a new place to get in the groove. 

I’ve spent some time at the library, but it’s just not the same…

Yesterday I found my groove in a remarkable place: my house.  Wow, yes, I wrote from home.

4,000 words, to be not-exactly exact (plus a couple dozen or so).  That’s an eye-popping amount for me.

However, it may or may not have been truly productive, as I was taking a foray into comedic sci-fi.  It’s my second attempt.  The first humorous short story I wrote ended up failing miserably because, frankly, it was far too serious to be funny.  This one I’m trying to keep light and ridiculous.  We’ll see how it’s received.

I think comedy is extremely challenging.  So much of it is flow and timing, which is hard to get right in prose.  In a regular story, it usually isn’t such a big deal if the reader doesn’t read a line (or group of lines) exactly as you intended it to be read.  They may naturally pause in a different place, or think the emphasis lies on a different word.  What sounds one way to you may sound totally different to them, but it doesn’t create real problems.  In comedy it does.  What’s funny to the author may be stupid to the reader, and not just because of the content, but because of how it flows.

I’m trying to get this first draft edited so that my first readers can have a shot at it tonight.  Because I feel like I’m on shaky ground with this genre I seem to be able to separate myself from it more easily.  Because I’m not as confident with it, I’m more willing to chop and splice things to get them right.  If the readers tell me something’s not funny, out it’ll go!  I’m not going to coddle the pages and say, “no, not my precious words!” like I sometimes do…  Actually, I’m pretty good at acknowledging when a reader is right about something, but I usually put up a big fight before conceding.  Not this time.  If it’s bad, it’s bad, no argument from me.

Of course, there’s plenty in it I’ll be sad to see go if they don’t find it funny.  The bigger jokes I’ll probably try and rewrite to get the timing down.

Of course, there’s always the possibility of squid-in-the-mouth.  I think most newbie attempts at comedy fall into this category.  They venture beyond strange into un-laughably grotesque and un-relatable.    

I think there’s a pretty big consumer market for comedy out there, but so few people to fill it because it really is difficult.  That’s why it’s sad that professionals always apologize when they give awards to works of comedy, as though by virtue of what it is it should be unworthy of high-praise.  Hey, I think if it was something everybody could do there would be a lot more of it out there.  Those who can pull it off deserve to be acknowledged.

So, anyway, that’s my newest writing exercise.  Have you ventured into any new territory lately?

~Marina

Writers of the Future Q2 Results!

Nope, didn’t win.  Yeah, bummer, but I’m not super disappointed, to tell you the truth.  Well, I’m disappointed, but I don’t feel bad about it. 

From the beginning of my wait I refused to let myself fantasize about winning.  That kept me pretty positive.  When I got the call from Joni telling me I hadn’t won, I focused on the good things she had to tell me.  Two of the judges really liked it and had good things to say to her about it.  Awesome.  The contest would also like to hold onto it for possible inclusion in the anthology, which is definitely a plus. 

So, I’m not upset.  Actually, my fiancé was way more upset by the news than I was.  I had to remind him that KD Wentworth said it was the toughest quarter to date, and I was a contributor to that. 

You know how people at award shows always say, “It was an honor just to be nominated,” after they lose and they’ve got this tone in their voice that says, “Screw this award”? 

Well, it is an honor just to be nominated, and I really mean it.  There’s no way that I could have expected to come that close to winning in the short amount of time I’d been writing with a career in mind.

I realized about two weeks ago that my Q2 finalist was only the second short story I’d ever written for myself (not for school).  I thought some more and realized it was only the 7^th I’d written in my entire life, dating way back to that first one in 4^th grade. 

It was my first attempt at writing a short story after I’d made the commitment to a writing career (My Q1 entry was something I’d written four years previous).  Since I’d spent the first 6 months of this new career trying to spew out a novel, the short story attempt ended in a novelette, but still. 

I’d never tackled a story that spanned millennia before.  And I’d never written a story with 7 distinct POVs before.  And I’d never attempted to write anything in the realm of hard science before.

So, my Q2 entry was largely experimental.  I finished it feeling it had been an exploratory piece.  I felt it was a good story, but not something I’d built on a tried and tested foundation.

It was the most agreeable thing I’ve ever written.  It’s 13,000 words and I wrote it in three consecutive days.  Sure, for some people that’s no big deal, but up ‘til that point I’d been lucky to get in 1,000 words a day.

Having it picked by KD was a proud moment for me, a real accomplishment in itself.  Even if I didn’t win, someone liked it.  A professional in the field liked it, and that means the world to me.

And now I’ve been told that two other judges liked it.  So I’ve got three stamps of approval.  It means I started off down the trail in the right direction.  If I keep putting one foot in front of the other I’ll reach the goal someday.

In summary, I didn’t win, but I’m still on top of the world :)

Congrats to the winners!  Especially regular WotF forum frequenter, Patty Jansen, who won first place :)

~Marina

That Magic Ten Percent

Or five percent, or twelve, or whatever arbitrary percentage you’d like. 

What magic percentage am I talking about?  It’s that thing, you know, “It.”

There’s a hot-button word that, in the writing community, gets a similar hair-raising, fervent reaction that the word “luck” does. 

Talent.

Mention it and someone automatically has an opinion--not usually about the context it was used in, but about the existence or non existence of this thing we mean when we say “talent.”

Usually when talent is mentioned two major factions (on message boards, blogs, etc.) arise:  There are those that believe you don’t get anywhere unless you’ve got this undefined thing called talent, and those who believe talent is a mental roadblock to success and nothing more.

I’ve seen professional writers say, “No one ever told me I was good at this when I was young, and look at me today, I’m making my living at it, therefore talent doesn’t exist.”

I’ve also seen professionals say, “You’ve either got it or you don’t.”

And, of course, newbies just pick whichever opinion appeals to them and then parrot it back to the masses.

I simultaneously agree and disagree with both camps.

When talking about talent, no one ever tries to define what they’re arguing about.  Talent seems to be an untouchable, mystical concept.  Some attempt to give it a fuzzy outline by calling it the ever more ambiguous “it-factor” and the like, but no real meat is ever put on this skeletal definition.  This is a problem.

Then they apply the concept to the mechanical act of writing; the physical placing of words on a page.  This is also a problem.

I believe talent has about as much to do with the physical act of writing as it has to do with a baby walking or a bird flying: none. 

Anyone willing to learn can be taught to communicate, and to do it well.  Some have to work harder at it than others, but that has more to do with aptitude than talent--no, the two aren’t synonyms in my book.  Your level of aptitude can change over time.  Your level of talent cannot.

So, how do I define talent?

Well, first, let’s get out of our Writer Heads.  Things always get clouded when you’re too close to the subject. 

Let’s pretend we’re all taking art 101, Basic Sketching Techniques.  Sure, some students show more initial aptitude than others, but the professor can show each of us over time how to see the lighting in a scene separate from the objects, and how to create texture, and how to compose a balanced picture.

Sketch artists are taught to see the world around them and use technique to reproduce it.  Just like a writer is taught how to put words to paper in a compelling order that makes a complete story.

Our art professor can teach us how to see the world in front of us.  What s/he can’t teach us is how to see the worlds that aren’t in front of us.

No one can teach you imagination.  And that’s where talent comes into play.

Yes, it can be honed and exercised, but it’s not a technique someone can give you.  They can teach you rhythm, effective ways to use different POVs, plotting, thematic enhancement, punctuation, why not to use “ly” words every chance you get…

But they can’t teach creativity.  Either you have a uniquely creative mind, or you don’t.

That being said, the most imaginative people are not automatically moved to the head of the to-be-published line.

Why?

Because hard work and practice matter!

I don’t care if you’ve got the most creative mind on the planet, if you don’t apply yourself and learn the nuts-and-bolts of properly communicating your ideas, you’re not going to make it anywhere.

And that’s why even people without super-duper-spanking-awesome imaginations have a real shot at seeing their writing dreams come true too.  It’s all in the execution.

Talent is like the frosting on the cake: It’s a sweet thing to have, but without a solid foundation, its just fluff.  In the end, readers need meat and potatoes to sustain themselves--great writing, great mechanics, great composition.

Talent certainly doesn’t make you “the chosen one,” but if you’ve got a strong work ethic and a great imagination, you might just have the edge it takes to rise above the rest.

So, it’s not really magic, and it’s not really a percent.  It’s more like a piece of a probability equation.  Are you more likely to get published if you’re “talented?”  Well, that depends on if you have the real “it-factor.”  And I think you know what that is.

~Marina

P.S. Totally my opinion, you're welcome to state yours too!

Number of rejections, goal of 100: 6

Bending the Stats

I’m a lurker.  I frequent several forums nowadays, but only post at WotF.  And I’ve noticed an odd trend.

Once in a while a newbie shows up and asks others what their rejection-to-sale ratio is.  They’re looking to see if they’re on track.  They’re looking for averages to compare themselves too.

But the replies end up giving them erroneous statistics. 

Firstly, there’s not much one can gauge from other people’s numbers.  Every writer is different (how many times have you seen that statement?).  Some are better at gauging which market their stories are fit for, some have higher skill sets than others, some blossom early, others take decades to get anywhere.  Just because Author A sold the second short story they ever wrote does not at all make it the norm.  So that newbie probably shouldn’t be comparing themselves to others-- especially others they know nothing about.  If these people work completely differently than you, and have an entirely different skill set, how does their experience apply to you?

Secondly, some of the repliers “bend the stats” (not all, of course).  There are a number of “Oh, I sold my first story on the fourth try out” or “most of my sold stories I never got any rejections on.”  Wow, looks like we’ve got super-talented people on our hands, no?  Maybe that newbie should feel bad about their 20 rejection slips.

Except we’re not getting the whole story here.

Luckily there’s always someone who replies to the thread to point this out, so I can stay in lurker mode. 

Some of these quick-sellers have links to their sales lists that you can visit.  Upon investigation it’s easy to discover why they’ve got such high sales-to-rejects ratios.  They’re selling to non-paying or token markets with acceptance rates of around 80% (Duotrope percentages).

Now, I don’t begrudge people who sub to these markets.  They’re not for me-- for me it seems the only reward for publishing in a non-paying market is an ego-stroke, as I’m not being fiscally compensated and the “publication credit” isn’t worth the cover letter it might be printed on.  And I don’t really need my ego stroked today.  But, non-paying and token markets are more likely to give feed-back if they reject you, which can be very useful to newbies.

But the point is, if the newbie who started the thread at the forum sees these high acceptance ratios, and they’ve got 6 rejections from Asimov’s and 6 from Analog and 8 from Fantasy and Science Fiction, they might say to themselves “hmm, I must not be any good, because all of these people sold straight away, and I can’t.” 

They might be discouraged by faulty stats, and that’s just not fair. 

In fact, I’d say that a higher number of rejections indicates a more ambitious writer, rather than a poor writer. 

Who knows, the newbie might be a much better writer than aforementioned “Author A,”  but because they’re sending manuscripts to a market that’s got a less than 2% acceptance rate and Author A is sending to a market that’s 80%, it looks like Author A is more successful.  Of course, Author A might just be short-changing themself, and really they could be published in much better markets if they were willing to endure a few more rejections. 

The point is, these stats need qualifiers.  Or the initial question needs a qualifier.  Perhaps asking “What is your sale-to-rejection ratio in pro-paying markets” might be a better way to start off.  But the newbies don’t know that.  They’re just learning. 

And it falls to the people who have been at this for a while not to lead them astray.

So, the moral is full disclosure.  Any sales are awesome, be proud, but be specific.  Bending the stats doesn’t help anyone.

Example of such a thread:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191145

Example of Newbies that need guidance, not led astray:

http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/006439.html 

~Marina

P.S.  Alternate viewpoints always welcome.

P.P.S.  I took Gwendolyn Clare’s advice and sent some more stories out, in lieu of waiting until I hear about WotF Q2.  Thanks for the kick in the pants, girl!

Rejections with goal of 100: 5

The Talking Head Said...

Anonymous said...

Butt kissers advance, females more so than males, and getting published has more to do with luck than with skill. I've been out and about for fifteen years, have great credits, and yet not one agent I sub to knows my name. Fifteen freaking years, and I'm nowhere. There are many authors in my boat. However, I'm self-publishing because I can, and will gain recognition, an audience, make money without cost to me, building my platform reguardless. I'm good. Better than most. I may never get published the old way, but I can sure make my bones with readers the new way. It is Reader's Choice, with the world at our feet. Published authors know this and are indeed joining our ranks. Say what you will, but nothing I said is false. You cannot prove me wrong. Standard publishing is a joke. A bad joke.

9/15/2010 9:32 PM

So, this is a reply to the Writers Beware blog.  The original post was an off-spin post related to the idea that publishing is not a crapshoot; specifically, it related to the lack of stats on rejections and publishing.

No, I didn’t reply to this person, as much as I wanted to.  There’s no sense in arguing with someone who has such strong, warped ideas about the world, but doesn’t want to take responsibility for those ideas by associating their name with the statements.

Clearly they knew there was something wrong with the comments, or else they wouldn’t have had a problem claiming them.

And they’re right to leave the reply anonymous.  If I knew this person’s name I’d never want to pick up their work.  They’d have turned me off to their name for life.  And they probably aren’t going to get anywhere with those attitudes, because I can’t see people wanting to work with someone who is clearly arrogant and unwilling to learn what it takes to reach the success they want.

And no, I don’t mean they should learn to butt-kiss.

I’d like to point out that there’s no reason a woman’s butt-kissing should be more successful than a man’s.

Sexist comments aside, I have a big issue with people who don’t take responsibility for their own lives, in any aspect.  Blaming others is unproductive.  It doesn’t make people sympathetic towards your plight.  And it suggests you aren’t willing to acknowledge your faults in order to improve.

And if someone doesn’t improve, it’s not a mystery as to why they haven’t succeeded in 15 years of trying.

This Anon made one statement that’s absolutely true: you can’t prove them wrong.  Irrational is as irrational does.  There are no stats on butt-kissing, and if I don’t know their name I can’t judge the quality of their work.

I’m beginning to think their comments were the bad joke, not ‘standard publishing.’

~Marina

How to Channel your Writing Mojo

Well, this is how I get into the groove, anyway. I find the title of John Scalzi’s blog-become-book, You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop, greatly amusing, because I’m one of those weirdoes who sits in a coffee shop and writes. And believe me, my intent is not to fool, it’s to work.


I have a horrible time trying to work at home. There are tons of distractions. I have one room in the house that’s really mine (not shared with my fiancé), and that’s our funky sun-room that I’ve turned into my “office” (or rather, a studio for painting and drawing and sewing and jewelry making and, supposedly, writing). But I don’t just write there, and that’s the problem. I do tons of things in that room. And I always feel like I should be doing the dishes, or paying the bills, or, you know, watching TV when I’m at home. Home, for me, is not compatible with Marina-in-work-mode.

Second reason why I have a hard time focusing at home: I’ve trained myself that the smell and taste of coffee equal work. I don't make coffee at home, out of respect for Alex (aforementioned fiancé). He cannot stand the smell of coffee, and the taste literally makes him gag. So I don’t even make instant coffee at home to avoid stinking up the house.

So, my solution to my short at-home attention span and coffee-free environment was to find a place outside of the house to use as a workspace.

And I already had one ready-made.

Every time I go into Barns and Noble I feel like writing. It’s been that way since I can remember. Being surrounded by books makes me want to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys). So, when I began looking for a place to work, I had an easy choice right there. If I always feel like working in B&N, why shouldn’t I work in B&N?

But I spend at least the time it takes my laptop battery to run out (about 2 hours) in the coffee shop/café portion of the store. Because, A, I can get my coffee there, and B, there are tables there on which to place my laptop.

I venture to the back of the actual bookstore whenever I have need of a plug (there aren’t any in the café). In fact, most of my Q2 finalist entry was written with me cross-legged on the floor, staring at baby-name books, while trying to use my own thoughts to drown out the sounds of little children crashing toy trains together on the other side of the shelf (until one of the booksellers was nice enough to bring me a chair… he couldn’t do much about the kids). But, of course, each day I began in the coffee shop.

I’ve been going regularly to B&N for about a year now. People there know my name, they ask me why I don’t work there, they tease me about getting a plaque for the table I sit at everyday. But, what’s more, they ask me about my writing. So, mentally, I make myself accountable to those queries. They want to know about my progress, so I tell them. Perhaps they are just being polite to a frequent customer--but the fact that one of the booksellers (who also writes) likes to sit with me a few minutes and discuss books now and again suggests otherwise.

I enjoy the atmosphere there. I enjoy the people, both the employees and the other customers (though I only people-watch the patrons).

So, that’s how I channel my Mojo. I’m a coffee shop writer, and I really do write.

How do you Mojo?

~Marina

Writing Goals

I’ve heard that presenting your writing goals publically helps you stick to your plan. So, here are my goals.


As of now, I only really have two. The first I’ve already stated: 100 rejections. This is my way of turning something perceived as negative into a positive. I’m working towards the goal of 100 with the belief that by the time I reach that goal I will have achieved my first professional publication.

Goal number two: This one’s a daily goal. I aim to write 2,000 words a week day. I know I can achieve this, I’ve written more than twice that on days I am struck with pure, constant creative inspiration. However, right now I’m probably averaging 500 to 1,000 words a day and only about once a week hitting my goal word count. Hopefully posting this will help me to kick my butt in gear.

I’ve hit a slow spot in my submissions because of my WotF Q2 limbo. I haven’t sent anything out since learning of my position because I want to be sure I put the right credential on my cover letters (did I only earn a finalist credit, or do I get to mention a win?). So I feel a bit delinquent, to tell you the truth. I can’t reach 100 rejections if I don’t send anything out!

If you’re so inclined, tell me about your goals. I’d like to know what they are. I’ve seen that some people give themselves word quotas for the year, which is pretty nifty.

And if you want to tell me about a goal, it doesn’t even have to be a writing goal :)

~Marina

Why I love the Writers of the Future Forum

Since my last post was a bit sour, I decided it was time to post a sweet.

I’ve been thinking about this a bit lately, since the forum has been so quiet and I miss the chatter--even the idle chatter.

I really love the Writers of the Future Forum. The members are incredibly supportive of each other. Everyone there is an aspirant, and most people are on roughly the same level. Instead of cut-throated-ness and catty pre-professional jealously, there’s a lot of camaraderie. Everyone is always eager to congratulate others on their successes, and to offer support when some lacking confidence in an aspect of their writing.

And what’s even better is that everyone there is opinionated. The great atmosphere hasn’t evolved from people walking on eggshells. It’s evolved from honest, straight forward, experienced-based opinions. Sure, once in a while feathers get ruffled, but that’s bound to happen when a bunch of eclectic personalities get shoved in a metaphorical room together. But everyone tends to stay respectful, even when they strongly disagree.

Perhaps it’s my in-experience with writer’s forums that has made me so fond of this particular one. I’ve only belonged to one other. It was small, and didn’t last long, and people there weren’t very nice. They were oddly arrogant for not having professional sales, and often prodded people (not in a playful way) when they did make a sale-- they tried to downplay that individual’s success because they felt it somehow reflected on their lack of success (I’m guessing, of course). It wasn’t a very nice environment, and I didn’t stay a part of it for more than a few months.

I think the Writer’s of the Future contest has created something great here beyond the fantastic opportunity and rewards they offer winning writers. They offer a place that encourages competitors to start a dialogue. The aspirants urge each other to meet their writing goals, and to get an entry in every quarter.

I’ve found it to be an enriching environment, especially since I don’t have a local writing group in which I can make connections with other people struggling through the same stages I am.

So, in short, it’s a great place. I encourage you to visit if you haven’t. The link can be found top left of my blog (the only link in the links section-- I’ve been lazy. There are a lot more links I need to add).



~Marina

Why Wikipedia is Part of a Global Disinformation Act

No, I’m not talking conspiracy, though it would tickle me pink if it was a conspiracy. I can’t tell you how often I see people quoting Wikipedia as if it is The-Text-So-Holy. At least once a day if not more.

But, if you want to know one thing about me, it’s this: Don’t ever, ever quote Wikipedia at me. If you do, I might not kill you, but it’ll make me cry myself to sleep at night. And I’m a sweet girl, really. You don’t want that

I occasionally refer to Wiki, but hardly ever. And I never ever directly quote it. And I absolutely can’t stand it when people do.


Why am I so down with Wikipedia?


Because I cannot tell you how often I see “facts” on there that are blatantly wrong.


Here’s a clue, people: Anyone can post on Wikipedia. Anyone. Joe-Blow-Shmoe.
And now I hear the cry of, “But wait, they have fact checkers!”


Dude, do you know how many articles there are on Wikipedia? Get a clue, no matter how vigilant you are, you can’t catch everything. Heck, unless you know everything you can’t catch everything. Fact checkers don’t even get 100% of factual mistakes in text books, and you think they can reign in a monster like Wikipedia?


I first started paying real attention to Wiki in college. Everyone said it was the quick way to beef up an essay with tidbits. So, I went, I read, and I was flabbergasted. I was a history major, and there’s one thing in history that’s pretty easy to verify: dates. There are official beginning and end dates to wars, and reigns, and voyages, etc.


And during my time in college I saw at least 6 incorrect dates on Wikipedia. Ranging from off by a year or two, to being off by decades. Sure, they’re all corrected now, but how many poor kids went around thinking the War of the Roses ended in 1555 before it was changed?

Those are some of the easiest mistakes to catch, and yet I saw a fair few of them. So what about the mistakes that aren’t so easy? And what about when people put wrong information up on purpose? How many hits does a page get before those things get caught?


Now, that applies to any research I/you might have to do as a writer. If you’re relying on Wikipedia as your main source, you better think twice, because someone is bound to call you out on you lack of knowledge on a subject.


Of course, I’m not saying Wiki is always wrong. It’s not. It’s a wonderful tool, as long as you understand its short comings, and my main complaint is that many of its users don’t seem to understand that it is fallible. Always use multiple sources for facts, no matter what your primary go-to.

And do people not pay attention to the top of the page where many articles state This article needs additional citations?


I once did a critique for someone who got some pretty basic things about African history wrong. When I pointed them out, he said he’d thought he’d done all the research a lay-person could do. Meaning he thought that the things I pointed out could only be learned in the annals of academia--closed stores of information that one had to have a Ph.D. to access.


But, had he been to a public library? No. Did he own books on the subject? No. Had he spent most of his time on Wikipedia? You betcha.


What’s even worse is when a writer relies on it for a grammar definition. I saw some place someone trying to defend a rhyme as an alliteration, and their basis for their defense came from an incorrect definition on Wikipedia. Not only was the definition incorrect, but their interpretation of the definition was incorrect, so all around things were getting warped.


This is a big problem, people. If you don’t know the basics of a subject, get a book. Don’t rely on a web site that can easily feed you as much bull-pucky as veggies.


It is a conspiracy, I tell you. Wikipedia wants us all to look stupid.


~Marina


P.S. Feel free to defend Wiki’s stuff in the comments. This is my opinion, based on my observations, you certainly don’t have to share it.


Rejection count, goal of 100: 4

Processes of Reading and Writing

I received something in the mail this morning that brightened my entire day: a book. It was a thank-you gift from Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It has gone into my reading queue, and hopefully it won’t be too long before I get it read.

I read books in an odd way (well, odd according to most people I know, maybe some of you share my eccentricity). I don’t wait to finish one book before moving onto the next. On average, I read three books at the same time. Usually I read two fiction books and one non-fiction. I do this because I read according to mood. I don’t just feel like reading, I feel like reading something in particular.


For example, here’s my current batch:

Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

Writers of the Future, Volume XX

Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Second Edition, edited by Douglas C. Giancoli

Normally the non-fiction book is for my own general edification, but seeing as I’m neither a scientist nor an engineer, it’s probably obvious that I’m doing some technical research for a specific, work-related reason. It’s actually one of my fiancé’s old textbooks (I’m guessing from his undergrad studies).

Sometimes my fiction books are separated thematically, but this time they’re separated by story length: a novel and a baker’s dozen short stories or so.

I also write like I read, which can be a major problem some times. I don’t read cover-to-cover before starting something else, and I don’t write from concept-to-polish before beginning a new project. And again, it all has to do with mood. I fall in and out of love with themes, and stories, and worlds and have to have somewhere else to vacation to for a while. This means I’ve got probably a half a dozen stories sitting between the writing and editing stages, and at least two dozen that have been temporarily abandoned at the outline stage.

Now, luckily this doesn’t translate into me not finishing things. I do. However, this can create inconstancies in voice and style in manuscripts I leave half finished and then come back to. Also, if I don’t have a complete vision for the story and I move away from it, I have a harder time taking up the reigns again.

So, I’ve been really fighting against my natural tendencies lately. I’ve been trying to force myself to work on one thing at a time, only letting myself get distracted enough to make notes on new ideas. I wrote my WotF finalist story in three straight days (editing took waaaaaay longer), and I had the entire story crystal clear in my mind before I wrote the first word. Both of my first readers said they could see a big, positive difference, and apparently so could KD Wentworth. I’m doing my best to stick to this new process, but I’m still fighting with it. Some stories are working with me, and some insist on kicking and screaming.

Hopefully one day my process and I will become one.

~Marina

Writers of the Future Q2

Well, I’ve been keeping a secret for the past couple of weeks. My quarter 2 entry into the Writers of the Future contest earned one of the 8 finalist slots. I was so excited when I got the call (which I missed, I noticed I had a voicemail from an unknown number), my hands were shaking. I never expected to make this sort of progress so soon into my submissions. Hopefully it’s not a fluke!

And now I’m stressing over the final results. Gah.

Anywho, good luck to everyone else on the list, and congrats to the semi-finalists and honorable mentions!

And this is the “interest” in a story I mentioned. Luckily I was able to sort out the byline problem before the list was published.


~Marina

Rusching Around

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has the first installment of her business blog up, called “The Business Rusch.” The title was my brain-child and I’m utterly pleased that she liked my suggestion enough to use it.

She and her husband, Dean Wesley Smith, are extremely successful writers not only because of their skill with prose and god-given imaginations, but because they know the business of writing inside and out.

I read their blogs regularly, and Rusch’s Freelancer’s Survival Guide contains invaluable knowledge for the would-be entrepreneur. Because that’s what writers are: in business for themselves. Perhaps the reason the myth that “you can’t make a living writing fiction” persists is because so many people fail to learn how to sustain their business. The potential to make a living is there, but they don’t know enough about the business to keep the revenue flowing.

Just a thought.

Ms. Rusch’s blog can be found here: http://kriswrites.com/

~Marina



Rejections (goal of 100): 4

Note on Names

Hello again,
Alrighty, I've wavered back and forth on this for some time. I began submitting stories without knowing what I wanted for my byline. My maiden name is Nelson, my to-be name is Lostetter. I've finally decided I want to write under Lostetter, at least in the SF field. Problem is, I think I might have a little issue with a current submissions labeled Nelson… Let’s say some interest has been shown. Hopefully they’ll let me change it if something fruitful develops. Serves me right for not making up my mind.

~Marina

Let it begin!

Hello!
I’ve been encouraged by several people to begin a writing blog. Though a great idea, I didn’t start one until now for fear no one would read it. But, of course, like most forms of communication, including fiction writing, the words are really more for my own benefit than others. Here I can muse about my growth as a writer, and if others find it interesting and chose to read it (or even better, comment on it), then that’s great too.

So, who am I? I’ve never been good at talking about myself, but here goes:

I am a twenty three year old university grad (degree in Greco-Roman history) with aspirations of becoming a professional freelance fiction writer. I’m lucky enough to find myself in circumstances where I can dedicate myself full time to this career path, and have been for the past year.


My primary focus is on Science Fiction at the moment, with a few Fantasy and Horror/Thriller tales thrown in the mix. I have no desire to put myself in a box when it comes to creativity, however, and in the future I’m sure I will explore a plethora of other genres.

I write all lengths of fiction, but the manuscripts I have out to the markets right now are short stories and novelettes: 2,500 words to 13,000 words in length.

I began submitting my short stories to the markets in December of 2009. I start with the top pro-paying market and work down with the philosophy that this is the best method to discover where I lie skill-wise. I subscribe to the idea that “cream rises to the top,” (Thank you K.D. Wentworth). Top stories get published in top markets, and there is no magical wall that keeps new writers from breaking into the business. I am responsible for my own successes and failures. If I’m not cream yet, though, no worries. Writing professionally is all about learning. Doing anything professionally requires practice and education. My skills are constantly evolving, and there is no shame in being an unpublished aspirant.


I look at this as my business. I am as dedicated to it as any nine-to-five. I get up and go to work every day, increasing my inventory of sellable items.

Ah, seems again I haven’t been very good at revealing myself. The above is essentially Marina the Author, not Marina the Person. I don’t give myself away so easily.
Hmm, ok, I love purple, chocolate, and getting paint all over my studio.

So, I intend this blog to chronicle my adventures in writing and (hopefully) publishing. Thanks for stopping by!

~Marina


P.S. There’s an old “supposedly” that says on average authors get 100 rejection letters before their first professional sale. So, to test that theory I’m keeping a rejection count. Today that number sits at: 4

P.P.S. This is probably a temporary blog. I have a web domain that a certain someone keeps saying he will set up for me, but as he is being delinquent in his fiancé duties            [ ;-) ], I'm delving into the blog world on my own.