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Lessons Learned!
Jan. 30th, 2013 11:30 am
Good morning and welcome to yet another edition of the writing journal. Let's see, Jan 30th, 41771 words of fiction written for the month as of today, an anthology from the muses for Valentines Day almost ready to go. 2 novels and 1 novella waiting to be edited, more stories to write. 2 deadlines.
Sooo, you recall when I last posted about how I can't schedule books? Well other than serials and or shorts I cannot. I did also sign another contract with Rebel for a series of shorts called Queer Fables. They will be by BLMorticia of course and released on every even month opposite The Wretched Tales. Yes I'm excited but cautious about overworking myself
While writing, of course more of the annoying plot bunnies have popped up. I have 2 more new stories to add to the ever growing folder of plot ideas since we last chatted. And of course, while all this is going on, I'm trying to edit my stories and pick up new techniques to make my stories deeper and vivid.
Today, I got a lesson on dialogue. In I Like Em' Pretty m/m, the characters are from the south and I showed their speech in the story by showing it exactly the way it sounded. My good friend and editor who is also an author, let me know this was very distracting. I didn't take offense at all but I needed to see what others said about this topic. So, I typed in southern dialogue in fiction writing into Goggle.
This link came up.
http://lmmartin.hubpages.com/hub/Good-Writing-Is7-10-common-mistakes-new-writers-make-in-writing-dialogue
Point number nine states that writing to show a dialect such as a Southern dialogue is AMATEURISH. EEK! Wow, I didn't know that. I can think of a particular book I did that had this kind of speech throughout. When that book was edited, that editor said NOTHING. I let the contract on the book run out and requested it to be pulled off the shelves. I'm re-writing it to be expanded and re-released later on in the year.
Thank goodness. Although jarring, it doesn't deter me from doing what I love. As authors, we always look for new ways to make our books stand out. By no means do I want to put put a book that looks amateurish and even though I'm still a newbie, I cannot let that slide ever again.
Now, you may ask, does that mean I didn't want to listen to my editor? No, I just wanted to seek other opinions. I did ask another author who also said, as long as it isn't overdone which I'm sure I did. lol Its all through out the book.
So what is the lesson learned today? Make sure to listen to your editors and betas when they offer the help and even though it is ultimately your decision on what to put in your book, ask others if you're unsure. Look up books and or articles on fiction writing. There is a wealth of them out there and most are spot on.
I suppose I could compare this to my own thinking. Case in point, people have always said Chicagoans have a specific accent. Recall the skit off Saturday Night Live called Superfans? That skit always bothered me, in fact annoyed me when I saw it. I often said, I don't talk like that. So in theory, why should I leave off the g's as in leavin' wantin' etc? Not every Southern person has the drawl or talks in that manner. They would be annoyed reading a book with that kind of speech. Why should I write it?
DUH!
Like I said, lessons learned.
So here is where I am my goals:
41771 words written as of today 500k is the goal
10 novels subbed and contracted? Not sure it will be done but I'm going to try.
More importantly I just want to get better at my craft. The more I learn, the easier it will be to make my career as an author a true success!
Sooo, you recall when I last posted about how I can't schedule books? Well other than serials and or shorts I cannot. I did also sign another contract with Rebel for a series of shorts called Queer Fables. They will be by BLMorticia of course and released on every even month opposite The Wretched Tales. Yes I'm excited but cautious about overworking myself
While writing, of course more of the annoying plot bunnies have popped up. I have 2 more new stories to add to the ever growing folder of plot ideas since we last chatted. And of course, while all this is going on, I'm trying to edit my stories and pick up new techniques to make my stories deeper and vivid.
Today, I got a lesson on dialogue. In I Like Em' Pretty m/m, the characters are from the south and I showed their speech in the story by showing it exactly the way it sounded. My good friend and editor who is also an author, let me know this was very distracting. I didn't take offense at all but I needed to see what others said about this topic. So, I typed in southern dialogue in fiction writing into Goggle.
This link came up.
http://lmmartin.hubpages.com/hub/Good-Writing-Is7-10-common-mistakes-new-writers-make-in-writing-dialogue
Point number nine states that writing to show a dialect such as a Southern dialogue is AMATEURISH. EEK! Wow, I didn't know that. I can think of a particular book I did that had this kind of speech throughout. When that book was edited, that editor said NOTHING. I let the contract on the book run out and requested it to be pulled off the shelves. I'm re-writing it to be expanded and re-released later on in the year.
Thank goodness. Although jarring, it doesn't deter me from doing what I love. As authors, we always look for new ways to make our books stand out. By no means do I want to put put a book that looks amateurish and even though I'm still a newbie, I cannot let that slide ever again.
Now, you may ask, does that mean I didn't want to listen to my editor? No, I just wanted to seek other opinions. I did ask another author who also said, as long as it isn't overdone which I'm sure I did. lol Its all through out the book.
So what is the lesson learned today? Make sure to listen to your editors and betas when they offer the help and even though it is ultimately your decision on what to put in your book, ask others if you're unsure. Look up books and or articles on fiction writing. There is a wealth of them out there and most are spot on.
I suppose I could compare this to my own thinking. Case in point, people have always said Chicagoans have a specific accent. Recall the skit off Saturday Night Live called Superfans? That skit always bothered me, in fact annoyed me when I saw it. I often said, I don't talk like that. So in theory, why should I leave off the g's as in leavin' wantin' etc? Not every Southern person has the drawl or talks in that manner. They would be annoyed reading a book with that kind of speech. Why should I write it?
DUH!
Like I said, lessons learned.
So here is where I am my goals:
41771 words written as of today 500k is the goal
10 novels subbed and contracted? Not sure it will be done but I'm going to try.
More importantly I just want to get better at my craft. The more I learn, the easier it will be to make my career as an author a true success!
