What? You mean I didn't win? So, I entered a story in this years 7th Annual CafeDoom Competition 2011. It was an experience. Everyone who entered (there were around 50 of us) had to participate by reading each story and voting for his/her favorite. It was a grueling process and gave us all a brief taste of what it is to be an editor of even a small press publication. How did I do? Well... I got myself a single point; that's right, one person voted for my story. But, in my defense, I sent the wrong story into this competition. There are others that I've written that would have been better, but this was the story I was working on at the time and I was really into it (that hot fever feeling you get when you're really enjoying what you're writing about) and so I sent it blindly, thinking: Oh yeah, I got this. This is the best story ever. I'll win for sure. Obviously, this was not the case and there were some very solid stories entered into the competition. One of the problems I have: I'm an ambitious writer. I like to experiment in the realms of the surreal and the unusual; I really want to be original. I want to write creepy horror - tales of the uncanny. And, like most things I've done in life, my weirdness is my greatest strength and hindering weakness. In my striving to be different, I don't always hit the mark. And it is important to read a publication before you submit a story to it. You may have a great story, but you're wasting your time with the wrong audience. So where do you send it? Where, pray tell, are your original and strange stories to be accepted for publication? Ah, yes, that is a question... The most encouraging comment made about my story came from delph_ambi (Catherine Edmunds, Novelist and poet - check out her website; she has some interesting stuff on there - she's a little weird too...). She said: "Don't give up on Mickey's Walk [my story]. I really enjoyed that one and was surprised it didn't garner more points. But then I tend to write slightly weird stuff myself... I think you're right that it simply didn't fit this particular competition." Thank you for the encouragement! Keep writing. Research the market. That's all we can do.
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#wrashnomo It seems everyone in my Twitter feed is talking about #nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), and I have a few things to say about that. That's great you've written 20,833 words in less than two weeks; I'm happy for you. I fully support your need to find motivation and support for your writing habits. That's fantastic. Pump it out. Work your ass off and be proud you produced 50,000 words in a single month. You did it. You're a novelist! Okay, wait. Slow down. I used to think this was the best way to write a novel too--to write as fast as you can, as furiously as you can in a caffeinated woosh! I've written some stuff like this, and, when I read it now, I can't make sense of it and the story has too many holes in it and the characters lack depth and everything is all over the place and up and under. Basically, things written this way end up as big fat information dumps with so many things written that have to be chopped out anyway you're left with nothing of much value afterwards--Prose Puke! Now, don't take me the wrong way; I think there is some merit in this method of speed writing, but, when used, you have to be aware that most of what you're writing is total crap and you'll be forced to sift through it all later to find the little bits that have fused into the valuable diamonds-in-the-rough and discard most of the rest. Just be warned, spending the month of November writing a "novel"--and all 50,000 words--may yield only a meager 5,000 words of value (or worse, you might realize your entire premise is cliche or just doesn't work...). Alright, I know; I'm being real negative about NaNoWriMo. If you do it, I wish you all the best in the world, I really do. I only say these things because I've found the quality of my own writing jumps dramatically when I slow down and really think through what I'm writing. I am better able to keep a hold on my story and characters, as well as to keep my style and tone consistent, when I keep things as slow as they need to be for me. But, well, we're all different. We have individual styles and techniques. At the end of the month of November, there will be more "novelists" in the world. It's the truth. |
"Unrelenting Horror"- FREE!An award-winning author known for blending elements of fantasy with horror in his surreal, literary style. Author of WITHIN, A GAME FOR GODS and VIOLENT HEARTS.
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