Author Topic: Listener's Writing Adventures  (Read 147744 times)

Listener

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Reply #25 on: April 23, 2008, 01:52:14 PM
Asimov's did not buy "113 Feet".  The editor sent a personalized rejection letter complete with suggestions for improvement, which was greatly appreciated.  I'll probably go back and revise it in a few weeks.

"Shell Game" continues into its 22nd chapter, now up over 111,000 words.

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DKT

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Reply #26 on: April 23, 2008, 05:40:43 PM
Asimov's did not buy "113 Feet".  The editor sent a personalized rejection letter complete with suggestions for improvement, which was greatly appreciated.  I'll probably go back and revise it in a few weeks.

"Shell Game" continues into its 22nd chapter, now up over 111,000 words.

Wow, a personal rejection from Asimov's is a rare feat!  Congrats on a good rejection, man, and good luck with the next market.


Listener

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Reply #27 on: May 05, 2008, 03:43:01 PM
Finished Chapter 22 of "Shell Game".  Finally.  It was a really tough one, because I had to seriously hurt one of my characters and I felt really crappy about it.

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Listener

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Reply #28 on: May 09, 2008, 01:34:06 PM
I still need to write more of "Shell Game", but last night I did the first 2000 words of its sequel.

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Listener

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Reply #29 on: May 14, 2008, 06:12:05 PM
3000 words in on "Shell Game" chapter 23.  I hope to get some writing done this weekend while on vacation.

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Listener

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Reply #30 on: May 27, 2008, 01:02:28 PM
I wrote absolutely nothing while on vacation, but after we came back, I finished Chapter 23 (5700 words) and Chapter 24 (about 5000 words), and got about 2500 words into Chapter 25.

Since the book is outlined to end after 26 chapters, I'm pleased to say I'm almost done.  Yay!  Up over 130,000 words now in total.

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Listener

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Reply #31 on: June 04, 2008, 01:10:27 PM
Chapter 25 ended with a total just over 4900 words.

Chapter 26 is in progress, up to about 2400 words now.

I may have to stretch it to a 27th chapter, but the problem I'm running into is the past/present divide.  I have enough material for the present, but not for the past.

Oh, and there'll be a prologue.

Last night I also came up with some art/production design for the story, as well as a dedication and author's note, and a little chunk of the acknowledgments page.

Here's the dedication:

To Clare:

Professor Shell is nothing like Alan Rickman.  Sorry to disappoint you.

And to Mary:

I'll leave the metal spatula in the drawer.  I promise.


(Clare and Mary are my beta readers.)

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Listener

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Reply #32 on: June 10, 2008, 01:37:35 PM
Shell Game is DONE!!!! ZOMG!!!!

139,484 words.  26 chapters, one short epilogue.

Next step:  rereading to make sure the timeline is accurate.  Then giving the whole book to my beta readers so they can give it a critique (Clare and Mary, referenced in the previous post).

If you are not put off by BDSM fiction and explicit sex and you would like to help in the next-draft process, let me know.  I would put this in the Crit Group, but I haven't even had time to check it out yet.  I just wanted to crow for a moment.  I realize this is an SF/F/H board, but hey, we all write different things, and the main characters ARE a tad geeky, so there's at least a LITTLE SF in the book. *grin*

Anyway.

ZOMG!!!!

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DKT

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Reply #33 on: June 10, 2008, 05:15:05 PM
Very cool, man.  Congratulations on getting it finished!


Chivalrybean

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Reply #34 on: June 14, 2008, 02:03:09 AM
Grats! I'm feeling less and less daunted about writing a novel, and other people finishing them always gives me a little more strength. Thanks for not giving up and giving the rest of us hope!

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Listener

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Reply #35 on: June 14, 2008, 11:22:42 AM
Last night, I wrote a 5914-word horror story about a couple that buys a fixer-upper house, and the horrifying experiences of a family that lived there 18 years ago torment the husband in his dreams.

It's a really hard story to describe.

It also horrified me more than a little.

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Chivalrybean

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Reply #36 on: June 15, 2008, 02:36:15 AM
Reminds me of Amityville Horror.

Also, there is a kid outside advancing like a soldier while he carries a nerf gun.

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Listener

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Reply #37 on: June 15, 2008, 07:53:27 PM
"113 Feet" has been revised.  It's gone up to 11,787 words (about 39 pages, but there's quite a bit of dialogue, and that pads page count).  I'm going to show it to my betas (who have read it already) and a couple of other people (who haven't) and then resubmit it to Asimov's.  Then, if the editor says no, I'll try another market.

(She said "I can't promise I'll buy it if you do decide to work on a rewrite, but I would be very happy to take second look at this story."  That combined with her opening, that she liked it but was disappointed by the ending, is promising, at least IMO.)

I think today I'll find another market to submit "The Very Next Day" to.  That one's about as done as I want to make it.  I'll let you know.

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Listener

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Reply #38 on: June 15, 2008, 07:54:48 PM
Oh, and I also started writing a timeline for "Shell Game" -- basically, skimming the chapters and laying out everything that happens to make sure I get all the dates and times right.  I'd hate for a reader to be pulled out of the story because I wasn't accurate with my facts.  After I finish that, I'm going to probably put it on the shelf for a few weeks before printing it out (all 260-plus pages, which are single-spaced, so imagine what it'll be like when I DS it for editing) and working on revisions.

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

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Listener

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Reply #39 on: June 15, 2008, 09:09:16 PM
Sent "The Very Next Day" to Ideomancer.  Should know by 7/17 if they've accepted it, rejected it, or put it in the "we're not sure" stack.

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Listener

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Reply #40 on: June 20, 2008, 12:52:27 AM
Final revision of "113 Feet" is done.  Special thanks to DKT for a private reread.  I'll be mailing it back to Asimov's tomorrow, and if they don't buy it this time, I'll be sending it elsewhere.  Honestly, I think I've reached the point where I can't possibly make any more revisions that will improve the story.

So here goes...

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Listener

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Reply #41 on: June 21, 2008, 02:53:43 AM
First draft of the new fantasy story is done.  At least, I think it best qualifies as fantasy.  Perhaps SF.  But not horror.  It's not horrific.  I like to think I made it funny at least some of the time.

I have no idea what I'm going to call it, but as I may have mentioned, it's a retelling of the story of Super Mario Bros, in the same vein as "Tin Man" being a retelling of "The Wizard of Oz". 

7553 words.

Not sure if I'm going to put it in the crit group, but before I even consider that, I still need to do my first revision.

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Listener

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Reply #42 on: June 23, 2008, 12:17:12 AM
"The Very Next Day" rejected by Ideomancer. Ah, well.

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Listener

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Reply #43 on: June 30, 2008, 06:43:39 PM
Sending:

* Asimov's has confirmed receipt of the rewrite of "113 Feet".

Revising:

* Fantasy/Adventure/Comedy about a couple of plumbers who meet a turtle/dragon and a princess who floats.
* Horror about a husband who, while remodeling his house, starts having nightmares that affect him physically.  They're about a horrible thing that happened in the house 15-17 years ago.
* Sci-fi about aliens who come to earth during a baseball game.
* "Shell Game", a novel for adults.

Rewriting:

* Horror about a homicidal body pillow.

Writing:

* "Memory", about aliens who only have a limited store of "hard drive space" (for lack of a better term) in their brains.  Very hard sci-fi.
* "Rebecca Shell Grows Up", the sequel to "Shell Game".
* "Any Port in a Storm", erotica between over-40s.

Considering:

* Doing a version of the horror story about the remodeling to make it more like my original vision.
* "Imperfection", an erotica story about the imperfections we all have and how to break through them, inspired by a recent conversation with my friend Bad Bad Girl (obviously a pseudonym).

I think that's everything.

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Listener

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Reply #44 on: July 07, 2008, 04:35:44 PM
Sending:

* No news on "113 Feet" yet.

Revising:

* No major crits from the group on the remodeling story.  I may shelve it for a while.
* "Shell Game" first read continues, pre-revision.

Rewriting:

* No change

Writing:

* New SF adventure-ish story in the "Ten Families" universe I created in 2004 but never did anything with.  Up to 15 handwritten pages out of (I'm guessing) 21-22.
* Imperfection (stalled)

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Listener

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Reply #45 on: July 08, 2008, 09:39:50 AM
"Return to Waypoint 5" has been completed -- first draft, between 7000 and 7500 words.  It's sci-fi adventure.  I will be posting it in the Crit Group once I go through my first round of revisions, which will be done as I type it in.

Yep.  I hand-wrote it.  25 college-ruled single-spaced pages.  Took about eight hours over three days to do.

I'm hoping it becomes the first in a series; I already know most of what the next story will be about, at any rate.

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

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Listener

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Reply #46 on: July 09, 2008, 12:47:04 PM
I never watched Babylon 5, but my cubicle-mate, who did, said the beginning is a little too reminiscent of it.  I'll have to revise that part soon.

Started writing the second part.  Mostly on Kage Gray's ship, though toward the end we will land on a planet for a rendezvous and a plot coupon I dropped at the beginning will be used to save the day.

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Anarkey

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Reply #47 on: July 09, 2008, 07:28:25 PM
Revising:

* No major crits from the group on the remodeling story.  I may shelve it for a while.
* "Shell Game" first read continues, pre-revision.


Hey, Listener, I was planning to give you a crit on the remodeling story, but I have to re-read it first and it's a little daunting atm, bc of subject matter (not that this is a bad thing, y'understand).  Anyway, 4th of July caught up with me and I was out of townish for a while which makes me behind on a number of things.  Do you still want crits when I get around to it or have I missed the expiration date?

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DKT

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Reply #48 on: July 09, 2008, 08:19:23 PM
Revising:

* No major crits from the group on the remodeling story.  I may shelve it for a while.
* "Shell Game" first read continues, pre-revision.


Hey, Listener, I was planning to give you a crit on the remodeling story, but I have to re-read it first and it's a little daunting atm, bc of subject matter (not that this is a bad thing, y'understand).  Anyway, 4th of July caught up with me and I was out of townish for a while which makes me behind on a number of things.  Do you still want crits when I get around to it or have I missed the expiration date?

What she said.  I'm going to read it sometime this week, just haven't had the time yet. 


Listener

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Reply #49 on: July 10, 2008, 12:53:42 AM
No, no limit on when you comment on it.  I'm not upset that it didn't get reviews; I know it's heavy, and graphic, and not for everyone.  But then, it's horror, and I find I can write pretty horrifically.

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