Pass on the vinegar, PLEASE!

I've said before how you have to be several different people to be a writer. Sensitive, determined, and rhino hide all in one. There's one person though that you don't ever want to be, EVER! and that's the pissy negative one.

It's beneficial to be humble. It sure helps a lot when those rejection slips come in. But realizing you can improve your work and obsessing over the thought that it just isn't going to ever hack it are two TOTALLY different things. There are a lot of people writing out there. Thousands of folks scribble down ideas and send them into editors hoping to have those ideas ensconced in the immortal realm of published material. and you know what? Its true that there are people out there who never will be published. But if you're serious about wanting it, and willing to work hard and to learn, then you most likely will get published.

And when you're sending out your stuff, praying for it to join that ascended realm, remember that the world of publishers and editors is a small one. taking a pissy attitude of "my work is going to be published my way and I'll break any rules I want to!" will make it ten times more likely that you wont be published. Read the writers guidelines my friends. Then FOLLOW the guidelines!

I know it can be frustrating to trim your story or expand it or only send it to one publisher at a time. Heck no one ever accused me of being a patient person. :-) But like it or not editors have to allocate their time and they aren't just looking at your work or my work. They have lots of other writers too. Like the old saying goes You'll catch more flys with honey than vinegar. So pass on the vinegar, please?

That's Not Punny.

Well I have found out why they call what editors read through a slush pile.

Wow.

It's amazing the stuff that comes through. Now a lot of it is actually half way decent. Maybe the author just needs help in one or two areas, or maybe its a good story but just doesn't fit the magazine. But holy crow every once in a while you get one that just makes you scratch your head or want to vomit.

Now I'm learning that as far as writing goes there are rules that aren't rules but fads, there are rules that are rules and can't be broken, and then there are rules that should only be broken if you realize your doing it and doing it WELL.

I read something today that tried to fall into that third category and failed miserably. Take note. Bad puns are not enough to carry a story. Especially if the majority are crass and vulgar with no more reason to be in the story than to say a pun. If it doesn't progress the story toss it out.

So what about you all? Have you ever read anything that was utter slush? Or can you think of something that would be a perfect slush story? If I get a bunch of good replies I'll pick the best and get you a real slushie as a prize. :-)

Well hooray for our side.

Well you live long enough and sure enough something completey unexpected and wonderful will happen. I am happy to announce that yours truly has recently joined the ranks of the Abanoned Towers Magazine editorial team!

Thats right. I'm an editor now! and not at just any magazine but at a top 10 magazine. Holy freaking cow!

So that's the big news in my writing life. On a slightly different topic, I have had some major computer issues the last few days. I will still try and keep up with my regular posting schedule, but if I'm running late, Like today :-), you know what's up.

Oh and if you're looking for a good place to submit your story send it on over to Abandoned Towers. Every submission gets detailed feedback whether we accept or reject. So instead of those lovely form rejections that tell you nothing about what may be wrong with a piece, you actually can see why things happened.

It's easier to eat the steak...

As a writer you have got to be a number of different people.

When you write you have to be sensitive to convey emotions. When you research you have to be inquisitive and find all those cruitial bits of detail that bring your story to life. When you submit you have to be patient and accept it takes time for an editor to get back to you. And when you get critiqued you have to be a thick-skinned rhino ready to take whatever the critiquer has to say.

This last bit is crucial. more crucial I think than any other piece of the puzzle. Like I've said in earlier posts, if you only want to write for your grandkids then your good, go write whatever dribbles out of your pen and they'll be thrilled. But if you want to get published then you have to get other peoples opinion.

"But Wolf," you say "isn’t that what submitting to editors is for?"

The answer is not only a no, but a HECK NO! Their job is to see if you offered something that will make their magazine money. End of story. Now some very few will offer tips on what was wrong and tell you to send something back. But by and large the best place to get help polishing your craft and producing things that editors will want to buy is a good circle of critiquers.

I recently had an experience with a new critique circle. It has a good mix or writers at different stages so they'll give you a wide variety of input. Just what you, or at least I, want. There was one particular writer who is newer and submitted a piece for review. I hope this guy keeps writing. He has a great love of his subject matter and can really turn a phrase when he wants to. But he hasn’t gotten that rhino hide yet. The piece he submitted had some major flaws and some good points. Unfortunately when all the reviews came in saying the same thing. He took it personally and stormed out.

This bugs me. If your gonna be a writer you gotta learn not only to spot the flaws yourself but also be able to admit when someone else points it out.

Now does this mean you have to listen to every piece of advice given from a critiquer? No! For heaven sakes it's your story you can do with it what you will. But if you are hearing the same problem mentioned over and over again you may just want to fix it. Because an editor is sure to notice the same thing.

This whole scenario prompted me to say one of the few things I've ever considered truly wise.

"It's easier to eat the steak, when you actually cut the bull."

Readers want steak. they want the words of your story that are gonna connect with them and make them think even after they put down your story. That lovely little tidbit about Aunt Martha’s broach, bull. The vivid description of ancient forests and cascading waterfalls that doesn’t move your story forward, bull. And the detailed account of the third generation of cheese makers who make the best cheese in the state when the story has to do with alfalfa pellets, BULL!

So let's cut the bull and give our readers what they really want. Steak.

Save the Gems

The other day I got a bit of bad news. I learned one of my favorite chats for writers was being canceled. I'll be honest, I am horribly and very selfishly upset about it. I have loved being able to pick the brain of a sustained writer and take those things into my writing.

Apparently though I'm one of the few who are more verbal about this and it got me thinking. Why would you not want to save something that works and is good? One of my associates took the stance that change should just be accepted for changes sake. that since progress can only happen through change then change must be good.

I heartily disagree. Granted progress can only happen through change, but it can only happen through good change. I doubt that anyone out there would say that the Holocaust was progress.

So what does all his have to do with writing? Well, the same can be said for any story or novel out there. One of the biggest problems that I as a beginning writer struggled with was editing. I looked at my story, looked at the word count, and I changed it. I took a chainsaw to the thing to get it to fit. It was not good change.

The key in any story is to keep the fantastic little bits, the gems, in there. Now not all cool bits are gems for that story. Sometimes you have to kill your babies and take them out of the story all together. But for heaven's sake DON'T THROW THEM AWAY! Put them in a file or notebook or something that you can look through later.

A lot of stories are either inspired or enriched in this way. I call mine the "Cool stuff to use at some point" file it's on my hard drive and it has helped several times. It's created progress, good change.

So don't just kill your babies but save your gems for a later setting. you never know when it just might bring about a treasure.