@daedalus
Active 2 months, 3 weeks ago-
Elle replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Congratulations Stevie!
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Libby posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoI’ve changed my profile pic to something less bot-like. These are the leaves of a whitebeam, one of my favourite trees. I was thinking of growth, hope, aspiration. You know, general upwardsness. Fingers crossed.
The past few days have been very slowmo/slowgo. Max of 1,000 words a day editing by hand when really I should accomplish 2,000 or at…[Read more]
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Thanks Libby, really glad you enjoyed it! I’m pleased Menzies’ personal characteristics come through.
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They certainly do. He looks pleasant in the photos. Incidentally I did wonder whether he’d broken his nose at some point!
I’m interested in the Ringway story too as I grew up near there but don’t know much about Ringway’s early history.
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Don’t be too hard on yourself about the word count. For me, getting the words right is far more important, and the added stress of targets is a distraction from that. Anyway, this is SloMo, right?
Yes, Daeds has a real talent for explaining tech stuff lucidly to the lay reader.-
Thanks @richardb. I agree with you. I’m not normally a word-count watcher. I was just feeling a bit bogged down so counted up to see if I’d achieved anything at all!
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Well done on moving forward with the editing, @libby. Each word edited, is a word closer to the end! (My midwife told me that about contractions, and I decided it made a good life mantra!!!)
Also – my neighbours have a big whitebeam over hanging out garden. When the leaves are first coming out in spring, that silvery white is just so lovely!…[Read more]
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Yes, and the leaves drop early so you’re stuck with them quite a long time @raine 🙁
Agree that contractions are good mantra for a lot of things!-
I think we should all cheer on ANY forward motion, painful and incremental included, especially at this time of year! And 1000 a day is high energy by my current standards, so well done @libby. And I too love your leaf pic.
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PS I also agree that the @daedalus signature style is a particular talent for making the (what I would find by default) boring, fascinating.
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Nice pic 🙂
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Sandra replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Excellent news Stevie; your writing deserves to be read more widely.
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John S Alty replied to the topic Writing Advice in the forum The Writers' Lifeboat 7 years, 7 months ago
I came across this piece of writing advice by Sol Stein which appeals to me:
“….be sure you don’t stop the story while describing. You are a storyteller, not an interior decorator.”
Probably a shot across the bows of so-called literary prose. King likes to emphasize this point too, but doesn’t do it quite as succinctly.
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Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Oh well done, Stevie! That is super news. And good point about still being able to submit elsewhere too! Here’s to a double whammy.
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Hilary replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Congratulations, Stevie!
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Elle replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Glad to hear the launch went well.
I would love to attend a Den meet-up.
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoUg. Today I feel like I’ve gone backwards in my editing process. I’ve put in my three hours, but most of that was spent unearthing problems in my “back-plot” (or lack thereof) that have now thrown the other plot threads out of whack.
I feel like I’ve discovered dry rot and woodworm in a house I’m trying to redecorate.
How much backstory…[Read more]-
I’m actually reducing the number of words in my WIP which had reached around 50,000 (guess why) and has now shrunk to about 30,000 – rapidly. Work on it has stopped while I think about my Room With A View entry (836 words right now), and I have to get a first chapter in some kind of shape for a writers’ w/e in January (If anybody has a moment…[Read more]
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Oh yuck to backstories! Hope you are feeling less yucky about it today @philippaeast. I don’t know. I don’t think we need to know everything about a secondary character’s past, as long as their character and story are ‘real’ to us. Apart from bits of their past that are relevant, obv. I figure I don’t know everything about a friend’s past, but I…[Read more]
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That is definitely an issue with launching into an unplanned story: the pain of squashing continuity errors, conflicts and missing detail. I think you can get away with quite a lot as long as there are no bugs. If your MC was two years old in the year 2000 but somehow was in favour of staying in the EEC in 1975 then you have some explaining. If…[Read more]
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Hah hah @raine, who said anything about secondary characters?! These are my main characters I’m talking about! But hopefully as @athelstone says, it’s about there not being obvious “bugs” in the writing. Yeah the issue I stumbled into was that, psychologically, a particular character arc made sense if certain events happened when her child was…[Read more]
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Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Den get together would be fab. I am in Lincolnshire, but I can travel to London easily
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Hilary replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
(not sure I want to meet the bots though)
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Hilary replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
The launch was great, thanks! I enjoyed the reading – luckily I went first, so could then relax. It was great to meet some of the other writers too.
I love meeting other writers…
We need to have a Den get together… In RL, I mean. -
Raine replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Just spotted this – well done both @elle and @hilary! How was the launch? I’ve only read out to my writing group, so you are very brave!
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Janette replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Many congratulations, Elle and Hilary. Enjoy the read, Hilary x
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RichardB posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoNice post, @kazg, and one that resonates with me. I’ve always worked by chipping away, little by little. I don’t set myself targets, and I try not to think about how far I still have to go, in case I get discouraged, something I’m far too prone to. The night driving analogy puts it in a nutshell. Surprising how those few metres at a time mount up.…[Read more]
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Thanks @richardb 🙂 And yes, there is so much truth in that ‘one step at a time’ adage. Really it’s the only way anything ever happens, regardless of the pace. One little task at a time. Congrats on finishing the rewrite, and enjoy the read! Always an exciting point 🙂
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It is a good analogy. Another one someone gave me during my MA was ‘you’re looking at the whole mountain and you just need to look at the next rock’
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Congratulations Richard. I hope you are taking a moment to pat yourself on the back.
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Yay for finishing the edit, @richardb! That’s fantastic. Hope the read through goes ok. HOw do you do this bit? On paper or screen? My final read is on my kindle as it looks totally different compared to paper or laptop – so I spot things I didn’t before. But earlier not-strictly-editing reads are mostly from laptop.
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I do it on my kindle, for exactly the reasons you state, @raine . But I like to do it sitting by my computer, so I can make the changes as soon as I spot the need to. Speaking of which, I still stick with a desktop for the actual writing because I like to have a ‘proper’ full-size keyboard. My daughter gave me a rather upmarket keyboard…[Read more]
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@richardb, I used to sit on the sofa with my laptop and lots of cushions, but I finally set up a desk, so now have the laptop on one of those stands that lift the screen, and a proper keyboard attached. Best of both worlds, and I’ve been surprised (horrified) by how much it’s improved my concentration. :-O I read my wip-on-kindle in bed! Just…[Read more]
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KazG posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoWell done all SloMoers and it looks like gentle forward motion is happening for everyone, even if it might not feel like it (@daedalus – I’m a firm believer in the power of mental gathering and composting, even if no actual words are landing on the page).
I’m finding SloMo a lifesaver – it’s slow enough to feel like a break from the frenetic…[Read more]
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Oh good for you @kazg. I am glad it’s helping you conquer the fear. Driving with headlights, yes! (Ug). Chipping away, exactly, and I’m so pleased you feel “rested but engaged”. NaNo really is crazy… I have never done it. I fear I’d lose my mind!!
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I love that analogy – I will think of that as I plough through each slow chapter!! I’m driving in pretty dense fog at the moment, but there are cats’ eyes. And actual cats on my desk, obv. Well dones for sticking to your targets – that’s bolstering & will hopefully keep you moving.
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Philippa East posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoWell, I’m sure glad for this SloMo month… until the start of this week, I had too many distractions to focus on writing and the lack of progress was just making me increasingly panicked. But for the last three days, I’ve managed my plan of a few hours a day. I feel less panicked now, because I feel sort of ‘back in the familiar groove’ and I can…[Read more]
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Sounds good, Philippa. And I think you are right to acknowledge that some days are just not meant to be writing days. I can never write when we are away, even if I have the time. It used to annoy me but now I accept it.
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Yes… I’ve found if I try to write in the evenings (i.e. after work), my brain gets too wired and I can’t switch off to sleep. Also, because I’m like a dog with a bone with stuff, and enforced break from writing is probably good for me, to prevent me getting obsessed and overwhelmed. It also means I make better use of the other days, knowing I…[Read more]
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Not surprised you can’t focus after work! But well done for moving through the panic and getting into things again. Hope the weekend lets you keep the momentum up…
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Philippa East replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Oh wow @hilary, what an honour!! Congratulations again on your placing. I hope you had a wonderful time at the launch x
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Elle replied to the topic Short Story Publication/Competition in the forum Podium 7 years, 7 months ago
Thank you @kazg that’s very kind of you!
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Squidge posted an update in the group
December SloMo 7 years, 7 months agoMy slomo so far has been to draft a Christmas newsletter (rather a Marmite thing, I’ve found, for the recipients), planned a few writing exercises for a group I’m talking to tonight (which I will also be using for NIBS next week), and about 150 words of something I like for Room with a View (although I have no idea where it’s heading or why I’ve…[Read more]
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Well, that’s progress then! Nice work on the Room With a. It’s story. Hope it collaguates soon.
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*Room With A View
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I love it when something insists on being written even if you don’t have a clue where it’s going.
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How did the writing group go @squidge?
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Sorry – been out of sight for a few days. Writing went well – the group of mainly older ladies (70+yrs) seemed to enjoy the exercises I set, and convinced quite a few that they could write after all. Yet to try it on the NIBsers…
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