@katemachon
Active 2 days, 20 hours agoForum Replies Created
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I’m with you and Sandra on not going graphic. Ramping up the PD and inferring what’s going on rather than full on graphic is definitely my preferred route. BUT, don’t ignore feedback either. What percentage of your Beta readers had this reaction? Could you ask the ones who didn’t mention this how they felt. It may be you’re being too short and allusive and just need to fill it out a little.
I’ve been tempted to read Earthsea a few times, but was put off when I read Le Guin uses a quite distant narrative style.
This blog has piqued my interest though, and I think I might go find out for myself, because The Dispossessed sounds fascinating.
Thanks for writing about it Richard.I really liked this Squidge. Very immediate, straight into the action. Lovely voice. Thumbs up all around.
Thought provoking and intriguing as usual Elle. I very much enjoyed, but I’m with Philippa that, for me, there were perhaps too many vignettes. I thought at one point that you were moving us forward through time up until the telephone conversation, and then reversing us after that, because some of the names repeated, but then I realised it was just random. So perhaps you could structurally tweak a little to avoid a meandering feel.
As Philippa commented, the telephone conversation is a type of turning point. Could the vignettes after that have a slightly different feel to the preceding ones? As if they’re being analysed with a different eye. Or could the father section, where we discover why this started, be placed for more impact. Maybe it could be the final section before she’s single. A reflection of beginning and end? Just a thought and as usual feel free to disregard. Another nice piece.Hope you are able to get it up and running at a new venue Athelstone. Took me ages to figure out where my room could be! I reckon all of us must have a few e-mail contacts with other Cloudies, that when pulled together would cover the majority of those that signed up for the challenge. Perhaps messages could be passed on. Good luck with getting it sorted. It would be a pity for all your work to be wasted.
This has been a really encouraging thread for someone whose still battering at the agents’ doors. I am definitely one for bloody minded perseverance, so I’ve got that one ticked, and am always striving to improve my craft. I’ll take a look at those podcasts Philippa, they sound excellent.
I’ve just finished Mark Forsythe’s Elements of Eloquence which I found extraordinary for tips on how to tweak your sentences to give them maximum impact. Well worth a read.
Thanks Elle – I’m still writing short stories for competitions to try and improve my writing CV, and will have to have a go at some more magazines and anthologies.
Richard, remember it ain’t over till the fat lady sings, so I hope you can find the impetus to keep going.I know just how you feel Richard. It really sucks. But I tell myself if I don’t sub, I don’t have any chance, so keep on scratching at those doors.
Thanks for that tweet link Daedalus.Thanks Philippa. It’s magical realism, so never going to be an easy sell, but I’m not giving up quite yet. At least I have that bit of paper from a professional saying it’s good that I can get out and stroke occasionally to console myself! Thinking about retiring my adventurous soul and writing some chick lit instead. :/
Following a really positive book doctor report on my MS that said in a fair world my book would get published, I started submitting back in May. I’ve had nothing but form rejections.
So my advice PB is, when the rejections start coming in, you have to hold on very tight to the fact that it’s not your writing that’s bad, it’s just very difficult to get an agent. Right person, right time.
Good luck with the submissions. This has given me a kick start to go and send out some more.
