Unpublished writers

How long have you been writing?

JReich — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 16:27:18 GMT

Are you a longtime writer but have yet to be published? Do you hope to be published one day?

How much revision is enough?

LegendaryAngel — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:12:53 GMT

Hello,

I write this to find out from any other puplished or unpublished writers to find out how much revisions one needs to do. I know that you review until the story is till the liking of reader and author alike. But I find myself in a little problem.

I've been revising the prolouge to the 3rd chapter over and over again, trying to get them just right, and haven't even gotten to the last 17 chapters of the story. Should I hold back from making the first 3 chapters just right and move on, or get them right and have all the other chapters up to speed? I'm not sure which path to take. Help please!

Letter Writing Makes An Excellent Practice Field

Page One — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 07:47:12 GMT

I have found out over the years that something that has helped me out a great deal with getting over some of the fears and notions of not just being a good enough kind of writer has been done by writing letters to pen pals.

I have 4 pen pals that I have been writing to throughout the USA for the past 10-15 years and it gives me a chance to work my paragraphs correctly and put in new words that are bigger and mean the same in most cases. Practice and fun at the same time.

I am working on several short stories that I want to submit to literary magazines to test the waters for my kind of writing -- pretty darn intense at times. Just a thought. Bill

Self-publishing

ChristineWriter — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:27:43 GMT

If you have not had anything published yet, I highly recommend self-publishing. Make sure you choose a company or website that is inexpensive, or better yet, costs nothing. Lulu (http://www.lulu.com) is a free POD company that is also a community. I've published two books through them and intend on publishing a third. One good thing is that what you publish can be as little or as many pages as you want. Seeing your book(s) in print is very rewarding and something we all deserve. I did it originally, because I wanted my best writing to be in book form - a printed, organized collection. So, go out there and get published!

Staying in one tense...

LegendaryAngel — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:46:21 GMT

Hey,

I'm getting numerous feedback on my novel concerning keeping my writing in the same tense. For instince, how can you write in the present (of course I know the concept) but i find it hard to describe action in teh present. How can you be sure you are writing correctly or should you just wait for others to review work?

The wait is killing me!

a_novel_girl — Thu, 18 May 2006 14:28:55 GMT

I'm going to post this message in a couple of different forums for as much feedback as possible.

I've been submitting to magazines for a couple of months now, and I've gotten one huge bite on an article for a well known magazine.

I wrote a poor query - didn't really understand the purpose of the query before I wrote a letter to this particular editor - and he emailed me with a "no thanks". But in his email, it is was obvious to me that my query did not represent at all what I wanted to say, so I emailed him back and tried to professionally explain that my article was exactly what he indicated he was looking for, for this particular column. He replied and asked me to send my article to him.

That was more than a week ago - almost two. I emailed him several days after I mailed my article to him by snail mail, asking if he received it, and if he thought it would work for the column. He hasn't replied to my email and I've heard nothing since as to whether or not he likes the article.

Now I'm wondering how long I wait to get a response, or if it is time for me to physically call his office and get the scoop. I don't want to see overly eager, but this is my first and only article (so far) close to being published. I am extremely anxious to have it published.

How do I handle this? I am unpublished (as you've probably already guessed) but am trying to break into freelance writing. I've written a children's book, and three other articles currently being submitted to other magazines. They went after this first one did, so I'm not terribly concerned about them right now. This particular piece has been floating out there since the beginning of April, and this magazine is the first one I've submitted it to. I just thought once they reviewed my piece, I would know fairly quickly as to whether they would want it or not.

Any advice? Other than to quit stressing and be patient.....:o)

Staying Inspired

fastkilr — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 03:15:28 GMT

While I am a subscriber to the ideal of pushing a certain word-or-hour amount per day, its hard to get around to writing sometimes. Some writers tell me to take a walk. So I walk eight miles and come home ready to sleep. Some writers tell me to take a hike so I get lost without a pen, paper, or any kind of word processing device. Now, I just sit at home and wait for the inspiration to come. When it does, I smile. When not, I frown. What can I do to stop my constant frowning complex? Thanks much.

-The average, self depricating, unpublished writer.

trying so hard to write this story

JBDES — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 20:54:01 GMT

I have no doubt I can write this story. It has been haunting and gnawing at me, in a good way. I am heavily influenced by movies and music. I don't think I want to write movies or songs, but both of those mediums inspire me. The movies I watch lately are Garden State and Bounce. Both of those have to do with characters coming to terms with themselves in one way or another. Coming-of-age type stories. They each end with hopefulness of the characters futures.

Bruce Springsteen songs are huge favorites of mine. Born to Run is the greatest but I have been listening to his solo record Human Touch a lot lately. Especially tracks six and 11, With Every Wish and I Wish I Were Blind, respectively. Aspects of both of those songs have much to do with what I see the main character going through in the story, which reflects much of what I am going through, surprisingly. Hmmm, go figure that. Actually the main character is basically me. Not every detail is me of course, I fictionalized much of him. The plot is totally contrived and never actually happened to me or anyone I know.

He meets the woman he eventually falls in love with. They help each other out of the predicament they find themselves in. They both are looking to make something of their lives. Become really good friends first. Ends on a upbeat note.

The characters are slowly coming alive and I'm going to get back at it. Talk to you later. Good luck to all of you.

Choosing Your Genre

betsi — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 17:32:20 GMT

I'm curious, how do you choose which genre your writing focuses on? Do you float from genre to genre, go with what you read most? I read widely - YA, Children's, Amateur Detective, Chic-Lit, Mainstream, Literary. I enjoy Evanovich, Fitgerald (not much for Hemingway though), Allende, King, Rice, Oates, Rowland, Palahniuk. And I have ideas, characters, settings for most of these genre's in my head, in drafts of stories and in my notes. Does anyone else have trouble focusing on one? I guess it's finding my voice, but can't I have two, or three?

Betsi

What Makes a Writing Group Successful?

Morningside Writers Group — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:12:13 GMT

Are there other writers in the metro New York City area who are looking for a good writing group, but have been unsuccessful? Have you been burned by other groups? Have you joined groups that didn't last more than a few weeks or months?

Why is it so difficult to find a thriving writing group like those listed in The Writer Magazine? How many others out there would like to join a group of writers en route to publication and production?

There's even one group that began in college whose members live in different cities, yet they still workshop electronically.

We're looking for writers who are enthusiastic about each other's writing. It's also important that the assembled group of artists are mature to take criticism and debate, not argue or justify their work.

In an ideal writing group, writers who are able to read and understand a wide variety of story styles and structures would be a great asset. We've had a successful group that's lasted years and we are looking to add members in our fiction, screenwriting, and graphic novel divisions who share the same committment and philosophy.

If this sounds good to you, check us out online Morningsidewriters, and click on the appropriate group heading and application.

Plotting short fiction

pacman61 — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:27:50 GMT

How do you formulate a story? Do you pull from real-life experiences? How much is imagination, how much is based on the real events? How do you go from vague story idea to full-fledged gripping story on the page?