Writer Senses

I'll be doing most of my blogging and article writing on SubStack for the foreseeable future. Come on over and say hello!

MY DEBUT NOVEL IS OUT!   I've tried to get a literary agent since 2012. I attended and later taught at writers' conferences. I paid to pitch and was always asked to follow-up. I listened to experts. I was form rejected and personally rejected many times for years and years. They wouldn't risk on me. It's a tough industry. I get it. But I decided 2 years ago that I can no longer wait on publishing pros to risk on me because if I wait for them, no one will see that I’ve produced something that’s worthy of an audience and worthy of risk. So I’m taking the risk myself by coming straight to you. It’s impossible to count all that's gone into writing, editing, producing, and commissioning as a professionally performed and mastered audio book, Goddess from the Machine (GFTM). GFTM is a tragic coming-of-age sci-fi/fantasy blend about an orphaned young genius named Reese and how her battle against unjust social forces that transform her into a powerful, dangerous en...

 

One of my biggest issues that I have with my writing is my inability to continue my story because I do not like the way I worded a certain sentence here or felt like a certain line was too cliche there and I constantly have to keep going back over it. Tweaking, editing, obsessing, etc. Is this something common for everyone or am I unnecessarily hindering myself? How do you deal with this in your writing if you do the same? ******** Dear Writer, Your problem is not common to all writers, but it is common to many. All writers have unique snags in their processes. Some write an entire book in half a year and decide afterward that it is trash, immediately starting on the next book which then ends up in the trash. Other writers linger on the same project for years; I lean toward the latter. (See this video of S. King and G.R.R. Martin for more.) You're wise to note that this is a snag in your process. Your task should be to identify the needed changes to accomplish your ...

When the actions or surroundings are important, you should add as many details as it's required. That's clear. What about trivial stuff? Examples: He sat on the floor and drank a beer. He sat on the floor, clicked open a beer can, and gulped from it. He sat cross-legged on the floor, clicked open a can of Budweiser, and took a few gulps from it. Same with mundane surroundings: He walked along a sidewalk. He walked along a tree-lined sidewalk. He walked along a sidewalk lined with bald zelkova trees. How much detail do you add in this type of situation? ******** Dear Writer, You answered your own question: "You should add as many details as [are] required." The principle is no different for mundane details and important ones. Your question is difficult to directly address because it operates in terms of isolated examples. At the least, we would need the broader context of a whole chapter or passage to determine if a certain level of detail per instance i...

I am at a loss where to even start. I have finished my first draft of my novel, I am powering through my editing and preparing my second draft for critique. I am getting really close to having my novel ready to send to the chopping block of the publishing world. I just don't know where to even begin this process. I want to go the traditional route and have a publishing company publish me. This is the first novel I have ever really finished, and I have been working on the idea of this story for years. To be honest, I never thought I would get to the point I would be close to ready to publish, and it is getting more real than I ever expected it to. I have been given a ton of positive feedback and feel that with a little bit more shine I have a good candidate for publishing. Any advice for those who have gone through this that knows where, who, why, what, and any other questions I should be asking or answering, your help is much appreciated. ******** Dear Writer, Congrats ...