I ran across this post about writing your author bio this morning http://twelfthplanet.livejournal.com/12338.html
Author bios are the hardest part of the writing process for me. When I first started out I listed every newspaper, periodical and whatnot I'd been published in. Pretty stupid, especially since most of those publications had nothing in common with where I was currently submitting a short story. I learned over time, that the editor is more interested in your story than your bio unless you've been published somewhere spectacular. I think the best piece of bio writing advice I received came from PulpPusher editor, Tony Black. He asked for a bio that would show why I was qualified to write the non-fiction piece he was publishing.
I use that as a rule of thumb now. If I'm submitting to crime venues, I list three or four of the best crime venues I've been published in, then include my blog site address. The same for other genres I submit to. Since most bios are only 50 to 100 words I try to keep it as short as possible. How do you cope with bio writing? What do you think is too much or not enough? I'm curious about how other writers compose their bios.
As this is Memorial Day, here in the states, I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks and prayers to those who serve and those who have given their lives for our freedom. God bless each and every one of you.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday Musing
I was thinking about the things I miss from my younger days and the 26 episode seasons of TV shows popped into my mind. Yes, can you believe it? Every new show had 26 episodes! You got to know the characters, learned how they ticked, where they were vulnerable; you became almost intimate with them. I miss that.
I don't watch new shows anymore. Why bother watching a show that you suspect is going to disappear after only one, two or three episodes? Most of the time, I wait for the shows that succeed to air on the cable networks - then I get to know them.
I think that's one of the reasons people don't like flash fiction. It's there, then poof, gone. Nothing or no one to invest your time in. Some readers look at short stories in the same way. But with shorts, you've got the option of using a few words to endear your characters to the readers, a paragraph or two to make them real. You have the option, when you write, to make the reader care about what happens to your character. And as a writer, that's what you want. To make the reader care enough to keep reading.
And, of course, I have a link. Over at the Mystery File blog there's a 2007 essay about character versus plot in detective fiction written by Bill Pronzini. http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=2078 The only thing a writer actually has any control over in this business is the story. You can make it plot driven or character driven but, either way, you ultimately have to make the reader care enough about the story to keep them reading.
I don't watch new shows anymore. Why bother watching a show that you suspect is going to disappear after only one, two or three episodes? Most of the time, I wait for the shows that succeed to air on the cable networks - then I get to know them.
I think that's one of the reasons people don't like flash fiction. It's there, then poof, gone. Nothing or no one to invest your time in. Some readers look at short stories in the same way. But with shorts, you've got the option of using a few words to endear your characters to the readers, a paragraph or two to make them real. You have the option, when you write, to make the reader care about what happens to your character. And as a writer, that's what you want. To make the reader care enough to keep reading.
And, of course, I have a link. Over at the Mystery File blog there's a 2007 essay about character versus plot in detective fiction written by Bill Pronzini. http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=2078 The only thing a writer actually has any control over in this business is the story. You can make it plot driven or character driven but, either way, you ultimately have to make the reader care enough about the story to keep them reading.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Shroud
If you're working on a short story for Shroud magazine you might want to take a quick break and read this post by editor, Timothy Deal. http://shroudpublishing.blogspot.com/2010/05/shroud-submission-update-importance-of.html Their deadline for this year's submission period is July 31, take your time and make it the best story you can write, not some slap-dash-beat-the-deadline story.
And, hey, his advice is true of any market you're submitting to!
And, hey, his advice is true of any market you're submitting to!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Market Notes
Over at Duotrope, I found an anthology that might be of interest to some of you. It's called "Bewere the Night" and it's to be published by Prime (I'm assuming this is Prime Books as there is no link to the publisher in the call. http://www.prime-books.com/ ) The editor is looking for short stories of 1000 to 7000 words about were-creatures in an urban fantasy vein. Original stories will receive 5cents a word, reprints 1cent per word. The deadline is December 31 with a May 2011 publication date. You can find the details at http://squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com/144059.html
Michael Ray, editor of Redstone Science Fiction, dropped by the Corner and left a comment about his magazine. Redstone will be open to submissions on the 1st through the 15th of each month through the summer. So if you're working on a story and afraid you won't make the June deadline, don't worry. http://redstonesciencefiction.com/guidelines It's always nice when editors drop by.
Apex magazine opens for submissions on June 1. They're looking for shorts up to 7500 words. According to their guidelines, they're looking for dark weird stuff in the sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres or a good mix of those genres. The pay is 5cents a word and they will accept reprints from respected zines (a list is in the guidelines) for a $10 flat rate. http://www.apexbookcompany.com/submissions/ They also accept poetry.
Garrison Keillor has an opinion piece up at The Baltimore Sun that I found quite interesting and a bit nostalgic. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-keillor-writing-20100525,0,5036071.story There are days that I miss my typewriter and being able to format a story as I write it. Don't miss the erasing and white-out, though I do miss the whizzy sound of paper being yanked from the barrel feed :)
Michael Ray, editor of Redstone Science Fiction, dropped by the Corner and left a comment about his magazine. Redstone will be open to submissions on the 1st through the 15th of each month through the summer. So if you're working on a story and afraid you won't make the June deadline, don't worry. http://redstonesciencefiction.com/guidelines It's always nice when editors drop by.
Apex magazine opens for submissions on June 1. They're looking for shorts up to 7500 words. According to their guidelines, they're looking for dark weird stuff in the sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres or a good mix of those genres. The pay is 5cents a word and they will accept reprints from respected zines (a list is in the guidelines) for a $10 flat rate. http://www.apexbookcompany.com/submissions/ They also accept poetry.
Garrison Keillor has an opinion piece up at The Baltimore Sun that I found quite interesting and a bit nostalgic. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-keillor-writing-20100525,0,5036071.story There are days that I miss my typewriter and being able to format a story as I write it. Don't miss the erasing and white-out, though I do miss the whizzy sound of paper being yanked from the barrel feed :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Finding the Point
I find myself dropping by Chuck Wendig's blog, Terrible Minds, several times a week. Why, you might ask, the man is loud and he uses curse words, why would you want to read his blog?
Because I always find some truth about writing in his posts. The man believes in what he's doing and he's not afraid to share what he's learned or what works in his writing process. Take yesterday's post for example http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2010/05/25/before-you-start-writing-ask-what-is-this-about/ And not just the post itself, but the discussion that follows is full of intelligent ideas to consider when you're writing.
The big what-is-this-about question raises it ugly head every time you put words to paper. I've never been one to ask before I start writing - but somewhere into those first five hundred to a thousand words of a short story I do start asking myself what is this about, why is this character acting like this, is there a point here? If there's no underlying reason for the characters to be doing what they're doing the story usually falls flat on its face.
So, you're wondering, does every story need a point? Well, haven't you read a story and got to the end and said, "Yeah, so?" I have, especially in some of the neo-noir work. It just seems like the writer is going from one massive gross-out scene to the next and then the story ends without there being any rhyme or reason for the character's actions. All stories need a purpose, they need to have a reason for being other than for the writer to get a publication credit for their resume.
In a short story you don't need to beat your reader over the head with your theme, but it does need to be there to make your story more than just pretty words. Every story deserves a reason for being.
Because I always find some truth about writing in his posts. The man believes in what he's doing and he's not afraid to share what he's learned or what works in his writing process. Take yesterday's post for example http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2010/05/25/before-you-start-writing-ask-what-is-this-about/ And not just the post itself, but the discussion that follows is full of intelligent ideas to consider when you're writing.
The big what-is-this-about question raises it ugly head every time you put words to paper. I've never been one to ask before I start writing - but somewhere into those first five hundred to a thousand words of a short story I do start asking myself what is this about, why is this character acting like this, is there a point here? If there's no underlying reason for the characters to be doing what they're doing the story usually falls flat on its face.
So, you're wondering, does every story need a point? Well, haven't you read a story and got to the end and said, "Yeah, so?" I have, especially in some of the neo-noir work. It just seems like the writer is going from one massive gross-out scene to the next and then the story ends without there being any rhyme or reason for the character's actions. All stories need a purpose, they need to have a reason for being other than for the writer to get a publication credit for their resume.
In a short story you don't need to beat your reader over the head with your theme, but it does need to be there to make your story more than just pretty words. Every story deserves a reason for being.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Markets and Cool Links
Over at Dark Valentine there's a new photo prompt up for flash writers. The Through a Lens Darkly section of DV is non-paying and takes flash stories up to 1000 words. The quarterly zine itself will be premiering on June 11 with stories from Cormac Brown, Paul Brazill, Elizabeth Zelvin and others. Sure to be a great issue with a lineup like that. They've also opened submissions to the second issue with an August 8 deadline and a September 3 publication date. Stories selected for the zine receive a payment of $10. They're looking for dark stories in any genre. You can check them out here http://darkvalentine.net/
The First Line is seeking submissions for their Fall issue. The deadline is August 1. I think you could have a lot of fun with this sentence! "Three thousand habitable planets in the known universe, and I'm stuck on the only one without ______." (fill in the blank) This is a paying market, you can find all the details at http://www.thefirstline.com/
With a hat tip to Charles Tan, I found this link to an essay about the work of Shirley Jackson. http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Reviews-Essays/Fear-and-Delight-The-Fiction-of-Shirley-Jackson/ba-p/2641 I think it would be so cool to write a short story like "The Lottery", that still affects people long after its first publication. I found it interesting that she and the New Yorker, where the story was published, received hate mail because of that piece of fiction.
And a huge thank you to Michael Bracken for sending this link my way!! http://www.genreality.net/in-praise-of-short-stories This essay about short story writing is excellent, but do be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the page for more essays about shorts and writing in general. There's a lot of good information about writing on this site!
The First Line is seeking submissions for their Fall issue. The deadline is August 1. I think you could have a lot of fun with this sentence! "Three thousand habitable planets in the known universe, and I'm stuck on the only one without ______." (fill in the blank) This is a paying market, you can find all the details at http://www.thefirstline.com/
With a hat tip to Charles Tan, I found this link to an essay about the work of Shirley Jackson. http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Reviews-Essays/Fear-and-Delight-The-Fiction-of-Shirley-Jackson/ba-p/2641 I think it would be so cool to write a short story like "The Lottery", that still affects people long after its first publication. I found it interesting that she and the New Yorker, where the story was published, received hate mail because of that piece of fiction.
And a huge thank you to Michael Bracken for sending this link my way!! http://www.genreality.net/in-praise-of-short-stories This essay about short story writing is excellent, but do be sure to follow the links at the bottom of the page for more essays about shorts and writing in general. There's a lot of good information about writing on this site!
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