Lookie what mroctober gave me! Muse food from Lethe Press! Aren’t they beautiful?
From left to right: The Story of Oriental Philosophy by L. Adams Beck, Legends of the City of Mexico by Thomas A. Janvier, Shallow Empire, poetry by Sou MacMillan, Stranger Than Fiction: Welsh Ghosts and Folklore by Mary L. Lewes, and Irish Witchcraft & Demonology by St. John D. Seymour.
I’m already nose deep into The Story of Oriental Philosophy and making periodic forays into the Sou MacMillan poetry. Squee! Thank you, Steve!!
But now I really need to grow another head so I can devote one to reading full time.
Writing Stuff
Got an email from a fellow writer in Budapest whom I didn’t know was Hungarian. She saw that a Hungarian translation of “All in My Mind” was forthcoming in Galaktika in April and sent me snaps. I asked her if she’d be willing, if I sent her the English version, to give me a summary of how good the translation was. I’m always a bit anxious to know how my foreign language translations turn out. One of my writers group peeps is Greek, so I’ve got a thumbs up from him on the Greek translations, and I can more or less stumble through the French on my own. But for the Polish and now Hungarian translations I’ve just been crossing my fingers.
Anyone out there read Polish?
This meme has been floating around my flist, and since my muse decided to play hide-n-seek yesterday (mostly hide), here’re my 10 things:
1. Write. Write more. Keep writing. Then write something else. Don’t stop writing.
2. There are stories out there begging to be written. Once you start looking for them, you’ll find them everywhere. Just remember not to get so wrapped up finding the stories that you forget to write them.
3. There are no rules to writing, just guidelines. Use what works for you and don’t angst about going against the common wisdom.
4. Get other people to read and critique your work. They’ll catch things you miss, and you will miss things, no matter how vigilant you are.
5. If you want to be published, you must have a thick skin. Rejection is a part of the biz, as is criticism–and sometimes most crushing of all, indifference. Don’t snark at folks who reject your stuff; take it in stride and either learn from it or let it roll off (or both). After all, they’re not rejecting you, just that particular configuration of words you put together.
6. Trust your instincts, but be open to suggestions. No matter how good you are (or think you are), you can always be better . . . or wrong.
7. If you thought being a writer meant you’d never have to talk in public again, you were mistaken. (*sigh*)
8. Write for you. Write what you love. Write what you want to read. Be passionate about your story, your words, and your characters. Cherish what you write with a burning, fiery, obsessive madness. It’s the best (and oftentimes only) reward for writing. Anything less and you might as well be a cubicle monkey; cubicle monkeys earn a helluva lot more for their souls.
9. Writers are insane, especially if they do it full time (see #8). If you hang out with writers, expect some dementia to pop up.
10. Writing is staggeringly hard (see #9).
Received:
– Payment from Oceans of the Mind for “The Few, the Proud, the Leech Corps.” Yay!
Editing/No new words:
My muse was not kind. I did one editing pass on the second section of The Novel, tentatively titled The Goddess of Beauty and War, and then *poof* no words. Snartleblast. Since I got so many folks clamoring for that Egyptian folktale, aiming my muse that-away instead.
Also did do a couple editing passes on “A Thread of Silk” and did indeed decide to stick on an prologue.
I have a Polish friend I could ask if you are not able to find anyone else. Just let me know.
Really? Cool. I’ll definitely keep you and your friend in mind.
Aww, thanks for the wonderful entry (though, the link to Beck’s work is to an earlier OP edition not the Lethe edition). I’m so very glad you like them. 🙂
“the link to Beck’s work is to an earlier OP edition not the Lethe edition“
Oops! Fixed now.
“I’m so very glad you like them.“
Like them? I love them! How could I not? *hugs*
that’s some very sage advice. i’m probably going to print them out and post them at my desk.
Really? Aw, shucks.
But now I really need to grow another head so I can devote one to reading full time.
That’s a terrific idea! Let me know if you figure out how to do that. 🙂
Will do! ‘Course, knowing me, once I got that second head thing going on, I’d probably just keep losing it
.
Yeah, it woould be important to have it firmly attached. 🙂
Thank you very much for this post. I’m new to beginning my writing career, even though I’m older. Your posts are an inspration. thanks again.
An inspiration? Aw pshaw.
Well, I’m glad you are here and pshaw all you would like too… LOL
btw, I’d like to poach the 10 things
Last, would you mind reading something I wrote?
“btw, I’d like to poach the 10 things“
Be my guest.
“Last, would you mind reading something I wrote?“
I assume you mean for critique? What is it and how long is it? I normally limit the critiques I do to stuff from my writers’ groups, and I very, very rarely crit novels. But if it’s not too long and in a genre I write in, I can probably squeeze it in somewhere, as long as you’re not expecting feedback too quickly.
Or better yet, you might consider joining Critters.org and submitting your story for critique there. Then you can drop me a line when it comes up in the queue.
Thanks for the 10 meme thing.
As for your reading my writing, I see what you mean. I’ll go to critters. However, do you have any recommendations or suggestions as to other individuals for other genres? I’m looking at poetry and short ‘flash’ fiction now.
“However, do you have any recommendations or suggestions as to other individuals for other genres?“
Individuals on LJ, you mean? Off the top of my head, there’s Mikal Trimm () who’s done well by his genre poetry, and of course Mike Allen ( ). Mike’s the editor/publisher of the poetry journal Mythic Delirium, as well as being a poet in his own right. On the flash front, Toni Stauffer ( ) has gotten many of her short-shorts published and excels in that format.
thank you very much
That’s a lovely, practical list of things learned. And I agree with all of it. *g*
I love that list, and agree with all of them. Sadly, because #7 is almost enough to make me reconsider my choice of becoming a writer. I’m an appalling public speaker…
“I’m an appalling public speaker…“
The public speaking part is actually optional–unlike the stints I’ve had to do for my previous day job and in college–but it’s an awfully good idea for marketing and promotion. Anyway, you can’t possibly be more appalling of a public speaker than I am, I assure you. When I first started doing panels at conventions, I made sure to warn the other panelists that I might have a panic attack, so if I keeled over to just make sure not to trip over me, and if I did a deer-in-headlight mid-sentence to give me an elbow to the ribs to joggle me out of it.
I so totally suck as an orator.
I’ve never had a problem speaking on convention panels, but I have an accent that makes Forrest Gump sound like John Houseman.
I’m mostly over my freak-out about doing panels. Not having to solo makes a huge difference, and I’m pretty comfortable bantering on a panel with other writers/editors now. But I still quail bigtime at doing solo lectures–although I will do them.
Being in a group definitely takes the pressure off, but I’ve never been afraid of going solo either, though I haven’t done any of that since college.
Hum, I’ve never been talking to so many people, so I think I would do a “deer in the headlights” in that situation too. My experience is limited to 30 people at a time. I can barely handle it already. 🙁
Pretty, pretty books! Wanna, wanna!
Buy, buy!
I think I’ll add Irish Witchcraft & Demonology to my list of books to get.
And on the 10 Things list: #9 stood out for some reason. Don’t know why. After all, I’m not insane…everyone else is! Mwahahahaha–!
Ahem! Nope, not insane, not in the slightest…
“I think I’ll add Irish Witchcraft & Demonology to my list of books to get.“
It would make a fine addition to any fantasy writer’s library!
You should email me your phone number ASAP.
Squawk? Phone number(s) emailed.
What’s going on? What is it?? Agh! *twitch*
Thank you. :}
Cool new books. What a wonderful friend!
Egyptian story sounds intriguing. My parents met on the way to Cairo, spent time in the area during World War II (not exactly tourist stuff), were married there in 1945 and honeymooned at Giza close enough to see the shadows cast by the pyramids (their honeymoon picture is a classic). As a result, there were Eqyptian what-nots and books all about my family home when I was just a kid. I will look forward to this new tale with nostalgia.
Congrats and well said, but speaking as a cubicle monkey myself I wonder how you’ve managed to avoid becoming one.
Actually, I was one for nearly eleven years. I used to be a system’s analyst for a huge, multinational corporation. Then my company asked me to relocate, and I refused so had to quit. I’ve been living the stressful-but-liberating life of a freelance writer for a little over a year now, and I’m dreading the looming necessity of having to go back to cubicle monkeyhood. Despite making regular sales, I still don’t make enough to starve in a shack. Alas.
I’ve been there, too. Didn’t mean to pry. Just curious.
It’s all cool. I don’t feel pried at
. I don’t have a problem talking about it or anything. My company treated me well while I was with them, and while I miss the money, security, and health benefits (!), it was killing my soul working there. I’m getting resigned to the idea of having to take on another soul-sucking day job again, eventually, but well, that’s reality for ya.