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Welcome to the Writing Life! (Read 1118 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #525 - Nov 2^nd, 2014 at 5:07pm	Print Post
	I'll be reading through Cliffside Story later today to see how it reads with the cuts I've made. I don't know if I'll be making more cuts or not. I DO know that the next story, now titled "Into the West" will shorter as it will focus on one pivotal incident with the main action occurring over the course of an hour or so with background/lead in/set up taking very few words. It either has to be a (very) short story or a novel and I don't think it would make an interesting novel unless I did it as a collection of three or four novellas that hit the high points.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #526 - Nov 3^rd, 2014 at 11:40pm	Print Post
	Current count: 14,528


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #527 - Nov 4^th, 2014 at 12:33am	Print Post
	Ruthless cutting continues. Word count: 14,378.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #528 - Nov 4^th, 2014 at 12:49am	Print Post
	Word count is now at 14,293 and I'm taking a break from it before I do another read through. I'm hoping to get it closer to 14,000 but we'll see.
	« Last Edit: Nov 28^th, 2014 at 5:47am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #529 - Nov 5^th, 2014 at 5:02pm	Print Post
	I'm getting the feeling that I'm not going to be able to cut Cliffside Story down to what most markets consider "maximum length" without gutting the story. So, once it's done, I'm considering putting it aside and concentrating on "stories" (what I could call vignettes) with word counts in the 4,000 to 6,000 word range. Once I've sold a few of those, Cliffside Story "should" have a better chance of being sold. Now all I have to do is come up with some story ideas that don't require a lot of words to tell......
	« Last Edit: Nov 5^th, 2014 at 5:03pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #530 - Nov 5^th, 2014 at 9:26pm	Print Post
	Well, I've come up with a "location" for another really short story now I need a story to go with it...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #531 - Nov 6^th, 2014 at 2:02am	Print Post
	I am blessed! On a hunch, I googled "Marion Zimmer Bradley" and discovered a.) the website for her literary trust and b.) that her anthology series "Swords and Sorceress" which ceased publication after her death, apparently resumed publication a few years ago with the current volume (29) now in release! Yes, I've bookmarked the site of the trust and the submission guidelines for S & S 30. It's too late to submit for 30 and I don't have anything suitable on hand anyway BUT it is something to shoot for in a year or two. Yes, making long range plans even if I AM coming up on my next birthday!
	« Last Edit: Nov 6^th, 2014 at 5:22am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #532 - Nov 6^th, 2014 at 2:04am	Print Post
	I wonder if the "Chicks in Chainmail" series is still a going concern.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #533 - Nov 7^th, 2014 at 1:27am	Print Post
	I just made another pass through Cliffside Story and I think it's as "cut" as it's going to get. The current word count is 14,271 and I may add some "color" to it after I've had some time to think about it. I touched it up a little tonight and I don't think I'll be adding much more since I do want to keep the word count down. I'm making a list of "locations/situations" for short stories. "Into the West" will probably be the one I work on next. It has the potential to be short enough for most of the magazine markets. More research is needed to narrow the field down but I know enough to get started on the story.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #534 - Nov 12^th, 2014 at 4:35am	Print Post
	I'm still mulling over at what point to start "Into the West" and the "particulars" of "Slayer" -- that title is subject to change. I have to call the file SOMETHING after all. I took a bit of a break to take care of real life and to enjoy my birthday and now I'm back to going to the mat with uncooperative story particulars.....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #535 - Nov 12^th, 2014 at 6:33am	Print Post
	"Into the West" is officially started. I've got the beginning, the end and a bit of the middle which may turn out to be part of the beginning. The gap isn't large. Word count: 809


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #536 - Nov 12^th, 2014 at 7:58pm	Print Post
	Working on "Into the West" today. The word count is up to 1,215. I've got some things that need to be figured out but so far, everything is going well.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #537 - Nov 12^th, 2014 at 9:16pm	Print Post
	My eyes are complaining and I need to think and since the word count is up to 1,677, I'm going to take a break. Dishwasher needs to be loaded too... sigh


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #538 - Nov 13^th, 2014 at 1:57am	Print Post
	"Into the West" is now a bit over two thousand words which makes it one half to one third finished since I'm wanting to bring it in between 4,000 and 6,000 words and if it comes in at less than that... wonderful since that will increase the number of markets that it will be short enough for.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #539 - Nov 13^th, 2014 at 3:48am	Print Post
	Oh my! "Into the West" appears to be almost finished -- first draft anyway. All it needs is a combat scene and the whole thing will be there and at less than 3,000 words which means I can put in a little "color" and more character development. But first, I'm going to scare up something to eat. The girls are fed so that just leaves me to worry about....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #540 - Nov 13^th, 2014 at 4:44am	Print Post
	I've added a bit of color and description and I think I'll call it a "night" as far as "Into the West" is concerned. The only major thing left is the fight scene. I've been trying out various scenarios for it but nothing has clicked yet so I'm going quit for the night and tackle it fresh tomorrow. Tonight's final word count: 2,493.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #541 - Nov 14^th, 2014 at 6:02am	Print Post
	I was hoping to finish tonight but my left eye is burning/watering so badly that I can barely see out of it so I'm going to pack it in for the night. I'm nearly done though, just a few more sentences which shouldn't take long to write once I can concentrate and see what I'm doing! Tonight's word count is 2,975 and I expect that the final count will be a bit on either side of 3,000 words. Probably "over" since I don't think I can wrap things up in 25 words or less. I might but it's doubtful. Tomorrow should see it done. Then I'll set it aside for bit while I start on the next one. That one won't go as fast since I gotta come up with a monster and a situation...


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #542 - Nov 14^th, 2014 at 5:07pm	Print Post
	Word count: 3,005. Another paragraph or two should do it.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #543 - Nov 14^th, 2014 at 5:43pm	Print Post
	I pronounce "Into the West" first draft DONE! Word count: 3,138 Now I'll set it aside to incubate until next week some time while I get to work on the next one.
	« Last Edit: Nov 14^th, 2014 at 7:11pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #544 - Nov 15^th, 2014 at 2:24am	Print Post
	Quote: I'm still thinking about critters for my next two short stories. A giant spider would be good but between the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies and Harry Potter, giant spiders are in danger of becoming cliche. I may have to read "Writing Monsters" by Phillip Athans to get my monster creating juices flowing.... So far I have "isolated settlement", "mountains or uplands of mountains" and "nocturnal, flying creature", carnivorous, of course. Flying "whatever" like to scramble around on roofs and drag its victims out of windows.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #545 - Nov 15^th, 2014 at 3:35am	Print Post
	Moonie has suggested a giant bat but I'm leaning toward something more solitary. Bats are normally found in groups, frequently BIG groups, and a big group of large carnivorous critters is not what I need for this project. One critter done right will be enough.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #546 - Nov 15^th, 2014 at 9:29pm	Print Post
	Currently considering if the villagers should attempt to offer Our Heroine to the monster to appease it for a while and save one of their own or not. The answer to that question will set the tone for the whole story so I have to know that before I start.
	« Last Edit: Nov 28^th, 2014 at 5:51am by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #547 - Nov 17^th, 2014 at 6:56pm	Print Post
	I think I have the opening of my next story about worked out. I think that this one is going to be a "seat of the pants" story as I'm not sure at the moment how it's going to end -- other than Our Heroine and most everyone else will survive. An evil wizard/mage may end up being in the mix. Still considering that part although having the creature be a servitor to the wizard/mage would be a handy explanation as to why the critter showed up so suddenly in an area that was previously safe. Hmmmm......


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #548 - Nov 18^th, 2014 at 6:24am	Print Post
	Good sized settlement with a large inn or caravansary during the slow season? The setting needs to be relatively isolated but Our Heroine needs a reasonably good reason to be there, even if she's only "passing through" and if she's just passing through, where is she going and why? Granted, that might not be an important part of this story but it could be the springboard to the next one.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: Welcome to the Writing Life! Reply #549 - Nov 19^th, 2014 at 3:54am	Print Post
	Getting closer to knowing how to start the next story which will be titled "Demon in the Dark". I'm still working out the details but it's beginning to come together.


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