I sat down yesterday afternoon to finish my Vermin story. I thought I had about 300-400 words left in it. by the time I pulled up for air I had added another 2000 words. Oops. Still, I read it through- pulled some lines, added others, checked my punctuation and verb tenses- and shipped it off. Somehow, a story I wondered if I would be able to hit the 3K minimum became an almost 7K story. I still don't know how it happened. I never write them that long, ever. Not unless I am writing a book or a novella. It is my longest 'short' story to date. I believe it is the longest story I have ever submitted.
In other news- I have other shorts I would like to write. Today will not be the day they get started though. With two of the three things on my to-do list for the month of July out of the way, I am going to start in on the third thing, which is edit my MG book and get it ready to submit to agents. I have high hopes for this one. It isn't supernatural, but instead bound by reality and written from the point of view of a boy. This is not the way most MG books are written these days so I don't know if I stand a shot with it at all. We will find out. I always liked the action adventure stories when I was growing up. I hope that stories like this still have a place in today's world.
I hope everyone is having a good week. Talk at you all later.
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12 comments:
Good luck with the Vermin sub!
Thanks Barry. I'm going to need it. I don't have good luck with long subs. BTW, the Zinsser book is On Writing Well.
Writing an MG from a boy's viewpoint is always a plus. Apparently girls will read books with boys as the MC but boys won't read books with girls as the MC - or so the publishing gurus say.
You've put so much work into that Vermin sub, I really hope you make it into the antho.
Good luck. Make you wonder how many words might have been in that story...
Cate- I have been told the same thing. I really didn't put all that much work into my vermin sub, it just took forever to get it on paper.
Aaron- I have wondered that myself. I wondered how many subplots I could have added (and then taken out, and added again).
I usually stick in the 3-5K window. Longest story I ever wrote was around 8K, but I find stories that long a pain to edit!
My bad writing habits must have rubbed off. I thought my Vermin story was going to come in at around 5k, but it ended up being 7k.
A boy's action-adventure MG sounds refreshing compared to a lot of what's out there right now. Maybe you'll catch the wave of the next big thing!
In the meantime, good luck with the Vermin story! Hey, at least it's finished and out the door; that's the real challenge.
Nat- long stories take far longer to edit. There is a lot more to go wrong with them. They also have to hold the editors attention much longer. :(
Jameson- I do have a craving for cheese puffs.
K.C.- Just finishing that story was a challenge. Getting it out the door was the easy part.
well done on getting the Vermin sub done and sent. Glad to hear some people are still writing.
All my short stories keep getting longer and longer. I'm having to beat them all back with a stick. "No, back! BAck! I do NOT want to write a novel..."
BT- I don't know if taking three months to write one short story 'writing' but thanks.
Jeremy- I think the book bug has taken hold of me. I am finding it very difficult to write short stories anymore.
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