Everyone wants feedback on their work – or do they? That might sound like an odd question, but let me tell you a story. When I was in college I once did something really stupid (only once?) and was on the receiving end of some negative feedback from people in the group I hung out…
So here you are, staring at the complete first draft of your novel. What do you do with it? I’ve already told you not to send it to a publisher or post it on-line, so what’s left? Put it aside for a while. Work on something else. I know, this is really difficult to do.…
The First Draft Thing The End As you stare at your computer screen you get this sudden, exhilarating rush of emotion. You’ve done it! You’ve written a novel! Hardly able to contain yourself you want to high-five the world, but instead you just lean back with this stupid grin on your face and read…
One very nice review for my book contained the following comment: “It’s tough to invent a science-fiction universe from scratch, and tougher still to make readers care about the characters in that world. Usually writers pick one, intentionally or not. But the emotional guts of “Agony of the Gods” succeeds in both.” [You can see…
When you’re writing there’s always the choice between the easy description and the difficult one. Media is so pervasive today that almost any idea brings forth an image. If I start describing action on the bridge of a starship, many people will accept very limited description because the mind often jumps to the bridge of…
I’m following up on two previous posts – Great Books and Originality – because the two often flow together, and I thought I’d point out a few examples from the world of Scifi. I recently read through the two volume set from the Library of America, “American Science Fiction.” The editors picked out nine “classic”…
[Note: For purposes of full disclosure, remember, my novel “Agony of the Gods” has been published by Bookkus.] For the new writer, Bookkus is another option to consider. Basically, Bookkus is a hybrid. It’s a publishing house, not a workshop like Book Country, but instead of the legendary “bored intern” reading your submission, it’s posted…
A number of years ago there was an, unfortunately, short-lived scifi magazine titled “Aboriginal Science Fiction.” It published short stories, movie reviews and book reviews. The one thing I will always remember was the way one of its book reviewers began one of his columns. He was responding to the question, “Why don’t you ever…
So your manuscript has been through a number of drafts, been read by a few people in your writers club and fairly heavily critiqued. You’re sure it’s ready. What now? Well, you actually have a number of choices. Send to a copy to a publishing house that’s accepting unsolicited manuscripts. It’s important to check their…
A friend of mine once posed the question: “Do you think writers start out intending to write a great book?” Now, obviously, he meant “great” as in critically acclaimed, and having the potential to still be read long after the author has gone to that great remainder pile in the sky. I thought about it…