BUH. The last week has been draining. I didn’t actually work any overtime (although I did work Sunday, then took Monday off). It’s just being back in “news cycle” space that is so terrible, with constant terrible news updates about the situation in Afghanistan, knowing that so much work is being done to try to get people out, and feeling like what little I can do (at top speed) isn’t worth much. It’s like an election year cycle, but shorter and more intense.
The world is a crazy place.
But here we are, starting a new volume. It makes me excited and nervous, starting this process all over again.
We’re going to be talking a lot about details, but also a lot about pacing. The timing of when you write details is important, along with how much space they take up. But character is important with details, too–character A should describe a setting differently than character B, and in fact that might be how you know you’re writing solid characters. And the rules. That’s going to be the hard part to explain. Just who is tellng this story? When are they telling it? Are they reliable? How much are they lying? How much are they twisting the truth? Is there an underlying, objective world that they’re talking about?
The rules are where you get to be really weird with stories. (The real secret of how to break a rule is to set a rule for your reader that goes, “I know this is usually not the rule, but…”)
It should be fun. Watch me have a spiritual meltdown about the point where we get to the rules and I struggle to talk about it!
Also: please stop letting other people decide what you “should” write. I’m trying to be gentle in the opening here, but I really just want to set some people’s hair on fire. Your critique group can stuff themselves. That one-star reviewer is an asshole not worth listening to. The reason you’re not selling, if you have quality stories that you’re putting out into the world, is probably just bad luck.
Write to market or don’t write to market. But…
Stop letting other people decide how you bring your talents into the world!
Okay, rant over…