Fictional fumblings
For those who were wondering, I am still working on this month’s story, despite the fact that I’ll need to invent a time machine to fit in all the other stuff I need to do before the end of the month besides finishing it.
This tale got seriously derailed over the weekend, when I realised one of the central ideas wasn’t going to work. However, a solution presented itself at work today and I’ve managed to hack about what I had done already and add some more to it. I’m now fairly confident I can get a working story completed with the framework I’ve got, but it’s definitely not going to be pretty. Still, first drafts and all that, ‘finish what you start’ and so on. There’s a line from where I am now to the ending I had in mind, which is a good thing. Walking that line with words over the next eight days is going to be a challenge, though!
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2,103 / 7,500
(28.0%) |
Oh, and in reply to Sterling’s comment on the last progress report - I have no idea what I’ll do with it once it’s done. It’d be nice to think I’ll be confident enough in it to try sending it out for publication, but I think it’ll want a fair bit of polish before I’m willing to consider that. Maybe I’ll try one of those online story workshops to get some critique - if anyone reading can recommend one, I’d be very grateful.
In the meantime, all focus is on getting the bugger finished to deadline. That is my spur here - I’ve never missed a deadline for anything I’ve had published, as far as essays and reviews go, and so I’m damned if I’ll ruin my record and let myself break a deadline I’ve set for myself … [clenches fist determinedly]
License
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales License.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:38 am
If you’re a BSFA member, I’ve found the email Orbiter critique groups very useful.
January 23rd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Thanks for the tip, James. I knew they existed, but assumed they’d be aimed at the more advanced writer - which I am most definitely not! If you reckon they’d be worth a go for a total n00b, I may well give them a look.
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I’m making mine publicly available on Google Docs (which I’m using to write it) for anyone who wants to see it in progress. When finished, it will be released under a CC license and available free online.
January 23rd, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Wow - that’s pretty brave of you, Martin. Have you done much writing before, or are you a newcomer also?
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:47 pm
I’ve written on and off for years, but have recently dedicated myself to really getting it out there and working on sf and fantasy writing and illustration.
January 24th, 2007 at 11:35 am
The BSFA orbiters are very friendly. Groups of 4 or 5, so you get to know your orbiter. I like getting the feedback, even if people don’t like the stories (everyone is usually very constructive). It feels a bit weird making comments about other peoples writing to start with, but the process really helped my own writing.