I've been working my ass off on a novel for the past 3 months. Now I've suddenly realized how stupid I was... I'm now gonna concentrate on short stories only. If I can get some short stories published, then I'll go ahead with the novel, otherwise, I'm sticking to music and my films. It doesnt really make any sense, does it, to spend an year writing a book that you're not even sure will get published? If you have about half a dozen published shorts under your belt, then I guess you'll be much more confident about your own writing abilities, and also appeal to the publisher. Ok that was my rant...I'm done now
I think the story decides for itself whether it will be a short story or a novel. But a novel is certainly a much greater commitment. I know I am not at all prepared to tackle a novel. Maybe someday I will, but for now, I won't even consider it.
Sashas, I understand your concern--spend so long on a project with no assurance of a sale...actually a long shot for it to reach publication. What you've discussed, short story writing to get some experience and confidence under your belt, along with possibly some name recognition and something to show publishers/agents when you do submit a novel, has merit. One thing to note: Novel Writing and Short Story Writing, while they have similarities, there are also differences. It's kind of like running a 100 meter dash vs. a 10k run. Each requires some different skills and techniques unique from the other. Writing a novel first is not "stupid" but may not be the right path for you. Hang in there and good luck with the shorts. Terry
Yeah, and if you can make some sales to say...The New Yorker or The Atlantic Monthly... Lol...right now I'm just getting my stories published in my college magazine. Btw, I plan to submit a story to Strange Horizons. Has anyone heard of it? Also, I guess you're taken much more seriously by an agent if your bio in the query letter says that you've been published two dozen times, once even in the Paris Review Ah, well...what the heck...I'll dream some other time
[del]testing[/del] [strikethrough]testing[/strikethrough] You guys know how to create strike throughs on HTML format?
I'm the opposite case here. My current story was only meant to be a short but it has mutated into a monster. It's alive! It's an absolute bugger of a story as it's become incredibly huge in content and its themes. May take a long time to complete...if ever.
Its the opposite for me... Whenever I try and start a novel, I don't have that much to say...I end up making it a short story...
Yes, I'm going through something like what Max has- the story I'm writing, which was supposed to be a brief scare sort of thing- has now developed into a science fiction drama, high school opera, suspense thriller, murder mystery, and a general collection of weirdness. It's going to go on for a bit at this rate, so I may actually divide it into chapters and call it a "novella." Ah, novellas. They're like the "WTF" of writing. This also happened before, in a more extreme case- what was originally a two-page story I wrote about a boy who dies saving the president and goes to the afterlife, is now a 70-page-and-counting novel which I want to spawn a trilogy off of. Whee.
Max Vantage, Maybe you have a novella on your hands, if not a novel? If not, once you finish, you'll probably have a lot of cutting and trimming to do...or more than usual. Good luck on getting it finished and off to market. Terry
Novellas...a rare breed with limited markets. But they're out there! (Some magazines and ezines and occasionally anthologies) And odds are that good stuff eventually finds a home. Terry
If there is not an existing BB code for the function, it appears it would be easy for Daniel to create one. Why not add it to the Suggestions and Feedback forum? If there is already a BB code defined for strikethrough, he can also tell you what it is.
