Short Story Publishing Challenge

[BPA234]

I had a realization after the writing contest that I think mught be fun to pursue. IMO, most of the stories were fairly good and all of the stories were better than I thought they would be. Several were excellent. But, none were fully "there".

One, I thought, had a great writer's voice. But, the story wasn't quite tight enough. Another had an excellent story. But, needed work on style and mechanics. Others had a mix of good and bad aspects that made them good. But, kept them from fully realizing their potential.

So, with that in mind, I would like to know if anyone is interested in trying to take the next step and revise their stories with the intent of submitting for publication.

Here is how I think it could work:

Week 1: The writers (open to anyone) wishing to participate submit their stories. All stories are read, extensiviely reviewed, and critiqued by the participants and anyone else on the board who wishes to comment. The goal is to identify and revise any issues: style, mechanics, etc.

Week 2: Revisions are submitted for another round of review.

Week 3: Final drafts are made and sent off to prospective publishers. Suggestions for possible publications sources can be made for each story. Writer's Market is a source (there are others available) and I volunteer to pay the $3.99 per month Writer's Market membership fee and "chair" the effort.

If anyone is interested, post away.

Thanks.

[TheFaucet]

Sounds interesting. I submitted a piece to the contest under the handle DigitalAnthology, what did you think of that piece?

[Dane S]

Cool idea man. I'm definitely into it. I'm working on a story now that should be good for this. It'll be a bit longer and more fleshed out than my contest entry. Will take me at least several more days to a week to "finish" I think. Did you have an idea of when you're planning this for?

I've always had a hard time finding truly rigorous and merciless critics, though it's exactly what I want (at least what I think I want). Just about every writing workshop/group/informal exchange I've participated in has placed a lot more emphasis on pointing out positives and preserving self esteem than really digging in, which is fine I guess if that's where you're at, but I much prefer the ruthless style you find on the poker strat forums for rapid improvement. I'm actually pretty curious how a truly harsh and honest (maybe Blarg-like? [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]) reading would treat my writing, as I've never really received one before and it would be helpful I think to get a sense of where I *really* stand.

Do you have experience with professional writing/publishing, BPA? Or teaching perhaps? I get the sense from your posts that you know your stuff.

[SoloAJ]

I just want to say that I hope the Lounge becomes a place where people feel free to post their stories and we can have discussions on them. Obviously, I'm personally grateful as I'm benefitting from that in my thread.

But I know that part of what I love about writing workshops is getting to throw in my thoughts to the author and see what they think eventually. That is evidenced by my lengthy response to our resident writername.

I am sad I wasn't really around enough to get involved with the first fiction contest thing. I was hoping to get one done and got busy, and then didn't have enough time to properly read all entries to vote. Bleh.

But I'm down for doing as much as I can to help the Lounge become a place where intellectual discussions about creative writing can happen.

No idea if the mods are for or against something like that though. Powerful moderating entities?

[BPA234]

[ QUOTE ]
Sounds interesting. I submitted a piece to the contest under the handle DigitalAnthology, what did you think of that piece?

[/ QUOTE ]

That story is a tough one. I am reminded of a short story I wrote years ago for a summer session class @ Notre Dame (school named for irony and context-not brag [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ). In my story, my serial killer protag woke and killed the drug addled prostitute sleeping beside him.

The class liked the story. But, the professor called it a misogynistic, slice of repulsive life and blasted me for about five minutes. After I looked up misogynistic (lol) I realized that he had a point. Although, the professor was wrong about the misogyny aspect, he was right about the slice of life aspect.

As far as your story, here's what I think:

Your writing is interesting, has a defined style, and has a high intensity level. But, your story is a slice of life with controversial and offensive subject matter.

IMO, controversy is fine, and your subject matter, though offensive to some, is also fine. But, I think that the story "fails" on a technical level.

I think that the story as presented seems to be the conclusion (third act) of a larger whole that is not included in the present form.

The addition of a first and second act would provide the background for the third act's graphic and controversial conclusion and make the story "work".

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, with the addition of the first and second act, you could set up a story arc for the protag that invites the reader to care about what happens to the character.

If you have seen Taxi Driver, the analogy would be the ending scene of that movie without everything that happened before. Powerful scene. But, without the first and second act, it's just a bloody slice of life.

I have a few ideas I could offer you that could provide you with some options for a first and second act. Some of which comes from your replies to the initial criticism you received from other posters' reviews that were posted during the contest.

I think we should have at least four writers for this. If you are still interested, please let me know.

[katyseagull]

[ QUOTE ]
I just want to say that I hope the Lounge becomes a place where people feel free to post their stories and we can have discussions on them. Obviously, I'm personally grateful as I'm benefitting from that in my thread.

But I know that part of what I love about writing workshops is getting to throw in my thoughts to the author and see what they think eventually. That is evidenced by my lengthy response to our resident writername.

I am sad I wasn't really around enough to get involved with the first fiction contest thing. I was hoping to get one done and got busy, and then didn't have enough time to properly read all entries to vote. Bleh.

But I'm down for doing as much as I can to help the Lounge become a place where intellectual discussions about creative writing can happen.

No idea if the mods are for or against something like that though. Powerful moderating entities?

[/ QUOTE ]

I definitely enjoy the discussions on creative writing and I follow all of these threads.

I think your thread has been a fun read, Solo, and I hope to see more of this kind of thing in the lounge. Interesting to me how you could make such an ultra short story and then spark enough interest that people were giving you advice. i think it would be fun to have a future competition with a very short story format and see how creative everyone gets. I don't mean to replace the other short story format (because that one turned out quite well and it's nice not to have any word count restriction, imo) but just in addition to it. I would enjoy something like that. I wonder if people like adsman and coffee and Dane (and Felicia?) could write an ultra-short story and have fun with it.

[SoloAJ]

I enjoy all forms as well. The one thing flash fiction like mine would offer in contest form is that it is a heck of a lot easier to read 20 entries of that than it is of the 2700 word ones for example. That said, the last competeition worked out pretty well for a first timer. I can only assume that things will improve from here. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

PS Katy, input in other thread? [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[BPA234]

[ QUOTE ]
Cool idea man. I'm definitely into it. I'm working on a story now that should be good for this. It'll be a bit longer and more fleshed out than my contest entry. Will take me at least several more days to a week to "finish" I think. Did you have an idea of when you're planning this for?

I've always had a hard time finding truly rigorous and merciless critics, though it's exactly what I want (at least what I think I want). Just about every writing workshop/group/informal exchange I've participated in has placed a lot more emphasis on pointing out positives and preserving self esteem than really digging in, which is fine I guess if that's where you're at, but I much prefer the ruthless style you find on the poker strat forums for rapid improvement. I'm actually pretty curious how a truly harsh and honest (maybe Blarg-like? [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]) reading would treat my writing, as I've never really received one before and it would be helpful I think to get a sense of where I *really* stand.

Do you have experience with professional writing/publishing, BPA? Or teaching perhaps? I get the sense from your posts that you know your stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

The time frame is definitely not set. If we could get three or four people willing to participate, I think we could set a start date and move on from there. I set a fairly aggro schedule. But, if the group wanted more time, we could extend the timeframe.

Regarding the critique process: I have taken a few fiction classes and agree that they are not the best format for improvement. I also agree that the mentality and harsh realistic assessments we can expect from this forum, should produce a better result than classes we may have taken in the past.

Which isn't to say that masochism should be the goal. "Your story sucks, dude." isn't what I am looking for. But, rather "Your story sucks, because...".

The "because", IMO, should be built around identifying the failures with the accepted foundations of short story fiction. Grammar, punctuation and spelling, characters, story arc, pace, dialogue, theme etc. etc.

The whole process should be geared towards getting the stories submitted for publication. I have never submitted anything. But, I have always wanted to try. I think this could be a fun way to get there.

Plus, I already have a spot on the wall reserved for my first rejection letter.

Regarding my background: Very kind of you to ask in such a nice way. But, I have no experience whatsoever. Back in the 90's, while in pursuit of a business degree, I took a lot of writing classes (journalism and fiction). I have read a fair amount on the writing process and I take writing seriously. I am such an English donkey, I actually keep a copy of Strunk and White in the bathroom.

BTW, your talent screams off the page, so I am really glad you are interested in giving this a shot.