[writing] Short Story : Dream Singer Awakens

Last night I spent the evening completing a short story that has turned into a novelette. I know I’ll have a problem marketing a novelette. I don’t believe I’ll need to redraft this story, but I might need to go through and attempt some serious cuts. However, even if I cut 10-20% of the story, there’s no chance I can get it down to 7.5k.

10-12k is a common story length for me. I’m not sure why most of my stories end up at this length. I also find I’ve been writing my novel in chunks like this as well. I marathon for a while and get about that much done and then have to walk away and do something else for a while. However, I don’t have much trouble composing a flash story.

One of the problems I have probably has to do with the fact that I don’t read a lot of short stories, but a lot of novelettes. Most of my favorite stories run long. The only way I know to fix this is with practice. I need to continue to write more short stories and I need to try to keep them as short as possible.

It feels good to finish a phase of the drafting process though. The second draft is often the hardest for me. Now I have something I can snip and cut away at. I have something I can look at on a line-by-line basis and make choices about. I feel better about the story structure in this one. The transformational character arc has helped to clear up my usually incoherent endings.

I’m starting my next story there. At the arc. At least my planning of the story. What is the one event that could hurt this character the most? What is the one event that will best illustrate to them that their survival system isn’t working? Because I think if I can write my story about one important character and that one important event, I think then I can get the story length down to 4-6k where I want it to be.

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September 25, 2009 – 7:51 am
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By ShawnScarber
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FenCon VI – Not a con report, just reporting from

FENCON VI is drawing to a close. It’s been an interesting little con. I haven’t written as much as I wanted to while here, but have had a really good time meeting some new folks and spending some time talking with friends I don’t see nearly enough.

My hunger for writing flash is back. I think I might try to spend some time [after the novel is finished] working on a collection of flash stories set around some sort of theme. I’m not sure what that theme is, but it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something.

There were some really great ideas on marketing tossed around in the flash panel. I’m thinking about putting some of these ideas to use here on the site. I know in the next year I want to put together an illustrated chapbook. I have an idea who I want to use as an artist.

Added later: Here’s a good way to make a nice single page chapbook. I think I might take one of my previously published flash stories and put it in this format with a nice external and internal illustration. I want to use it as a type of calling card, but I need to put a few things in place first.

Well, I’m going to take advantage of the two hours I have left in the room here and try to get more of the short story down, then I need to go say goodbye to everyone and try to spend some time with my kiddo before taking her back to her mother’s house.

OK, here’s my mini con report:

The panel on really bad movies, writing flash fiction, and the workshop on making armor patterns were made of awesome. I didn’t really attend much else. People keep telling me to get on the panels myself, but I don’t quite feel legit yet. I want my SFWA membership first.

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September 20, 2009 – 10:43 am
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By ShawnScarber
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Jay Lake Flash Fiction Open Voting Round

The judges have made their choices and yours truly was not selected, but I’m fine with that considering the quality of the stories that did win out. So go give the top picks a read and help vote for a winner. This was a lot of fun and I hope Jay’s open to doing it again in the near future.

Go here and then click the link to the poll.

Published:
September 15, 2009 – 9:29 pm
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By ShawnScarber
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Garage Band

Second only the World of Warcraft for world’s greatest time eating distraction.

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September 15, 2009 – 9:24 pm
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[K9] Military Working Dogs at Joint Base Balad

Giving program some sure footing
By Lee Anne Hensley (Hilltop Times staff)

When Tech. Sgt. Joseph Throgmorton volunteered for a kennel master job at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, several months ago, he had no idea it would be what he describes as “probably the most complicated and the most stressful job I’ve had in my 13-and-a-half years (of service).”

The kennel master from the 75th Security Forces Squadron Military Working Dog Unit here did not know what his mission would be until he arrived at JBB last January. When Throgmorton arrived there with his dog teams, he quickly learned there were several missions, and the largest of those missions would be to stand up a kennel for the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Group.

“When I got there, I realized we were starting from scratch,” Throgmorton said. “We were the first Air Force dog teams to be assigned to Joint Base Balad.”

The joint forces base had an existing kennel operated by the Army military working dog units and the original plan was to build an extension to that kennel for the 332nd ESFG to operate from.

Read the rest of the article here:

I have a lot of respect for these guys. They’ve got a hard job, few resources, and they’re operating in a very hostile environment. It’s soldiers like Tech. Sgt. Throgmorton I’m writing about in War Dogs of Mars.

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September 15, 2009 – 3:04 pm
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By ShawnScarber
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[podcasts] Here are a few I listen to.

This morning I’m loading a collection of some of my favorite podcasts onto the iPhone. I thought I would go ahead and share.

First, if you’re an aspiring writer you should listen to Mur Lafferty’s podcast ‘I Should Be Writing’. She talks about her own struggles and rewards with the craft and features interviews with big name authors. Her shows are also a lot of fun. Well worth giving a listen. http://feeds.feedburner.com/IShouldBeWriting

The next one is Tony C. Smith’s The Sofanauts. This is an informal roundtable discussion about science fiction, science, and general life. Again, it’s a lot of fun to listen to and a little more relaxed than your average interview. http://sofanauts.com/category/podcast/feed

There are more, but I’ll post them later when I have a little more time.

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September 15, 2009 – 9:00 am
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Twitter Updates for 2009-09-14

  • Nope, didn't see 9 this weekend. For some reason, I'd rather see Cloudy w/ Chance of Meatballs. Looks like more fun. #
  • Been checking out StoryTracker for iPod. Not a bad tool, but I still like Duotrope's much better. Mobile is nice, but not necessary. #
  • http://tinyurl.com/lvtzkx – nerd pr0n #
  • @ALeeMartinez LTP NUB! in reply to ALeeMartinez #
  • I meant bling.com. I'm liking bling.com. #
  • Put a story in the mail, working on editing one back from workshop, and later working on a new story-busy little bee is me. #
  • I hate cancer. #

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September 14, 2009 – 8:42 pm
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By ShawnScarber
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[art] Where do you get your inspiration?

Where do you get your inspiration?

I have to admit that I’m a real hooked fish for visual images. Most of my characters are inspired by something I’ve either seen in a movie, comic, manga, or other visual arts. Digital paintings and fantasy art are a never ending inspiration for me.

I think all illustrators have to be story tellers to really make their work stand out. It’s a much more difficult form of storytelling than what I do. I can capture an entire event, from it’s start to its finish, and hopefully give the reader the feeling that what they read was something real. And illustrator, painter, or other still image artist must capture a single moment in time and give the viewer the impression that life came before this image and that life will continue beyond it.

As an author, I will often look at a work and ask myself questions about the character. Who is this person or this thing? How did she get where she is? Where is she going or where does she want to go? What is she most afraid of?

When exploring the fantastical there’s more to the depth of character than the fact that the fantastical is unreal. Unreality is the easy part. It’s exploring the reality of the unreality that’s difficult. It’s the process of bleeding over enough reality that the unreal seems more likely than our physical world.

This is why I tend to appreciate Realism as an art form more than any other. Realism doesn’t always mean that the subject of the image is real. It has more to do with style. I just want to point you in the direction of some artists who are working with the style to tell some fantastic stories.

Warning: many of these sites contain adult content and might not be suitable for younger viewers or a typical work environment.

Brom – Not only a talented artist, but now a novelist. Doesn’t quite seem fair, does it?
Ryohei Hase – Digital painter
Dorian Cleavenger – gothic pinup
Lauren Cannon – digital artist
Patrick Arrasmith – Etchings
Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Samuel Araya

Like I said, these are just a few of my favorites. I’m always looking for more inspiration, so please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know who some of your favorite visual artists are.

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September 14, 2009 – 7:27 pm
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-09-13

  • I hate that I have to wake at 4 to get any silence around the house. #
  • When did we switch to Parliament? I'm all for it as long as we can add a few more parties. I'll gladly vote in the Cthulhu Party! #
  • New iTunes loads fine on the Mac, but fails three times on the Vista box. #
  • Worked on critiques the whole night. Desperate to return to my novel. #
  • diet A&W root beer is made of pure win. #
  • Glad I already posted my short for critique group. Woke this morning hating it. My story affairs are short and end bitterly. #
  • Support LGBT Equality, add a #twibbon to your avatar now! – http://twibbon.com/join/LGBT-Equality-5 #
  • @nalohopkinson that's why I have to write in silence. I use Uta Hagen method writing. Some chars are me though. Not Mary Sue! Transreal! in reply to nalohopkinson #
  • RT @newscientist: How's it go? Wingardium leviosum! http://bit.ly/2qx7kd mice made to levitate in magnetic field #
  • It's raining. That was unexpected. #
  • Civility and my future posts : http://tinyurl.com/mj7oon #
  • RT @NASA: Image of the Day: A Day of Remembrance: Visible from space, a smoke plume rises from Manhattan .. http://bit.ly/K60gS #
  • @MssJenn check out unknownscreenwriter.com if you haven't already. Excellent advice. in reply to MssJenn #
  • @chris_roberson Spatula City! in reply to chris_roberson #
  • Go do something life affirming today in rememberance of the victims of 9/11. I love New York! #
  • @pauljessup that sucks, man. Hope you can work something out. in reply to pauljessup #
  • @ScottWesterfeld jeez, that's freaking gorgeous! in reply to ScottWesterfeld #
  • RT @ScottWesterfeld: I haz a realness: http://yfrog.com/3owfrj Leviathan is an object. #
  • @jay_lake if we're going to have a public option, we should cover anyone who needs the care. We should do more to helps folks get legal too. in reply to jay_lake #
  • More critiques this morning. #
  • Science fiction is a conversation. Don't butt in unless you've listened for a bit. At least be familiar with Asimov's 3 laws of robotics.. #
  • When I say be familiar with the 3 laws, that doesn't mean you have to use them. Just address them or explain why your android kills people. #
  • Most stories don't kick hard enough or in the right places. #
  • Anita, my GSD, is very sad Kat isn't here today. She's being really mopey, in that way that only German Shepherds can be. #
  • I'm not a fan of anti-science science fiction. #
  • Heading to @rclementmoore booksigning. #
  • Phone's not working. Must be the rains. #
  • @maureenmcq yours doesn't have enough fundamentalist overtones to count! in reply to maureenmcq #
  • Good responses from critique group on my story. Now to dress it and send it out to the dance. #
  • No power this morning. Still raining. This sucks. #
  • Still no power at the clan dwelling and rain enough to make a Seattlite overjoyed. Looks like me and the laptop are heading out to cafe. #
  • Delicate flowers of maidenhood shouldn't skip atmo at 8 gs. #
  • Hanging with National Space Society of North Texas. We just watched a couple episodes of Rocket Girls anime. #
  • Arrived home to discover I still have no power. I have edits and laundry to do! Ack! #
  • I finally have power! #
  • Almost blood time. #
  • Giant egg! #
  • When you came in the air went out…. #
  • Your turn to make Yahtzee. #
  • Squish. #
  • If a tree falls in the woods, it's still a tree ain't it? #
  • Squee! #
  • Ah, unsquee that last squee. #
  • NOOOOO! #

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September 13, 2009 – 8:42 pm
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By ShawnScarber
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Twitter Updates for 2009-09-13

  • Good responses from critique group on my story. Now to dress it and send it out to the dance. #
  • No power this morning. Still raining. This sucks. #
  • Still no power at the clan dwelling and rain enough to make a Seattlite overjoyed. Looks like me and the laptop are heading out to cafe. #
  • Delicate flowers of maidenhood shouldn't skip atmo at 8 gs. #
  • Hanging with National Space Society of North Texas. We just watched a couple episodes of Rocket Girls anime. #
  • Arrived home to discover I still have no power. I have edits and laundry to do! Ack! #
  • I finally have power! #
  • Almost blood time. #
  • Giant egg! #
  • When you came in the air went out…. #
  • Your turn to make Yahtzee. #
  • Squish. #
  • If a tree falls in the woods, it's still a tree ain't it? #
  • Squee! #
  • Ah, unsquee that last squee. #
  • NOOOOO! #

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September 13, 2009 – 8:42 pm
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By ShawnScarber
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