t Poking head We had a network crash here, and therefore I owe apologies to both Kristin and deb, because the files with the comments on their stuff were lost, and I have to start all over again. I'm not sure I'll be able to re-do it until at least tomorrow, though. Sorry!
Mal: You want to tell me how come there's a statue of you here looking at me like I owe him something? Jayne: Wishing I could, Captain.
'Jaynestown'
The Great Write Way
A place for Buffistas to discuss, beta and otherwise deal and dish on their non-fan fiction projects.
Nilly - Nov 22, 2004 1:42:42 am PST #8221 of 10001
Swouncing
Topic!Cindy - Nov 22, 2004 2:01:46 am PST #8222 of 10001
What is even happening?
Oh victor, I'm crying.
Err, I'm sorry? I REALLY didn't mean to make you cry.Yeah, but because your reasoning is sound. I can't explain it any more, but you don't need to be sorry, unless you caused all this in the first place.
victor infante - Nov 22, 2004 5:42:13 am PST #8223 of 10001
To understand what happened at the diner, we shall use Mr. Papaya! This is upsetting because he's the friendliest of fruits.
Yeah, but because your reasoning is sound.
Thank you.
you don't need to be sorry, unless you caused all this in the first place.
I didn't touch it, I was nowhere near the place.
Pix - Nov 22, 2004 5:47:10 am PST #8224 of 10001
We're all getting played with, babe. -Weird Barbie
Insent to betas...and I'm getting on my plane. Thanks all!
Steph L. - Nov 22, 2004 7:49:34 am PST #8225 of 10001
I look more rad than Lutheranism
I was really tempted to do a Thanksgiving-themed drabble challenge this week (like "succotash," or perhaps "smallpox-laden blankets"). But then I thought nah, succotash isn't all that interesting.
So. Challenge #32 (breath) is now closed.
This week's challenge (#33) is the passage of time. I know it's really broad and vague, but it intrigues me. Please let me know if you want more specific topics, because we can always do succotash....
deborah grabien - Nov 22, 2004 9:21:30 am PST #8226 of 10001
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Lament
Can someone please tell me: when does the wound close?
When does the scar form? Or has it formed, a hundred times over? Have I picked at it, pulling at the edges until it oozes tiny pain-glecked globules of memory and hurt and joy, leaving snail tracks down heart and soul?
How many days have to go by, get entered in my personal ledgers of loss and attainment, reach some sort of critical mass where days become weeks and months and the passage of time no longer matters to me, because I'm sure and whole again?
When do I heal?
Allyson - Nov 22, 2004 9:27:37 am PST #8227 of 10001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
I got feedback from my old friend who had no idea what I've been up to, re: fandom all these years.
It was good. I am so relieved, as my big fear was that anyone outside my immediate fandom circle would be like, "um, this is confusing and stupid."
Her favorite was the Minear story, followed by ita's story.
Those are my faves as well.
I'm just so relieved. I was worried.
Nilly - Nov 22, 2004 9:31:42 am PST #8228 of 10001
Swouncing
Oh, Allyson, that's great! I love it that her favorites were your favorites - it shows that you judge your work with "open eyes", in the lack of a better expression (also, now I wish I read the ita story).
Susan W. - Nov 22, 2004 9:50:11 am PST #8229 of 10001
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
That's wonderful, Allyson.
I've been thinking over the criticism from that agent off and on, along with all the widely divergent feedback I've gotten from the various contests I've entered and other agents and editors who've seen Lucy in one form or another. I know it's not surprising to get a variety of opinions--I mean, it's really no different from how we argue over various authors' merits in the literary thread. Still, I'm confused. In particular, I don't know what to make of being told that my writing "isn't strong." She's the second person to have that reaction, but I've also had equally expert readers say the opposite--one will say, "charming concept, but your writing isn't strong enough to make it stand out," while another says, "your writing is very strong, but the concept isn't unique enough for this tight market."
So my question is what to do with that particular bit of vague but painful criticism. I'm starting to wonder if I've deluded myself that I have any kind of exceptional talent. I mean, I think I have a nice, smooth prose voice as long as I edit carefully to rein in my tendency to be too verbose. I also think I'm brilliant at dialogue. I need to work on sensory details and action scenes, but I still think I'm pretty darn good at this. But "your writing isn't strong" sounds perilously close to "you have no talent for this, so you might as well go be an administrative assistant again."
Beverly - Nov 22, 2004 9:58:44 am PST #8230 of 10001
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
My guess--and it is a guess, nothing more--about your writing not being "strong" is that your authorial voice isn't strong enough to be recognised in a genre full of similar stories--always remembering that the similar stories remark is my observation from a POV outside the genre. People read genre because they are familiar with and find comfort in a certain set of expectations about story, plot, and outcome. Within that genre, however, an author needs to be recognisable, if one reads a paragraph or a page, and distinguishable from other writers in the same genre.
It's just an observation, take it for what it might be worth. I don't think the comment "your writing isn't strong" means you have no talent, or even no gift for writing. It simply means, to me, that you may not have found your authorial voice yet.