In September of 2007, I started this blog
with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year later, I discovered how
little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, In April of 2014, I
figured I’d gotten enough publications that I could share some of the things I
did “right”. I’ll keep that up, but I’m running out of pro-published stories. I
don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off
of it, but someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write.
Hemingway’s quote above will remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing
output and sales, but I’m adding this new series of posts because I want to
carefully look at what I’ve done WRONG and see if I can fix it. As always, your
comments are welcome!
ANALOG Tag Line: Out of death can come reconciliation even between
the most bitter enemies.
Elevator Pitch (What Did I Think I Was Trying To Say?): Nothing is
going to change in space, even when we genetically engineer Humans for specific
environments, insist that Human means some specific percentage of DNA…even when
vast empires collide and reconcile, it will all come down to basic Human
interaction – love, hate, and talking things out. Even in the clouds of a gas
giant some 350 light years distant among people who live on the back of
hundred-kilometer-long semi-sentient blimps…
Opening Line: “Tarand Leland Karr didn’t hear the screams
right away.”
Onward: The grandson and granddaughter of the woman
who forged a peace between the two sides that grew out of the Fracture oh
Humanity survive their grandmother’s death and must reconcile themselves in
order to plan a funeral. They must also avoid making it into a media circus
which it is likely to become. The granddaughter plans to have it on the
premises of her own cloudwhale. Her brother doesn’t like the idea, but swallows
it. In addition to their family fracture, the architect of off the
Reconciliation of Humanity to forge the Confederation of the Human Genome. In
this universe, there are no aliens. At least the Milky Way is a Humans only
club, not by choice but by chance. The “aliens” are the genetic constructs that
were counted not Human by the Empire of Man. The Confluence of Humanity took
genetic engineering to new…heights or depths. This the story of the
reconciliation of the grandkids and Empire and Confluence.
What Was I Trying
To Say?: Exactly what I set
out to say…though I hadn’t thought through how much I was trying to deal with.
The Rest of the
Story: …but again, I tried
to do far too much. There is SO much going on here that once I start it, it
will become a novel. The first book’s going to be IN THE SKIES OF RIVER, and I
have that one already thinly plotted out. This will be the second, and most
likely take the name above, A CHOICE OF SUNRISE…I tried to introduce readers of
a short story to a new world, then I added a brother-sister conflict, layered
on an “end of empire” story, and a reconciliation between retired “major
players”. That was all rolled up in everyone joining hands, swaying and singing
“Kumbaya”…Hmmm…
End Analysis: This story takes place in the same universe
as “Hūmbūlance” and like that story, I tried to do far too much – read about it
if you want to, here: http://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2016/07/writing-advice-can-this-story-be-saved.html
The takeaway after
analyzing two stories is that my writing often lacks focus. I have a very grand
idea, then add another idea, and then another, and another. The scope grows far
beyond what a short story can comfortably cover. Maybe instead of lacking focus,
I have focus – but it’s on too many stories and I don’t complete my thoughts.
If I could pick one story then detail that story, I might be able to create
powerful pieces that engage readers, and breathe real life into my characters.
Can This Story Be
Saved? Simple answer: yes –
by changing it into a novel. The more complex answer is that I can break this
story into parts and just follow one person and do one story. In the long-run,
I can START stories with focus, narrow the scope of the story, and aim at
showing a single incident with a limited number of characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment