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By:
Robin Brande,
on 4/22/2011
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TWO-EYES is a story I wrote as a modern riff on an old Grimm’s fairy tale by the same name. You can get a taste for the Grimm version in the opening paragraphs of the story. Here’s my own, updated plot:
Smart, sarcastic Emiline Butcher is the odd-girl-out in her family: a good student, a good girl, nobody worth noticing. But Emiline notices everything about them: her messed-up, conniving sisters; her secretive mother; her silent, passive dad. How can a normal girl escape the abnormal–especially when she’s the only one who sees it?
A lot of times I write short stories as an experiment in voice: If I like the way a particular character sounds to my ear, I might write a whole novel from her perspective.
The star of TWO-EYES, Emiline Butcher, was a girl I really ended up liking. So I did write a whole novel in her voice, but gave her a completely different name, family, storyline, etc. And who knows–some day you all may see it! You never can tell . . .
In the meantime, you can download TWO-EYES from Smashwords, and even better–you can download it for free all weekend long. Just use coupon code AV48G. Coupon expires April 25, 2011.
Enjoy!
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by Gila Green
All stories have a shape to them. Draw yours. I learned this in journalism school. At that time it was critical that we mastered the differences between writing for print, radio and television (there was no web writing then). We learned this through shapes. The identical story, say about a student demonstration against a tuition hike, had to be written in three different ways, depending upon which medium it was for. Each medium, we were taught, had its own shape and presumably still does.
I now use this method in my own fiction and in my fiction classes and I find it helps many writers improve their work and organize their thoughts.
Back to your story: Is it circular, a parallel line, or two parallel lines? Does the line peak anywhere? Map out your story visually with a plain pen and paper or rainbow colored markers on Bristol board; whatever inspires you the most. Why? You will see your story in an entirely new way. Using a different medium offers a lot of perspective, even on an old story.
Don’t restrict yourself to drawing; you can dance out your story if you are inclined (and I have two-stepped a story more than once in one of my creative writing workshops). The point of this exercise is to transfer your work into another art form. Paint a scene from your story. Put one whole chapter into a poem. Represent your story in another way and this could very well be the key to unlocking the secret of your work.
Now, let’s examine some possible results. If you have drawn a flat line, it’s very likely that your story reads like this: exposition, exposition, exposition. Another flat-line diagnosis: endless dialogue that tries to fit in three generations of family history in a going-nowhere back and forth between two moody characters.
Viola! You now know that you need to either cut exposition and put in dialogue or cut dialogue and throw in some exposition, atmosphere, action; something to break that long flat line!
If your writer’s block is so severe that you have not even begun your story, don’t despair. Draw a published story. But don’t just lean over and grab the closest book. Choose one that makes you see the world through different eyes; one you have read repeatedly and (best option) one that makes you burn with envy. Don’t just read it from the perspective of shape either, really draw it!
Is this story so successful because it opens on such a sharp peak? Is it the way two parallel lines—representing the heroine and her foil, perhaps—are chasing each other like Tom & Jerry that draws (pun intended) you in? Find a satisfying answer before you move back to your own tale.
Remember, art is interconnected. If the traditional “go for a walk to clear your head” advice isn’t working, stroll all the way to the art section for a pack of crayons or a paint brush.
***
By:
Robin Brande,
on 4/15/2011
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Here’s a little something for your weekend–some physics, some time travel, a little fish-licking (that part is based on my own dog’s peculiar habit)–give it a try. (The story, not the fish-licking.)
Here’s the link to the story. Use coupon code JR93U to get it for free all weekend long! Enjoy!
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By:
Robin Brande,
on 3/17/2011
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I’ve always had a hard time classifying BRINDLE. Is it a ghost story? A paranormal satirical religious fantasy? An old-fashioned mystical fable with a twist? I’m seriously open to your suggestions.
For now we’ll just call it a short story of mine, and for the next few days it’s FREE! You can download it here, and use the coupon code: VR22W. But hurry! Coupon expires March 20.
Enjoy!
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By:
Robin Brande,
on 3/11/2011
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Hi, all. If you’re in the mood for some short fiction, you can now read two of my short stories, written last year while I was deep into my quantum physics research for my upcoming trilogy, INTO THE PARALLEL. You can tell my brain was pretty physicsy at the time.
They are:
A SKIP OF THE MIND: A physicist must find a unique solution to the problem of time travel if he wants to save his wife.
GAMEMASTER: They say high school is a game . . . For one girl, it’s a game she’s in charge of. A stroke of a key, an equation, a few changes in molecules and atoms here and there, and suddenly the losers aren’t such outcasts anymore. Nicki isn’t doing it to be noble, she’s doing it for sport. Because she can. But what happens to the people she’s remade? Who’s in charge of them now?
Hope you like them!
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Yet another reason that this year's Hugo shortlist reviews are going to be on the brief side: my thoughts about this year's novelette shortlist are almost exactly what they were last year. To wit, that one of the worst consequences of taking one's Hugo nominating duties seriously enough to read through a substantial portion of the year's genre short fiction output is that it becomes a lot harder
After two years of being a Hugo nominator, I've come to the conclusion that you can have interesting, in-depth discussions of this award and its nominees before they're announced or after, but that there isn't really enough to say to justify doing both. For example, I've already written at some length about two of the stories on the short story ballot. Which leaves me not only with less to say
Australian independent Scribe Publishing is involving Varuna Writers'Centre and the Ned Kelly
crime writing awards in its selections for their next volume of short
stories, to be released in February 2011. There's a stellar cast of contributors in the first volume, which you can read about here.
For New Australian Stories 2.0 we are collaborating with two partners.
Firstly, our friends at Varuna, the Writers’ House, will be running the Varuna/NAS national short story competition, with the winners (judged by Peter Bishop, Cate Kennedy and Aviva Tuffield) to be published in New Australian Stories 2.0, and/or to be awarded a week-long residency at Varuna to work with Cate Kennedy, one of Australia’s finest writers of short stories.
Submissions to the Varuna/NAS competition open on 1 June and close on 30 June. Visit the Varuna website for more details: www.varuna.com.au
Secondly, we are teaming up with the Ned Kelly Awards to publish the winner of the S.D. Harvey Short Story Award in New Australian Stories 2.0. This award was established in 2009 in honour of Sandra Harvey, a respected journalist who worked both for the Sydney Morning Herald and the ABC’s Four Corners program, and was fearless in her pursuit of the truth.
Applications for the S.D. Harvey Award close on 31 May. For more information about entering the award, go to: www.nedkellyawards.com/SDHarvey.html
Even
more than 2008, 2009's short story reading was dominated by genre
fiction (aided and abetted by the Torque Control short story club) and
by reading specifically directed at finding worthy Hugo nominees for
the 2009 and 2010 awards, which is to say recent stories. I read only
one non-genre collection this year, Jumpha Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth,
and though it was an excellent read and is
It can't possibly be almost the end of the year, can it? Christmas shopping is in progress.In that spirit there's a list of top reads from the past year after the jump, in no particular order other than abecedarian, arranged by type.
If you're still hungry for selections and suggestions after trawling through mine, there are other lists, by other people, covering all five (six?) Readings stores and beyond. And there's a very comprehensive US/international roundup at The Millions, of course. I might not be back for a little while, as there's plenty of good book news around - follow the blogs here (scroll down for the feeds) and you won't be bored.
What I want for Christmas: Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier, Lorrie Moore's A Gate at the Stairs, botanical prints I've had framed, which will be ready to pick up next Friday, a bottle of brandy and a month's supply of Zero lemonade.
AND...safe holidays for everyone.
NovelsAuster, Paul.
The Book Of IllusionsCastro, Brian.
The Bath FuguesConte, Steve.
The Zookeeper's WarCoetzee, J.M.
DisgraceFitzgerald, Penelope.
The Blue FlowerHyland, M. J.
This Is HowKennedy, Cate.
The World BeneathLalami, Laila.
Secret SonLeigh, Julia.
The Hunter__________.
DisquietMalouf, David.
An Imaginary LifeMills, Jennifer.
The Diamond AnchorMurnane, Gerald.
The Plains (preferred this, on the whole, to
Barley Patch, which was nonetheless also intriguing.)
Nowra, Louis.
IcePerkins, Emily.
Novel About My WifeRoth, Philip.
IndignationToibin, Colm.
BrooklynValmorbida, Elise.
The TV PresidentShort Stories (individual authors, discontinuous narratives and anthologies)
Amsterdam, Steve. Things We Didn't See Coming
Cho, Tom. Look Who's Morphing
Cotter, Jason and Michael Williams, eds.
Readings and Writings: Forty Years In BooksFord, Richard.
Rock SpringsLe, Nam.
The BoatPoetryAitken, Adam.
Eighth HabitationBeveridge, Judith.
Storm and HoneyClemens, Justin.
VillainCurnow, Nathan.
The Ghost Poetry ProjectMiddleton, Kate.
Fire SeasonPorter, Dorothy.
Akhenaten____________
The Bee HutLiterary biographyBoey, Kim Cheng.
Between StationsJuers, Evelyn.
House Of ExileKefala, Antigone.
Sydney JournalsBiography and travelAndrews, Julie.
HomeCummings, Stephe
Well, there are prizes. And then, there are prizes.
And speaking of the other kind of prize, three hearty cheers for Sleepers and Steve Amsterdam's win. Not bad for the first novel out of their blocks, is it now. Not too shabby at all.
Someone after Pav's heart.
As noted on Twitter by Jason Ensor, Damien Broderick has published a
new story, here.Want to record and send a 5 min video through Twitter?
YES YOU CAN.
Congratulations are due to Jennifer Mills for
a nomination for the Blake Poetry Prize. GO JEN.
What would Oscar have wanted to say about Twitter if he was here?
something like this, I think.
(In other news, Fry has discovered what he calls
Goldilocks Miniblogging using his iPhone.
And congratulations to Mark Rubbo and his crew for the good ship Readings' happy birthday.
Many pictures here, long may she sail.
BIBLIOASIS is accepting unpublished book-length manuscripts for the 5th Annual Metcalf-Rooke Award. Prize: publishing contract, $1500, more. Open to Canadian writers. Deadline: September 30, 2009. More details...
Over the past week, John August has had an original short story he wrote available for sale both as a Kindle download and as a PDF download. The price: 99 cents. John's a screenwriter by trade, but he was asked to write a story for a print anthology that may or may not materialize, and wanted to do something with his story. Rather than submit it to national magazines, he thought he'd try this online experiment with it instead, and the results are fascinating. Numbers and a blurb from his blog:
"Short version: I sold more copies than I expected, with fewer technical issues. I had picked the Friday of Memorial Day weekend precisely because I hoped it would be slower-paced, allowing me to fix whatever disasters struck without a crush of weekday traffic. But I could have been more ambitious, and a mid-week launch would have made more sense."
Yes, he makes only .35 out of .99 for Kindle sales! Even so, he made more money selling through Amazon because
three times as many people downloaded his story for the Kindle than did for alternative eReaders. (I, who own no Kindle, bought one of the PDFs and read it on my computer.)
The New York Times wrote
an article about John and his experiment today, in which they report that "[a]s of Friday, 'The Variant' was ranked No. 69 on Amazon’s list of most popular Kindle offerings, right behind 'My Sister’s Keeper,' by Jodi Picoult." That's not too shabby. But as John will be the first to point out, his sales at that level may not be as sustainable as Picoult's. Amazon doesn't give him any kind of breakdown on his sales--not even by day!--but he was able to use the PDF downloads from
e-Junkie to make some observations. John sold 171 downloads of
The Variant PDF on the first day, but was selling only 17 a day by week's end. More than half his sales came in the first two days. He'll no doubt continue to sell
The Variant over time as new readers find him, but probably never again in those early, bestselling quantities. John again:
"It’s a fine number of sales for a short story that would have likely been buried in some specialty magazine. But I’m not sure I can offer any meaningful analysis of the publishing model, partly because I started with a higher profile than many fiction writers might."
And therein lies the rub, as Hamlet might say were he in the publishing industry. (And not fictional.) Could I acheive the same kind of numbers he did in one week offering up an original short story on Amazon and on my website as a PDF? No. I don't have his audience. Could I sell those numbers over time? Perhaps--and since uploading a story to Amazon is free, it wouldn't cost me anything to try it. And though I'd be selling directly through the Evil Empire (as far as the Rebel Alliance, er, independent bookstores, are concerned), I'd be selling something there that indies
couldn't sell. It's not like they have a section for short story chapbooks, and it's not like I can afford to print up short story chapbooks anyway. These would be middle grade and young adult short stories that would have
no other venue. (And don't tell me
Cicada; they're closed to submissions from authors they haven't worked with before, and they can't pay their contributors right away either.)
So I'm considering it. I hate that Amazon would take such a bite, but you can't argue with sales figures of 3 to 1. I'd still want to offer my stories as PDF downloads on my own site using a service like e-Junkie, but there's a pound of flesh to pay there too--it costs $5 a month to post up to ten items for sale. Would I, over time, be able to make back the cost of the cart service, and then profit on top of that? Even with ten stories up for sale?
Aye, we're back to that rub again. More thoughts on this as I tinker.
This post has been a long time coming, partly because I was waiting to see if Ian McDonald's "The Tear" was going to be posted online along with the other nominated novellas. I waited so long, in fact, that I ended up losing one of the other stories--Charles Coleman Finlay's "The Political Prisoner" is no longer available. Both stories can still be found on the Hugo voter packet, and as much as I
Of the three short fiction categories, the novelette shortlist is the one I most look forward to in my annual Hugo reviews. It's where the best stories are generally found, and its overall quality is consistently high. So I sort screwed myself this year by reading so many novelettes and nominating for the Hugo, because though this year's novelette shortlist is pretty impressive, it's also made
I made a slight tactical error in my reading of this year's Hugo-nominated short stories when I prefaced it with a reading of Jhumpa Lahiri's recent collection, Unaccustomed Earth. The forced comparison with Lahiri's achingly immediate, scrupulously detailed prose would be unkind to almost any author, and the stories on this year's short story ballot--traditionally the weakest of the three short
The Hugo nominations are also out this week, somewhat sooner than I had expected. In all the fun and exasperation of trying to figure out what my own nominees were going to be, I sort of lost sight of the fact that the shortlist would be what it has always been--stodgy, middle-of-the-road, and old-fashioned. So I'm probably a little more disappointed than I ought to be by a ballot that does
The deadline for submitting Hugo nominations is this Saturday, and at this point my ballot is more or less complete. I'm hoping to get the chance to finish reading Matter before I have to send in my nominations, though at this point that seems unlikely, and of course any short fiction that suddenly gains great acclaim (and is available online) will warrant a glance (so by all means make your
I made a startling discovery when I sat down to put together this list: at a very rough estimate, I've read in excess of 200 short stories this year. And, with a very small group of exceptions, they were all genre stories. And, with a slightly larger group of exceptions, I read them all in the last few months, as I started gearing up for the Hugo nomination deadline. The results of this glut
Carrie Frye has had a series of Halloween stories running over the past week at Terry Teachout's blog, as well as providing a link to the Britannica Blog's Haunted Library series.
Bridgeport Public Library: Some library staff members say they have encountered a ghost in the 6th or 7th floor stacks near the historical materials in this 1927 building. The entity, which they have nicknamed Lola, is said to be friendly and helps find missing items. Former Director Michael A. Golrick said that something opened the garage door that the delivery van uses three times during the night of February 22–23, 2006, causing alarms to go off. A policeman who searched the building during the second alert said he heard someone “turning pages” on the 6th floor.
The list reads like a US library X-Files, and it sounds like quite a few librarians want to believe the truth is out there. At the old Bernardsville Public library in New Jersey, the resident spook, Phyllis, was so active that staff issued her a library card, saying that Phyllis “was not put on our computer with the rest of us mortals, but her card is always available should she choose to use it,” while one fairly superstitious librarian in Pittsburgh has claimed that books play 'hide and seek' on the shelves.
There are, reassuringly, a couple of libraries on the campus of Pennsylvania State University that have more robust manifestations, including a 'grumbling voice' in the laptop library and 'transparent girls thumbing through books, disembodied glowing red eyes, bookcarts that move without anyone present, and all sorts of other phenomena'.
If there's a haunted Oz library out there, do share.
The credit card bill (if not, just yet, the convention itself) confirms that I am a paid-up member of Anticipation, the 2009 WorldCon. This does not quite mean that I will definitely be in Montréal next August, but that is certainly the plan, finances and life events permitting. Long-time AtWQ readers will perhaps have guessed just what kind of bind this puts me in. It's a little difficult,
One of the effects of a magazine-and-award-oriented short story culture is that I often remember stories but not their authors. I admired John Kessel's writing, therefore, long before I knew his name. His two publication in SciFiction, "The Baum Plan for Financial Independence" and "It's All True," both made my best of SciFiction lists for their respective years, and "The Invisible Empire,"
Following a similar experiment a couple of years ago, the folks at Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine offered a copy of their most recent issue to anyone willing to blog about it, and, after taking a look at the issue's table of contents, I happily took them up on their offer. With stories by Geoff Ryman, Stephen King, M. Rickert, Robert Reed and several others, this seemed like a
The story thus far: last year Niall Harrison published a LJ post in which he commented on the cover of Eclipse 1, an anthology of original genre shorts and the first in a series edited by Jonathan Strahan and published by Night Shade Books. In spite of the fact that the volume's table of contents was split evenly between male and female writers, Niall noted, only male names were chosen to grace
So, we've had a not-so-great short story ballot, and an excellent novelette ballot--both as expected. The novella ballot, as I've already said, is the wild card. Though I've never read an excellent one, some years offer an impressive crop. This year, sadly, is not one of them. There's only a single story on this ballot that I'd like to see win the award, and it almost certainly won't. Of the
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One of my habits that I've unfortunately discarded was my tendency to write on unlined paper. Instead of stopping my pencil completely, I would doodle on the side until I found a way to continue!
I like the idea of 'drawing' your plot. Now I'm trying to picture which of my favorite books are flat lines, wavy tangents, or spirals!
I absolutely love this idea applied to writing fiction. I recently read a book on dealing with the loss of a loved one by "mapping" the stages of your grief in a similar manner (drawing). Excellent (and helpful) post!
This is a great post. In the past I have paused and doodled on a pad of paper or something when I was supposed to be writing, but never realized it was a connect to breaking the block. Now I can do this purposefully with your tips and know what the visual and creative are merging to bring out the story. Very cool.
Dear MK:
Thanks for the positive feedback. BTW, "drawing" your plot can also work for "drawing" your characters, atmosphere and any other story elements.
Gila
It's great to hear from Petula and Becca that this post resonates with writers. Feel free to try it and then post results or a question. I'd be happy to respond.