There're bits of the dead everywhere, and I'm not referring to last night's dinner. Though I wonder how long flesh keeps in the fridge...
Back on track, though, today I found out there's an anthology known as Bits of the Dead that's opened up for zombie flash fiction of no more than 500 words. 500 words, for me, is like twenty minutes of work. So I started on a story after attending a rally to lower college tuition (who am I kidding, I was there to avoid hearing about Africa in another course and to try and look socially aware). Twenty minutes later I had a 499 word piece finished, first draft, edit, rewrite, second draft, another edit, and sent off (though right after I submitted it I found one, count'em, one mistake in the final version and started kicking myself. It's a lot of dialogue, and a bit more light-hearted than I think they're looking for, but I like the way it turned out. I'll find a home for it even when I get the rejection slip back from them. There's just not enough good conversational humor about zombies out there today...
Speaking of zombies, we're at day 67 of the Aberrant Dreams wait for a response. I did get a confirmation that they received the work right after it was sent, but that apparently doesn't mean anything. I've been hearing some real horror stories about their response times, and a few folks have told me they just don't seemt o get back to writer's quickly, or have a habit of never getting submissions. I'll give it 40-60 more days, then I'm withdrawing "Dead Air" from them.
Shoved "THe Tribe of Harry" into a condensed form and handing it over to my writing class today. On Friday I'll be on here about getting ripped to shreds again, but hey. You live, you get critiqued, you get Luvs. Sorry, commercial moment there. Plus, April will be the last month you can read "A Question of Freedom" over at Allegory. C'mon show me some love and read the piece, then blast me out of the water for it.
Got another piece called "Stranger in a Strange Land" (yes, I know I stole the title. I don't think the dead men to use it before me will really mind.) in for submissions at Undergroundvoices.com.
Let's see how it goes, eh?
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classes. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
I Eat Pancakes
Did the workshop on "Colburn Men" yesterday. Luckily I had re-read it before going in and knew what I was in for. It was a first draft of an idea that didn't read all that well through the majority. I was aware of as much, so I expected to get thrown to the lions, and thrown I was.
Although there were some helpful comments, the majority of the people in there seemed to think that a workshop is a place for them to just pepper the air with negative comments. The session consisted of 20-30 minutes of nothing but the same complaints over again, contradicting each other, and very little of anything constructive said. I pity the writer that attempts to use something like this as a place to get suggestions on how to improve their work. The air in the room was quite literally "I am a better writer than you, and I know this because my mother/teacher/brother/girlfriend/imaginary friend tells me so every night. Therefore, it is my solemn duty to tear at you for as a long as possible and as much as possible."
This would have bothered me a lot more had I not known that, as much as I enjoyed working on it, "Colburn Men" was a schlock piece that was very flat and linear, and was written on a tight deadline. There was no defense for the truly horrendous parts of the tale (overly wordy description, linear plot, cliched devices), but I was aware of that and ready to nod in agreement with that criticism. I was even vaguely aware that the distance of the narrator shifted a lot and was pretty disconcerting. I was open to comments and suggestions. What I got instead were the true gems of these workshops.
For example, the guy who prefaced everything with "I had a writing class last semester where we talked about..." This guy has never said a single positive thing about any piece that has been critiqued in the workshop. I don't like him mainly for that. I personally think the point of these things is to help others become better writers, not to tout your own brilliance. This isn't to say negative comments have no place, but they should have some reason other than to show off your own 'knowledge' of English. It is from guys like this that future critics are born.
Or my other favorite, "It was too long". It was 25 pages of double-spaced text. You can read 25-pages of double-spaced text. My 8 year old nephew can read 25 pages of double-spaced text. Stop complaining, you're in college.
The other ones that got my goat were the completely positive ones. The people who did nohting but give me a literary handjob in an attempt to be the nicest person ever. I appreciate the stroking of my ego, but I didn't want to hear how great you think the story is. I've already admitted its schlock. PLEASE give me something constructive on how I can better my work, or don't bother speaking up.
There were others, and I wish I could say they were in the majority, who gave me honest criticism with suggestions. I was windy in the descriptions, and several people brought it up, then turned around to offer a thought on how they thought it could be bettered. Others commented that the dialogue could stand on its own to an extent and be used to fill those descriptions. Some thought the ending was abrupt and unnatural (I agree. I thought that when I wrote it two days before handing the manuscript over). Others thought the story itself was way too linear (once again, no argument here), or that the narrator was telling the reader how they should feel (Common problem with my first drafts, so I was glad someone picked up on it who wasn't me). The narrator's distance from the main character is problematic for me with this piece, as it had a bit of personal experience in there. Something, once again, to be looked at in the rewrites.
Overall, I wasn't offended or disappointed. It was a first draft of an extremely quickly written piece. I normally do two or three rewrites before handing something over to anyone else to read, so this was a new experience for me. When I read it myself, I commented "Man, that kinda sucks" before heading into the workshop. I don't want to give the impression that the workshop was completely negative. Several people, including Griner, commented on the writing style and the strength of the writer, just not on the strengths of this particular piece. Others commented on the strength of certain scenes. And, of course, some of them offered genuinely helpful suggestions.
Still, I went home and divided the critiques I received into three piles. One was "Useless", consisting of the literary handjobs of nothing but positive stuff and the intellectual septic tank that was nothing but negatives, neither one with any true criticism to help. The second pile was "Out There", consisting of people who either a) expressed an opinion contradictory to the majority opinion in what they did not like/liked/would change OR b) simply parroted, with less skill or clarity, the suggestions/criticisms of others. The final pile is known as "Help With Rewrite", and consists of the well thought out critiques, both positive and negative, that offer suggestions or point out problems in a way that will be useful to me during the rewrite of "Colburn Men" next month. There are only about four of these.
"Colburn Men" is going to be a long time in the rewrite bin. I like the idea, but the arc is horrible as it doesn't truly exist. As one critique, a helpful one, put it "it's like being set on train tracks when you already know the destination". The plot will remain the same, but David's character needs some tweaks, descriptions need to be toned down, and a little more conflict needs to be brought up. I would start on it now, but last night I set aside the Doll story to start work on something else centered on minimal narration and a lot of dialogue...as well as being the first truly first-person piece I've ever worked on.
Anyhow, my suggestion is that writing workshops are a wonderful thing that can help a person improve their craft. I don't even think this particular workshop is bad. I just think it's early enough in the semester that a lot of people haven't come under the gun themselves, yet. As such, they tend to write their opinions, not their critiques or suggestions, about pieces. Plus, it can be hard to be positive or helpful when you're reviewing someone else's work. But, the fact is, I'm done now with my critique and can go back to my regular set of reviewers for opinions on my work. They may not like it anymore than anyone else, but hey, at least they'll buy me a drink when they tell me it sucks.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Although there were some helpful comments, the majority of the people in there seemed to think that a workshop is a place for them to just pepper the air with negative comments. The session consisted of 20-30 minutes of nothing but the same complaints over again, contradicting each other, and very little of anything constructive said. I pity the writer that attempts to use something like this as a place to get suggestions on how to improve their work. The air in the room was quite literally "I am a better writer than you, and I know this because my mother/teacher/brother/girlfriend/imaginary friend tells me so every night. Therefore, it is my solemn duty to tear at you for as a long as possible and as much as possible."
This would have bothered me a lot more had I not known that, as much as I enjoyed working on it, "Colburn Men" was a schlock piece that was very flat and linear, and was written on a tight deadline. There was no defense for the truly horrendous parts of the tale (overly wordy description, linear plot, cliched devices), but I was aware of that and ready to nod in agreement with that criticism. I was even vaguely aware that the distance of the narrator shifted a lot and was pretty disconcerting. I was open to comments and suggestions. What I got instead were the true gems of these workshops.
For example, the guy who prefaced everything with "I had a writing class last semester where we talked about..." This guy has never said a single positive thing about any piece that has been critiqued in the workshop. I don't like him mainly for that. I personally think the point of these things is to help others become better writers, not to tout your own brilliance. This isn't to say negative comments have no place, but they should have some reason other than to show off your own 'knowledge' of English. It is from guys like this that future critics are born.
Or my other favorite, "It was too long". It was 25 pages of double-spaced text. You can read 25-pages of double-spaced text. My 8 year old nephew can read 25 pages of double-spaced text. Stop complaining, you're in college.
The other ones that got my goat were the completely positive ones. The people who did nohting but give me a literary handjob in an attempt to be the nicest person ever. I appreciate the stroking of my ego, but I didn't want to hear how great you think the story is. I've already admitted its schlock. PLEASE give me something constructive on how I can better my work, or don't bother speaking up.
There were others, and I wish I could say they were in the majority, who gave me honest criticism with suggestions. I was windy in the descriptions, and several people brought it up, then turned around to offer a thought on how they thought it could be bettered. Others commented that the dialogue could stand on its own to an extent and be used to fill those descriptions. Some thought the ending was abrupt and unnatural (I agree. I thought that when I wrote it two days before handing the manuscript over). Others thought the story itself was way too linear (once again, no argument here), or that the narrator was telling the reader how they should feel (Common problem with my first drafts, so I was glad someone picked up on it who wasn't me). The narrator's distance from the main character is problematic for me with this piece, as it had a bit of personal experience in there. Something, once again, to be looked at in the rewrites.
Overall, I wasn't offended or disappointed. It was a first draft of an extremely quickly written piece. I normally do two or three rewrites before handing something over to anyone else to read, so this was a new experience for me. When I read it myself, I commented "Man, that kinda sucks" before heading into the workshop. I don't want to give the impression that the workshop was completely negative. Several people, including Griner, commented on the writing style and the strength of the writer, just not on the strengths of this particular piece. Others commented on the strength of certain scenes. And, of course, some of them offered genuinely helpful suggestions.
Still, I went home and divided the critiques I received into three piles. One was "Useless", consisting of the literary handjobs of nothing but positive stuff and the intellectual septic tank that was nothing but negatives, neither one with any true criticism to help. The second pile was "Out There", consisting of people who either a) expressed an opinion contradictory to the majority opinion in what they did not like/liked/would change OR b) simply parroted, with less skill or clarity, the suggestions/criticisms of others. The final pile is known as "Help With Rewrite", and consists of the well thought out critiques, both positive and negative, that offer suggestions or point out problems in a way that will be useful to me during the rewrite of "Colburn Men" next month. There are only about four of these.
"Colburn Men" is going to be a long time in the rewrite bin. I like the idea, but the arc is horrible as it doesn't truly exist. As one critique, a helpful one, put it "it's like being set on train tracks when you already know the destination". The plot will remain the same, but David's character needs some tweaks, descriptions need to be toned down, and a little more conflict needs to be brought up. I would start on it now, but last night I set aside the Doll story to start work on something else centered on minimal narration and a lot of dialogue...as well as being the first truly first-person piece I've ever worked on.
Anyhow, my suggestion is that writing workshops are a wonderful thing that can help a person improve their craft. I don't even think this particular workshop is bad. I just think it's early enough in the semester that a lot of people haven't come under the gun themselves, yet. As such, they tend to write their opinions, not their critiques or suggestions, about pieces. Plus, it can be hard to be positive or helpful when you're reviewing someone else's work. But, the fact is, I'm done now with my critique and can go back to my regular set of reviewers for opinions on my work. They may not like it anymore than anyone else, but hey, at least they'll buy me a drink when they tell me it sucks.
Peace,
J.C. Tabler
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Withering on the vine
Well, I came off of my "break" today.
The first week of classes is over, with only one miss due to some car trouble Friday morning, and I have a decent idea of what is expected. Let me start by saying I screwed up and bad. I was expecting a few bunny courses for my last semester of higher learning, and instead signed myself up for some reading/work intensive courses. I would like to say now, though, that I am not a quitter, and therefore refuse to drop any of them. Nothing good comes without a little work, and if I work hard I learn. Besides, I have to say that I am interested in each topic I signed up for, and am more than willing to learn something new from them all even if it does bite into my personal time a bit.
Tonight I came home after dinner with my folks, where Desi and I spent a couple hours discussing wedding plans with my mother, to work on a creative writing prompt and get a little course reading done. The writing prompt was going to be 500 words based on a phrase he gave us, and I figured that I would start that, get it done, and then return to my blissful ignorance for the next week before actually sitting down and starting on the next story I'd send out for publication. A half-hour later, I realized that the prompt was the swift kick in the ass I needed to finally start work on the father/son story I had wandering about the back of my head. So I can say I fell off the writing wagon and have now added working on a story to my list of January stresses.
I'm going to stay on top of this one, as I'd like to have the first draft done by the end of the month.
I have another submission floating around out there, a piece of very short fiction (2,000 words) called "The Ignoble Birth of Tucker Talbott". I submitted it with The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, a non-paying e-market. The story itself isn't very good in my opinion, so I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't get accepted. I wrote it while half-drunk on a bottle of Australian Port in the "house from hell" that Desi and I lived in before moving into our apartment. While I would like to see it on a site with some readership, I can live just as well with getting a rejection and slamming it up here or over on my Author's Den website.
Still waiting to hear back on the King Arthur story. I haven't been rejected out of hand yet, so I'm hoping for at least a personal rejection letter from them. The zombie story hasn't been out long enough to hope for a personal rejection. I sorta want to get them back so I can do another rewrite and send them out to the small game markets, but patience, right? Right.
Finally saw The World According to Garp the other night. Freakin' hilarious. Loved every second of it.
If you're reading this and you haven't gotten over to Allegory Ezine yet to read "A Question of Freedom", do it. Then tell your friends, or at least post a scathing review of it.
Until Next Time,
J.C. Tabler
The first week of classes is over, with only one miss due to some car trouble Friday morning, and I have a decent idea of what is expected. Let me start by saying I screwed up and bad. I was expecting a few bunny courses for my last semester of higher learning, and instead signed myself up for some reading/work intensive courses. I would like to say now, though, that I am not a quitter, and therefore refuse to drop any of them. Nothing good comes without a little work, and if I work hard I learn. Besides, I have to say that I am interested in each topic I signed up for, and am more than willing to learn something new from them all even if it does bite into my personal time a bit.
Tonight I came home after dinner with my folks, where Desi and I spent a couple hours discussing wedding plans with my mother, to work on a creative writing prompt and get a little course reading done. The writing prompt was going to be 500 words based on a phrase he gave us, and I figured that I would start that, get it done, and then return to my blissful ignorance for the next week before actually sitting down and starting on the next story I'd send out for publication. A half-hour later, I realized that the prompt was the swift kick in the ass I needed to finally start work on the father/son story I had wandering about the back of my head. So I can say I fell off the writing wagon and have now added working on a story to my list of January stresses.
I'm going to stay on top of this one, as I'd like to have the first draft done by the end of the month.
I have another submission floating around out there, a piece of very short fiction (2,000 words) called "The Ignoble Birth of Tucker Talbott". I submitted it with The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, a non-paying e-market. The story itself isn't very good in my opinion, so I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't get accepted. I wrote it while half-drunk on a bottle of Australian Port in the "house from hell" that Desi and I lived in before moving into our apartment. While I would like to see it on a site with some readership, I can live just as well with getting a rejection and slamming it up here or over on my Author's Den website.
Still waiting to hear back on the King Arthur story. I haven't been rejected out of hand yet, so I'm hoping for at least a personal rejection letter from them. The zombie story hasn't been out long enough to hope for a personal rejection. I sorta want to get them back so I can do another rewrite and send them out to the small game markets, but patience, right? Right.
Finally saw The World According to Garp the other night. Freakin' hilarious. Loved every second of it.
If you're reading this and you haven't gotten over to Allegory Ezine yet to read "A Question of Freedom", do it. Then tell your friends, or at least post a scathing review of it.
Until Next Time,
J.C. Tabler
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Another update tomorrow
Well, I'm just posting generally right now. If anyone is reading this, and also reading the author's information on the side panel, you'll see that I'm currently still a student. The circumstances that brought this on were a combination of laziness and general dreaming. See, I attended college right out of high school like the majority of American teens. After a year i came home and found a summer job on a steamboat. I so enjoyed the work that I decided college could wait and struck out as a deckhand on a day excursion steamer, the STR. Belle of Louisville.
After three years of sub-standard pay for back-breaking work, I decided it was time to return to college. I went down to the university I had attended the first time, then after a year there decided to return home to Louisville at the behest of my father. He offered me a job working in his office, which I still hold when not attending classes at the University of Louisville or writing.
It is through this status as a student that I enter my last semester of college, and that I ignored the advice of everyone else to take a Creative Writing course this semester. Although most of those people I know who have ever sold anything of substance, of which there are a grand total of two I know personally and several I know only in the same sense as the rest of their readers, have told me these courses are a waste of time, I thought it would be worth a shot. Besides, I have a backlog of crap that I can turn in. Then I did a quick Google on the professor, a Paul Griner. Paul Griner, a veteran of short stories with two books under his belt.
There goes the idea of turning in crap, right? Right.
So we've had to write a piece on a "traumatic memory" as a short writing prompt for him. The problem is i really have no truly traumatic memories that I can write about in a short manner. Not that I've ever had a problem writing about things like that, just that when the stuff gets personal I tend to get verbose in my descriptions. So I chose a less traumatic memory that bordered on both embarassing, painful, and funny from my time aboard the boat. I, personally, hate it. The idea, though, was to get us writing, and it did that.
Well, that's that for tonight. Tomorrow, after I turn that thing in, I may post the text of it on here for my own amusement. I mean, it really isn't as if anyone reads this, right? Right. By the way, if you do read this then drop a comment. I want to be secure in knowing I'm alone in posting here for right now.
Take'er Easy,
J.C. Tabler
After three years of sub-standard pay for back-breaking work, I decided it was time to return to college. I went down to the university I had attended the first time, then after a year there decided to return home to Louisville at the behest of my father. He offered me a job working in his office, which I still hold when not attending classes at the University of Louisville or writing.
It is through this status as a student that I enter my last semester of college, and that I ignored the advice of everyone else to take a Creative Writing course this semester. Although most of those people I know who have ever sold anything of substance, of which there are a grand total of two I know personally and several I know only in the same sense as the rest of their readers, have told me these courses are a waste of time, I thought it would be worth a shot. Besides, I have a backlog of crap that I can turn in. Then I did a quick Google on the professor, a Paul Griner. Paul Griner, a veteran of short stories with two books under his belt.
There goes the idea of turning in crap, right? Right.
So we've had to write a piece on a "traumatic memory" as a short writing prompt for him. The problem is i really have no truly traumatic memories that I can write about in a short manner. Not that I've ever had a problem writing about things like that, just that when the stuff gets personal I tend to get verbose in my descriptions. So I chose a less traumatic memory that bordered on both embarassing, painful, and funny from my time aboard the boat. I, personally, hate it. The idea, though, was to get us writing, and it did that.
Well, that's that for tonight. Tomorrow, after I turn that thing in, I may post the text of it on here for my own amusement. I mean, it really isn't as if anyone reads this, right? Right. By the way, if you do read this then drop a comment. I want to be secure in knowing I'm alone in posting here for right now.
Take'er Easy,
J.C. Tabler
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