 Fantasy: October 28, 2009 Issue [#3357] |
  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Robert Waltz  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions
One nice thing about putting the thing away for a couple of months before looking at it is that you start appreciate your own wit. Of course, this can be carried too far. But it's kind of cool when you crack up a piece of writing, and then realize you wrote it. I recommend this feeling.
-Steven Brust
Coleridge was a drug addict. Poe was an alcoholic. Marlowe was killed by a man whom he was treacherously trying to stab. Pope took money to keep a woman's name out of a satire then wrote a piece so that she could still be recognized anyhow. Chatterton killed himself. Byron was accused of incest. Do you still want to a writer - and if so, why?
-Bennett Cerf
Why do writers write? Because it isn't there.
-Thomas Berger
http://koti.mbnet.fi/pasenka/quotes/q-writ.htm |
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On Writing
It's October, and this Saturday is Halloween, so you'd think I'd be editorializing about dark fantasy, or horror fantasy, or gothic fantasy, or vampires or something.
Except that, nowadays, vampires sparkle, rendering them entirely unsuitable for Halloween.
But in researching the Writing.com newsletter archives, I saw that I wrote about the undead last year, and I couldn't think of a new take on the topic for this year.
No, I'm here to talk about something else entirely. As I mentioned, I just went through the Fantasy newsletter archives and saw that I've been editing this newsletter for almost two years, now (more, if you count a guest spot at the beginning of 2007). And I have to admit something to you, my loyal readers:
Sometimes, it's hard to do the Editor's Picks.
Now, maybe that's because I'm too picky. (That's a pun, for those of you who haven't followed me over from Comedy.) But it is true that I have certain expectations when I search the vasty depths of the Writing.com universe for items to feature. So without further preamble, I present:
1) First of all, make sure you select "Fantasy" or "Sci-Fi" as one of your item's genres. This may seem obvious to some writers, but it's always good to start with the basics. You might have a particularly excellent story, but I can't find it in my searches because I'm doing a genre search. I don't usually search on the sometimes-related genres such as "Dark," "Occult," "Gothic" or "Supernatural," though of course those genres and more may be represented as one of the three genres you can attach to your items.
2) Make sure your item is appropriate to the genres. I've read stories labeled "Fantasy" which described what the author wanted to do with his 10th-grade math teacher. While interesting, that's not the kind of fantasy that goes in this newsletter, you know?
3) The first thing I see when the search results come up is the title and brief description. If either contains even one misspelled word, I don't open the item - because that same typo will show up in the newsletter when I do the item link; but also because items that have misspellings in the title / description often feature them throughout the text, as well. This includes such things as "your" for "you're," "then" for "than," and so on. Which leads me to Rule #4:
4) Go through the body of the item and fix typos. I don't expect every item to be school-perfect, but please, care enough about your story to make it readable. Too many misspellings, misplaced commas, or improper possessives/contractions, and I just stop reading. We all make mistakes (yes, even I!), but a serious writer fixes them and learns from them.
5) In your Brief Description - even if it's spelled correctly, tell us something about the item. Don't write something like, "Please review," "This isn't very good, but...," "I don't know what to put here," etc., or I won't include it. The best Brief Descriptions are those that make me want to click on the link. Hook me, and I'll believe that you can hook newsletter readers. (On the other hand, if it's a work in progress, please, by all means, include that in the description so I don't have to discover the hard way that it's unfinished).
6) Stories about shrinking / growing / being invisible in the girls' locker room: These have a place, but not here. Sorry.
7) Along those lines, items need to be rated 18+ or below to be included. Again, there's a place for higher-rated items - I've written more than a few, myself - but not here. What this really means is, if your story has no content rating, I probably won't even look at it.
8) I've noticed over the months that a large fraction of the Fantasy (and, to a lesser extent, Sci-Fi) offerings here at Writing.com are chapters or prologues of longer works. This is fine. But for me to include it, I'll want to link the whole story. The reason I don't usually link longer works is that I'm often not sure if the item has been finished. It's helpful if I can easily find a link to the whole thing from the item I find in a search - and some assurance that yes, the item is complete (if not polished). I'd love to include some of the longer stories here - feel free to submit them using the form at the bottom of the newsletter. But I'm looking for finished products, of any length.
9) I'm reluctant to post fanfic. I've done it before and will do it again, but the best chance of being featured by me is to be original (or, well, honestly, if you do fanfic about something I've never heard of, you might sneak it past me).
10) Other than these things, it's pretty much a matter of luck.
Some things that don't matter in my selection of Editor's Picks:
1) Case color. Obviously, I can't feature gray-case items, because you don't become a black case until you write something here. But I don't care how long you've been on the site, your membership level, or your case color. Though, the longer you're here, the more likely your item is to get picked.
2) Whether another editor has picked the item. I follow a lot of newsletters, but my memory is terrible; I won't remember if someone else picked your piece. (For that matter, I probably don't remember picking it last month. Seriously, my memory is that bad.)
3) Awardicons. A story without an awardicon is just a story that might well get one if it receives enough exposure. I try to include awarded and unawarded items.
4) Rating. Just because someone gave your item a one- or two- star rating doesn't mean I won't look at it. They could be wrong. Conversely, if the story has a five star rating from someone, I may not like it (or it may not fit in theme).
5) Subject matter. As long as, like I said above, it can be classified as fantasy or science fiction. Yes, I'll even post stories about vampires, sometimes.
Keep in mind that other editors have different criteria. I can only speak for myself. And I'm not saying that violating any of the above guidelines makes something bad - just makes it unlikely to be found in my Picks.
Also, as I noted above, a little self-promotion doesn't hurt - submit your item using the form below. That doesn't guarantee it'll show up in the newsletter, but might help me or the other editors find something we might otherwise never even see. |
Now, having written all that, what will he pick? Hmmm...
This appeared at first glance to be fanfiction, but it's a parody - for which I'm usually a sucker.
Being unconventional is okay.
Older items are also welcome.
Not just stories, but also other items like poems.
An exception to my preference for finished stories: a Campfire. Fantasy lends itself well to collaborative storytelling.
I certainly welcome items written for contests.
And then there's fantasy intended for children.
From the Mailbox:
"If you're ever interested in writing a NL about Fantasy that combines with Erotica, consider adding my contest. Depending on turn-out it either runs monthly or bi-monthly." - Well, this isn't that newsletter, but it's a contest that may be of interest to readers:
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https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Last time, I discussed exotica - the inclusion of exotic elements in such a way that they seem an integral part of your world.
cardel: I enjoyed the newsletter, but you're asking writers to walk a very fine line in their style. I agree first that a good use of exotica can really give the story depth and character that fantasy readers can really get into, but some authors can really take it too far. Make your world too unique and it becomes too alien for the average reader making it almost impossible to identify with.
This is certainly right. I know that I've stopped reading several science fiction (and, to a lesser extent, fantasy) stories because they were so exotic that I couldn't follow what was going on. You do have to walk a fine line, and the only way to know if you've strayed from it is to let someone read it and give honest comments. Hint: If your story starts with a sentence similar to "Grecko puluminated the fraznit until they krenneled," you've lost me. Forever.
seciden: As soon as I saw you mention Steven Brust, I just had to respond. I am an avid Brust fan and I totally agree with what you say about the minute details of a world. If the work is immersed in that world, then it shouldn't break the suspension of disbelief just to explain to an unknowing audience. Brust is a great example of this. His Vlad Taltos series reads as if the reader is sitting in the world listening to the main character talk to him. It does wonders for immersion. Great newsletter, thanks!
Yes, the style is not forced or erudite, but conversational. That narrative technique isn't original with Brust, but he's a master of it. And then there's the deliberately flowery narration of his Khaavren Romances (an homage to Dumas), which is better experienced than explained. In any case, there's plenty about that world that is exotic and can only be inferred through context (such as the characteristics of the jhegaala or the norska). And I hope you enjoyed the quote in the "About" section, above!
sarahreed: Thanks for going over exotica. It's just the encouragement I needed. I've been working on a longer piece and have been having difficulty deciding how different to make the world. I think I'm going to take the plunge and see just how different I can make it be. 
After reading the previous two comments - let us know how that works out for you
LJPC - the tortoise  : Great newsletter, Robert. I couldn't agree with you more. Many writers don't use the opportunity to fashion new possibilities in the worlds they create in their writing. Every place must have its own unique and complete ecosystem. This is a lot of work, but your reader knows that, and appreciates the attention to detail and the imagination. And that's what it's all about - IMAGINATION! Go wild! 
Well, yeah - though as I've noted before, some rooting in reality is essential.
Catherine Hall : An excellent newsletter. On the same subject, I was outlining a planned story to my brother when my sister interrupted with: "How are the aliens different?" and went on to explain that, in her opinion, if the aliens are not different from humans then they're not aliens. She has a point. To go back to your subject, if the world is too like Earth, it may as well BE Earth. Another sister made your point that we don't describe, for instance, how we turn on a light because we take it for granted, and so should our characters.
You get that in fantasy, too, of course. Elves, for example, are a different species, not skinny humans with pointed ears. Anyway, if you turn on a light using the Clapper, you'd better describe that - it could be a moment of comic relief!
aszreal: I was really happy to see the way you covered this topic. I think with some fantasy writers, they either don't develop their environment enough to be able to write it out realistically, or they develop it so much that it becomes its own character and the real story gets lost to explaining the world. You've touched on both issues, and here's to hoping people listen 
Yes, and there's a lot of room in between the extremes.
NaNoNette  : An enlightening NL about exotica and the use of the words asexual and disexual. I didn't know those meant male and female.
Just to be clear: "asexual" refers to organisms that reproduce without combining genetic information; e.g., bacteria and other prokaryotes. By "disexual" I meant male/female reproductive strategies, with which most of us (even Fantasy fans) are familiar.
Thanks for all the comments and item submissions! And that's it for me for another month - until then,
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