A quick word...
Just a quick note about some feedback I've had, and a reminder of the rules that the Sin stories are supposed to follow.
I've been getting a good few hits on the Sins stories, and even some feedback, overwhelmingly positive, which is a huge ego boost. I've had two bits of criticism, both relating to the same piece, one good, one not so good, and both on the same subject. The use of cliché.
I'll dismiss entirely out of hand the incredibly well constructed and thought out barrage of abuse I got by e-mail from "Andy", because he didn't even bother to read the whole piece, only the snippet I put on another website (shameless self-promoter I am!), a snippet which, with hindsight, was the weakest part of the piece, with the most cliché, but which conveyed the "Lust" meaning. The other piece of criticism was highly constructive, and although it took me to task over what I had written, it did so in the most well-meaning manner. The point was not to denigrate me, but to help me to improve. So thank you for taking the time to help me Dean, and you can see his constructive suggestions in the comments to the Lust story, as well as my own thoughts on the subject. Andy sought to be abusive in order to make himself feel better about his own writing. Dean on the other hand was concerned to help me become a better writer than I am. Two different people, both with substantially the same thoughts on the same piece, but two totally different motives in getting in touch.
I would however like to add something. Although I have fallen down on some of the rules I set myself when writing the Sin stories - principally the one story a day rule - I haven't forgotten all of the rules. The Sin stories are designed to force me into writing, and force me out of some writer's block. They are crude and unfinished. I am well aware that no publisher would touch writing like that, but then again, I would never submit this to a publisher. All of the Sin stories are at the first draft stage. After writing, I did not go back and re-edit, re-write, or in any other way polish them up. They are potential, but they do not reflect a finished product. As with my Inquisitor fragments, if I wanted to use these anywhere else, they would require substantial reworking. So if your criticism rests on the fact that they are not of a publishable quality, they are not meant to be, they are meant to get me writing on something, anything, just to get me writing again.
The second rule is that the stories MUST be under 1000 words. No exceptions. That means economy of language at times, and rather than spend a paragraph building up a mood, I admit I occasionally get lazy and cut to the chase and use a cliché. Clichés are familiar and easy, that's why they're clichés! If they help me save a couple of hundred words that might help me get to the end of the story I want to tell, well, I'm not above sticking them in there. But overuse can be tiring, and Dean is not the first person to tell me at times I need to show the reader what's happening, not just tell them. That's something I have to try to keep conscious in my mind when writing, and something I do admit I find a struggle at times, as I do lapse back into exposition.
I'm working on Gluttony just now, and am hoping to get some kind of idea for Greed soon, then I'll be done with the sins. I've also got another environmental apocalypse story (The Silent Hives all over again!) on the back burner. Oh, and I'm aiming to record some podcasts this weekend.
I hope you keep reading!
I've been getting a good few hits on the Sins stories, and even some feedback, overwhelmingly positive, which is a huge ego boost. I've had two bits of criticism, both relating to the same piece, one good, one not so good, and both on the same subject. The use of cliché.
I'll dismiss entirely out of hand the incredibly well constructed and thought out barrage of abuse I got by e-mail from "Andy", because he didn't even bother to read the whole piece, only the snippet I put on another website (shameless self-promoter I am!), a snippet which, with hindsight, was the weakest part of the piece, with the most cliché, but which conveyed the "Lust" meaning. The other piece of criticism was highly constructive, and although it took me to task over what I had written, it did so in the most well-meaning manner. The point was not to denigrate me, but to help me to improve. So thank you for taking the time to help me Dean, and you can see his constructive suggestions in the comments to the Lust story, as well as my own thoughts on the subject. Andy sought to be abusive in order to make himself feel better about his own writing. Dean on the other hand was concerned to help me become a better writer than I am. Two different people, both with substantially the same thoughts on the same piece, but two totally different motives in getting in touch.
I would however like to add something. Although I have fallen down on some of the rules I set myself when writing the Sin stories - principally the one story a day rule - I haven't forgotten all of the rules. The Sin stories are designed to force me into writing, and force me out of some writer's block. They are crude and unfinished. I am well aware that no publisher would touch writing like that, but then again, I would never submit this to a publisher. All of the Sin stories are at the first draft stage. After writing, I did not go back and re-edit, re-write, or in any other way polish them up. They are potential, but they do not reflect a finished product. As with my Inquisitor fragments, if I wanted to use these anywhere else, they would require substantial reworking. So if your criticism rests on the fact that they are not of a publishable quality, they are not meant to be, they are meant to get me writing on something, anything, just to get me writing again.
The second rule is that the stories MUST be under 1000 words. No exceptions. That means economy of language at times, and rather than spend a paragraph building up a mood, I admit I occasionally get lazy and cut to the chase and use a cliché. Clichés are familiar and easy, that's why they're clichés! If they help me save a couple of hundred words that might help me get to the end of the story I want to tell, well, I'm not above sticking them in there. But overuse can be tiring, and Dean is not the first person to tell me at times I need to show the reader what's happening, not just tell them. That's something I have to try to keep conscious in my mind when writing, and something I do admit I find a struggle at times, as I do lapse back into exposition.
I'm working on Gluttony just now, and am hoping to get some kind of idea for Greed soon, then I'll be done with the sins. I've also got another environmental apocalypse story (The Silent Hives all over again!) on the back burner. Oh, and I'm aiming to record some podcasts this weekend.
I hope you keep reading!
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