Thieves & Scoundrels

One of my publishers, Absolute XPress, holds regular flash fiction contests, and then gathers all of the winning entries into a lovely anthology.  For their third contest they invited me to be the guest reviewer, which proved both fun and enlightening.  All right, and a little bit frustrating as well.  I'm copying here my insights into the process, which I've stolen from my publisher's blog (well, they ARE my words...)




On the Reviewing Process

Absolute XPress threw down the gauntlet once again with its third flash fiction challenge.  This time, writers everywhere were challenged to write about thieves and scoundrels in the genres of horror, science-fiction and fantasy.  And many fine writers answered that call.

Let’s face it – deep down inside we all love scoundrels.  A little piece of us would love to be as wild, free and uncaring as they are, able to move without fear of repercussion or worry of society’s reactions.  To just be your insane self, with clear purpose and direction, and the tools, skills and lack of inhibitions to get you there – come on, that just sounds like fun!

The theme, however, proved more of a challenge than we could have imagined. Not on the writers’ parts – they certainly tackled the theme with unscrupulous ambition.  It was the reviewers who had a tough time.  So many great stories and so many different perceptions of scoundrels!

The authors gave us a lot to chew on.  As reviewers, we had to analyze what we felt best represented scoundrels.  It was tough. As it turns out, there are lots of ways to break laws and freak people out.  There was so much potential in all of the stories that it took us an extra week of debate to get it down to the final 20.

Those who didn’t make it in this anthology, take heart.

Your stories were not bad.  Some had vital flaws that might have been caught with careful re-reads and test readers.  Others needed some refinement and growth, and a good copy editor.  Some just had too much crammed in there for a thousand-word long story.  As readers, we need some familiar footing to find our way to your characters and plot.  I was personally pissed off with some stories – they were so good, but those fundamental flaws lowered their ranking.  So I hope you all stick with it and try again, or try somewhere else, write something completely different – it doesn’t matter, just stick with it and keep increasing your skills.  It’ll be worth it to catch your publication prize.  After all, like most thieves and scoundrels teach us, half the fun is the thrill of the hunt.

The success of this contest is increasing, so expect another one soon.  Thanks to all of the authors who sent in a story, and those of you who didn’t make it in, please try again!  I personally can’t wait to read more from all of you.

Merry hunting!

Marie Bilodeau

Next!

So Warrior of Darkness is out and another cool book launch took place (pictures and details forthcoming). Now’s the time to buckle down and finish up the trilogy with Sorceress of Shadows, due out from Absolute XPress in March 2010.

I’m in the planning phase, which is both exciting and frightening. March 2010 seems far away, but the manuscript is due at my publisher’s by end of year. So that gives me just over four months.

I know the characters, I know where they’re headed and I know what’s going to happen, so it’s do-able. As long as there’s a plan, keeping in mind that I work full time, have a couple of storytelling shows left this year and I don’t want to eradicate all social contact. Social contact is important.

So let's think about this plan, working backwards from December 31.

I like test readers to read through to make sure I’m not doing anything way out in left field, that the characters and plot work and are ringing true to the other two books. I plan on giving test readers three weeks to review Sorceress of Shadows. And then after I need about a month for mulling and implementing final changes.

Ok, so keeping that in mind, I have until November 8 to get something together. But I need some time to edit my own stuff once I’ve pumped out draft 1, and make it all nice and sleek for the test readers. They need a coherent and cohesive story to judge it appropriately.

I like to give myself a month to do this. Edits are slower for me than straight writing. So now I’m looking at, um, October 11 to get the first draft done.

Sundays are my most productive days (I take them off for writing). Weekdays are not bad - I can usually pump out 1,000 words. I’m re-reading Princess of Light and Warrior of Darkness now to prepare myself for the fun ahead, so I’m going to officially begin Sorceress of Shadows on Monday, August 24. (I'm cheating, as I already have about 5,000 words. Mwa ha.)

So, knowing all of this, and estimating Sorceress to be complete at 90,000 words, this is what the rest of the year looks like for my writing:

August 24 to October 11
~13,000 words/week. (1,000 each day Monday to Saturday and 7,000 on Sunday)

October 11 – November 8
Review, revise, make sense, clean up, edit, double-check names, and do all the fun things that make novels make sense.

November 8 to December 1
Off to test readers. I sit back and wait with bated breath. Question everything I’ve written and done. Try to distract self with short stories, videogames and throwing multi-coloured jelly beans at neighbourhood kids.

December 1 – December 31
Changes are in. Go through each copy and note changes that must be incorporated. Attack manuscript with vigor, fix problems, edit once more.

January 1, 2010
Take a deep breath. Begin next project while waiting for editorial feedback from my publisher.

A good way to start a new year!

What is this storytelling thing, anyways?

We are all storytellers. Whether we’re retelling our shoe shopping escapade or our journey up the tallest hill in the area, we’re telling a story and, therefore, are storytellers.

Now, when I say I’m a storyteller, I mean that not only do I regale my friends with stories of why I chose to buy socks with angel pigs instead of devil cows (I dislike bad meat), I also enjoy telling a set tale, preferably before an audience (for some tellers, that involves singing or a musical instrument - think bard).

I mean telling, not reading. It’s a performance, not a static display. Storytellers like making eye contact with their audience, making sure their tale is riveting and that tears turn the eyes to glass when love interests meet an unfortunate end.

Storytellers tell many different types of stories – from traditional folktales and fairy stories to myths and legends, as well as more modern tales. Some storytellers can tell you the entire Incredible Journey in a few hours, and believe me; they’ll keep you riveted.

Other tellers, like myself, prefer doing original tales or adaptations, such as modernizing fairy tales. Not every heroine needs to be in distress, and why can gods of myths of old not enjoy a drink in today’s pubs?

Storytelling, particularly telling tales inked by my pen, gives me the instant gratification writing doesn’t. Let’s face it - it takes years for most writers to find a publisher interested in their work, and then maybe another couple of years before the book hits the shelves, to perhaps less-than-popular acclaim.

But in storytelling, you get feedback from your audience right away. You can see it in their eyes, in their body language, in their blue-tinged lips when they hold their breath; you can tell right away whether or not you’ve touched them the way you meant to. Or when you completely and utterly missed your shot, and fear you will never have an audience again. Thankfully most people are forgiving of a performer.

While telling, you can really get a feel for the pacing of your story, of the threads that tie it all together, and of the flow of the language. And with each telling the story is refined, in the same way a manuscript is made to shine during edits. In fact, storytelling has given me quite a few ideas on how to edit my manuscripts and make the language flow and scorch like lava.

So if you hear of a storytelling event in your area, go check it out and be ready to be transported to worlds near and far away. It is a tightly woven spell that tellers mean to cast.

I hope its charms will work on you.