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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all!
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you had a great
weekend.
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mary rosenblum
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I did. I finished the final
revision of my next novel and emailed it back to my editor this morning. That's
about all I've done for the last week. :-) Nonstop.
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mary rosenblum
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But I'm very pleased. David
Hartwell, at Tor Books, is by far the best editor I've ever worked with...
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mary rosenblum
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He doesn't miss a detail in
the book, finds every tiny weakness. It has been a very nice partnership.
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mary rosenblum
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Editors...the ones who really
EDIT rather than merely acquire and publish a book...are truely worth their
weight in gold.
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mary rosenblum
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They're rare these days, alas.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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mary rosenblum
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I had a request for our topic
today...flash fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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It's a good one, because flash
fiction is a growing market and a nice way to break into the fiction
marketplace.
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mary rosenblum
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Flash fiction is generally
described as short short stories under 2000 words and usually under 1500
words.
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tami74
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I did a small amount of research
over net on the market for flash fiction....any ones you suggest, Mary?
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mary rosenblum
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There are quite a few, tami.
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mary rosenblum
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Women's World takes short
mystery and romance and pay VERY well for it, although the competition is
fierce.
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mary rosenblum
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The guidelines are posted in
New Market listings on the website.
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mary rosenblum
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And you need to read an
example of their mysteries...they want a specific form.
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kungfumama
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aren't you approaching prose
when you write such a short story?
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mary rosenblum
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A story IS prose, kungfu... as
opposed to poetry.
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mary rosenblum
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Do you mean are you really
writing a story?
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mary rosenblum
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I just gleaned a whole list of
flash fiction markets plus a writers newsletter that features them, and
I'll post them on the website after I'm done here, in New Market Listings.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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kungfumama
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No - more like since the word
count is so short ... you REALLY have to make all those words work.
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mary rosenblum
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Of course.
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mary rosenblum
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First let me define 'prose'
for you all. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It is not poetry. That's it.
It's a general term for words that are not poetry. Stories are mostly
written in prose, as is nonfiction...
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mary rosenblum
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Think of writing in terms of a
spectrum that stretches between novel at one end and poetry at the other
(disregarding poetry's formal structures).
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mary rosenblum
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At the novel end, you have a
LOT of words and you can get away with words that don't do more than one
thing.
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mary rosenblum
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At the short end of the
spectrum...the poetry end...every word must do a LOT for that very short
form to work.
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mary rosenblum
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The shorter the story, the
more the choice of words matters.
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lore alley
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How do you know if something can
stand alone as a short story (rather than just a scene)? I've written some
short little vignettes - all under 250 words - that seemed stand-alone to
me. I know they need a conflict and resolution and I think they have that,
but it's not blatant. They're more internal, character-oriented, maybe
"literary". More like "a moment in the life of..."
rather than something with a really clear beginning, middle, and end
(although I think they have those too.) [wow that was long! sorry!]
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mary rosenblum
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Conflict and resolution can be
VERY subtle, lore.
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mary rosenblum
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In some of my mainstream
stories, there really isn't any external conflict at all...merely an
internal one.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...the litmus test for
'story' is this: Does the character change?
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mary rosenblum
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If the character does NOT
change, it is a vignette.
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mary rosenblum
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If the character changes then
it is a story.
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randi-lee
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Mary, I have seen most flash fiction
referred to as under 1000 words and even under 800. I have problems with
flash beacuse I have trouble putting all the description I want doesn't fit
into it.
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mary rosenblum
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There is no 'official
definition', but most of the general descriptions use 1500 word...and some
short short markets want up to 2000 and others under 1000. Essentially it
means 'short short'.
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mary rosenblum
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And you simply cannot put in
'all the description you want'. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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There's the challenge and it's
one that will really benefit you as a writer!
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mary rosenblum
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Make one word do everything
that those 25 words of description did.
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mary rosenblum
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And I will tell you as someone
who came to novel form from the short story, that learning to write well in
short form is the best thing you can do for your novel, later on.
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mary rosenblum
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Your novel will be tight and
powerful, prose-wise, because you know how to make every word count.
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mary rosenblum
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You won't have a lot of verbal
fog to obscure the power of your scenes.
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lore alley
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is there a market for 250 word
vignettes? :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Sure. I have severa markets in
front of me that only list maximum word counts, no minimums.
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mary rosenblum
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And you see a lot of vignettes
in flash fiction. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It doesn't have to be a story,
but if it IS a story, it will stand out.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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randi-lee
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I feel that like many novellas I
have read, like much flash fiction I have read. Leaves the reader wanting
more of a story.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, not everyone likes short
stories, randi.
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mary rosenblum
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Short stories are like sumi
paintings...the Japanese brush stroke paintings, where a few deft strokes
suggest a mountain, waterfall, and pool.
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mary rosenblum
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You don't SEE that entire
landscape, just the suggestion of it with those few strokes.
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mary rosenblum
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The novel is the detailed
landscape, the short story merely suggests that landscape.
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mary rosenblum
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You cannot package a novel
into a short story length.
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tension
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What is the difference between
literary and mainstream for flash fiction?
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mary rosenblum
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Tension that is a VERY fuzzy
boundary and there really IS no solid definition for 'literary'.
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mary rosenblum
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Essentially, 'literary'
fiction implies a strong stylistic component...it is HOW the piece is
written that matters, not so much what is included.
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mary rosenblum
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Mainstream simply means stuff
that does not fit into any genre.
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mary rosenblum
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It's not a mystery, it' s not
SF, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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It does blur into fantasy in
magic realism.
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mary rosenblum
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I cross that line back and
forth.
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kitfox_starchild
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Is it possible to have many
events take place without the story seeming choppy or rushed?
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mary rosenblum
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Unlikely in very short form,
kitfox. You won't have the words to make smooth transitions. BUT...you can
make that choppy pace PART of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Make that style work FOR you.
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randi-lee
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So would mainstream be something
that can contain murder, mystery, erotica, etc. in it?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure. As I said, the line is
blurry. But most mainstream stories contain at least one element you
mentioned. Otherwise they'd be boring. :-) It's like romance.
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mary rosenblum
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If romance IS the story, it's
Romance.
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mary rosenblum
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If you have romance but it is
not the main story, then it is mainstream...or mystery or sf, or what have
you. But not a Romance story.
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mary rosenblum
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Genre definitions are only
guides for bookstore owners so they can put books on the right shelf for
the right readers to find.
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mary rosenblum
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As we get away from brick and
morter bookstores, I suspect genre definitions will begin to blur and fade
even more.
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ling630
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Can you give an example of one
word of description that would get rid of 25 words to give us an idea of
what types of words we are looking for. Thank you.
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mary rosenblum
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Sure ling.
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mary rosenblum
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It's like this...say you're
describing this old stone house at the end of a lane...
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mary rosenblum
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and you describe the steep
roof, the gargoyle downspouts, the gray stones patched with lichen...
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mary rosenblum
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the deep windows with their
leaded glass windows, the heavy wooden doors bound with wrought iron.
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mary rosenblum
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You can say ...the
transplanted castle...or the mutated castle.... and give the reader the
same sense of what it looks like.
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mary rosenblum
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No, the reader will not see
those specific details you otherwise would have listed...
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mary rosenblum
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but if they do not matter to
the story, if they are only to create ambience then a looming castle will
do the same thing in FAR fewer words.
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mary rosenblum
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The thing that gives new
writer fits is that they want to make the reader see all the very cool
things THEY see...
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mary rosenblum
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and that takes a LOT of words.
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mary rosenblum
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The shorter the story, the
more you give the reader the power to help create the story.
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mary rosenblum
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The less control YOU the
writer have.
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mary rosenblum
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You control the really really
important points, the ones that MUST be there in order for the story to
work...
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mary rosenblum
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and then you get the reader
build the world to suit herself/himself.
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t green
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Now that's a horror story... The
Death of the Brick and Mortar Bookstore... where would i go to get my
coffee and magazine fix on a lazy afternoon?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I think we'll always
have them as a place for book lovers to gather and drink coffee...
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mary rosenblum
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but I suspect the big chains
will go away, leaving the independents that also serve as coffee houses,
gathering places, and don't depend on volume sales.
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mary rosenblum
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The big chains, I will bet
you, will market online.
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mary rosenblum
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At least predominantly.
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kitfox_starchild
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Is it better then to give less
description in longer stories as well?
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mary rosenblum
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Depends on what purpose that
description serves, kitfox.
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mary rosenblum
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It's not a one size fits all
answer.
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mary rosenblum
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If the description is a big
part of the story...look at Tolkien for an example...then you need it.
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mary rosenblum
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If it's just scene setting,
then brief, powerful description keeps the story moving along more briskly.
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mary rosenblum
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And in short shorts, minimal
description is almost necessary...the minimum that will work for that
story, that is.
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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randi-lee
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just wondered I never have just
one thing in my stories, even my shorts or flash. I usually have murder and
maybe romance and erotic.
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mary rosenblum
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The more dramatic elements the
better, randi...as long as they work together and don't compete.
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lore alley
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Do you know some magazines that
publish literary/mainstream flash fiction?
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mary rosenblum
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Yep. Gonna publish a whole
bunch on New Market Listings soon as I get done here.
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mary rosenblum
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Would have had it up already,
but i had to get the novel revision off to my editor this AM and ran out of
time.
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randi-lee
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actually the big chains market
online now.
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mary rosenblum
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I know...and they'll give up
on most of their stores before long, I suspect. Bookshelf space is WAY too
costly.
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mary rosenblum
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AND...we'll develop more
complex and accurate search mechanisms for finding books that we
individuals want. :-0
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ling630
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What exactly is flash fiction?
Do you have an example?
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mary rosenblum
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A LR Assignment one is flash
fiction, ling.
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mary rosenblum
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It is simply a story under
2000 words. IT is a length definition only.
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janecj333
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Can you give examples of stories
in which the character doesn't change, and the story still works?
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mary rosenblum
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There are some, jane.
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mary rosenblum
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Although you can find the
implicaiton of at least SOME character change...
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mary rosenblum
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but it's very minimal. That's
sort of the definition of a plot driven story.
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mary rosenblum
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And actually, if you look at O
Henry's stories...
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mary rosenblum
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the characters mostly do not
change, the READER"S perspective changes when he/she reads the end.
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mary rosenblum
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The Leaf is a good example of
that.
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mary rosenblum
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The characters themselves
don't really change, but at the end, we realize we have been seeing one
character incorrectly and that changes the story.
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tension
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Isn't the overally
descriptive/introspective writing whats makes a piece "Literary"?
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mary rosenblum
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I wouldn't say that is the
definition, tension. While a lot of literary fiction is very descriptive,
so is a lot of fantasy and mainstream and equally introspective at least in
mainstream.
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mary rosenblum
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Read some of the university literary
magazines.
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mary rosenblum
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You'll find a LOT of range and
as I said, this is a very loosely defined genre...
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mary rosenblum
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but you'll also find as much
focus on style as you find in poetry.
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lore alley
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I see flash fiction as boiling
down a moment or two in time to their essence. Almost like poetry. The
reader lives that moment, doesn't even notice words on the page.
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mary rosenblum
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But for many...and in my
opinion the more successful...flash fiction stories, a story is implied.
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mary rosenblum
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Back to the iceberg metaphor
again (my favorite :-))...
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mary rosenblum
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We see the tip of the iceberg
in the story, we know the rest is there, under water, and we imagine it.
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trip20
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so can we say 'implied
knowledge' is necessary in flash fiction? i.e so choice of words is
important and mutated castle may not be a good example? or is it?
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mary rosenblum
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Implied knowedge is very
important which is why the word choice is so much more critical than it is
in a longer form, trip.
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mary rosenblum
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Many words carry a wealth of
nuance... monastary.
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mary rosenblum
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That implies not just a
building but a population, way of life, sense of religion of some sort.
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mary rosenblum
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By finding words that do two
or three things...
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mary rosenblum
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perhaps show an object, create
a tone, and add nuance...
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mary rosenblum
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you can do a lot with very few
words and it's a GREAT execise.
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kungfumama
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So we are implying a much larger
story?
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mary rosenblum
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Nearly always.
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mary rosenblum
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To completely cover an entire
story in those few words implies a very very small story. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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By giving us that vivid
iceberg tip we get a large story.
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mary rosenblum
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I have noticed that a lot of
published flash fiction implies an ending that takes place in the future.
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mary rosenblum
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But the resolution is left to
the reader and is often abiguous...could be the lady or the tiger. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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So if you like that kind of
ambiguous end...write short!
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mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
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lore alley
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Poetry can tell a story too. :-)
It's just very concentrated.
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mary rosenblum
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Of course. It's the ultimate
end of that spectrum...flash fiction is just this side of it. :"-)
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randi-lee
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so saying an ancient gothic
castle or even just gothic castle works too.
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mary rosenblum
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If that's what works best to
portray the image you need, then it does, randi.
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mary rosenblum
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AGain, there is no one size
fits all...it has to be the best choice for THIS story.
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geezer
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Would it be appropriate for the
author's voice to tell the reader how the story ends?
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mary rosenblum
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If it worked...sometimes we
like to wonder. :-) While we all grumble about that "Lady or the
Tiger' story, we all remember it. :-)
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kitfox_starchild
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Can you still have a
satisfactory conclusion if the PoV character dies?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure. Doesn't mean it's easy
to do, but lots of POVs die in the end of books. Look at Shakespeare's
tragedies. Nobody is left standing in Hamlet! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...
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mary rosenblum
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just because it HAS been done
and CAN be done, doesn't mean that it will work for you 'just
because'...YOU have to put the work into the story to MAKE it work...
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mary rosenblum
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because most of us do not want
that POV we care about to die.
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mary rosenblum
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It's your JOB to MAKE it
satisfying.
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mary rosenblum
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And 'so and so did it' is not
a reason.
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ladybug
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So, in FF the reader is engaged
by using his or her imagination to fill in the blanks, per se?
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mary rosenblum
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You got it, lady...as is the
case with ALL fiction (and why, in my opionion, the visual media will never
replace prose stories). We readers share the creation of this story.
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randi-lee
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ezines and downloadable books
from epublishers are getting very popular and many take smaller than
novella size books. The ezines, many like to stick to flash or short
shorts.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, randi.
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mary rosenblum
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Looking over my list, three
paying markets are all ezines...
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mary rosenblum
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That's part of the reason for
the expanding market.
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lore alley
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Mary, can you give some advice
on how to write a strong ending for a short short? (I read two shorts in a
well-respected magazine the other day and was very disappointed with what I
thought were weak endings.)
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mary rosenblum
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Many short shorts DO have weak
endings. It's hard to complete a story with a strong ending in few words...
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mary rosenblum
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they're not ALL shining
examples of strong flash fiction, even if they are published!
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mary rosenblum
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You probably do best with an
internal conflict...that's typically what I use, but then I'm a character
writer anyway, so that's usually the case no matter what the length. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If your character gains
insight that resolves his/her problem, the story concludes at the end.
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mary rosenblum
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James Van Pelt writes nice
flash fiction and often his stories end with something happening that
implies a resolution (often dark) to come later.
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katnj
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Would you say that flash fiction
is a growing market?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, it is, and I think that's
because of the growing interest in online zines.
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mary rosenblum
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Doesn't pay you much, but it
CAN get you some career attention depending on where you publish it.
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mary rosenblum
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Jay Lake, former editor of
Polyphony and winner of the John Campbell Award has pretty much stuck to
short shorts for his entire career so far...
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mary rosenblum
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and has published something
like 100 or better short short...
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mary rosenblum
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HOWEVER...he is finding that
it has a 'career ceiling' and for a career as a speculative fiction writer,
he really is going to have to write longer.
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kitfox_starchild
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Some magazine's prefer or only
accept stories from published authors, do poetry and flash fiction count?
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mary rosenblum
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All magazines perfer stories
from published authors, very very few magazines ONLY accept fiction from
published authors. :-) All editors want to discover the next Stephen King.
LOL
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mary rosenblum
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And if you start 'at the
bottom' sending to magazines that only publish unpublished or unknown
writers, what if your work would have sold to the best? You won't know.
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mary rosenblum
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Start at the top markets and
work down.
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mary rosenblum
|
This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red
question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in
order to ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can
also type /ask in front of your question to reach me.
|
|
randi-lee
|
I have ended many of my shorts
by making the ending obvious, the person is dead. But in some respects I
made it sound like the ghost would not return because he got what he wanted
but you could wonder about it too.
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mary rosenblum
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That's one way of doing it.
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trip20
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could you consider a scratching
on the wall of Auschwitz stating 'and the hero triumphs' the ultimate flash
fiction? as this accomplishes what we try to do in 2k with four words?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure...although it's hard to
deliver that wall to readers...costs a lot to ship. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, I was in a six week
long writers workshop (bootcamp for writers) back when I was just starting
out and we had an internal contest...who could write a complete story with
beginning/middle/end conflict/resolution with the fewest words.
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mary rosenblum
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We were getting down to under
twenty.
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mary rosenblum
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As you can imagine we were
spending a LOT of time choosing the right words, LOL
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mary rosenblum
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In essence it was probably
more prose poetry than prose...length definition again! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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The trick with very short
fiction is to keep your plot very very small...
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mary rosenblum
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think of a microscope. You
focus IN not out.
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mary rosenblum
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YOu are going to have a darned
hard time having someone take over the country in 1000 words.
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mary rosenblum
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Or even show a marriage
falling apart, say.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT you can show a young teen
resolving a lifelong conflict with DAd in 1000 words.
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mary rosenblum
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That is a small and intimate
conflict and resolution.
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mary rosenblum
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They're trout fishing, dad is
picking on son AGAIN and son knows he's about to take off and never look
back.
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mary rosenblum
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Something happens, and son
suddenly sees a crack in his Dad's 'perfection'...realizes that he's just
as flawed as son.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe now he won't go.
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mary rosenblum
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The implication is that he
will not run away, that he will stay and ultmately he and Dad will work
things out.
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mary rosenblum
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But you can easily do that
story in 1000 words.
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mary rosenblum
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YOu have the internal
conflict...son's anger at his dad...and the small external conflict of the
fall, mistake, whatever causes Dad to reaveal his own weakness or fear.
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mary rosenblum
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And your resolution. Son
realizes Dad is more like him than not.
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lore alley
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wow! under 20???? you've given
me something to aspire too! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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There you go. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is the Tuesday Forum with
me, Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer and we're
talking about flash fiction. If you're new here, remember that you need to
click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next to the red question
mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! You can also type
/ask in front of your question to reach me.
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randi-lee
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Mary this is an ending from one
of my short stories can you tell me if this ending is too weak ? The next
morning they found Lenore's cloak caught on the fence. Once again John
Trelawney claimed another woman. Only this time, it was his Lenore.
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mary rosenblum
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WEll, even without knowing the
story, it's a conclusive ending...clearly this Trelawney has somehow or in
some way taken Lenore.
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mary rosenblum
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Is it a weak ending? Dunno.
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mary rosenblum
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A weak ending is one that does
not satisfy the main conflict.
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mary rosenblum
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And a weak central conflict is
going to create a weak ending, too.
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mary rosenblum
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A strong central conflict that
is not resolved gives you a weak ending.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes writers miss the
real strength of the story and that stronger conflict is ignored.
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mary rosenblum
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So the ending doesn't really
satisfy it.
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lore alley
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What makes a strong central
conflict? ('nother topic I know!)
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it is....how about for
the Friday Forum? :-)
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mary rosenblum
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But a strong conflict is one
that is important to your characters.
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geezer
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I have trouble finding titles
for SS. Any idea how to come up with an appropriate title for FF?
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mary rosenblum
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Aaak...titles!!!!
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mary rosenblum
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(Took me months to come up
with one for my novel)..
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mary rosenblum
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Well, no help for you there,
geeze. Titles either spring instantly to mind for me or I struggle for 'em.
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mary rosenblum
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Usually, I either try to find
something to reflect the theme of the story...
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mary rosenblum
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or I pick something that
resonates with an important element of the story.
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lore alley
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Friday sounds good to me! thanks
Mary!
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mary rosenblum
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Will do, lore. :-)
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randi-lee
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I have titles and then build my
story around them.
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mary rosenblum
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That's a good way to do it.
Happens to me occasionally.
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cbl
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Who publishes flash fiction?
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mary rosenblum
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I'm going to post some flash
fiction publishers on the website in New Market Listings after, cbl...
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mary rosenblum
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www.storyhouse.com publishes
it in all genres AND essay.
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mary rosenblum
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espressofiction.com also does.
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mary rosenblum
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Storyhouse pays well,
espressofiction at least pays something.
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mary rosenblum
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There are a bunch of short
short contests.
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mary rosenblum
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Writers Digest is now taking
entries for their contest...up to 1500 words. But they have a 12 entry fee.
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mary rosenblum
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December 1 deadline.
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lore alley
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For a title, I often use a name
from the story, if the MC is a very strong character, or words from the
story itself
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mary rosenblum
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Names tend to be poor titles,
lore.
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mary rosenblum
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Enigmatic titles are your very
first hook to snag a reader.
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randi-lee
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www.runesmag.com publishes but
does not pay
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mary rosenblum
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Thanks randi.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll also be posting the URL
for an online flash fiction magazine.
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mary rosenblum
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They list new markets and
contest all the time. It's free.
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randi-lee
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I did the three day novel
contest on labour day weekend, it was not easy but it was fun. It should be
called novella contest.
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mary rosenblum
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Good motivations to write,
randi. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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I highly recommend flash
fiction.
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mary rosenblum
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It is an EXCELLENT writing
exercise and if you publish some of it..wayhey...clips!
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geezer
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Is this enigmatic enough?
"An Anagale Sang"
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mary rosenblum
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Sounds like a SF story, geeze.
:-)
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randi-lee
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I actually started writing
shorts because I was used to do longer stories and novellas. I wanted to be
flexible and I found poetry and haiku helped me with writing shorts.
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mary rosenblum
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Let me give you an example of
what writing short short will do for you.
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mary rosenblum
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First of all, your novel
lenght works will simply read 'tighter' because you won't be sloppy with
your prose.
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mary rosenblum
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In my novel that will be
published next year, my editor needed me to remove 3000 words in order to
keep from having to raise the price of the hardcover . BUT...we both agreed
that no scenes could be cut out..it was already VERY tight.
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mary rosenblum
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So I took out a grand total of
6000 words simply by finding a tighter way to do bits of description etc.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm good at that because I
write a lot of short fiction .
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mary rosenblum
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It's a skill you learn by
doing.
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mary rosenblum
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And remember..
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mary rosenblum
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when you're breaking in, you
will be competing with other novice writers on that editor's desk..
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mary rosenblum
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and if your writing is tight
and polished with no flab...you'll get picked over others that are similar
but not as tight.
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mary rosenblum
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A lot of novice writers feel
that editors 'don't want unpublished writers'.
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mary rosenblum
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But if your plot structure is
good, you have REAL characters, and your prose is tight and polished...
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mary rosenblum
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the editor will know you're
going to make it as a pro and will be inclined to buy you 'first'.
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mary rosenblum
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Most of us are very loyal to
that editor who gave us our first break. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Short shorts will dramatically
improve that 'polished and tight' aspect of your prose and will help you a
lot in learning how to plot a short story.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe me, when you sit down
to write something say 5000 words long, you'll feel as if you have a
novel's worth of room! :-)
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janecj333
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are we really competing with
others who write 'similar' work?
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mary rosenblum
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Of course. Whom else would you
be competing with?
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mary rosenblum
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Let me explain how an editor
chooses stories.
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mary rosenblum
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You look at the pro
submissions first...their names will sell the magazines so they're the most
desirable.
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mary rosenblum
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But not all pro subs will be
good. WE get rejection slips, too, folks.
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mary rosenblum
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And the editor wants GOOD pro
stories.
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mary rosenblum
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Once the issue is pretty well
filled with good pro stories, the editor DOES look through the 'semi pro
pile'.
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mary rosenblum
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This one has the people who
have just broken in, have been in a well known workshop, have been
recommended by a writer the editor knows, etc.
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mary rosenblum
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AND...
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mary rosenblum
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they contain YOUR stuff...the
stories that are from unpublished but are written professionally and caught
the reader's eye.
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mary rosenblum
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The editor fills in the issue
with these stories. This is your competition.
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janecj333
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in my stint as a lit mag guest
editor, the work we accepted was outstandingly different, and that's why it
was chosen
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mary rosenblum
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Same thing.
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mary rosenblum
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Most lit mags probably get a
much smaller submission than your average commercial magazine...we're
talking about 1000 submissions a week.
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mary rosenblum
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So there is a LOT more
sorting.
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mary rosenblum
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AND most lit mags don't depend
on sales for funding. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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In a commercial magazine,
sales matter, as they do in the book market.
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mary rosenblum
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so a story has to appeal to
the subscribers of the magazine, the people who will buy the anthology.
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mary rosenblum
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The reality of sales figures
is one that drives the book length publishing world and the commercial
magazine market in both fiction and non.
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cbl
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submit again. Is this usual or
the run-around?
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mary rosenblum
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YOu mean you got a rejection
that asked you to submit again?
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mary rosenblum
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That's real.
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mary rosenblum
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Believe me, the LAST thing an
editor wants is MORE unusable slush.
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cbl
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No the editor had my story for 1
yr, won't return it, says
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cbl
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if I want it I may never submit
to his mag. again
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mary rosenblum
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What? Sounds as if he lost it.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm not sure i understand what
is going on here, but he cannot publish it without some sort of consent
from you...
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mary rosenblum
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If you're concerned, I would
send a registered letter stating that you withdraw the story from
consideration.
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mary rosenblum
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That cements the 'you can't
publish this' legality.
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mary rosenblum
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And send it out elsewhere.
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mary rosenblum
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Nowadays, most of us send in
disposable copy...
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cbl
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Says he will destory story and
I'm not to submit again .
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mary rosenblum
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Well, it's just paper,
cbl...Surely you did not send him an original with no copies?
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geezer
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Should you always send a
withdrawal by registered mail?
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mary rosenblum
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No. This just sounds so weird.
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mary rosenblum
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Registered simply means you
have proof he got the letter.
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mary rosenblum
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cbl, I hope you did not send
an only copy through the mail...
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cbl
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No it was just a copy.
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mary rosenblum
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Then who cares? Let him
recycle it. Just send the story to another market and don't send to this
one again.
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mary rosenblum
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I send in ms marked
'disposable'.
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mary rosenblum
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If the editor doesn't buy it I
WANT him to destroy it. Costs too much postage to ship it home!
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ladybug
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Or certified with return
receipt?
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mary rosenblum
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Yeah, but these are expensive.
This is not your usual scenario.
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mary rosenblum
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The editor is acting
unprofessionally...but there is no license required to become an editor.
:-)
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mary rosenblum
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So let him toss it and cross
him off your 'submission' list.
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trip20
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Wouldnt they assume it was
disposable, without saying it?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, lordy no!!!
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mary rosenblum
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The nightmare is that they
might destroy an original.
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mary rosenblum
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If you send in a ms without
return postage and do NOT say clearly on the ms that it is disposable they
will treat it as a submission without return postage.
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mary rosenblum
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ie they won't accept it.
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randi-lee
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I think most people would burn
their stories onto cd's so they would always have the original
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mary rosenblum
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Anybody who trusts their
original ms to the US mail should have their head examined. LOL
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mary rosenblum
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I was sent four ms for a
workshop prior to the last writers conference. I have NO idea where they
went. Not to me.
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cbl
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I sent a SASE as they request
and a postcard for receipt
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mary rosenblum
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I suspect this is a clash
between you and the editor, cbl, and I don't think I understand what is
actually going on, but why waste any more time on it?
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mary rosenblum
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He had his chance, he didn't
buy the story, send it elsewhere and dont submit to him anymore.
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mary rosenblum
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I doubt he'll treat anything
else of yours favorably, so don't waste the postage. Save yourself the
aggravation.
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mary rosenblum
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There are a ton of other
markets out there.
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mary rosenblum
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And a year is a very long time
for a short short to languish.
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mary rosenblum
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Now if the payoff is worth
it...I'll let it sit.
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mary rosenblum
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Storyhouse.com was taking
about a year to respond, but then they pay well and you get great coffee
along with the check. LOL
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mary rosenblum
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So they can keep my stuff for
a year, no problem.
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randi-lee
|
I was supposed to submit to an
editor but after I saw him come into chat and scream at one of his authors
I decided I would not put up with that and didn't submit.
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mary rosenblum
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One of the good things about
conferences is that you can meet editors.
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mary rosenblum
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Wow, we've run over our Oregon
Hour!
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mary rosenblum
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I'd better get to work...got a
novelette to finish on deadline since I'm done with my novel!
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mary rosenblum
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See you all tomorrow for our
casual chat...same time same place.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post the transcript of
this in the usual place...
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mary rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
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And i'll post those markets in
New Market Listing.
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mary rosenblum
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See you all!
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