Journal Entry #10: The Project’s Complete!

This journal entry is meant to be divided in three parts. First, I’ll talk about the project itself, and how I changed its specifications along the way. Second, I’ll give actual evidence of my completed project. Third, I’ll make a reflection on it.

PART ONE:

When I first started out, I thought I wanted to write a book. In the end, I really did write a book–during November, for NaNoWriMo. But since I wrote it in so little time, without giving too much thought to it, it’s not very good. It became more challenging for me to write a good short story and attempt to get it published than to write an okay novel full of mistakes. It would be more rewarding to attempt to get it published.

So I wrote a short story, and I am going to send it to various literary magazines during December and January so the project can become more meaningful to me. I’m not sure if it’s a good short story, although, all modesty aside, I think it is. The only thing I’m not sure about it is its genre–I tried to do something different, something I have never done, so it’s a bit of an odd story. It is fictional, though.

No, I don’t think it’s The Best Short Story Ever, and yes, I am almost a hundred percent sure I will only receive rejection letters back from those literary magazines I am sending the story to. But 1) it will undergo editing before it is sent and 2) I took several risks in this project. I got to interview (via email, but still) two Actual Published Authors, which is something I’d have never dreamed of doing. I wrote something I’m not used to writing–something that’s a bit odd. And during this month and the next one, I will be sending this story to magazines. My work will be read by editors and maybe even by magazine readers, not only by the few people I usually ask to review my work or a small audience on Fictionpress.net. No, I am taking risks with this project. That’s the most rewarding experience of all.

PART TWO:

I’m not sure how I should prove that my project actually exists. I guess, here’s a screenshot of the whole thing:

 

These are the first two pages.

(or two screenshots, you know.)

That’s the last page.

PART THREE:

I’m not exactly a “short story” kind of person. Recently, I discovered I like writing longer stuff. Writing something shorter is like a challenge to me: I have to only write the important stuff, keep it compact. So the fact that I was able to do it makes me really proud of myself. Some people may think that writing is easy, and all writers are the same. Neither of these things are true. Writing is a great mental exercise, not to mention entertaining for me, and each writer is different. Some people write better in an organised schedule, or under pressure, or writing a lot for a short period of time, or editing as they go. Others do better by writing when they’ve got the inspiration, or taking seven years to finish a single book, or writing it all first and then editing. Some writers are amazing with action-packed plots. I’m usually strong at characterisation (although that cannot be evidenced by my story and therefore the strong point of it is the plot). Some writers write short things, some write long novels, and some do both. This is one of the lessons I learned during this process. I expect to learn more while trying to get it published.

Something else I learned, that ties in with the above, is that creating something is hard. No, it’s not physically hard on you; I didn’t have to carry anything heavy or work until my legs couldn’t take it anymore. But it is mentally exhausting if you’re committed to it, and I think both kinds of exhaustion are equal in the way they’re both hard to deal with. I’ve witnessed this a lot recently. If you’ve been running hard for ages, you don’t have time to make any more mental or physical effort for a while. And when I stay up late to finish the four different projects due the next morning at school, I notice I am physically exhausted too and can’t think of anything but sleep. That’s why I believe both kinds of exhaustion are equal. When you’ve worked hard on something physical, you are also mentally exhausted, and vice-versa. So don’t come saying that people who run marathons work harder than a playwright who spent his entire career perfecting a masterpiece. Doing anything is hard, and therefore so is creating.

I had to face a writer’s Number One Enemy for a long time in this process: the infamous villain known as Writer’s Block. But I managed to defeat this dragon in my way, and finish the project, and that is how I learned most of what I said above.

I expect the process of sending the story to magazines will make me develop even more as a learner and a writer just recently getting into the game, and I’ll write more about it here. But I’ve already accomplished a lot, and I will keep working on the second stage of this project until February.

All in all, I believe so far this has been a success.

-Alice

 

Journal Entry #9: Actual Proof that I’m Actually Doing Work

So, we’re supposed to post images that somehow prove we’re Actually Doing Our Personal Project. (Actually, we were supposed to do that first back in October and again recently, but I kind of didn’t do that. Woops.) But the thing is, it’s a bit hard to take pictures of a story, particularly an unpublished story that currently resides in my computer while awaiting its final stages of completion. It’s not a painting I can take snapshots of while in every stage. However, I came up with something, and this is what I came up with:

(note: I’ll only make one journal entry for this, since I’m making one so late. I didn’t exactly follow the journal entry order in the way things were supposed to be and added some extras. So I hope this is okay.)

Very, very brief list of places where I can submit it.

Basically, a website with a very detailed list of places to submit.

Another website with a list of places to submit that’s more detailed than mine.

I used some extra paper lying around to organise my story.

My own plot roller-coaster for the story in progress. Each number corresponds to something that happens in the story.

The organiser complete, I can now go finish the story.

A screenshot of how it’s going so far. Not the best thing ever, I know, but I’ll try to make it better.

I don’t have much, but this is a picture rather than a screenshot of what I have so far. I hope to work hard on it today.

The websites I used for my lists of literary magazines and places to publish are this and this.

Journal Entry #8: INTERVIEWS WITH ACTUAL PUBLISHED WRITERS

Basically, I got to interview via email two Actual Published Writers (Jo Knowles and Todd Strasser). Granted, my questions weren’t the best ever; but they still managed to give me valuable advice.

Mr Strasser’s answers (bolded):

1- What was the first work of yours that ever got published? (what was it about, what kind of work was it…) —  A short story called Clap Trap was published in a small literary journal.

2- Do you write in a very tight schedule (“I will write from 10 am to 11 am and I will write 4000 words”) or do you write whenever you get an idea? — Most days I get going in the morning. Take a break in the early afternoon and then see if I can write later as well. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. (The differences in response of my two interviewees for this question and question #6 show me that everybody has a different writing schedule, and I should try finding my own in order to actually get things done, and it doesn’t have to be the same as everybody else’s.)

3- In your opinion, what is the most important thing an aspiring fiction writer should know?  Writing is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. (I do agree. I did–and finished–NaNoWriMo this year, and it was a lot of work. The idea I had was only one part of it; I had to work at developing it.)

4- Why do you write about the subjects you write about? — They interest me.

5- (this one sort of ties in with 4) Why did you decide to write fiction? I wasn’t any good at anything else.

6- Do you edit your work as you write it, or do you write it all first and then edit it? Why? Constantly editing as I write. Just the way I do it, I guess.

7- What is your favourite piece of your own work and why? The one I’m working on. It’s a challenge. (Note: This is my favourite answer out of the ones he gave me. It inspires me to think of whatever’s my newest creation as my BEST creation yet.)

8- What is the main thing that every story should have in order to be captivating? — An engaging main character?

9- Who are your main influences when it comes to writing and why? — Writers who I consider really good.

10- What is a valuable piece of advice or something that happened to you when it comes to working with publishers? — Never forget that you’re just one of many hundreds, if not thousands, of writers. (This one is also very good.)

Ms Knowles’ interview (her responses bolded):

1- What was the first work of yours that ever got published? (what was it about, what kind of work was it…)

I published a short story called “Living Room Music” in my college literary magazine, SIDELINES. It was about my parents.

2- Do you write in a very tight schedule (“I will write from 10 am to 11 am and I will write 4000 words”) or do you write whenever you get an idea?

I write whenever I have time. My life is too crazy to have a schedule but I do try to write every day Monday-Friday. (See note at #2 in the previous interview.)

3- In your opinion, what is the most important thing an aspiring fiction writer should know?

You have your own unique voice and your own road to travel. It’s up to you to make the most of it. (This is a very inspiring response, and very true too.)

4- Why do you write about the subjects you write about?

They are important to me. (So basically, I shouldn’t write about something I don’t want to write about just because people might like it better.)

5- (this one sort of ties in with 4) Why did you decide to write fiction?

My favorite classes in college were always ones that involved writing. The more I wrote, the more I loved it.

6- Do you edit your work as you write it, or do you write it all first and then edit it? Why?

A little bit of both. I really just follow my heart, not rules.

7- What is your favourite piece of your own work and why?

I could never choose.

8- What is the main thing that every story should have in order to be captivating?

Heart. (A very abstract response, but to me it means I must write about subjects that are important to me, so I can write with passion.)

9- Who are your main influences when it comes to writing and why?

I’m currently a huge fan of Marcus Zusak. My son once described his work as making the ugly beautiful and I think that’s the perfect reason why.

10- What is a valuable piece of advice or something that happened to you when it comes to working with publishers?

Listen. (Probably the most valuable piece of advice anyone has given me on this topic.)

Journal Entry #7: Book Source

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribner, 2000.

This book is divided in three sections: one, in which King discusses his childhood memories and first few attempts to get published, while he was still young, and then it goes on to talk about his rising fame as an author, and it is mostly an autobiographical section; the second one, in which he talks specifically about writing and offers practical advice; and the last one, another more autobiographical section.

These quotes are all parts I took from the book and found valuable, although I do not know what pages exactly. They are in chronological order, though.

• “One rule of the road not directly stated elsewhere in this book: “The editor is always right.” ”
  
• “my attempt to show how one writer was formed. Not how one writer was made; I don’t believe writers can be made, either by circumstances or by self-​will (although I did believe those things once). The equipment comes with the original package. Yet it is by no means unusual equipment; I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened.”
• ““Write one of your own, Stevie,” she said. (…) I remember an immense feeling of possibility at the idea, as if I had been ushered into a vast building filled with closed doors and had been given leave to open any I liked. There were more doors than one person could ever open in a life​time, I thought (and still think).”
• “On the other hand, if you’re just starting out as a writer, you could do worse than strip your television’s electric plug-​wire, wrap a spike around it, and then stick it back into the wall.”
• “(…) first really original story idea—you always know the first one, I think (…)”
• (talking about his first rejection letter) “At the bottom was an unsigned jotted message, the only personal response I got from AHMM over eight years of periodic submissions. “Don’t staple manuscripts,” the postscript read. “Loose pages plus paperclip equal correct way to submit copy.” This was pretty cold advice, I thought, but useful in its way. I have never stapled a manuscript since.”
• “By the time I was sixteen I’d begun to get rejection slips with handwritten notes a little more encouraging than the advice to stop using staples and start using paper-clips.”
• “I rewrote it and on a whim resubmitted it to F&SF. This time they bought it. One thing I’ve noticed is that when you’ve had a little success, magazines are a lot less apt to use that phrase, “Not for us.””
• “So we read to experience the mediocre and the outright rotten; such experience helps us to recognize those things when they begin to creep into our own work, and to steer clear of them. We al­so read in or­der to measure our­selves against the good and the great, to get a sense of all that can be done. And we read in or­der to ex­pe­ri­ence dif­fer­ent styles. You may find your­self adopt­ing a style you find par­tic­ular­ly ex­cit­ing, and there’s noth­ing wrong with that.”
• “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that. Reading is the creative center of a writer’s life.”
• “My own schedule is pretty clear-​cut. Mornings belong to whatever is new–the current composition. Afternoons are for naps and letters. Evenings are for reading, family, Red Sox games on TV, and any revisions that just cannot wait. Basically, mornings are my prime writing time.”
• “Once I start work on a project, I don’t stop and I don’t slow down unless I absolutely have to. If I don’t write every day, the characters begin to stale off in my mind—they begin to seem like characters instead of real people.”
• “Writing is at its best—always, always, always—when it is a kind of inspired play for the writer. I can write in cold blood if I have to, but I like it best when it’s fresh and almost too hot to handle.”
• “I like to get ten pages a day, which amounts to 2,000 words. That’s 180,000 words over a three-​month span, a good­ish length for a book—something in which the reader can get happily lost, if the tale is done well and stays fresh.”
• “The biggest aid to regular (Trol­lopian?) production is working in a serene atmosphere. It’s difficult for even the most naturally productive writer to work in an environment where alarms and excursions are the rule rather than the exception.”
• “You don’t need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing.”

 

 

Journal Entry #6: ONLINE PERIODIC SOURCE

Stein, Lorin, with Stein, Sadie. “The State of The Short Story.” Publishers Weekly. (PublishersWeekly.com) Oct. 26, 2012.

The article is from an editor who believed short stories were “dead” when he worked publishing books, and then learned better when he began working for a magazine that included short fiction.

Here are the five most important things I took from this article:

1. “Suddenly it was my job to think about short stories, a lot. And to question my own reading habits — because that’s all we editors really have to go on, what we like to read in our free time. For the first time I found myself wondering why short stories weren’t a bigger part of my life.” What I take from this is: editors will enjoy the stories that appeal to their personal taste. Of course, I have no way of knowing an editor’s personal taste–but when I am sending my story out to editors, I must a) send it to several different editors and b) read through the stories that have been put through in past issues of the magazine, to see if mine could be a good pick.
2. “But popular entertainments are vulnerable to technological change. Along came the radio serial, the movies, and TV. As readership softened, the big magazines saw that it was easier to attract advertisers by publishing fashion tips — in general, by featuring products — than by giving up pages to fiction.” This is one of the reasons the author gives for the decline in readership of short stories–and I agree with it.
3. “On the one hand, stories demand the focus of bedtime. They’re meant to be read straight through from beginning to end. You can’t read a story and multitask.” Here, the author talks about some of the reasons why he personally stopped reading short stories–but this is useful to me because it explains I need to keep the reader’s focus from beginning to end when I write my short story. No unnecessary information must be included.
4. “They demand a wakeful attention; a good one keeps you thinking when it’s over.” This one speaks for itself.
5. “There is a time for multi-tasking and a time for losing yourself. The short story offers something else: a chance to pay close attention — and have that attention rewarded because, for once, every little plot twist, every sentence, counts.” This one also speaks for itself–while he wasn’t intentionally attempting to give possible short story authors good advice, he did.

Journal Entry #5: A Website Source!

“How to Get a Short Story Published | How to Publish a Short Story.” WritersDigest.com. Writer’s Digest, 31 Jan 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.

—

So, I have found what is possibly the best website resource I could have possibly found. These are the most important parts of what I got from it (all bolding mine):

“Getting your short story published in a reputable literary journal or magazine is a great way to get noticed as a fiction writer.” This is good, considering one of my possible future career choices is fiction writing. Having a story out would be beneficial to me in the future.

“There are tons of literary journals out there, from small one-person operations that pay in contributor’s copies to big glossy magazines that will pay cash for your story. It’s important to do your research when setting out to submit your story to them. You want to make sure the magazine or journal has a good reputation—even better if it’s won some awards. And remember, getting paid is great, but sometimes the exposure you receive is the best payment—so don’t limit yourself to only paying markets.” This encourages me to investigate the market. Of course, I am already doing some research on it–that is the point of this journal entry–but when I choose publications to send my story to, I don’t have to limit myself to big ones that most people have heard of. I could try something smaller, and get some recognition for it, which for me–at least at this point in my life, when I’m in high school and live with my parents–is more important than money.

“First and foremost, read the submission guidelines. Sending your bodice ripper romance story to a literary journal for hard core science fiction readers will land your submission in the trash. Bottom line: make sure you’re targeting the right kind of publication.” Of course, I already knew this one–but it is a good reminder and a good rule of thumb to follow.

“By reading the magazine first you can get a feel for the tone of the publication and you can decide whether or not your story is a good fit—or tailor it to be.” This is good advice, indicating me to read the publications I am submitting my story to. Another one that should seem logical, but isn’t always obvious.

“Include a cover letter for your story that briefly describes what the story is about. This is a short pitch of approximately 25 words that explains who the main character (or characters) is and what the conflict of the story is about. Keep it short. This isn’t a synopsis.” This is great–I had no idea it would be helpful to send something like this along with the submission itself.

“Address your cover letter to the editor by name. Do your research and make sure you spell their name correctly.” Another one I did not know I was supposed to do.

“List the word count of your story.” This is also really helpful. One thing I liked about this web resource is that it wasn’t some blurry, dubious post about writing about what you love and some less-than-helpful advice on keeping it short; this is actually a set of clear guidelines that I can follow.

“Avoid using any sort of fancy fonts or typefaces.” I’m guilty of doing this on the stories that I will keep for myself, although I do understand this isn’t acceptable when it comes to actually submitting something for real people to actually read.

“Avoid clichés, such as beginning with your character waking up from a dream.” Now, we’re getting into the actual writing territory. This one’s pretty obvious, but still a valuable reminder.

“Use simple dialogue tags. “He said” and “she said” are best. Don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re boring. Tags like “he orated” draw attention away from the dialogue itself.” I have it drilled into my head that using “he said” and “she said” too much are perverse, horrible mistakes that should NEVER be committed. Therefore, this one’s very useful and, in something as short as a short story, I can see how it would draw attention away from the actual dialogue.

“Be careful with modifiers. When it comes to adjectives a little goes a long way. For adverbs—remember that rule even more so. Your short story should be exactly that—short. Don’t crowd it with unnecessary words.” I do understand that since this is a short story, I should be concise and straight to the point–although I do tend to be a very descriptive sort of person, so this rule is something I need to keep in mind at all times.

Journal Entry #4: Yay, Specifications!

Journal Entry #3: Sources and the Terrible Plight of Not Having Good Ideas for a Plot

Lately, not much has changed when it comes to my project. I’ve been extremely busy the past few weeks, and haven’t been able to find many resources. However, I do have a few ideas that could work:

1. We had Career Day at the high school a few weeks ago, and I went to a session named “Communications and Writing”. The woman giving the lecture had published a few books before—though they were children’s books—but she gave me the names of a few resources relating to publishing short stories that I could try.
2. If I could get in contact with this woman herself or any friend/acquaintance of hers who works at a publishing company or writes short stories, I could try to interview them.
3. I have a friend whose uncle (I think) publishes books (although I believe they are in Spanish).
4. I could ask the librarian, Mr. Brake, if he has any connections that could help me.

When it comes to picking a plot or even a genre for the story, though, I’m completely dry of ideas.

I’ve received mostly positive feedback from my supervisor and Ms. Brik (the Personal project coordinator) so far.

I will create a better timeline in the format I am supposed to create it later, when I’ve actually communicated with these potential sources I listed above. This will probably be done in a week or a week and a half at the most.

Journal Entry #2: Reflections and Timeline (and I also changed my goal)

I had a meeting with my supervisor for the project this past September 11. It has been brought to my attention that I did the first journal entry in a different way than it should have been done. Also, I have changed my goal after guidance from my supervisor. I will not try to write a whole novel; instead, I will try to write a short story.

Considering that the project will have to be in its final stage by December, it will be quite hard to write a novel, revise it a million times, and make it good. Plus, my supervisor raised an interesting point and I agree with him: writing the book isn’t going to take much research and it isn’t going to bring much to my life. Since I’m considering a future career in writing, it is better for me to learn how to do something I’ve never considered doing: publishing a story.

So, instead of writing a whole novel and then saying to myself “now what?”, I’m going to be writing a short story and trying to get it published, learning about the publishing industry and what they want in a story that is going to actually be read by people. I’m very excited for this.

I’m also excited by the fact my coordinator/supervisor seems excited about the project too. Many times, the supervisors don’t care or don’t even look at the student’s progress; they just give their students good grades on their projects and that’s it. Thankfully, that’s not the way my supervisor is acting towards this project.

My goal is now a lot more specific, challenging and a bigger learning opportunity. Now over the next one or two weeks, I need to outline my project and start researching about potential publishers. (Also, I need to define the topic/storyline for the story. That’s sort of urgent and I haven’t done it yet.)

This is the timeline I’ve created so far:

Date it’s meant to be done	What needs to be done
Sometime in the next two weeks, before the end of September	Research short story publishing, research short story writing, have a general idea of the topic/storyline
Middle of October	Define storyline, maybe create a first draft & have a list of possible publishing places. Also, maybe interview an actually published author
End of October	Have a first draft. After that, begin editing process
Middle of November	The editing process must be done by the end of the second week, start sending it to publishers
End of November/First two weeks of December	Reflect on process, wait for acceptance or rejection letters, brainstorm/organize the presentation
Third week of December	If the story is accepted by anyone, reflect on feedback received; if it is rejected, also reflect on the feedback received. What could I have done better and what will I do better next time? What did I do right?

Journal Entry #1: Brainstorming

For the first journal entry in this process, I am to answer a few questions.

Do some brainstorming to determine the clearest topic choice for your Personal
Project.

Answer the following questions with more than one-word answers:

1. What do I like to do in my spare time?

The productive things I like to do in my spare time involve writing, singing and thinking critically.

2. What are some of the things I like to do really well?

I think the one thing I am best at is creative writing.

3. What would I like to learn to do better?

A few aspects in which I am weak at are social interaction and anything athletic.

4. When it comes to writing, what kinds of assignments do I most enjoy? Least enjoy?

I enjoy anything creative very much. Sometimes I also enjoy writing persuasive essays when the prompt is something I care about. I’m not that great with analytical writing if what I’m being told to analyse is not something very important to me or if it doesn’t relate to me too much.

5. When I am online, which sites / games / etc. do I spend most of my time on?

I spend most of my time on social networks, blogging platforms or sites in which I can listen to music.

6. Think about my community. What improvements would I like to make?

I would like to promote a social change in my community so people would be more accepting of each other. (Also, it would be nice if more people were interested in the arts or literature.)

7. If I could involve my community in my project, how would I do so?

I would get them to read my book, and I would want them to tell me what they think of it and what I could improve. I am also planning that, whatever I decide my book will be (a collection of short stories, a collection of poems, or a fictional fantasy/young adult novel), it will also somehow engage people to think about certain topics.

8. Which area of interaction most clearly matches my goals for this personal project?
Choose one: Approaches to Learning (1), Community and Service (2),
Human Ingenuity (3), Environments (4), and / or Health and Social
Education (5).

I believe it best fits Human Ingenuity, the third area.

9. Consider and then answer the following questions as I determine my area(s) of
interaction: What do I want to achieve through my personal project? What do I
want others to understand through my work? What impact do I want my
project to have? How can a specific area of interaction enrich my project?

I want to entertain people at the same time that I might make them think. I also want to write a good book for the sake of writing a good book, and I want to improve my creative writing skills.
I am still not sure on what my book’s themes will be, so later I will find out what I want to make the reader think about and understand.
I want my project to have a positive impact on the people who read it, obviously.
It may enrich my project because I will be focused on only one specific area. Things are easier to be done when there is a specific focus on something. 🙂