Recent content by oenanthe

if you're aiming at tradpub and you're writing high fantasy, you can go to 110k pretty safely. my first novel was about 86k when it was typeset.

god I am so tired of zombies. I'm worried about the ecosystem of books, honestly. I am hoping that indie bookstores will come out stronger than ever as people turn away from the zon. but I think it might create an even bigger market for ebooks because of the desire for instant gratification is...

are your characters interacting with the setting, or are they just standing there doing nothing? I wrote a blog post years ago about how to figure out setting description details using a panic calming technique, but if your characters aren't interacting with the setting, it's not going to do...

i wake up, wash, make coffee, and write in my journal first thing. usually I figure out what I'm going to write that day as a result, so I go write it, and it usually takes about two hours. then I'm done for the day.

Because it's fun. Even when it sucks, it's fun.

losing it at 20k is perfectly normal, and I'm glad you've pushed on. you have at least two more rough patches ahead of you as you continue to draft. When they hit you, I hope you come back to talk about it.

I am a "revise as you go" writer and I always have been, but there's a time and a place. generally I go back and review the story every 50 pages and If I notice something like, "there's not enough tension" or that the story has veered off the path, then I fix it before I continue. However...

starting, sure. but when's it going to move on?

I'm scratching my head over the fact that the question was, "is fantasy inherently safe and reactionary?" and the response of the forum was to talk about a story that's old enough to collect a pension. don't any of you read anything recent?

That person isn't really up on fantasy if they think that. If you're reading up to date fantasy by newer novelists, it's up to the eyes in timely social commentary.

I don't know where you're getting your information from. I published a book in June 2018 that is still on store bookshelves today, and still gets marketing and promotion from the publisher.

wow, this is absolutely not true in my experience. two rounds of dev edits, one round of line edits, copy editing and proofreaded were all provided by me publishers.

I can't define it. I have tried, but the definition changes because whatever I pointed at and said, "that's success," it turns out I was pointing at something that was only slightly out of reach. maybe that's the idea. you want something, and then it happens, so you adjust your view and want...

yeah, the agent process can take a while. i got lucky and completed that phase fairly quickly. another place where you might have to wait is when you're on submission, when your agent is sending your stuff out to editors. that can take a while too.

I see it very differently. Which is to be expected. the editing and production process is just a natural part of making the novel to me. I don't write perfect first drafts, and once I've worked on a manuscript long enough i can't see it any more. this is where I need help. the production...