C.M. Subasic's Blog: What are you thinking?, page 3
June 21, 2014
This is going to hurt a bit
The
How Novel
tour of The Forty Watt Flowers is not just a series of blog posts. It is serial fiction. That is, fiction written and published one chapter at a time.
Traditional books are plotted as a whole, with multiple drafts and input from editors, readers, agents and others. When a reader opens the book, the story is polished from front to back. It is a static world you enter into.
With serial fiction, each chapter is written as an independent unit. It makes for a more flexible story, but it also has a raw quality, an immediacy. It is an ever-moving world.
With that flexibility comes greater challenge. I've decided to spread the story out across venues (Medium, Facebook, Twitter, website) to provide a multi-faceted view inside the world of these characters. Updates will come weekly.
Written down like that, it's terrifying. Have I created an opera?
Wish me luck.
Traditional books are plotted as a whole, with multiple drafts and input from editors, readers, agents and others. When a reader opens the book, the story is polished from front to back. It is a static world you enter into.
With serial fiction, each chapter is written as an independent unit. It makes for a more flexible story, but it also has a raw quality, an immediacy. It is an ever-moving world.
With that flexibility comes greater challenge. I've decided to spread the story out across venues (Medium, Facebook, Twitter, website) to provide a multi-faceted view inside the world of these characters. Updates will come weekly.
Written down like that, it's terrifying. Have I created an opera?
Wish me luck.
June 19, 2014
Huh? How Novel? A Tour?
The Forty Watt FlowersIn the novel, the band plays a number of venues in Athens. By the end they are just becoming good enough to tour.
In addition to promoting my book, I thought the tour would be a fun way to explore the narrative form and promote the book town by town, rather than everywhere all at once.
The world of book publishing is going through a metamorphosis. Some say the novel is dying as an art form. Not, however, the long-form narrative.
I'm interested in experimentation, making the readers' experience multi-modal. An experience that fosters connections. I also like the idea of returning to the serial format of Dickens' time. The hope is, of course, that momentum will build as the tour moves on. We'll see.
Why closed venues?
A music venue is a special place with so much passion coursing through the walls, each one takes on a life of its own. Worn and sticky carpeting is required as are restrooms so filthy they become characters in their own right. These are places one does not want to see by daylight and we love them for it.
Such wistful and passionate tones are used when saying their names: Club Kaya in Atlanta. Antones in Austin. Bookies in Detroit. "Oh, when I saw The Cramps at Larry's Hideaway!"
On top of this, I realized that if the tour does gain momentum, folks who think the band is real might start showing up at 'real venues.' It's not polite to step on another band's toes by putting a fictional gig in a real place.
The tour may be a feeble effort. That’s okay, I'll keep it up as long as I'm smiling.
You can help keep it going by liking the band on Facebook or tweeting #40wf_believe.
In addition to promoting my book, I thought the tour would be a fun way to explore the narrative form and promote the book town by town, rather than everywhere all at once.
The world of book publishing is going through a metamorphosis. Some say the novel is dying as an art form. Not, however, the long-form narrative.
I'm interested in experimentation, making the readers' experience multi-modal. An experience that fosters connections. I also like the idea of returning to the serial format of Dickens' time. The hope is, of course, that momentum will build as the tour moves on. We'll see.
Why closed venues?
A music venue is a special place with so much passion coursing through the walls, each one takes on a life of its own. Worn and sticky carpeting is required as are restrooms so filthy they become characters in their own right. These are places one does not want to see by daylight and we love them for it.
Such wistful and passionate tones are used when saying their names: Club Kaya in Atlanta. Antones in Austin. Bookies in Detroit. "Oh, when I saw The Cramps at Larry's Hideaway!"
On top of this, I realized that if the tour does gain momentum, folks who think the band is real might start showing up at 'real venues.' It's not polite to step on another band's toes by putting a fictional gig in a real place.
The tour may be a feeble effort. That’s okay, I'll keep it up as long as I'm smiling.
You can help keep it going by liking the band on Facebook or tweeting #40wf_believe.
What are you thinking?
Stray thoughts on art, promotion, self-publishing, writing, philosophy.
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