The Short and Short of it...
Hello, now as most reading this know, I write short stories almost exclusively.
This has caused me some problems with reviewers and readers in the past, but though I have issued three full novels, it doesn't seem to help the matter.
My name is Viola Grace and I write short stories.
To find out why, you have to go back to my roots. WAYYYYY back... When I was a kid, books were my refuge. I could dive in and be in another world.
When we moved from a rural area to the city of Winnipeg, the school I attended had a library...a library... I was in heaven.
At seven, I was a slightly more advanced reader than my peers and dove into the Andrew Lang fairy books. Red, green, crimson, olive...all the books with stories that wrapped you in another world and let you go when everything was sorted.
After fairy tales, it was greek myths, and after mythology, the natural progression in my teens...was comic books.
I had a job at 13. I had to buy my own clothing with that job, but the rest was mine to spend...I picked comic books.
The endless serial of stories that continued again the next month set the pattern for the way my brain thought of stories.
There were books, I loved all the soft sci-fi i could get my hands on...but Comics were my passion. The first thing in my life that was mine alone.
Some of the comics I collected were, Amethyst (my only DC comic), New Mutants, X-Men, X-Factor, X-men Classic, Wolverine, West Coast Avengers, and of course, the Canadian super team of Alpha Flight.
A reviewer once referred to my books as morality tales and with the history of my evolution in reading now shown to you, the good must struggle a little, the evil must be punished and good has to win the day.
The full length novels I wrote were cute and fun, but oddly, my audience enjoys them but they don't draw new readers.
Financially, they tanked.
As much as I love my Nexus books, when they come out it is for fans because they are just not viable as a series.
That said, I had a book I was writing for submission to an editor, but I have decided to write it and give it to Extasy books. Look for Confining Fire in September 2012. The first of 3. one every 6-12 months.
Oh yeah, did I mention? Writing a novel takes me 6 times longer than the equivalent word count of short stories. I can write over a dozen short stories in the time it takes to craft one novel.
Is it about the money? Yup. This is my day job.
It might make me sound mercenary, but everyone likes to get paid for a full day's work. Authors are no different.
When you start you write for yourself, when you evolve, you write for your fans and to find your true voice. When you do it for a living, it becomes a whole different animal.
There. I have spilled my early tales and my motivations...I hope this answered questions that folks haven't asked because it wasn't polite.
Next post, I will discuss why some authors use pseudonyms and why it seemed like a good idea at the time. (not me, Viola Grace is on my driver's license)
This has caused me some problems with reviewers and readers in the past, but though I have issued three full novels, it doesn't seem to help the matter.
My name is Viola Grace and I write short stories.
To find out why, you have to go back to my roots. WAYYYYY back... When I was a kid, books were my refuge. I could dive in and be in another world.
When we moved from a rural area to the city of Winnipeg, the school I attended had a library...a library... I was in heaven.
At seven, I was a slightly more advanced reader than my peers and dove into the Andrew Lang fairy books. Red, green, crimson, olive...all the books with stories that wrapped you in another world and let you go when everything was sorted.
After fairy tales, it was greek myths, and after mythology, the natural progression in my teens...was comic books.
I had a job at 13. I had to buy my own clothing with that job, but the rest was mine to spend...I picked comic books.
The endless serial of stories that continued again the next month set the pattern for the way my brain thought of stories.
There were books, I loved all the soft sci-fi i could get my hands on...but Comics were my passion. The first thing in my life that was mine alone.
Some of the comics I collected were, Amethyst (my only DC comic), New Mutants, X-Men, X-Factor, X-men Classic, Wolverine, West Coast Avengers, and of course, the Canadian super team of Alpha Flight.
A reviewer once referred to my books as morality tales and with the history of my evolution in reading now shown to you, the good must struggle a little, the evil must be punished and good has to win the day.
The full length novels I wrote were cute and fun, but oddly, my audience enjoys them but they don't draw new readers.
Financially, they tanked.
As much as I love my Nexus books, when they come out it is for fans because they are just not viable as a series.
That said, I had a book I was writing for submission to an editor, but I have decided to write it and give it to Extasy books. Look for Confining Fire in September 2012. The first of 3. one every 6-12 months.
Oh yeah, did I mention? Writing a novel takes me 6 times longer than the equivalent word count of short stories. I can write over a dozen short stories in the time it takes to craft one novel.
Is it about the money? Yup. This is my day job.
It might make me sound mercenary, but everyone likes to get paid for a full day's work. Authors are no different.
When you start you write for yourself, when you evolve, you write for your fans and to find your true voice. When you do it for a living, it becomes a whole different animal.
There. I have spilled my early tales and my motivations...I hope this answered questions that folks haven't asked because it wasn't polite.
Next post, I will discuss why some authors use pseudonyms and why it seemed like a good idea at the time. (not me, Viola Grace is on my driver's license)
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by
Lara
(new)
Dec 03, 2011 05:00PM
Thank you for sharing your development and motivations, and for being honest. I think it is wise of you to recognize that while you enjoy your work as a writer, it is still your paycheck. I have enjoyed the Nexus books as well as your shorter stories and wonder if people shop for them differently. I got started with your short stories and moved on to the Nexus books when I was in the middle of working my through your bibliography.
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Pia wrote: "Hi, I think you're right about how time-consuming novelwriting is. I can first-draft a short novel in one month, but then it's in revision for a lot longer than that. Most times I need at least a f..."Thank you.
I can rough out a novel, but as you have said, it is buffing it into readability that is the issue.
The reason I have attempted novels is my readers.
They demanded, begged for and offered to bribe me for longer books. so, I tried to accommodate them. I love that they enjoy my works and don't want to disappoint them.
Frankly, I have some of the nicest readers one could imagine. A few letters I have received have literally moved me to tears.
The worst reviews I have gotten for my works all harp on the length of them. I took that as a personal failure and tried to correct it. While my novels got high 4's and 5's out of 5, they didn't satisfy the readers, only the reviewers.
The readers wanted cute short stories that kept the novel going in their minds. So, more cute perky stories with characters I love to write.
As a full time job, writing is amazing. I love my work and love my readers. My writing hours are usually 7pm to 2am, so anyone who thinks it isn't a full time job can kiss my keyboard. ;) (I have been trying to work that into a sentence for years)
Pia, I wish you all the best and success in whatever project comes up next for you.
Hi Viola,Maybe the compromise to the long vs. short delema could be solved like the commic/manga authors; who bundle several episodes, or in your case ahort stories together as a special edition or collectors' edition. I enjoyed the Champoins anthology very much and have used it to hook more fans "onto your line". These make nice gifts for those who don't have a lot of time to wade through an entire novel like breaktime, bussride, and even waiting room readers that want to take a quick mental vacation. Just picked up the first two of your new series and am looking forward to eXtasy books carring your spin of the Sleeping Beauty tale (3mos from now). I hope you pay your muse well too, because he/she/they also work very hard ;) Thanks for feeding us with your joy and enthusiasm in a world too full of doom and gloom.
SAB
SAB makes a good point. I heard that Mercedes Lackey started by writing short stories and then grouped her short stories into a book to make a novel. Several of her novels are written this way.
lol. this could be why I subconsciously write in groups of five. It is just enough to make it to a novel word count. My publisher dislikes wadding books into anthologies, but she will do it if enough folks request it. hint hint hint hint. ;)
Viola wrote: "lol. this could be why I subconsciously write in groups of five. It is just enough to make it to a novel word count. My publisher dislikes wadding books into anthologies, but she will do it if enou..."Viola, I think the key is to have something that ties all the stories together, such as the same characters in each or a central theme that creates interaction between the characters in each story. Mercedes Lackey seems to follow the first route, with stories about the same people making a book. I just read The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (my first time reading her books). It was written as the stories of four women who meet because they are all part of a class at a yarn shop.
There are very few scenes with the four of them together, and just a few more when 2 or 3 of them are together. Nearly the entire book takes place outside the store, with references to the knitting class. In this case I had wanted more about the growth of the friendships between the women. BTW, the book has something like 50 short chapters because it is constantly switching between the different stories.
However, you already have stories with action that occurs at about the same time and have related characters. It probably would take much for you to figure out a way to build upon some unifying theme. Lackey also turned previously published short stories into chapters in her books. You could try that with your Champions series or another theme.
Whew! That was much more than I planned to write. Since I'm not a writer myself, take my thoughts with a grain of salt. These are simply things I have observed in my time as a reader.
+1 for bundling, especially for some of your earlier works.
With soo many books and series, you have given me a challenge as a Reader to finish each and every one, in order. Wish me luck ;)
Quality over quantity. Not to say your long books will/are of lesser quality. Too often some other authors stick in words just to fill in the count. You never do. I appreciate that! Would I love more of the story for your characters? Of course! But they tend to come back like old friends in other books and we have a nice little reunion.
