HELP! I need advice

[Erica]

OK so I'm a writer in training, the very early stages actually, and I need some serious help. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to write, its my true passion, but the problem is I start a story but I can never finish it. I know its because I loose intrist but I don't know if its the story or my characters. My idols are Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling (I know two totally different writers) so you would think that I would be interested in writing fantasy, I know thats what I thought, but turns out I'm not, so theres another problem, I don't know what type of writer I am. For all you much better writers could you please give me advise on how I actually finish a book.

[Mary]

Erica - How long a story are you trying to write? If you're shooting for a novel for your first go, that's very ambitious. I started two novels and abandoned them before successfully finishing a third. This third one started as two linked short stories and eventually became 10. I felt it was easier to write short stories than to jump into a novel.

I think it is good for writers to dabble in many types of writing. If you want to write novels, it's worthwhile to try writing poetry and essays and flash fiction just to see what results. All of the forms are good practice for writing techniques that can be translated into your favorite form. For example, poetry has given me a sense of how to write compact, but dense imagery, which makes its way into my other work.

As for keeping yourself involved in a story until the end, start with a small story and see that through until completion. Once you see that you can complete something, that will give you the gumption to write something longer.

If you want to get to work on a long story, make sure the topic and characters are interesting enough for you to want to know what's going to happen next. There should be an element of surprise for you during writing. Your characters should keep you guessing. Pick a topic that you can't stop thinking about. Complicate your story. Make your characters do something you don't think they'd do. Put them in situations that are difficult to get out of and see how they react. The unpredictable will get you through the tough parts of your story.

Good luck!

[Carmen]

Erica,

I just added a comment on Dylan’s thread “What do you think of this idea?” that I think would applies to your question.

My advice? Read and reread your favorite books with a critical eye, looking for what works for you and what doesn't and why you like them.

Read also books on writing. I recommend Writing Books for Young People by James Cross Giblin and Writing for Children & Teenagers by Lee Wyndham.

Writing for Children & Teenagers, includes a 12 Point Recipe for Plotting that every writer should check.

As for the genre. That is just an artificial distinction bookstore owners and librarians use to shelve books. But books defy classification. For instance my book is a fantasy because it involves parallel worlds, but it is also a realistic story as there is no magic. It is both an adventure and a romance. It is part history, and part fiction, and takes place both in Medieval Spain and modern day California. I guess the only thing it is not is boring. And that is a good thing.

[Erica]

This is for Mary's:
I guess I do try to write novels, but I cant help it. I always come up with ideas that could only create a story into something that is a novel. I'll try your advice though on writing short stories. I already write poetry as a way to express myself.
This is for Carmen: Your advice sounds helpful. Plus its something I could enjoy (I now have an excuse to reread books!). I'll try it out also.

Thanks for the help.

[Rowena]

Erica,

I commented on Dylan's thread, too. His question was how to start a book. Yours is how to end it.

IMHO, you should read Ronald Tobias's book, "Twenty Master Plots". I've written 3 paperbacks for a New York publisher, and one short short for an e-publisher, and I still turn back to my same favorite three How To books (one being Tobias's).

What you are writing about is a common issue for "pantsers" (authors who write without a fully developed outline) so you are in very good company. There is also an industry term for your problem, "the sagging middle".

Now you know what it is called, you can Google it, and find out what better authors than I have had to say about it. Jacqueline Lichtenberg (of simegen, but she also blogs on the craft of writing on http://www.aliendjinnromances.blogspo... ) comes to mind.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
Rowena Cherry

[Beth]

You say you don't finish your stories because you lose interest. I think almost every fiction writer suffers from that on a long project like a novel. You just have to push yourself through that wall using techniques to keep your butt in the chair and force yourself to write. You can set daily and/or weekly page goals and join a goal-setting group or find a goal-setting partner that you report your progress to. You can join a critique group that requires its members to bring pages for critique every meeting. You can put yourself in the chair in front of the computer and set an alarm for 15 or 30 minutes and not allow yourself to get up until it rings. There are lots of these kinds of techniques to force yourself to finish a project. I think it's helpful to know that all writers lose interest in some or all of their stories at some point or another, and the successful writers are those who force themselves to finish anyway.

[Richard]

Dear Erica,
No one will like what I have to say but everyone will have to admit the validity of my advice. Unless you have real contacts with the publishing world or are directly related to a celebrity, you're chances of getting your novel published by a reputable press (i.e. New York or LA in USA) are virtually nil. So the only practical thing to do is channel your writing talent into a nonfiction book about a popular subject. I know one lady who wrote a history of beer that garnered her a six figure advance from a big press. You can publish your fiction after establishing yourself as a reliable, accurate and business-wise nonfiction writer. IMO that's the only way to do it if your not in the NY literary loop or related to someone who is. Otherwise prepare yourself for the unpleasant shock of POD publication. I suffered failure for decades until I wrote a history of the Clinch River Valley in SW VA. I still haven't sold a novel to a BIG New York press, but at least when strangers ask me "Are you published?" I can honestly say yes and put a real, offset printed, commercially published book in their hands. This is my belief. I am older than Moses.

[Richard]

I know you won't take this advice. But I do hope you will take the compassion implicit in my words. I love writing, literature, creative nonfiction and I love writers -- God bless 'em.

[A.J.]

Learning to write fiction involves a kind of cycle. First we learn to write sentences and paragraphs. Then we move to the basic building blocks of stories: characters, etc. Then we have to get from character to story, and finally, if we're serious, we cycle back to worrying about sentences.

Seems you're stuck moving to the story. Beginning writers stall moving from character to story because they haven't mastered the building blocks -- they haven't yet learned to get from idea to character. And the way to master that is by lots of writing.

So, stop trying to write novels. Write shorter. Write character sketches, write flash fiction, write short stories. Let your stories be as long as they want to be. You will begin to see how a story finds its own natural length, from the building blocks within it. And remember, your character sketches, your short stories, these are the building blocks that will get you to your novel.

There are lots of books on writing out there; most of them, unfortunately, are junk. Don't fall into the trap of thinking about characters as checklists. Think about them as people, and write about them as people, and they'll come to life much more than will characters composed of a bunch of traits. So write an extended description of a character, simply to describe that character, and throw in anything you want; put that character into motion in a story, and you'll see the difference.

Finally, whenever I get stuck, I go for a long walk and think just about the story. One hour with a story in your head and no keyboard in sight works wonders.

[M.L.]

Well, when I get stopped in writing a book it's usually because I took a writing turn I shouldn't have. I've written down the wrong road. Some people call this writer's block. I personally don't believe in writer's block so I go back to the beginning and take a good look at the whole, with one question in mind: what has to happen next? Not what do I want to happen, but what logically must happen. Sometimes we veer off because we don't want to write what has to happen and that can occur for a number of reasons individual to each writer.

Perhaps what has to happen is so gut-wrenching that the writer who avoids confrontation in their own life is also avoiding the same type of confrontation in his or her character's lives. Perhaps the logical next step is going to hurt the writer emotionally to write it. There can be some nasty surprises for the novelist who, while writing, is probing his or her most secret inner truths.

I'm working on my sixteenth novel. And if I've learned anything at all, it's that if I'm not laughing out loud or bawling like a baby during the writing, the reader won't care either. Whatever I experience will come through to the page and if I feel nothing...well, you get the point. I'm right now procrastinating to avoid writing the painful next scene of my current work-in-progress because I know it's going to hurt. Yet, I will go write it this morning, I will most likely cry, and then I will move on.

The best thing to do, in my opinion, when a writer is stopped is not say I've lost interest or make some excuse like writer's block, but rather to be proactive and discover the reason you're avoiding the story. It may be as simple as taking the wrong turn or as poignant as probing your inner turmoils and pain. Either way, once you get to know your writing self a bit better, you'll know what to do next time.

[M.L.]

I want to address Richard's comments on getting or not getting a traditional publisher.

If you're under forty (and probably under thirty nowadays), if you're photogenic, if your appearance is reasonably pleasant to look upon, if you have a backstory of your own that makes a good marketing angle, if you write passable (not good, not stellar) stuff, you have a good shot at getting an agent and a book deal.

If you're not all of the above, you need not apply. The truth is that New York is looking for young, beautiful people, whether they can write well or not. Anyone else, forget it. And that's to their ultimate demise, even if they don't know it yet. This is why most of the good books are now being published by the independent presses, small to middle sized, irrespective of the author's age and photogeniality and marketability. You would do well to patronize these smaller presses, and their authors, by buying their books, and if you're looking for a publisher, look somewhere other than New York because the writing skill, the storytelling ability, is not their top priority any longer. Besides, what they pay in royalties for the marketing they expect you to do to support their Manhattan lifestyles is fast becoming not worth an author's time simply to have their logo on the spine of your book.

[Erica]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice.
Now I have a comment for what M.l. said about the New York publishers. OK this is going to sound pretty 10 year oldish and you've all probably thought this too but that is totally unfair on how New York publishers decide what to publish. I mean its unfair when a person who writes an amazing book doesn't get published because there 50 or so years old, when a 20 year old writes an OK book that wont really sell gets published just because there young and nice to look at. TO be honest I normally don't look at the picture of who wrote the book and a ton of people I know don't either so it doesn't really matter who writes the dang book any way!
My moment of venting is over now.
Thank you all again for the wonderful advise I am truly and deeply thankful for it.

[M.L.]

Erica,

I don't think it's childish at all to complain about the unfairness of New York trying to hoodwink us all into believing they know what America wants to read. They don't. And they know they don't. But they just won't own up to it publicly. They think readers care about the picture on the back or the logo on the spine. But they don't. Readers want good stories. Where New York has lost its way is in not keeping the writing and storytelling ability of the authors they sign their first and foremost priority.

The best thing for you or any author to do is to write good books, publish with a smaller or independent press who still cares about writing and storytelling quality, promote the hell out of yourself and your books, and thumb your nose in New York's face when it comes calling to cash in, because that's what the agents and New York publishers are doing now--watching like hawks for any successful author, self or independently published, to surface so they can swoop in and feed off their success. Authors they wouldn't give the time of day to normally.

Success is the best revenge.

[Daniel]

It's easy to complain about "the New York publishers," but they're simply businesses trying to make money, just like every other business out there. Whatever books they think will sell and make them money, they will publish. If the American public stopped buying badly written, brain-destroying books and started buying high-quality literature instead, then the publishers would publish more good books and fewer bad ones.

It's no different than any other business. If people would stop buying the greasy, fried crap McDonald's sells, McDonald's would either start selling better food or go out of business. If people would stop seeing "My Best Friend's Girl" or whatever other insulting trash Hollywood has crapped out this week, the studios would either make better movies or go out of business as well. It's simple economics, supply and demand.

[Rowena]

MI,

Speaking from my personal experience, I think you may exaggerate. I've only written three novels for a New York publisher (Dorchester Publishing, which has the Leisure and LoveSpell imprints).

However, I was past forty when I got a New York contract, and I have friends and colleagues who claim to be 100 on social networking sites. IMHO, of course, I think I write stellar stuff (futuristic romance).

When I was younger, better looking, and had an equally interesting past, but hadn't honed my craft or hit upon what an editor with a space in her line up considered "in", I did not sell.

Being in the right place at the right time with the right story is much more important.

For instance, someone at the Larsen Pomada literary agency is looking for an author who writes sentient plant romances.

Does she want sexually active Ents? Triffids? Sexy Whomping Willows? I don't know. Entwined rhizomes don't do it for me.

Rowena Cherry


[image error]

[M.L.]

Rowena,

Entwined rhizomes don't do it for me either. LOL

However, my comment referred to the likes of Simon and Schuster, Random House, etc and so forth.

While I applaud your acceptance and publication through Dorchester, they are mass market only, they are what I would term a mid to large independent publisher, which is not to say I'm dissing them or you or your contract with them, not at all. I'm speaking to those would-be authors with stars in their eyes who might believe their stuff is the next best thing to sliced bread, if only an agent would look at it. Even if the stuff is fantastic, the big New York publishers and their agents want youth and beauty, a marketable backstory, etc and so forth, before they dump they're marketing dollars into hopefully making someone a literary star. People over forty and especially over fifty don't have what they like to think of as longevity, among other so-called detriments. Doesn't matter if you're prolific, as I am when left to my own devices; doesn't matter if you have life experience or can write like Hemingway or Dickens--the writing, the characters, the storytelling isn't nearly as important to the big bean counters as whether or not the author is photogenic and interviews well on television and radio. And willing to take a tiny slice of royalties while they grab the main portion of the pie.

My point is and remains that the Simon and Schuster's, the Random Houses, the Vikings, they want authors who look good and write passably, and not, as we authors would tend or want to think, the other way around. Being over forty yourself, and I'm over fifty, do you think you can compete in the eyes of a Fifth Avenue marketer with the beautiful eighteen-year-old college co-ed from India who was given a half million dollar advance in a two book deal by Little, Brown only to be outed after publication of her first book as a plagiarist?

There are very few, if any, successful debut authors over thirty, over forty even. If the writing, the storytelling, was the top priority with the big New York literary agencies and publishers, don't you think there'd be at least one a year? But there isn't. And don't kid yourself, New York knows what they're doing, they just don't think we're smart enough to figure it out.

Exaggerating? I don't think so. I've been studying this trend for years.

Again, I applaud your publication with Dorchester. You go, girl!

Mari

[Malcolm]

Gosh, Mari, you paint a grim picture, one similar to what a lot of reviewers said when Marisha Pessl came out with SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS; the sexist claim was that if she weren't so darned attractive she wouldn't be making the big bucks.

Thing is, if we were to ponder this subject for a while, we could come up with a lengthy list of authors being published by the major NY publishers who are, in fact, quite old and/or quite ugly. Not that I'm going to start naming names.

On the other hand, if one does believe that sexy and young are the primary criteria in NYC, there are a lot of options, one being, don't submit to them. An author can carve out a money making list with a smaller publisher. Then, if the world really thinks s/he is writing salable material, the big boys in NYC will call him/her and offer a better deal.

Malcolm

[Erica]

A comment to Malcolm:
Though I agree that it is a bit sexist to say that a women only got published because of her looks, but you have to remember that if that women/man wasn't good looking it may have take in longer for there book to be published, or even looked at for that matter. Also wouldn't someone feel kind of...whats the word I'm looking for...I'm not sure if annoyed would work but it will do for now, don't you think that an author would be a little annoyed about being asked to join a big New York publisher just because there successful, even more if they turned them down before they became successful. Personally I would stick with the publishing company that gave me my big break because their the ones who had faith in me in the beginning and I'm guessing I would feel like I'm betraying them if I moved to the big company's, well in away that would be like betraying them though. Its like Iceland just discovered a new island and the Europe claiming it as its own.

-Erica

[M.L.]

Malcom said:

"Thing is, if we were to ponder this subject for a while, we could come up with a lengthy list of authors being published by the major NY publishers who are, in fact, quite old and/or quite ugly. Not that I'm going to start naming names."

Name a successful debut author in the last year that's over forty years of age. Name a successful, widely marketed debut author over thirty even.

We're talking debut authors here, first timers, not the already established or celebrities.

I asked this of folks on a publisher's list and only one person responded with a name I'd never heard of and even they couldn't name the title of the author's book.

It can seem like a grim picture if you're not what New York's looking for, but for those of us with years of life experience under our belt, it's just a sign to go elsewhere for publication. And to my way of thinking, when New York does come to finally call, give them a one-finger salute for ignoring us mature authors in the first place and stick with the publisher who recognized your talent and was willing to take a chance.

But that's just me, and to each their own.

Mari

[Rowena]

Mari,

Thank you for your kind words. I will concede that there may be some perceived ageism, which might be why some aspiring authors use outdated photographs of themselves.

Malcolm, being a gentleman and of our generation, probably wouldn't dream of discussing a lady's age, let alone "outing" one who might be successfully passing for thirty-something.

Then again, we haven't defined what is meant by "successful" in terms of advances, and this sort of info is often kept confidential.

:-)

[Malcolm]

William Young comes to mind, and since The Shack has been sitting on stop of the bestseller list for some time, presumably he qualifies as a successfuly debut author.

Basically, though, when an author sends a query to an agent or publisher, s/he doesn't include a photo, so I'm wondering how NY knows somebody's too old to be a pretty face on the book tour circuit.

Malcolm

[M.L.]

William Young self-published that book, The Shack, and sold hundreds of thousands of copies before New York decided to swoop in. Check it out. It was quite a topic of conversation, and hope among the lists I frequent.

You know how New York finds out you're older than they like when you don't send a picture and/or tell them your birthdate? They Google you, just like any other publisher or person interested in you would--they want to know if you have a web presence and how big it is, among other things, including what you look like and your age.

What's in your profile? LOL

My daughter was four in that picture of me on the web. Now, she's nine. My mother took the photo and she's the only one who can get a decent shot of me, I think. LOL

Mari

[Daniel]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned David Wroblewski, a 48-year-old first-time novelist whose "Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is No. 1 on the New York Times' hardcover fiction bestseller list right now. (It had already received strong reviews and was selling well, but Oprah Winfrey's nod, to make a major understatement, helped.)

I've never heard Wroblewski interviewed, but from his photo he doesn't look much like a sexy 22-year-old coed. And the excerpt of the book I read a while back demonstrated some genuine writing talent.

But Wroblewski probably doesn't fit the view help by some people here that the only first-time writers that the big, bad New York publishers sign are hot, young women who look good on TV. So feel free to ignore him.

[M.L.]

I'm glad to see someone come up with a name. At least there's one this year.

I don't think of New York publishers as big and bad. I see them as lost, their true desires held hostage by the bean counters of the overseas firms who own most of them now. There's a difference. Their priorities have changed with their ownership because those within their employ who love literature and books are not running the show any longer.

I'm glad for David Wroblewski, truly happy for him and his success. But, in my humble opinion, for authors of age who don't photograph worth a damn--unlike David--authors who have only a BS degree from the school of Hard Knocks (not a masters of fine arts from Warren Wilson), convincing New York you have a talent worthy of their attention is a difficult and time-consuming task, one I'm no longer willing to pursue simply for a logo on the spine of my books.

Personally, in noting the loss of market share year after year by the traditional New York publishers, I don't think any of them will be around in their present form in ten year's time. But then, I could be wrong, very wrong. Wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.

Again, this is only my opinion.


Mari

[Katie Kunsman]

I am reading The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein, his "first book", and he's 96 years old. It is published by Ballantine (Random House), in case you are interested. Anyone who buys a book based on the author's photo gets what they paid for, LOL!

[Anony-miss]

Erica,
I am also aiming for a book. I haven't published anything yet, and I've been working on one novel for 7 years. Some think I'm too young to write (I'm 14) but when I look back at my old drafts, they seem to improve throughout the years. I've always been a tough critic on my writings, and I too am greatly interested in fantasy!
- Celia

[siyao]

I need help...I want to write a story, but I don't know how.

[Dana]

Inkblots... (Siyao) wrote: "I need help...I want to write a story, but I don't know how."


I think the best writers are avid readers so I'd suggest going to the library and borrowing as many books of short stories as you can and reading them. You may find just the inspiration to finish your own work. Good luck! dana

www.danamentink.com

[Chloe]

Erica and inkblots,
theres this cool technique that may help. i read it in a book, and not only is it very helpful for getting started with a piece, but its also very entertaining. Get a sheet of paper or pull up a word document and type anything thats on your mind. Anything, really. heres an example of one i did recently.

'i am getting carpel tunnel. Yay! not. im laughing so hard. deeeeep breaths... my hand is covered in paint. i was working on my media fair project. Hehe...ms pellicci says PRO and then Ject istead of how its supposed to be pronounced. hehe. wee. im bored. god i love the fray.'

it goes on a ways...but the whole point is that eventually your 'creative juices' will get going and spark a whole buncha ideas.

For Erica, take your junk and see if you start thinking about aliens...unicorns...world war 2...whatever your crazy imagination will point you in the right direction. Dont worry about the Genre so much right now. For the first things you write, focus on technique and finding your voice.

good luck!
~penelope

[I.J.]

Inkblots, the one thing you need to avoid worrying about is the idea that there is a way to write a story. Every single writer will approach story writing in a slightly different way. Your mission now is to find the way that works for you. Try the creative technique above. If it works, great, but if it doesn't that's not because you can't write. It's because that particular way just isn't right for you.

Try planning a story, try not planning a story, try... well, keep on trying different ways until you find your way. And good luck.

[Jaimey]

Inkblots... (Siyao) wrote: "I need help...I want to write a story, but I don't know how."

It is difficult and takes some time to pinpoint what works for you. While Penelope's suggested exercise may work for you, it doesn't work for me. I usually think of a main character, maybe two, and write the opening scene. Sometimes I just sit down and write the opening scene with no definite characters in mind. Ideas seem to flow from there. But opening scenes are my favorite part of a book. I have many, many manuscripts at the moment that are nothing but opening scenes. They may materialize into full-blown manuscripts one day, but for now, they are nothing but writing exercises.

Basically, I agree with Ian. Try, try, try different things until you find your groove. And keep trying. Don't ever give up.

I also agree with Dana. Reading tons of books in the genres/subjects you are most interested in will work wonders for the creative process.

Bottom line, HAVE FUN. :o)

[Darlene]

Erica wrote: "OK so I'm a writer in training, the very early stages actually, and I need some serious help. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to write, its my true passion, but the problem is I start a story but I can never fini..."

You have to figure out what keeps you from keeping going. Is it you get stuck and you don't where to take your characters? In that case, I would suggest an outline of your characters backgrounds, jobs, personal interests, family history--these kinds of things can be brought in to move the plot along.

Is it that you go back and read what you have written and get discouraged? If so, don't do that. (I do this and have to coach myself not to.) Remember that you're not going to write a masterpiece right off the bat. That's why they call it a rough draft.

Is it because you edit along the way. I know some writers can do this. I can't. And I know many others who can't. Just write, edit later. Don't get bogged down in making it perfect, yet. Get it written, then go back. As you've discovered there is a psychological barrier you have to cross. Once you get to the point that the story is finished...written in total. You will overcome that. I used to fear not finishing, as well. I have up to 8 WIPs (works in progress) going and I wonder if I'm ever going to finish them. But two of these stories are "done". That means I've written out all the things I wanted to include in those stories and there's just tweaking left.

My main issue is time. Since I can't quite make money off my fiction yet, I'm spending my time on other more money-making things.

Keep going. Convince yourself you can do this. Figure out why you get stuck. Once you figure this out, it will be easier to figure out how to get yourself past this block.

Darlene
www.darscorrections.com

[Chloe]

ooh okay, heres something that i like to do. i found this 'resume' and use it whenever i need a new story. first pick a name (i use baby naming websites). then you can create thier family, friends, ambitions, fears, dreams, age, appearance, style...ect. ect. you get the point. the purpose is to give depth to your characters so the story will be more real (or not real, if you like writing nonsense like i do sometimes) and genuine.

here is the one i use:

Name:
Age:
Address & Phone Number:
Date & Place of Birth:
Height/Weight/Physical Description:
Citizenship/Ethnic Origin:
Parents' Names & Occupations:
Other Family Members:
Spouse or Lover:
Friends' Names & Occupations:
Social Class:
Education:
Occupation/Employer:
Salary:
Community Status:
Job-Related Skills:
Political Beliefs/Affiliations:
Hobbies/Recreations:
Personal Qualities (imagination, taste, etc.):
Ambitions:
Fears/Anxieties/Hang-ups:
Intelligence:
Sense of Humor:
Most Painful Setback/Disappointment:
Most Instructive/Meaningful Experience:
Health/Physical Condition/Distinguishing Marks/Disabilities:
Sexual Orientation/Experience/Values:
Tastes in food, drink, art, music, literature, decor, clothing:
Attitude toward Life:
Attitude toward Death:
Philosophy of Life (in a phrase):
Handwriting:

feel free to add your own. hope it helps!

~penelope

[M.L.]

Inkblots,

Here's my smart ass answer--begin with the beginning: In the beginning...

Ok, the truth is, not the greatest writer in the world can tell you how to write a short story. They can list all the elements of a short story, or expound upon the issue of "voice", as in writer's unique voice; they can impart their own writing process, but since the writing of anything--short story, novelette, novel, poem, article, etc and so forth--is individual to each writer, no one has or ever will come up with a formula that works for all writers all the time. And those who are truly great among us, they don't just find their own niche, they create one. But this is a long process that requires dedication and discipline, and above all, persistence.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Forget what you think you don't know or what you think you need to know and simply begin. It's all uphill from here.

Mari

[Rowena]

Erica,

Six months is long enough to be writing your first ever short story. It may be time to take a look at what you've got.

When my first publisher ambushed me with a requirement that I had to produce a short (within 6 months) that represented the best of my worldbuilding, characterization, humor, flair for suspense etc etc, I had about 6 months to produce around 10,000 words.

What I did was take a short story that I admired very much, and I analysed it. How long was each chapter? What happened in each? What did I learn in each about the heroine? About the hero? At what point in the story was the villain/conflict/dark moment (very important)/sidekick/romance introduced?

My short story was MATING NET. The short story that I analysed was Georgette Heyer's The Duel from Pistols For Two. My story is dark, sexy, futuristic, and had nothing at all in common with a Regency romance.

Good luck.

Rowena Beaumont Cherry

[siyao]

You guys really helped! Thanks!