Need Help (and a Hug!)

I'm certainly no expert on publishing, but my opinion on self publishing is that your need for acceptance for your art will be somewhat unrequited. Odds are your submission to some publisher will be rejected (not a comment on your talent...just the odds.) My advice is to keep writing. Don't put all your hopes into one effort. The story I consider my best has never been accepted for publishing...one I thought was rather simple and thrown together got accepted on it's first try (though the publisher went out of business before it was published.) You never know what's going to appeal to an audience.

I've got some stories that are completely unpublishable, they were written for me as a kind of cathartic experience. (Hug)
 
Bramandin said:
Are there any writing contests for 1,000 word stories? Mostly I don't like contests because of deadlines and sometimes I can't get my ADHD under control long enough to do what is asked.

I have been a bit impatient with uploading stuff before it's really ready. :p
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I am subscribed to a Spanish gazette that I don't even look at precisely because of the abundance of contests that are held all the time by different publishers. But there is everything, short fiction, twitter-like ultra-short fiction, short and long novels, tales, etc. So I imagine that in the English fandom there must be even more, it is thing to find out.

Now, as far as impatience, you have to work on that. Especially if you are going to dedicate yourself to writing seriously, you must make a commitment. A writer is not just someone who writes stories on paper or on the computer. He is a communicator, a transmitter of ideas, he has a clear position on many things. He is someone to whom people ask questions and give their opinions with base, he tries to be informed of everything. A writer first and foremost is the very embodiment of the word "determination." He is usually categorical, sometimes even caustic. That's why he's so persuasive. His words have weight on their own, he doesn't say things randomly. A writer is, come on, a thinker. It is taken for granted that he is an expert or reads a lot of Philosophy.
But the communicational aspect is good to know how to handle it. Above all, it is recommended to study some Theory of Communication. There you will find something that specialists call Semantics. At least those who practice poetry have an instinctive knowledge about the meaning of words.

Then, if you go further into the forest, you will come to Semiology. There you will start working directly with symbols.

Then, the metaphors you invent will not be an accident or just a nice choice of words, you will have turned them into accurate arrows directed to a clear goal. Without realizing it, your texts may be read at various levels.

But all that naturally begins with making a commitment. At least I've noticed that you have spark, and you're entertaining, but you tend to be scattered, so you need to discipline that talent. I think you'll be fine but that's up to you. :ninja:
 
>impatient with uploading stuff before it's really ready
I have to take my fingers away from the keyboard when I see people post stories that are clearly little more than a first draft. It's like a musician strumming a few chords and mumbling some lyrics then asking if we all think it's a good song. It's not. It isn't finished. I understand that people feel timid and want reassurance. If so, just ask for that! And keep working on the story until it's your best effort. *phew* I'm glad I blurted that.
 
>I cant seem to find a really good idea that i yen to write
If you don't have a story, then you don't. That can happen.

But you can try coming at the matter from different angles. Namely, these: plot, character, setting, theme.

Think about various plot lines. There are a ton of resources to give you ideas.
-or-
Create some characters. See if any catch your fancy.
-or-
Do some worldbuilding. Any part of that world seem intriguing? Have potential?
-or-
Consider themes. Revenge. Friendship. In the battle between Good and Evil, how is a person supposed to tell the difference? Usw.

Don't just invest a few minutes in this exploration. Invest days. Weeks, even. Write down *everything* because you're gonna forget stuff. And write down not only ideas but how you feel about those ideas, in that moment.

After you've put in fifty hours or so, stand back and note this: you've been writing! Not writing stories, to be sure, but writing. Maybe you can move on.
 
A response might be nice after a page and a half of people trying to help and advise :rolleyes:
 
Fiberglass Cyborg said:
Might be watching the wrong thread? (See second post!)
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Very unlikely -- not only does someone receive an alert when a post is moved, I specifically sent a note confirming what I'd done and why, and I think any "Watch" notification is also transferred with a post.

SolaceAlpha hasn't logged back on since 10 June, and since the Lounge, where the original was, isn't available to non-members/those not logged in, s/he wouldn't have been able to see that old thread anyway, though this one is available for everyone coming to the site.

Astro Pen said:
Could you point me at that "need a hug" thread please. (y) Search function won't search words under 5 letters.
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The post isn't there any more, of course, and SolaceAlpha hasn't returned to it since the 10 June so there are only a few posts from 2017, but for what it's worth it's here https://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/568006/ (And that took me a while to find, even knowing it was there, so goodness knows how SolaceAlpha managed to find it in the first place!)


By the way, it's not unknown for newcomers to post a few things, even asking for help, and then never return -- it might be the very act of setting out the problem, getting it off their chest, has done what was necessary, or perhaps they're too embarrassed to return after disclosing something relatively private, or overwhelmed with the thought of returning, or perhaps they've simply forgotten what they've posted and/or where if they've been browsing for sites a lot.

But as I've mentioned above, anyone can see this thread, so it's possible SolaceAlpha has seen the virtual hugs and kind thoughts without logging on, so we might have been of help to him/her, and the advice might well be useful for others in the same situation, so if anyone wants to give more help, it certainly won't be wasted.
 
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