shrzjnju

Hello followers! Thanks for your comments and follows. I’m writing a novel and, as part of my research, I started a YouTube channel. I look at the opening chapters of successful novels from recent years to find out how they work, and what lessons writers can learn about hooking readers. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/howthenovelstarts

NoverMaC

@shrzjnju Sorry for reading this so late, but i;ll check it out right now!
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unfinished_sentenc_

Hi! Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'm new here and I dream of being a great writer. Could you check out one of my works?I liked some of your works, I hope it helps me too, let's help each other grow here! ;)
          I follow back too!
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/319833309?utm_source=android&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_writing&wp_page=create&wp_uname=LookanWritter&wp_originator=snPAEWECyZVinp0QakPxKrJrd9ssxh7xb4%2F0oVdynbp4VOTzKhmRXQ7zdx5uwuE1hjte53SpuwslPrknCiJUWTTo0qZPxXjkMPLjU1LAbhmeKXlbwwXz%2BGf8id0RI9O0

AWorldonaPage

So I just finished reading close your eyes and really enjoyed it! I really like this kind of intensely personal, character driven sci-fi so I’m glad Wattpad recommended it to me. I feel like it’s quite similar to my own current work, although yours is definitely on the harder side of sci-fi.
          
          Out of curiosity, what’s the total word count? I can’t figure out where to find it on Wattpad.

shrzjnju

@AWorldonaPage Congrats on the publication, that's terrific! I'm working on another short story that I'm hoping will eventually make it to publication, about 7000 words but I need to change a few things so it may be shorter. I typically share a draft with my writing group, get feedback, let things sit for a while, then come back to it, revise, etc., over several years. I struggle with the short story form because my short story ideas are still too complex to fit into 5k words or so. So I have to work at simplifying ideas if I want to pursue that particular goal. More important, though, is the novel I'm working on, which is a longer term project. I'm just very slow overall, but it's because I'm now taking more time working through ideas as opposed to just writing stuff that's beautiful on the surface but structurally problematic (as with this Mars story). That invariably involves working on stuff, realizing it's not working, then tossing it out, starting over, restructuring, etc. I've written in many different ways in the past, but I think this way is working better for me and producing more coherent work. It's just super slow. :)
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AWorldonaPage

@shrzjnju yeah fair point. Im definitely an outliner rather than a pantser. I just got a 2k story accepted for publication myself, so, now on to the next I guess.
            
            Do you have much in the pipeline for Wattpad or elsewhere?
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shrzjnju

@AWorldonaPage It depends on your goal for the story. If you're aiming for publication in a scifi magazine/website, the options tend to be more limited the longer your story is. My earliest version of this story was about 3k words, but it didn't feel complete, so I kept working on it. I'd finish a (longer) draft, think, "This is it," send it out, get good feedback or a close call, but ultimately no sales. This repeated multiple times, and the story grew in word count but also in sense of completeness. After a final close call, I decided I had to let go of the story and work on new stuff. With this story, I had to figure out the arc along the way, but now I really try to figure things out more clearly beforehand, so I have a better idea of word count and then suitability for publications. There was a great video on scifi author Brandon Sanderson's YouTube channel featuring a lecture by Mary Robinette Kowal on short story structure, and a sort of "formula" for estimating the length of a story based on the complexity of the idea—not set in stone but it's a useful tool. It also depends on style. I write in a more literary style, so it's slower, but others can write in a more fast-paced style and tell the story much faster, or more story in less words. If you're writing in scifi, look up the Hugo Awards or Nebula Awards, see who is nominated for best short story every year, and read what you can online. They tend to have a variety of lengths and styles.
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shrzjnju

Hello followers! Thanks for your comments and follows. I’m writing a novel and, as part of my research, I started a YouTube channel. I look at the opening chapters of successful novels from recent years to find out how they work, and what lessons writers can learn about hooking readers. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/howthenovelstarts

NoverMaC

@shrzjnju Sorry for reading this so late, but i;ll check it out right now!
Reply