few questions
Hello everyone,
My writing continues to move forward as does the contest. I have been spending a lot of my time writing "rambles" or short excerpts and notes on the things in my life as they move me enough to do so. Some have been about love, others confusion, and some about being petty. I plan to incorporate them into a character in my next novel which I have been spending a lot of time brain storming about. My work has slowed on my contest entry as I find it so very painful to edit; I find it less inspiring and joyful; I find it to actually be WORK I guess is my problem.
I have just a couple of questions about the contest if anyone knows the answers. 1. If, by the stroke of good fortune, you happen to win the contest, are you obligated to publish with this group or does the material still remain yours to do with as you wish? 2. If you pay someone to edit your manuscript, are you then disqualified from the contest? I am hoping to have someone edit my manuscript, and I am wondering if I can enter the edited version, or if I must submit the version that has only been seen by my eyes?
Thanks everybody, happy writing, hopefully the spring air will inspire us all and the looming of a deadline will push us through the occasional moments of teetered ambitions.
cpicketts
Comments
My Half Penny's Worth
Hi Curtis,
As to your questions, I think they are best answered by administration.
I would revise the TITLE of this blog, to “A Few Questions for Admin.”
(This can be done with the EDIT function on the blog, then PREVIEW and SAVE.)
That should get Susan’s attention right away. I don’t know how much time she is able to spend on the website.
I find the first draft of anything I write exhilarating. That is the part that got me into writing.
However, the succinct words of Ernest Hemingway came to me.
“The first draft of anything is shit.”
I started to revise, to LEARN to revise and edit. A process I am still working hard at.
Curtis, you are correct, it IS work. It can be satisfying work, once you’ve learned the essentials, (I’m still working on that bit,) but it is WORK.
I believe with all my being, it makes the difference between a writer and a wannabe.
It would be good if you could find a writer’s group near you, and here are a couple of websites that may be of help.
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-art-of-revision-a111348
http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/how-to-revise-your-novel-without-getting-stale-–-take-a-tip-from-michael-caine/
Ms Greysen is a professional, perhaps she might chime in here, or one of the others with more experience.
jaw
the work of self-editing ...
(thanks JAW for the invite to chime in on this issue ...)
My thoughts on this is don't call it editing and especially don't call it work! If it feels like work, walk away, go do something fun, and come back to it when you can embrace your words again and carry on.
It is not editing (that is what professional editors are for - we do our thing and what they do is a polished professional art all in itself) - what we do is write, then we do some writing, more writing, rewriting, and then even more writing. My point is it is all a process and the writers-high when words spill onto a page as if from the air as a gift is energizing, but as you then take those quickly spilled words on the page and work with them, nurture them, develop them into story and dialogue and description and character - well that is where the real magic and the real energy is.
Don't stop at the pouring on the page - take it further - do the 'work' as you call it - and you will find a place far more exciting than the first steps to great story. Getting it on the page is only a baby step ... run with it!
More insights on a writing lifestyle on my blog in the old entries at:
http://apps.greysenink.com/Blog/
Answers
There is no guarantee that any work will be published as a result of winning, or even just entering the contest, and writers do maintain the rights to their manuscripts.
Since the idea of the contest is to hone your craft and submit your very best work, it wouldn't really be right to pay for a professional edit before sending it in, would it?
Susan