I've met so many amazing people during my writing journey who have supported me and helped promote me as a writer. I'd like to pay it forward!
In the month of September, I'm holding a writing contest. The rules are simple: 1. Comment on one of my writing prompt blog posts (at mmkastanek.weebly.com/blog) with your micro-fiction or the beginning of a story (max 500 words). Make sure to include your Instagram handle so I can tag you! 2. Follow me on Instagram @mmkastanek 3. Comment "done" on my Instagram picture (the one used in this post). That's it! I'll pick three winners throughout the month of September and post their story on my blog and Instagram! Good luck!
0 Comments
Photo credit: M. M. Kastanek
(If you're new to my style of writing prompts, head over to this blog post for more information. Feel free to use just the picture, just the prompt, just the words, or a combination of any of the three write your paragraph!) Prompt: His frostbitten hands unrolled the map.... Words: cloak, quest, pad, spots, comparison, broken My Paragraph: His frostbitten hands unrolled the map. The pads of his fingers pulled painfully on the parchment as his breath warmed them and the arctic wind froze them again. He glanced between the map and the vast expanse before him, though there wasn't much to compare against a broken tundra of ice scraps. He resisted licking his cracked lips as he gazed at the sky. A thin line of yellow and pink rested on the blue horizon. Soon the god Obsidian would wrap his cloak over the world, pinpricks of starlight illuminating what would be the end of a five-year quest. If he was in the right spot. If. Comment your practice paragraph below! I get it. You gave your firstborn child to someone to read and critique and it came back littered with comments, suggestions, and edits. Now, you're on to the horrid task of editing it. Pause. Stop. Breathe. We will get through this. Step 1: Read all the comments.
Just read them!! That's it! Read. Don't you dare do anything else! Okay, you can grab a glass of wine, but otherwise nothing else! Step 2: Read all of the comments again. Read the comments again and fix the obvious ones (such as spelling. No matter how much you want to fight it, absence is not spelled absense). Fixing the obvious ones first helps you find value in what your beta reader gave you. If you trust this person, chances are they at least slightly know what they're talking about. Step 3: Evaluate. Now, look at those comments and think, is this true for MY story and MY characters? After all, no one understands your story and your characters more than you. As is often the case with inexperienced or non-professional editors (read: friends and family and sometimes even fellow writers), they will make comments about how they think your story should go. Sometimes they're right! But with every comment you need to take a step back, not take it personally, and ask yourself, 'would I make the same critique?' and 'is this a valid critique knowing what I know about where this story and characters are going?' This is one of the hardest things to do, but you need to toughen your skin this way before going out into the publishing world (where, word on the street is, it's much more cruel). Accept that some people just won't like certain things of your book. And that's okay. You cannot please every single person. There is no universal book that everyone adores and thinks is perfect. Imagine your ideal reader and write to that person. If your critiquers don't fit into that guideline, that's okay, but take their comments with a grain of salt. Don't take the comments personally. I know, I know. As writers, it's what we do. We empathize and we feel things deeply. But try to set yourself apart from the comments. They aren't directed at you, they're there to help your manuscript become better. You are in control of your story. Just because someone says to change something doesn't mean you have to! And that's a comforting thought if you take that to heart. Step 4: Seek clarification If there are certain comments that still have you unsettled, ask the reader. Sometimes further explanation is necessary and can help not only alleviate the hurt you might feel, but it can also help you see the readers side. You know so much. They only know what you put on the page. There is often breakdown between what the writer expects the reader to get and what the reader actually gets. Ask tons of questions! But don't guilt your beta reader into seeing things your way. Chances are, they either won't read for you again or their comments will be half-hearted, people-pleasing comments. Thank your beta reader! Step 5: Make appropriate edits. After understanding your readers point of view and assessing the comments to make sure they fit your story, make the changes. I cannot tell you the number of times my beta reader and I have had a fantastic discussion, then I put it away for a few weeks and when I pull it back out, I completely forgot why it was I should make certain changes. Do the edits soon after you talk with your beta reader. I hope this helps! As writers, we've all been there with the hurtful comments or the rude re-writing. Just think, every comment, no matter how personally it cuts will help us grow as writers. We'll need to get used to negative feedback, no matter how good our books are! Let me know in the comments how you deal with negativity in the writing world. Are you a reader looking to grow as a critique partner? Check out this article for How to Critique! Photo credit M. M. Kastanek
(If you're new to my style of writing prompts, head over to this blog post for more information. Feel free to use just the picture, just the prompt, just the words, or a combination of any of the three write your paragraph!) Prompt: The vines had eaten a path through the stone. Words: marvel, chamber, grit, saying, history, describe My Paragraph: The vines had eaten a path through the stone. It wasn't beautiful like the stories described - you know, those futuristic stories where humans marvel at the power of nature. No. It was gritty. Like watching urchins fight over refuse that smells worse than a lord's two-day-old chamber pot. I guess destruction begets destruction. Wasn't that the old saying? I'm not much one for sayings myself. For history neither. But I do remember stories. Especially stories of destruction. Comment your paragraph below for feedback! This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Peter Welmerink, local West Michigan author and good friend of our family. I met Pete at my family's comic book store a few years back during one of our local artist and author events. Since then, I've followed his journey as an author. He's published many books and recently launched a new endeavor - his first authoring of a comic book series, called Big Jack! Somehow interviewing someone I know makes this whole writing/publishing journey seem so much more reachable! So many thanks to Pete, for answering all of my questions and being my second-ever author interview! I hope this helps all of you take a peek into the world of published writers. If you have questions you'd like me to ask future guests, comment below! By the Way: You can check out the Kickstarter for (and go support) his Big Jack series here. You can connect with Pete on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Patreon, and Blog.
IntroductionMK: Tell us about your newest project! PW: The comic book adaption of my BIG JACK character and his post-apoc environs is my current project. He is part of my TRANSPORT “universe” as it’s my locally-based (West Michigan) post-post apoc world. All the “bad stuff” has already happened and Humankind continues trying to move forward… a common theme in my writing btw. I don’t focus on the doom and gloom so much as I focus on the action-adventure and humanity pushing onward… though sometimes the characters get a bit battered, bloodied and bruised along the way. The BIG JACK comic book adaptation came along when friend and comic creator/scripter RYAN CUMMINS asked me what other TRANSPORT-esque stories did I have out there. I told him I was working on a new character and his storyline that takes place several decades AFTER my initial TRANSPORT storyline. Big Jack Galloway, husband, father, salvager and bounty hunter, just trying to survive, runs afoul of thuggish murderous ne’er-do-wells, and poop hits the fan from there. Ryan got excited and said HOW ABOUT WE DO A SHORT COMIC BOOK SERIES WITH THIS CHARACTER? As I am a very visual writer and would love to see my material in THAT medium, I said LET’S DOOO EET! In Jack we trust. It’s Jack or bust. LOL
About Welmerink's Publishing JourneyMK: Why did you choose the route you went with publishing? What are the pros and cons? PW: I started out by submitting my work to anthology book publishers and online e-zines to get my foot in the door, and get to know and network with people. From there, I followed new writer friend’s experiences and publisher suggestions, looking for the “right one” to publish whatever the specific genre my work fell into. I also pursued a few SELF-PUBLISHING opportunities. Pros and cons… If you simply want to get your work out there, I found it best to go with even a small to medium-sized small press publisher who will give you a cut of sales and opportunity to stock your own inventory with author-discounted book buying option. Unless you work with a BIG DOG publishing house, don’t expect an ADVANCE IN SALES check. Take what they offer (reading the contract thoroughly) and then do your own PROMOTING THE PEE OUT OF IT approach. I make more and better sales selling out of my own author stock than waiting on a teeny tiny amount of cash from the publisher. The PROS of working with a publisher: they pay for most of the activities: cover art, interior art, editing services, INITIAL promotions. The CONS: you don’t see much cash flow unless you hit it big. With SELF-PUBLISHING, it’s all you, baby. BUT you can control costs and how you promote and distribute. Again, networking and lots of self-promoting hard work… with sometimes little reward at day’s end. MK: What challenges with publishing did you face along the way? PW: The challenges in getting my work published was simply being patient with finding the right people/publisher/venue to get my work into. Patience is key. NOTHING happens overnight nor does it happen without YOU pushing it or putting in the blood, sweat and tears. REJECTION can grind you down to a stump of hopelessness. Patience and perseverance are key to finding that good, true home for your work. MK: What advice do you have for authors who are struggling to make that final step toward publishing? PW: If you are simply doing it for FAME AND FORTUNE, Good luck. If you’re doing it because you simply love telling a tale and want to share it with others somehow, someway and eventually, pursue getting your material completed, polished, polished, and out there. About Welmerink's editing experiences
About Welmerink's comic writing experienceMK: How does writing for comics differ from writing your books? PW: Bottom line, you have to boil down the big picture into something that can be visualized in “free standing” bits that still tell the story and get your character(s) and story across. You can’t put EVERYTHING in the visualization of your book(s) into the comic or graphic novel. You have to take that whopper of a book and trim it down into bite-sized bits while still maintaining the main gist of your story and characters. MK: What adjustments did you have to make to your writing when it came to working with an artist? PW: Same as mentioned above: I had to pair down my grandiose views and story to fit into the framed pages that the illustrator would be doing… while still maintaining the story and characters presented. MK: What has been the most rewarding part about writing for comics? PW: Most rewarding part of writing comics: GETTING TO SEE MY CHARACTERS AND FICTIONAL WORLDS VISUALIZED. BAZINGA!! I can only draw mean stick figures and scribbly adaptions of my stuff. Seeing a real illustrator bring my story and character concepts to visualized life… it is humbling and exciting. Wrap-UP
About Peter Welmerink
Peter Welmerink grew up in pre-apoc West Michigan, and enjoys writing fictional post-apoc adventure yarns about West Michigan. Why should Atlanta, LA and Tokyo have all the fun. He is co-author of the Viking berserker novel, BEDLAM UNLEASHED, with Steven Shrewsbury, and author of his first solo novel series TRANSPORT. His first major comic book project is BIG JACK: ANIMALS, and he hopes this opens the doors to more visual adaptations of his written work. He has a day job, and is married with a small barbarian horde of three boys and two cats. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BIG JACK Kickstarter | Blog | Patreon Insane Asylum: Top Secret Photo credit: M. M. Kastanek
(If you're new to my style of writing prompts, head over to this blog post for more information. Feel free to use just the picture, just the prompt, just the words, or a combination of any of the three write your paragraph!) Don't forget to comment with your practice! I give feedback to every paragraph posted! Prompt: I remember the marvels that once stood in this valley.... Words: luster, separate, steam, oil, close, bathe My Paragraph: I remember the marvels that once stood in this valley. When I first arrived here, the land smelled of lavender and lemon and ginger. I can still smell it if I close my eyes. Just over there grew cypress trees that framed pink granite pillars carved with images of the Goddess Eipo. Silk hung between those columns, separating the outside world from the steam baths and lounging rooms of royalty. The mosaic floors were always damp, but it gave them a sort of luster when the light from the oil lamps flickered. So a writer has just asked you to review their manuscript. Congrats! That says a lot about you as a person - this writer trusts you with something into which they have poured countless hours and love. Reading a writer's work and giving feedback is a huge gift and a big part of the publishing process for the writer. They've given you the story. Now what? Step 1: Learn what the writer wants out of your feedback.
Sometimes authors want line edits and sometimes they just want to know what you think about the overall picture. Be respectful of what they want and plan to provide that. Sometimes an author will give you a list of questions to answer after reading. Step 2: Read the entire section (or at least one entire chapter) making only obvious edits. Allow yourself to read as a reader would, first. This helps you understand the flow of the story. If you must make edits or if there is a glaring issue, make a small mark to remind yourself to come back to it later. Otherwise, just enjoy the story. Step 3: Re-read the entire section making notes about what you think; about the characters, the direction, and your questions, marking places that were confusing for you or places that you had to re-read to understand. Make sure you keep the author's questions or feedback requests in mind as you go through the manuscript a second time. If something just feels off to you, but you can't explain it, mark that and say it. But overall try to give solid reasons as to why you felt the way you did. Step 4: Go through your notes and make sure there are positive comments as well as constructive criticism. I bold constructive because nobody, no matter how tough your writing skin is, wants to hear "this sucks." Channel some kindness and look at why you don't particularly like it, make some suggestions! Support your arguments for changing something or use examples as to why a particular choice doesn't work. Without reasons, some criticisms can be interpreted as hurtful or rude. One mistake I often see from new-critiquers is that they'll give comments such as, "no, the story shouldn't go like this" or "this is how the character should feel" or "this is what the character should be doing." As well-intentioned as this may be, your author-friend does not want you to re-write the story for them! Comments like these often come across as arrogant and disrespectful. Chances are, the author has a purpose for where the story is going or how the characters are feeling or what they are doing. Rephrase these types of comments by suggesting or giving reasons why it is not cohesive (ex. Comment "two paragraphs ago, she was smiling and happy, now she is screaming. Would this character switch emotions that fast?" instead of "She should stay happy. She needs to go back to the castle instead of arguing. This is pointless."). And no matter what, give some positive feedback. This author just gave you their child. Be kind to it. There is always something about writing that is good, whether it is the concept of the story or a phrase they said that resonated with you. There is always something to compliment. I can't stand readers (or other writers) that sit on their pedestals and condemn everything about someone's writing. Chances are, word will get around and you won't critique many more manuscripts. Step 5: Meet with the author and discuss your edits or notes. This is a simple, yet incredibly helpful step. I, personally, am able to take criticism so much better as an author when I can ask questions or clarify what my readers mean by their criticisms. As a beta reader, it also helps me ensure I keep my comments kind, because I'll be reading them to the author's face! That isn't to say I'm not honest (and sometimes deliver hard truths), but I'm still kind about it! My biggest advice in all of this is be kind. The author just gave you their baby! They're trusting you! Chances are, they know their book needs work (which is why they gave it to you in the first place), but don't make all of your comments criticisms! Be honest and supportive. Rarely do people grow from constant negativity. Review in the kindest way possible by supporting your critiques and finding good things about their writing too! Next time, I'll be looking at How to BE Critiqued for my fellow writers out there! Because sometimes no matter how nicely someone says they hate something, it still hurts. |
AuthorM. M. Kastanek Archives
June 2022
Categories
All
|