Remember that story I mentioned writing a while back? I got several very gratifying comments and one set that sounded to me like, "This really doesn't work for me." However, that one was from the one of the reviewers that has spent the most time figuring out how stories are put together, and I'm inclined to give that person's words even more weight because they accorded with the comments of the editor who rejected it. I haven't really worked on it much since, not knowing how to fix it. (Having done my best at repairs, which in this case basically amounted to admitting when I didn't know how something worked, I probably really ought to try submitting it elsewhere now.)
Meanwhile, though, I started another abortive original story - abortive because it made me feel as trapped as my character did in its beginning, so that I haven't touched it in months - and have essayed another attempt at L.M. Montgomery fanfic. I suspect that using someone else's world is a good way to practice writing chops, and that attempting to write in an author's voice is good practice for writing in a character's. Since plot is where I feel weakest, I stole that from Montgomery, lock, stock, and semicolons, but have added my own trimmings. Since this story is six pages long, I won't post it here, but you can read it over there.
Thanks to Kiwiria and Monkeydoo
Posted by dichroic at September 23, 2005 04:39 PM