JCC JCC Writers’ Sanctuary

Congratulations! How did you find the process of self publishing and have you had many sales?

For some reason, I try to avoid dashes—perhaps I should re-evaluate my position?

 

Gotta make sure it’s an em dash. Normal dashes suck.

 

I was hoping to canvass people's opinions on the novel American Dirt, which caused so much controversy last year (and continues to do so). In the light of the #ourvoices movement, what does this controversy say, if anything, about the role of diversity in literature?

As a prospective writer, this is a somewhat personal note. I'm curious especially to hear diverse voices in this community on what sort of stories authors should be writing.

FTR, my main character Ciara is mixed-race and LGBT. I have employed sensitivity readers to cast their eyes over her and the story in general (she is by no means the only character of this kind in the story), and have received only praise for her portrayal, but would others see it this way? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

I vaguely recall the controversy from last year. My impression is that a) the story wasn't that great and b) it highlighted that there was a lack of latinx writers being promoted.
It's a tricky balancing act, I suppose. But in a general sense, if you're writing outside your own experiences you should be prepared to do the research. (I neatly sidestep this by heavily relying on the crutch of writing about what I'm alteady familiar with )

 

Thank you. Yeah, it's curious, because the only criticism I've received so far is from a Canadian (who hasn't read a word of the story) who said I should be writing about white English people (she is of Korean descent) She said it politely, but that was the essence of it. My primary objection to this is that surely that goes against the aims of greater diversity.

I also pointed out that I cannot imagine anything more boring than writing a story set in a white English middle-class background. But more fundamentally: I wouldn't really be able to do it justice without a lot of research; it isn't really my culture. I'd probably have them all drinking tea with their little pinkies sticking out. (That sounds so wrong somehow... ).

My LGBT friend (who shall remain anonymous because she's a Boards member)- the first to complete the entire first book- loves Ciara the main character. What really struck me was that she told me that I completely avoided stereotypes by making her just a normal person trying to make her way in the world. It struck me, because it never occurred to me to make her anything else.

The two mixed-race friends of mine who have read the story, equally loved it, but identified with different mixed-race characters from Ciara. Rebecca loved Haydn; Tracey loved Yoshi.

Nonetheless it still worries me that no matter how sensitive my portrayals, I might still mess up.

I want to get this right, hence my curiosity about the thoughts of others on stuff like this.

 

I have seven main characters in the story-cycle I've been working for a while; most of their traits have emerged from the story evolution. But for the supporting cast, especially where their traits are not story elements in of themselves, I've tried to reflect the real world best I can.

 

New to this thread. Am I allowed to promote my own fiction on here? Wanted to make sure ahead of time before doing so. Thanks!

 

Yeah, you can talk about your WIPs here, or post links if you have blog or website, but you probably shouldn’t post any passages directly to the board, as we’re not sure what if there’s a grey area there or not.

 

I promote my fan-fiction in my signature, but only did so after checking with the mods that it was OK; and the links are in this website, which may have made a difference.

TBH, I've written a ton of stuff since then which I don't promote, for the reasons @Chancellor_Ewok pointed out.

In other news, I'm in the process of hiring an editor for my manuscript. I'm hoping to be booked for May once I've sorted out a few niggly issues that have arisen thanks to constructive feedback from a beta reader. I've requested a developmental edit, which is rather more than making sure I watch my P's and Q's.

It comes in two parts: first an Editor's Report, which is a comprehensive overview of the manuscript covering plot, structure, characters, POV, setting, voice and tone, pacing, grammar and word choice. Then I go away and make amendments accordingly and resubmit at a pre-agreed time. The editor then does a line edit to check the micro-details.

I feel excited to get to this stage, and I'd already pencilled in the 1st of March to resume work on the manuscript. I'm looking forward to doing a sentence by sentence refinement of the story.

 

Where did you find your editor and how much is that going to cost you?

 

She was recommended to me by someone from my private writer's group. Judging by what she charges per word, this is going to cost me over A$1K. Her prices are actually reasonable compared with some editors out there.

But, by all accounts, I will really need this if I'm going to get my manuscript polished enough to submit to agents and publishers.

 

I'm having to do just by pencil and paper but I'm working on another draft of a new script

 

My goal is to get to a place where I have a full-time tech 9-5 and spend my mornings writing. These days, with full-time courses and part-time work, writing has lost its role in my life.

 

That is terrific! Just getting a good beta reader is a challenge that doesn't skim and say "it works" lol. Good luck with your book. From what I understand, yes that is a good price for an editor. Are you using any software to help you edit before you send your book off?

 

Not specialist software, no. I had to convert my Pages document into Word, and change the spacing to 1.5, otherwise I was good to go for the sample I sent her. I'll know by the end of the week what she thought of it.

The next step will be to get a quote, and then if we're both happy, book myself in for a May slot. Then she will critique the entire manuscript, and once I've made agreed amendments, she will do a line edit.

 

See I have a different issue. I write 9-5 for my job, so then I don't feel like writing more in the evenings or on the weekends. I really want to convert my script into a novel, but it seems like such a mountain of a task right now.

 

Yeah, if writing is my literal day job that would be exhausting. I imagine what I would try and do is write at 5 in the morning, before the emotional tolls and stress of the day. A pay yourself first kind of thing. It's what I was doing when working part time and taking casual online courses a little over a year ago. I'm a natural night owl, so it was interesting waking up at 4:45am when I used to be naturally inclined to go to bed at 4:45am. As I've gotten older, the night owl influence is less and less.

 

Yeah see I don't get up nearly that early. I go to sleep around 11 and get up at 6 or 7, which doesn't leave me enough time to do my own writing. Weekends would probably be the most realistic time to do my own writing.

 

That's what I do, and I also have nocturnal habits (it's 01.40 am here).

Dorothea Brande's book Becoming a Writer, affirmed by belief that some people, including me, are at their most productive with writing in the early morning. She described that waking state where you can be at your most creative if you get the balance right between technicality and artistry. I wrote much of my three manuscripts like that, and would stop around 09.00am and go and do other stuff. Later I'd do an edit for typos and grammatical errors.

I don't think it works for everyone -I certainly know writers who can't get anything done before midday- but it certainly works for me.

 

Yeah, in my own experience, I've best able to write either extremely late at night or extremely early, maybe between 12-9am.

 

My experience is that my most productive writing time is from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.

 

Unfortunately my most productive time is like 10am-2pm, which is when I am writing... at work

 

Yeah, I usually prefer to write around 11 pm - 2 am.

I would love to write at work, but I don't have access to all my computer notes for my stories there. If I could get back to working from home...

 

Oh no I don't mean doing my own writing.. I'm a professional writer. So I never do any of my own writing

 

Well, I'd love to be a professional writer.

I guess technically I am, but only in the absolutely most boring sense.