Character names! A glitch I've decided to turn into a feature. Gay couples whose names both start with the same letter (or even the same name, that would be challenging but it happens IRL! 😂) "D" a character in one novel, and "Dee" a character in another. For sure, though, working on editing my upcoming "Waterspout" which I'd polished to perfection 4 years ago - suddenly, it needed some of those rough edges back after sitting for so long.
I decided to change the repeating names. I didn't want readers to have the hiccup: "is that the same Jake that was the kid in the dystopian story?" "No, this one is the vampire in the woods" ... you know, that kind of thing, lol! On the time lapse: things get so much clearer for me after 4 years ... I think ... unless I create new issues, oh well!
All these points and observations regarding story age, personal writing style changes as well as even duplicating character names are spot on M.E. As I get older and the stories pile up it all these factors you pointed out become even more significant. Enjoyed this piece and the shared, familiar "aha" moments that it supplied. - Jim
Ah true! Both in mood, genre, theme, length ... it's a serious series of questions. One thing was certain, I did not arrange them by date! And I don't have the answer on how to do it the best way...
Stories in isolation change remarkably when set next to each. Some seem too short or too long; you see similarities and have to chose the best, etc.
With my first collection, which won a Lambda Literary Award, my editor at St. Martin's Press and I first laid out about 30 stories on his living room floor like they were puzzle pieces. We ended up weeding down to 19 and then for 6-7 months we'd go back and forth editing, me in Michigan, him in New York. That was 1990. I can't imagine an editor taking time like that now.
Oh, yes, I agree, about editors ... Some writers create stories with a theme in mind with an intent to produce a collection, eventually (it's what I do building a corpus for recurring characters), but I didn't think "collection" when I wrote the stories in this collection, so rough edges have to be smoothed.
Mine published over a decade had various themes and when I had a body of work, it seemed a good idea to put a book together. The second collection, which spans 25 years of my work, has a section with five interconnected stories.
I love that you editing your short stories 15 years on!
Everyone gives George Lucas a hard time for changing Star Wars over the years. I understand when fans get upset about it (#TeamHanShotFirst), but I also have very much been an avid supporter of (a) fixing mistakes, even post-publication and (b) the artist doing whatever the hell they want with their own work.
I remember hearing about Ray Bradbury having a dream in which he asked the MC of "Fahrenheit 451" why he enjoyed burning books so much. It wasn't a question that had occurred to him at the time. But he got his answer that night, and he ended up writing it and adding it to later editions. So, you're definitely in fine company!
Thank you Graham. I always let time pass between finishing a story and sending it out because 'fresh eyes' are so important, but 15 years, yeah, I'm a better writer and some things that I did not challenge in the past, I won't let slide now. George Lucas must cringe each time he sees a special effect he dreamed of but didn't have the tools to produce ...
Yeah - Lucas said exactly that right from the first remake (or touch-up or whatever we're calling it): the technology had gotten to the point where he could make the "movie he envisioned".
I think they played that up quite a bit, but I do believe there is a core truth there. Doesn't every artist want to make their work the best it can be?
Character names! A glitch I've decided to turn into a feature. Gay couples whose names both start with the same letter (or even the same name, that would be challenging but it happens IRL! 😂) "D" a character in one novel, and "Dee" a character in another. For sure, though, working on editing my upcoming "Waterspout" which I'd polished to perfection 4 years ago - suddenly, it needed some of those rough edges back after sitting for so long.
I decided to change the repeating names. I didn't want readers to have the hiccup: "is that the same Jake that was the kid in the dystopian story?" "No, this one is the vampire in the woods" ... you know, that kind of thing, lol! On the time lapse: things get so much clearer for me after 4 years ... I think ... unless I create new issues, oh well!
All these points and observations regarding story age, personal writing style changes as well as even duplicating character names are spot on M.E. As I get older and the stories pile up it all these factors you pointed out become even more significant. Enjoyed this piece and the shared, familiar "aha" moments that it supplied. - Jim
Thank you, Jim!
I'm envisioning a line of private detective trading cards with a portrait on the front and a mini-bio on the back....
That's a great idea... Kevin Burton Smith can supply the names!
Ah, the evolving writer/characters trajectory…. If only our growth happened more quickly. Enjoyed reading this, Martine. Well put.
Thanks for reading, Rebecca!
Interesting perspective.
How to order the stories (this one first? No, maybe this one? Hmm ...) must be a concern as well.
Ah true! Both in mood, genre, theme, length ... it's a serious series of questions. One thing was certain, I did not arrange them by date! And I don't have the answer on how to do it the best way...
I love your take on the evolution of not just the stories but your perspective on them.
Thanks for reading, Gerry.
Stories in isolation change remarkably when set next to each. Some seem too short or too long; you see similarities and have to chose the best, etc.
With my first collection, which won a Lambda Literary Award, my editor at St. Martin's Press and I first laid out about 30 stories on his living room floor like they were puzzle pieces. We ended up weeding down to 19 and then for 6-7 months we'd go back and forth editing, me in Michigan, him in New York. That was 1990. I can't imagine an editor taking time like that now.
Oh, yes, I agree, about editors ... Some writers create stories with a theme in mind with an intent to produce a collection, eventually (it's what I do building a corpus for recurring characters), but I didn't think "collection" when I wrote the stories in this collection, so rough edges have to be smoothed.
Mine published over a decade had various themes and when I had a body of work, it seemed a good idea to put a book together. The second collection, which spans 25 years of my work, has a section with five interconnected stories.
I love that you editing your short stories 15 years on!
Everyone gives George Lucas a hard time for changing Star Wars over the years. I understand when fans get upset about it (#TeamHanShotFirst), but I also have very much been an avid supporter of (a) fixing mistakes, even post-publication and (b) the artist doing whatever the hell they want with their own work.
I remember hearing about Ray Bradbury having a dream in which he asked the MC of "Fahrenheit 451" why he enjoyed burning books so much. It wasn't a question that had occurred to him at the time. But he got his answer that night, and he ended up writing it and adding it to later editions. So, you're definitely in fine company!
Congrats on the new collection!
Thank you Graham. I always let time pass between finishing a story and sending it out because 'fresh eyes' are so important, but 15 years, yeah, I'm a better writer and some things that I did not challenge in the past, I won't let slide now. George Lucas must cringe each time he sees a special effect he dreamed of but didn't have the tools to produce ...
Yeah - Lucas said exactly that right from the first remake (or touch-up or whatever we're calling it): the technology had gotten to the point where he could make the "movie he envisioned".
I think they played that up quite a bit, but I do believe there is a core truth there. Doesn't every artist want to make their work the best it can be?
Van Gogh did a bunch of Sunflowers ...