Writing and submitting your stories -- Questions for K. D. Wentworth

[Paradox 99]

Hello Kathy.
In echo of everyone else here - Welcome! And thanks so much for taking the time to read through our questions and then answer them.

I have two, though Littlemissattitude beat me to it with the first one. I will expand on it a teeny bit though. Do you go along with the idea that a writer should make an effort to write something everyday even when they're not in the mood? Or do you believe it's more important to devote time to writing when the creative flame is burning brightest? I suppose its a little of column A and B, but I'd like to hear your take on that.

Second question: When writing complex and lengthy stories, I find that as it's flowing onto the page, there will be little facts, descriptions or character details that get plucked out of the air and aren't significantly part of the overall plot (they just felt like an interesting touch at the time). However, several chapters down the line, I find that these little inspirations become more important than I'd first anticipated. Do you have a method to track these things? Or like me, do you have trawl back through the chapters to find out what it was you wrote at the time?

Thank you.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by kdwentworth

When I first started writing, I had a lot of trouble telling a short story idea from a novel idea. I'm better at it now, but still occasionally still start stories that turn out to be too complex for the short form. The best way to control length is to outline before you start, which keeps you to the point. Unfortunately, I'm wretched at outlining.

Kathy, You say you're wretched at outlining, but when you do outline what form does that outline take? I find that my outline for a novel totals no more than a single side of paper. I'm pretty good at utilising that outline to keep me on track, but I don't really detail the story - I just bullet point the main events that have to happen to make the story work. Are you more inclined towards a detailed outline, or are you a quick sketch and dive in type?

[Teresa Edgerton]

Darn it, I was hoping there was some secret you could share with us, some nearly sure-fire method to keep short stories from turning into novellas, or for recognizing a short fiction idea from a novel idea at its inception.

[scalem X]

Darn it, I was hoping there was some secret you could share with us, some nearly sure-fire method to keep short stories from turning into novellas, or for recognizing a short fiction idea from a novel idea at its inception

Don't we all, it seems that it's more a working process than a formula .

Writing seems more like baking a cake/pie than like making a chemical substance. You can try and try and maybe one day a pie/cake will be as good as your grandmother's, but in your own different way. Following a recipe is a good guidance, but you need to carve your own way to the real stuff it seems.
Mmm chocolate cake like my sister makes, apple pie like my grandmother makes (that's what I'm eating at the moment) mmm .

Keep baking cakes/pies people!! (now hope that my sister and grandmother read this )

[kdwentworth]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

Hello, Kathy. Welcome to Chronicles. As an author of novels I am in awe of your ability to turn out both a substantial number of novels and a plethora of short stories that have all made it into print.

Firstly I'd like to know which you find easier to write - the short stories, or the novels? Do you have a fundamentally different approach to writing stories of such vastly differing lengths, or do you work to a generic formula that you can adapt depending on the type of idea/suitability for either novel or short?

Also, I'm ashamed to say that despite your impressive list of titles I don't believe I've ever read anything of yours. Have any been distributed in the UK at all, or have they all remained in the US?

I like writing both short stories and novels, but they are different beasts. Short stories are short term gratification. I can finish one in a week if I really push myself and then have something in hand to send out. Novels are like comfort food. When I'm working on one, I know every day for months exactly what I'm going to be working on and don't have to sit staring at a blank screen. I get to spend a lot of time with the characters and setting I've created and see where it all leads.

They each scratch a different itch and not everyone can do both. I'm lucky that my brain likes both forms. The only formula that I use is Algis Budry's Seven Point Plot, which works equally well for short and long fiction.

None of my novels have had a UK publication, although I have been published in Russia. They are all still in print though, and available from Amazon.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by kdwentworth

I like writing both short stories and novels, but they are different beasts. Short stories are short term gratification. I can finish one in a week if I really push myself and then have something in hand to send out. Novels are like comfort food. When I'm working on one, I know every day for months exactly what I'm going to be working on and don't have to sit staring at a blank screen. I get to spend a lot of time with the characters and setting I've created and see where it all leads.

They each scratch a different itch and not everyone can do both. I'm lucky that my brain likes both forms. The only formula that I use is Algis Budry's Seven Point Plot, which works equally well for short and long fiction.

None of my novels have had a UK publication, although I have been published in Russia. They are all still in print though, and available from Amazon.

Thank you, that's most enlightening. I recently wrote a short story for a workshop that I was running. I found it very difficult to do. I guess my brain works better with longer storylines. I've never heard of Algis Budry's Seven Point Plot, but you can be sure that I'm going to go looking for information about it now.

Having corresponded, you can be sure that I'll look out your work on amazon sometime this year. I'll not promise an immediate purchase, but I'll get there in the end.

[kdwentworth]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

Hello, Kathy. Welcome to Chronicles. As an author of novels I am in awe of your ability to turn out both a substantial number of novels and a plethora of short stories that have all made it into print.

Firstly I'd like to know which you find easier to write - the short stories, or the novels? Do you have a fundamentally different approach to writing stories of such vastly differing lengths, or do you work to a generic formula that you can adapt depending on the type of idea/suitability for either novel or short?

Also, I'm ashamed to say that despite your impressive list of titles I don't believe I've ever read anything of yours. Have any been distributed in the UK at all, or have they all remained in the US?

Short stories are short term gratification for me. I can write one in a week or two, if I really try, then have something in hand to send out. Novels are more like comfort food. When I'm working on one, I know every day for months what I'm going to be working on and don't have to stare at a blank screen trying to come up with ideas. They're such different beasts that I can do one of each at the same time, working on a novel in the morning and a short story in the afternoon. That's what I'm doing right now, as a matter of fact.

The only formula I pay attention to for short stories is Algis Budrys's seven point plot. For novels, I think about Dwight Swaim's anatomy of a scene (goal--conflict--disaster). Budrys has a wonderful book called Writing to the Point and Swaim' best writing book is titled Techniques of the Selling Writer. I highly recommend them both.

I haven't had an English publication, though I would certainly love for my books to appear there. I have been published in Russian, though, and one of my stories is going to be published in Sweden soon. All of my books are still in print and available from Amazon.

[kdwentworth]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

Kathy, You say you're wretched at outlining, but when you do outline what form does that outline take? I find that my outline for a novel totals no more than a single side of paper. I'm pretty good at utilising that outline to keep me on track, but I don't really detail the story - I just bullet point the main events that have to happen to make the story work. Are you more inclined towards a detailed outline, or are you a quick sketch and dive in type?

Until I read Lawrence Block's Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print, I couldn't write a novel because everyone said you had to be able to outline and I flat out couldn't. Mr. Block says he can't either. He just kills someone on the first page and goes on from there, creating as much trouble as he can along the way so his main character will have something to do.

So, I set out to write an sf murder mystery, following those vague outlines. I aimed for three pages a day and six months later I'd completed my first novel. I wrote four more with the same method.

I've only written one outline for a novel before I sold it, Stars/Over/Stars. I wrote that one because Jim Baen said I had to, but he also said I didn't have to go by it. So I wrote it. He bought the book, and then I didn't go by it.

My problem is that my subconscious just won't cough up the details unless I'm actually writing. I can't recommend this method because editors don't like it. Your professional writing life will be much easier if you can outline. I just can't write a good one to save my soul.

The way I plot is more organic. I set up my characters and setting, put the central plot problem into motion, and from there it's like weaving. Everything is based on what came before and grows organically.

[scalem X]

When considering your "weaving" technique, I can't help but recognize some sort of my own style, which leads me to another question:
When you realise there is a mistake in the content of your novel/short story (If you have ever encountered this before) how do you try to cover it up?
An example of your own would be very useful and would be appreciated.
If you've never encountered a problem like that before, try this (I have many in reserve ):
I originally planned to have a person have dinner with the parents of his deceased girlfriend and started writing, but somehow I seem to have skipped the guy's lunch.

[Mark Robson]

Originally Posted by kdwentworth

My problem is that my subconscious just won't cough up the details unless I'm actually writing. I can't recommend this method because editors don't like it. Your professional writing life will be much easier if you can outline. I just can't write a good one to save my soul.

The way I plot is more organic. I set up my characters and setting, put the central plot problem into motion, and from there it's like weaving. Everything is based on what came before and grows organically.

Ah! I know exactly what you mean! Today, I wrote like a god ... but how often does that happen? Furthermore, the stuff I wrote wasn't in the outline ... so I changed the outline. I guess that's the way it works sometimes.

I consider myself fortunate at the moment, as my editor seems to trust my instinct for storyline. When she bought my latest book, the deal included a sequel. My problem was that I'd conceived the story as a 'one off'. I'd killed the villain and tied up all the loose ends. As you can imagine, that was not the version that made it into print.

Having re-opened the ending to allow a sequel, my second problem became how to write a story that I'd never intended to write. They'd bought it, but they didn't specify what they wanted. When I finally came up with a storyline I liked, I found that the over-arching story didn't end. (Who writes fantasies in twos anyway?) I explained the problem and there was lots of sucking of teeth as they were only committed to two books. I sent them the storyline and was told to write it the way I wanted. When I sent the draft a few weeks ago, the editor only suggested one significant change, and that was over something I'd already identified as a weakness in the story myself. I guess I must be doing something right.

I was pretty good at sticking to the vague outline I'd given the publisher in this case, but my outlines are always vague. I find, like you, that to tie myself down to lots of detail restricts the flow and development of my stories. My best scenes, like the one I wrote today, are often not even in the plan, but are borne out of logic and a sense of place within the setting. Gah! How does one define a gut instinct for what is right?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not very good at outlining either!

[kdwentworth]

Originally Posted by Mark Robson

Kathy, another question: when you submit stories, do you have a standard submission letter, or do you tailor the submission letter to the publisher/type of story being submitted?

Also, when you write the synopsis of the piece you are submitting, what are you looking to achieve? To set hooks? To give a good understanding of the story? It strikes me that many people who try to write a synopsis (particularly of a novel) feel that they have to include all the twists and turns. What do you look to include and how do you decide what the prospective publisher does not need to know?

I write a very short cover letter, asking the editor to please consider the enclosed story, telling whether the manuscript is disposable or not, and then listing a few of my best credits, usually the top four or five. When I didn't have any credits, I just closed by thanking the editor for his/her time and saying I looked forward to hearing from them (which wasn't always strictly true!).

NEVER include a synopsis of a short story. It should stand on its own. When submitting a novel, the editor wants to know what kind of novel it is (sf, fantasy, alternate history?), how long it is, and whether or not it is FINISHED. Some publishers want a synopsis, others don't, so follow stated guidelines on that.

Synopses are traditionally one to three pages long, single-spaced, and often written in present tense. No one will refuse to buy a novel though if you've done it differently. They're just supposed to give the editor the general sweep of the novel, not every twist and turn.

[Paradox 99]

Hi Kathy, yet another question for you.
At this very moment I'm composing a brief cover letter. As part of the submission process they ask the writer to tell them a little about themselves.

As a new writer, I'm struggling with that. What are they really interested in when they ask this. If I were to tell them that I work as a Data Monkey for Clinical Trials, that I like keeping fit and that I'm married with no kids, I get the feeling they won't really be interested in all of that.
I don't have any novels published yet (though I have written 5 books), so I don't have any kind of impressive resume to woo them with. All I can tell them that I feel is relevant, is that I have an unquenchable thirst to write!

Any advice?

Thanks once again.

[Teresa Edgerton]

There have been some questions about what the Seven Point Plot actually is, so I started a thread on the subject.

According to what I was able to turn up, it seems like there is quite a bit of room for discussion, and I'm interested to hear what other people think.

[kdwentworth]

Originally Posted by Jeremy

Hi, Kathy, welcome to the Forum! It is a privilege to have a well-known author like you with us. You are an inspiration to us aspiring science fiction/fantasy writers.

I have several questions for you:

1) Aside from Tor, do you know any other publishing house that regularly publishes juvenile science fiction/fantasy? Does Del Rey publish juvenile Science fiction and Fantasy?
2) Do you think it’s better to find an agent first or to submit directly to a publisher? Is it the same for juvenile scifi and fantasy?
3) This is a stupid question but I’m kind of confused now. What do you think about the idea of including 2 synopses, the first one 1-page long and the second one 3 pages long, and let the agent or editor choose which one he or she wants to read?
4) Would recommendations by a well-known published author help a novel get published? Do you get a lot of requests for reading manuscripts from aspiring writers?

Thank you very much!

Jeremy, I don't know much about marketing YA fiction but I'm almost finished with a YA fantasy western, so I'm about to find out. I'll come back here and post once I do some market research.

It's okay to look for an agent, but you shouldn't let the lack of one keep you from submitting your book. If you should get an offer on a book, then you can easily get an agent. Just make sure you only submit to one house at a time.

I think it would be better just to put in one synopsis. Just choose the one you like best, whether it's the shorter one or the longer one.

I don't think recommendations by otheitr authors do a whole lot of good. I do get asked sometimes, but I almost never read for people. To begin with, I really don't have time, and then, if I do read the manuscript and think it's not quite there yet, the author is always unhappy with me, so we've both wasted our time.

[The_Cosmic_Quest]

Hello Kathy. I just want to know what would give me a better chance of getting my short stories published - submitting them to a magazine, one at a time. Or trying to get a collection of them published as one short story book. The latter is what I really want to do...
Thanks.