I decided to introduce the universe in Chapter 1, have chapter 2 begin the story where the older chapter 4 starts. Then intersperse stuff from the old version later.
Basically, here are my goals
1) Have the unified dramatic tension (as Surviver calls it) be why the universe is there as well as why the universe is the way it is.
2) Give the reader a good idea of what the Capiam universe is like despite the fact that I am only revealing a minuscule part of it.
The thing is, even if I don't work on Capiam for awhile (as I have already indicated earlier) I still think about it in my head. Later, I then try to write something again. So maybe, I really need to finish it.
I have written about 11,000 words and sent it to a professional editor. Sort of waiting for a response. As soon as I have one, I may have a better idea of how to proceed.
Don't know if I want specific help at this point, except if Survivor is still around, I wanted to tell him that he did ask some very good questions.
Thing is, consider the Earth (which is only one planet) something all of us know quite a bit about. If I were to write a story called "The Earth" for an alien, how could I write it? Let's say "The Earth" is the starting point. Then Survivor writes a squall to "The Earth" that involves men from the old west in the 19th century called "The West". Someone else writes a story called "The Man Eaters" about primitive cannibalistic tribes in Africa. Someone else writes a story called "The Hindus" about people in India.
Suppose the only exposure to Earth an alien had was my book called "The Earth"? How could I write it in such a way that the alien could then read "The West", "The Man Eaters", and "The Hindus" and believe that he was reading a story that is occurring on "The Earth"? After all, each story would have totally different kinds of characters and settings.
posted
If you were writing a book about earth to inform aliens, I think it should be a text book not a story. And why should humans get the focus? Dinosaurs roamed the earth a lot longer then we have.
But if you are writing a story to explain human behavior to aliens, I don't think the setting, time, or culture really matters. You should focus on themes that transcends cultures and resonates with all of us no matter where we come from and a story that illustrates the emotional journey that we all go through in some form or another.
If you can manage that, it really doesn't matter if the story is set in Africa, the wild West(US), India, or even a fantasy world.
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited February 08, 2010).]
posted
MAP "If you were writing a book about earth to inform aliens, I think it should be a text book not a story."
The thing is, if I were to write such a text book about a fictional universe, what is the likelihood it would interest a reader?
The thing with dinosaurs is, they probably roamed around, ate leaves or attacked other dinosaurs and slept. They probably didn't have conversations or think much about why they were there. So I don't know that what they do would interest an alien very much.
Skadder "Are you paying this professional editor?"
Yes, I paid her what I consider to be a small amount of money (i.e. $60) to give me general advice (not to do a detail editing job). This is because I can still see a few minor things here and there that I could fix myself. My general plan is
1) Finish the story 2) Get it professionally edited. 3) After getting it professionally edited, submit it to a publisher.
posted
OK, what exactly do you mean by "professionally edited"? What are you wanting/expecting an editor to do for you? I have major concerns that you are spending money here, perhaps a lot of money, for very little benefit. Any publisher will almost certainly want you to rewrite your work to some extent anyway, and will have editing ideas of their own. They expect to do this. If you are looking for copy-editing/proof-reading, than that's usually something you should be able to do between yourself and a few test readers (and frankly you should have at least three or four peple test read your novel and comment on it before you submit to publishers - but find people who will do it for free, not "professional editors").
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posted
"Money should flow to the author not away from the author." - Someone clever.
You should, as an author, have the skills to produce a publishable piece of work without having to pay anyone. If are unable to do this now, then I would suggest you continue to work on your skills until you are confident you can.
There are websites like critters.org/authonomy (?) where you can have you whole novel reviewed.
[This message has been edited by skadder (edited February 08, 2010).]
quote:MAP "If you were writing a book about earth to inform aliens, I think it should be a text book not a story." The thing is, if I were to write such a text book about a fictional universe, what is the likelihood it would interest a reader?
The thing with dinosaurs is, they probably roamed around, ate leaves or attacked other dinosaurs and slept. They probably didn't have conversations or think much about why they were there. So I don't know that what they do would interest an alien very much.
I was joking. I guess I should have done one of those smiling faces since you totally missed my more serious reply.
[This message has been edited by MAP (edited February 08, 2010).]
posted
Wow, continuing a conversation from four years ago! Sorry, Survivor disappeared a while ago, I think he got tired of people sucking up to him.
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Maybe you guys are correct regarding hiring a professional editor. I just want to make sure my story is as polished as I can make it before submitting it to a publisher.
It's too bad survivor left. He had some really good intelligent suggestions.
quote:Survivor disappeared a while ago, I think he got tired of people sucking up to him.
A less on in be careful what you wish for.
here are many ways of ensuring your manuscript is as polished as possible without paying out money for it. I don't know of any pro writer who has made use of an editor in the way you plan to, though I stand to be corrected on that. In general, editing is what happens AFTER you sell, and is paid for by the publisher (though ref. the discussion re. ebook pricing, this may be the sort of thing that gets cast aside if ebook prices are pushed too low).
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