tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post114485549825201325..comments2023-11-05T11:47:43.685+00:00Comments on View From The Pundy House: Some thoughts on marketingpundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144939688194432042006-04-13T15:48:00.000+01:002006-04-13T15:48:00.000+01:00Thanks for the advice story blook. I think the we...Thanks for the advice story blook. I think the weak ending is probably the most important issue -and actually I think it was you who first identified this fault. I've an idea how to fix it so I'll probably do that first. Thankspundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144939492393834212006-04-13T15:44:00.000+01:002006-04-13T15:44:00.000+01:00Viktor - no I haven't read the Stephen King book a...Viktor - no I haven't read the Stephen King book although I've heard other good reports about it. I'll get hold of a copy - thanks.<BR/><BR/>Gav - printing the book out is a very good idea. Up to now I've been editing it on the computer which somehow doesn't work the same way, does it. Thanks for the suggestion - I'll give it a go.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144887264131865792006-04-13T01:14:00.000+01:002006-04-13T01:14:00.000+01:00Shoot the critic! Actually he(she/it) is useful. S...Shoot the critic! Actually he(she/it) is useful. So don't get the gun just yet. <BR/><BR/>Now that you've got a lot of words to play with you can let him out. Mine always starts shouting the second I start writing which is pain in the arse when I have only fifteen days until my disseration is due in. <BR/><BR/>Anyway my suggestion is to print it all out and take a red pen and slowly go through it and see what you want to change. just go through it and make notes. <BR/><BR/>Oh and enjoy scribbling. Just have the six issues in mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144883426588803102006-04-13T00:10:00.000+01:002006-04-13T00:10:00.000+01:00Have you read "On writing" by Stephen King, Pundy?...Have you read "On writing" by Stephen King, Pundy? Some time ago I edited the Czech translation of it and found it extremely illuminating. At the very least it could help you with your war on adjectives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144880019086710922006-04-12T23:13:00.000+01:002006-04-12T23:13:00.000+01:00And you. Night, night.And you. Night, night.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144879874876499612006-04-12T23:11:00.000+01:002006-04-12T23:11:00.000+01:00Take it easy champ.Take it easy champ.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14463152842145512523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144879491636136162006-04-12T23:04:00.000+01:002006-04-12T23:04:00.000+01:00Matthew, you're right again, there is no better fe...Matthew, you're right again, there is no better feeling. And the good news is that it ISN'T transient. Write something good - even if it's only a sentence - and it will stay with you forever. Honestly. I don't know much but that is true.<BR/><BR/>Right, now can I go to bed - it's way past my bedtime already and my Horlicks will be cold. Cor, you young folk, what are you like...pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144879268065332202006-04-12T23:01:00.000+01:002006-04-12T23:01:00.000+01:00But when you get it right, however transient and o...But when you get it <I>right</I>, however transient and oh-I'm-squiffy-but-for-tonight-it's-wonderful there is no better feeling :)MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14463152842145512523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144879109720037292006-04-12T22:58:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:58:00.000+01:00No, Matthew, it's not stupidly demoralising. It's...No, Matthew, it's not stupidly demoralising. It's fucking demoralising.<BR/><BR/>Apart from that you're right.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144878705880545682006-04-12T22:51:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:51:00.000+01:00Mostly, violent and drunk. But you know. I can onl...Mostly, violent and drunk. But you know. I can only presume however, that when you re-write you don't just scrap everything - instead having a play about with the sentences and characters that fall into your categories of doom. <BR/><BR/>Also, shooting the moon wouldn't be particularly clever.<BR/><BR/>And don't mistake an apparent verbosity for wisdom - I can just see what you mean. Great that you can be so honest mind, because I'm incapable of telling myself to CUT THAT STUPID PARAGRAPH OUT and so on.<BR/><BR/>Writing is stupidly demoralising sometimes isn't it?MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14463152842145512523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144878057122739482006-04-12T22:40:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:40:00.000+01:00Matthew, you are wise beyond your years (remember,...Matthew, you are wise beyond your years (remember, I know how old you are). You're right of course. But listen, to be the best you have to raise the bar. Set high standards. Shoot for the moon. I guess I think I will re-write the damn thing myself. I know what's needed. Yes, that's what I think I will do.<BR/><BR/>Okay, I've raised the bar - now you return to the bar.<BR/><BR/>Cor, young people. What are they like.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144877535035738132006-04-12T22:32:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:32:00.000+01:00Hello again.It's late; I've had a beverage. What s...Hello again.<BR/>It's late; I've had a beverage. What shall we do. <BR/>As everyone else has so keenly highlighted - your own belief in your book is what will carry it forward, notwithstanding your niggles. For what now seems a short two years I wrote a column that garnered me weekly appraisal: positive and negative. Now that I'm writing a longer piece I find it tremendously difficult to maintain self-confidence in what I'm doing, save for the one day out of seven in the week when I can actually kick back and read it with a smile. <BR/>I suppose what I mean is that self-criticism is no bad thing. Perhaps if you - as you've already highlighted - re-read it 'cold' then you might find that editing it <I>yourself</I> is much more a productive exploit. It's clear that you recognise the story's faults, so why NOT attend to them? Just because it's published 'online' doesn't mean it remains uneditable.<BR/>To abruptly abandon something you deem a work of genius would be incalculably silly.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14463152842145512523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144876645037333082006-04-12T22:17:00.000+01:002006-04-12T22:17:00.000+01:00Minx, you're a good woman. Here's what we need to...Minx, you're a good woman. Here's what we need to do. Let's find the truth and tell it. That's all that matters. That's everything.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144866051817080662006-04-12T19:20:00.000+01:002006-04-12T19:20:00.000+01:00You gave me goosebumps when I read about your ambi...You gave me goosebumps when I read about your ambition. This was a word that didn't enter my life until about five years ago. Now I have a great huge dollop of it!<BR/>As for depressive(ing) writers, if you want a real life subject then I'm your woman! Been through the mill but am now making bread!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665385782194826703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144863507013150102006-04-12T18:38:00.000+01:002006-04-12T18:38:00.000+01:00Ah, Minx, what can I say. Well, firstly I feel be...Ah, Minx, what can I say. Well, firstly I feel better for the hug, thanks. Yeterday a cake, today a hug. What next?<BR/><BR/>I do believe in the book. Passionately. I actually think it's a work of genius. Seriously. That's why I'm banging on about it. But the simple fact is it's not as good as it should be. And that's killing me. You can laugh at me here but my ambition in life is to write a book as good as The Great Gatsby. And I'm nowhere near it. That doesn't mean to say I'm going to stop trying. That's what that post is all about.<BR/><BR/>Am I a bit down? Yes. Don't worry about it though. I don't. Now there's a paradox. Once I've got marketing out of the way I'm going to have a look at depression amongst writers. So you'll hear more about this subject.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, thanks for your concern - but don't worry about me. I'm just trying to tell it like it is.pundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08953515400835290781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144862800686829152006-04-12T18:26:00.000+01:002006-04-12T18:26:00.000+01:00Now Pundy, I'm going to take you by the shoulders ...Now Pundy, I'm going to take you by the shoulders and slap you with a wet fish!<BR/>I am not experienced or knowledgeble enough to give you advice on what you should do but what I will ask you is... DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS BOOK?<BR/>Not once through your post did I hear the words I like, I love, I feel passionately about this book. If you truly believe that you have written something that will catch the eye then have faith in it and for goodness sake get yourself a copy of 'The Artists Way' by Julia Cameron. If you don't believe in it then no one will.<BR/>And apart from that I'm sending you a warm hug because you sound a bit downAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665385782194826703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17725117.post-1144860819798692512006-04-12T17:53:00.000+01:002006-04-12T17:53:00.000+01:00Bill, Ok here come 2 cents from the Story Blook.I...Bill, Ok here come 2 cents from the Story Blook.<BR/><BR/>I see by reading your post that you have identified six issues with your novel. Presumably you got these from feedback and from looking at your novel with 'fresh eyes' as you mentioned.<BR/><BR/>Too many adverbs and adjectives, <BR/>flabby sentence structure<BR/>too dark a tone<BR/>lack of colour<BR/>underdevelopment of subsidiary characters<BR/>weak ending <BR/><BR/>Would it be possible to prioritize them and maybe work on them individually? Which is the most glaring deficiency or which could use the most work? Maybe work on that. Then re-read or have someone re-read it. If that doesn't fix it, identify the next most important thing and fix that, and so on.<BR/><BR/>I know that sounds like a lot of work, but OY, even those little stories I write seem to take a lot out of me so I know it's work. <BR/><BR/>BTW, Hard to say why he refused it. Could be a lot of reasons, and unless you know the individual rather well, you just don't know. "5 years of unemployment.." is not the mark of a highly successful copy editor so who knows what's really going on there. <BR/><BR/>In any case, I'm glad you are going to try again. In samples you need at least 30 randoms to make a true random sample so I don't think you should toss the idea just because one guy said no.<BR/><BR/>Have you tried eLance? (www.elance.com)Story Blookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09374303235748164230noreply@blogger.com