Thanks to A.G. for letting me guest blog today. My first novella A Sunset Finish came out a little before A.G.'s novella Brass Stars did last year. It's thrilling to get something longer than a short story published, and not quite as daunting as writing a novel. She asked if I'd do a Lessons Learned theme for the guest post. It was a great idea since I learned quite a bit writing A Sunset Finish.
1.
Research pays off. I've lived all of my life in New Mexico and near
many Pueblo Indian reservations, but I didn't know enough pueblo
folklore to write A
Sunset Finish off
the top of my head. I was somewhat fortunate when it came to the
music and dance aspects of the story because I had studied some local
Native American music in college. But even my music experience was
limited. To make up for the gap in my knowledge, I took trips to
ruined pueblos, attended dances at the Pueblo Cultural Center and
visited the libraries frequently. My favorite book for study was
Dancing
Gods
by Erna Fergusson. While gleaning the information from it about
pueblo ceremonies, I also found myself thinking up different short
stories and a possible alternative history book. Two of the short
stories I thought of during that time of research have already been
published and another one is on the way this summer.
2.
Watch out for repetition in longer stories. I sent A
Sunset Finish
to three places before it found a home. One of the editors who
rejected it told me that it was well written except for being so
repetitive. I had no idea what she was talking about. So I boohooed
to my best friend who said, “Well, I thought that too, but a lot of
published stories are so I didn't say anything.” After that, I read
it with a different eye. Indeed, I had several chapters in there that
were rehashing the same emotions or the same mysteries. I cut most of
the scenes where Bruce's dad appeared and about half the dates
between Stephanie and Bruce. It was accepted at the next spot I sent
it to: Jupiter Gardens Press. Looking back on stories I've read, I
now believe several novels would be better as novellas if the
repetitious scenes were cut out :)
3.
Don't waste time watching rankings. After A
Sunset Finish
was released, I was introduced to the world of rankings, which I had
largely ignored. I made it to my publisher's best seller list, and
then I was addicted. Watching rankings cuts into precious writing
time and can be depressing. This month I've made a huge effort to not
look so often and only focus on new stories. My production has gone
up, even though I find myself looking more than I should.
4.
Self-promotion is hard. I think most writers are introverts; I know I
am. But now we are expected to tweet and blog and Facebook all the
time. I really enjoy swapping blog posts with people like A.G. where
we talk about the craft. I see it as a definite benefit to growing as
a writer. But time blogging is also time not writing new stories.
There needs to be a balance. I see some writers promoting every day,
and I honestly don't know how they do it and still get their next
novel out on time. I admire them, but for me, I need time to let my
head settle on a story and crank out the words until it's done.
Thanks
again for having me here, and please come and check out A.G.'s post
on my blog at enchantedspark.com coming in June.
