17 February 2010

learning to be a real writer

i just read rachelle gardner's post and i'm thinking about my WIP and my new project and my head is spinning. and to think, if i were in that real world, i'd be marketing on top of it. i don't know if i'm just tired or if i'm sick *again* of editing, but i do know that this would be the best ever time to find some good beta readers. i love my mom, but she'll never get around to it.

the sad thing is that, while other people have significant others or family members or close friends to do this, i don't have anyone in my immediate vicinity. i have overseas friends on my writing site whom i've never met, who have been with me for almost a decade while i built this book. i have whined and complained to my mom about it, but that's the extent of it. my significant other has minimum interest because he's not really a reader. i don't know many people who enjoy SF. so i'm kinda stuck. and my eyes have been over it so much that i'm just seeing words and losing Dima's voice.

i know that there's a site to hook you up with partners, and it was on someone's blog the other day... i guess i'll have to sift through the last few entries and see if i can find it again. i need someone else's eyes on this thing before i hack it to death...

in the meantime, i'll be playing in my fantasy book. i finally have character motivations figured out. now i just need to find the point at which it all comes together.

my only hesitation with this is that i'm afraid some of the terminology will become cumbersome. i know that fantasy writers like s.l. farrell and george r.r. martin use loads of different terminology in their books, and that some names are a little taxing (no offense, i know it's all about world-building; names are incredibly important), but i fret. because i'm not the genius that either of them is, so i get nervous. i guess my penwrights friends will tell me if it's annoying.

ugh. it's distressing to be a writer sometimes...

so, you tell me. what do you do for beta readers? i'm sure a lot of you are in writers' groups, but unfortunately, my job takes away a huge chunk of daylight and my hours are never consistent (i know, excuses excuses). any suggestions?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I've taught for years and have steady streams of ex-pupils I try to get them reading at 13 before the serious studying starts! The MG - new - stuff I've been trialling in my class. How often do they get to input their ideas straight to an "author"?!
I read everything except the stuff that chirrups from the shelves of ASDA!
I'd be happy to read Sci-fi - I must confess that it was terminology that drove me dememted when I was reading Ursula Le Guin :s

lexcade said...

yeah, this one is basically terminology free. it's more character focused than science focused, and it's not the SF with aliens, so terminology doesn't come into play.

and now i wish i'd gone into teaching! it didn't occur to me that it came with guinea pigs ;-)