Showing posts with label The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

BACK FROM THE DEAD, AND SOME NEWS!

 

IT'S BEEN A WHILE, HASN'T IT? Like, three years since my last post. Did you miss me? I'm not sure what I can blame the lapse on - a pandemic, a bad attitude or simple ennui, perhaps a focus on other things, like painting or flamenco. 

Anyway, here I am again, resurrecting Suzenyms, and along with the blog, some news. I've registered my own imprint. Here's the new logo:

Three of Pentacles Press

Why Three of Pentacles, you might ask? The Three of Pentacles is one of my favorite tarot cards. It means mastery and collaboration. The Rider Waite deck features three people working together on a cathedral arch - a mason/sculptor, a priest, and a noble. I also like to interpret the card as combining talents, time, and people in order to create something lasting and great. What I hope to do eventually, with this imprint. 

The title above, is the first book under the new publishing name. Maybe you recognize the title - The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction. For a number of years, I featured the ABC's here, on Suzenyms. I've updated and rewritten them, and now they're in their 3rd edition and available as an epub for the Kindle on Amazon. You can link to the pages here: 


Plus, the paperback is also out! Finally!

I'll also be re-releasing my anthology, The Tattooed Witch, The Tattooed Seer, and The Tattooed Queen, now that I have the rights back for all three books. They were originally published through Five Rivers Press. (Thank you, Lorina Stephens, for your validation and support). 

After I get those done, who knows? I'd like to record my trilogy on Audible. I'll probably do it, myself. We'll see. 

I'm also toying with starting a YouTube channel, based on my old Letters to the Slush Pile posts, which you can still find here on the blog. What I'd like to do is to take samples of writing submitted to me, and discuss where the prose is working, and where it still needs work. All without mentioning anyone's names, of course. If any of you out there want free editing advice, and are willing to endure an honest critique with the idea that your work might eventually be the source of a YouTube post, please contact me at threeofpentspress@yahoo.com. For now, I'm limiting my focus to short stories. I'm not quite set up for YouTube, yet. Have to learn how to handle the new vlogger camera, first. :-) But if you're interested in receiving advice from an editor of 30+ years, drop me a line, and let's see where I might help you. 

That's it for now! It's good to be back! :-)

- Susan.






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Friday, September 19, 2014

Karşilama! Accueil! Willkommen! Ласкаво просимо! Bine ai venit! and Benvenuto!

Karşilama! Accueil! Willkommen! Ласкаво просимо! Bine ai venit! and Benvenuto!

I wanted to look up all of these ways of saying 'welcome' in Turkish, French, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, and Italian. Why? Because after checking the statistics for Suzenyms for some time, these are the countries (other than the US and Canada) that visit the blog most often. So welcome, and thank you!

 To tell you the truth, I'm a little surprised by all the attention the blog seems to be getting from you people in Turkey. At first, I wondered if it had something to do with my trip last April to Istanbul. (I love, love, love your city!) My thoughts spiraled off into all sorts of strange directions, including wondering if I were being followed by the Turkish authorities, but no, I think maybe you just like what I am doing here, so ‘karşilama’ and ‘teşekkür ederim’ to you! This week, Turkish followers outweighed even those from the US and my own home country of Canada, by a whopping 50%. It is surprising, but I feel a connection. Thank you, Turkey.

 Looking across the Black Sea, attention from Ukraine has also been unexpected. Is it because I may be related to Ivan Franko (on my mother's side), the Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, or do all of you just like my ABC's? I must tell you, I have been very concerned about what is going on your country. I sympathize more than you know. I think of you often, and I wish you peace.

 I also appreciate the number of views I've been getting from France, Germany, Romania, Great Britain, Italy, and elsewhere in Europe, as well as from China, Japan, and Australia. Over the past month, the posts receiving the most attention have been about On Spec's lack of continued funding from the Canada Council, the magazine's call for submissions (we are currently open now to October 31st for both the Punk theme and regular issues. Please note: we have a new website - this link will take you there), several of my essays on writing, my book reviews for both The Tattooed Witch and The Tattooed Seer, and of course, the ABC's. 

 I will continue to provide what I hope you will find interesting. No matter where you live across the globe, thanks for your support. If you have purchased a copy of The Tattooed Witch or The Tattooed Seer, thank you doubly for that. My success is because of you, your endorsements of this blog, and my books. Thank you.

- Susan.

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Saturday, May 03, 2014

VOTER PACKAGE for THE CANADIAN SCIENCE FICTION and FANTASY AURORA AWARDS

SINCE ALL THE NOMINEES FOR THE 2014 AURORA AWARDS are creating Voter Packages for their work, I thought I should do one for Suzenyms. (Lorina Stephens, Publisher, Five Rivers Publishing is creating one for The Tattooed Witch, also nominated for an Aurora.) What follows is a synopsis of the majority of topics I've covered on Suzenyms since its resurrection. For aspiring writers, there is The ABC's of How 'Not' to Write Speculative Fiction stream, which I am half-way through and which I'll continue to post until it's done. The Letters to the Slush Pile stream is for more experienced writers who want to know what's going through an editor's head as she reads their work. The third stream is composed of Guest Interviews, where I feature professionals who share their writing, editing, and promotional expertise, and the fourth features my writing journey with The Tattooed Witch and subsequent books in the trilogy. I've also included a number of topics under Miscellaneous. Click on any of the links, and they should take you to the desired topic:

From The ABC's of How 'Not' to Write Speculative Fiction:
From Letters (and Memos) to the Slush Pile:
Guest Interviews:
The Tattooed Witch and Trilogy:
Miscellaneous
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    Thursday, December 12, 2013

    LETTERS TO THE SLUSH PILE

    AS MOST OF YOU WHO VISIT MY BLOG know, I’ve been posting my writing primer, The ABC’s of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction as I revise it. I just finished with the letter ‘D’ for Dramatic Tension. The ABC’s are meant for those writers who are just starting out and want to save time learning the craft. I hope they're a good reminder for us all.

    I’ve long held the belief that we learn to write in three stages. The first stage is where we have this great idea, a story we want to tell, but we don’t have the tools with which to tell it yet. The second stage might take years, where we learn the techniques of writing – how to handle plot, dialogue, tension, etc. – all those things that I focus on in the ABC’s. The final stage is about story. This is where many writers get bogged down. It doesn’t matter how polished your work is if the story doesn’t deliver the way it should.

    I’ve started reading the On Spec slush. To date, we’ve received over 300 manuscripts. We may receive that many again before the window closes. Welcome to Letters to the Slush Pile. These are some of the things I want to say about what I’m seeing, or not seeing, in certain manuscripts (which shall remain unnamed, along with their authors). They’re meant for those writers who are at a higher level of writing and who wonder why we reject their work (or ask for a rewrite with no promises). At On Spec, we often disagree on what works and what doesn’t. If you think I'm targeting you personally, likely I'm not, as these are common issues (ie. I'm seeing them in more than one story). I'm penning these letters to be helpful. 

    Here's my first Letter to the Slush Pile: 

    Dear ------,

    Thanks for sharing your story ----- with me. Listen, you can write, that much is obvious. Your work is polished, you have the technique down pat. I didn’t ‘snag’ anywhere, your prose moved along well. 

    The thing is… I liked your protagonist, but I wanted to like him more. He was inconvenienced by his situation – which was interesting – but that was all. It didn’t strike me that his problem bothered him too much. I would have connected with him more strongly if he had been really affected/upset by his trouble and if it mattered a great deal. I also needed to understand more about his world. I know it’s better when readers are allowed to figure these things out as they go along, but for me, it came too late – at the end. My advice to you – give your reader more. More drama, higher stakes, and a greater understanding of the setting. 

    If you choose to revise with these in mind, I'd be happy to look at it again. All the best – Susan.
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