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Thursday, September 16, 2010
Pirate!
So it’s nearly 8am on Thursday and I just realized I’m supposed to blog today. ACK! This is going to be a bit rough.
As most of you probably know – not that I’ve been bragging or anything – this week saw my name in print for the first time. (Outside certain sections of the newspaper but we’re not going to go there.) Woman’s World magazine printed my short romantic fiction piece called The Cell Phone Switch, which they renamed to Strangers On A Train. It’s a bit edited, but it’s still mine and I’ll take it!
Now I’m waiting to hear back on a Christmas themed story I submitted in July, but I need to get more stories in the pipeline. And I’m not coming up with any good ideas, mostly because my brain is being pulled in about a million other directions. (Home inspection last night then came home to find the A/C in my apartment pumping hot air. Not even going to mention the TWO requested MS I’m trying to fix and get out the door.)
I suppose the right thing to do would be set aside time to sit down and brainstorm a bunch of ideas, following Donna’s advice and letting even the crazy ones through.
But I don’t have time for that.
Since I have a captive crew of sorts, I’m asking you. Throw me your ideas. These stories are 800 words max. They need a beginning, middle and end, but that doesn’t mean they have to span a long timeframe. The story I sold covers one scene, basically a meet-cute, as they say in the movie business.
If you were given the task of writing something happy, upbeat, and only 800 words, what would you write?
As most of you probably know – not that I’ve been bragging or anything – this week saw my name in print for the first time. (Outside certain sections of the newspaper but we’re not going to go there.) Woman’s World magazine printed my short romantic fiction piece called The Cell Phone Switch, which they renamed to Strangers On A Train. It’s a bit edited, but it’s still mine and I’ll take it!
Now I’m waiting to hear back on a Christmas themed story I submitted in July, but I need to get more stories in the pipeline. And I’m not coming up with any good ideas, mostly because my brain is being pulled in about a million other directions. (Home inspection last night then came home to find the A/C in my apartment pumping hot air. Not even going to mention the TWO requested MS I’m trying to fix and get out the door.)
I suppose the right thing to do would be set aside time to sit down and brainstorm a bunch of ideas, following Donna’s advice and letting even the crazy ones through.
But I don’t have time for that.
Since I have a captive crew of sorts, I’m asking you. Throw me your ideas. These stories are 800 words max. They need a beginning, middle and end, but that doesn’t mean they have to span a long timeframe. The story I sold covers one scene, basically a meet-cute, as they say in the movie business.
If you were given the task of writing something happy, upbeat, and only 800 words, what would you write?
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Bo'sun's Babblings (Terri)
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64 comments:
Hmm. 800 words I could do. Happy and upbeat? You've got the wrong author here :)
Is this for your christmas theme?
No, the Christmas one went up in July. Holiday stuff has to be submitted 6 months in advance. Funny enough, I took a 500 word drabble I wrote for the EJ BB for a Christmas anthology and extended it. Those old drabbles are a great source for these stories.
Unfortunately, most of my drabbles are saved in another computer I can't get to turn on. :)
You couldn't do upbeat and happy? I bet you could. Demons laugh now and then. LOL!
How about a story about a woman who falls into a pot of coffee and emerges smarter and with superpower writing skills?
Wait. Never mind.
My mind boggles at the 800 word limit. I'm still clearing my throat at that point. LOL (That's why I'm not good at poetry.)
And congrats again -- I loved walking around the store with my copy of the magazine, even though nobody else knew that I *know* (kinda sorta!) you. :)
LOL. I like the coffee one. How about a woman who meets a guy online and they really hit it off, only to find out when they finally meet in person that it's the same man who works at the desk beside hers?
Donna - You only kind of know me? LOL! Considering the noises I hear coming from your cabin, I think we know each other a little too well.
JK - Oh, that's good! I could make that work. Adding that to the official ideas file. (And the heroine shall be named Kris!)
Outside certain sections of the newspaper but we’re not going to go there
And a certain bathroom wall in Norfolk, but we won't mention that again.
You know what would be a good meet-cute? SIN did it.
Sin was driving home in the POURING rain (Floods, really) and the tire blew out on her car. She got out of the car, started to try to change it (old hand she is), and a stranger came up (a really good looking young guy--really this shit could only happen to Sin) and changed the tire for her. And then they realized they'd gone to school together--they knew each other.
I bet they would have totally made out if she'd been single.
So in the story, you just need to make Sin single.
That's actually how my next WIP starts. LOL! Though the guy who changes the heroine's tire is her fiance's brother. So I'm already using that!
And I bet there are days Sin wishes someone would make her single...
BTW - That bar is officially closed now. So ha!
And I bet there are days Sin wishes someone would make her single…
*closes eyes* I don't want to see that ice pick in action. LOL
Considering the noises I hear coming from your cabin, I think we know each other a little too well.
Those aren't MY noises. Those are. . .well, hmm. Yeah, I guess you know what I'm capable of. LOL
Jeez, Donna, you scared everyone away. LOL! Did you have to mention ice picks this early?
This magazine is hard to predict. They love pets, but when they get too many vet/dog park stories, they don't want anymore. Of course, there's no way to know when they have too many. So like everything else in publishing, it's a matter of timing, ESP, and luck.
God, ain't that the truth? They LOVE animals in that magazine. It's why I don't read 99.9% of the stories they print; it was why I loved Terri's story so much. It was very much: OMG, they printed a good one!!! How did that happen?
Well, Sin hasn't been around to talk about ice picks, so I was being her proxy. LOL (Does anyone else think she has one of those tool kits like chefs use to carry their knives? LOL)
Are their writer guidelines for this mag anywhere? Or do you just read the stories and get a feel for what they're looking for?
it’s a matter of timing, ESP, and luck.
LOL! This all would be so much easier with EPS, wouldn't it. We'd know exactly what type of story an agent or editor was desperate for and poof! Here it is!
Short stories in general boggle my mind, and 800 words is SHORT! Funny, I can come up with complicated novel ideas with no problem, but a short?
I probably just need to read more in order to get better at getting ideas. I don't read a lot of shorts, especially romantic shorts, so I don't entirely grasp the concept :)
p.s. - congrats on this story!!! I'm headed to the grocery store today, so I'll pick up a copy. I'm late, yes :)
OMG -- I used "their" instead of "there".
MORE COFFEE! STAT!
Hellie - I don't mind the pets thing as much as you do, but they do get old after a while. I've had a few people write to tell me my story was somewhat better than what WW often prints, and that made me feel pretty good. A nice boost to the writing ego, which is always needed.
Donna - Here, have a Glittery Cappacino. I do have guidelines I'll send you. The best thing I did at the start of the year was take Kate Willoughby's e-course on how to write for WW. That class has clearly paid for itself!
For guidelines in a nutshell, think of a story that would have worked in the 1950s, then maybe add a tiny touch of edge. But not too much. Nothing sad, slow, or weepy. No one in danger and no one getting hurt.
And what's really cool is you can write about older characters. They often print stories about characters more in the Baby Boomer set who find each other again after their spouses have passed. The story always says the character loved the life they had, but it's nice to see a couple get a second chance to be happy.
They often print stories about characters more in the Baby Boomer set who find each other again after their spouses have passed.
That's because a lot of their readership is in the Baby Boomer set. This is called knowing your audience. *LOL*
Hal - I'm sure this comes naturally to me because I spent a year or two writing short 500 word drabbles 3 or 4 times a month back in '06. It's actually fun for me because I love knowing I've finished something and it didn't take pulling out my hair or half a decade of my life. LOL! I have results right there and it makes me smile. I need to see results now and then. Goodness knows I'm not seeing them elsewhere. :)
Hellie - Exactly! If you know their readership and you buy five to ten of the magazines to read what they print, you know exactly the kind of story they want. Now, not that it's that easy, but it's a little easier than trying to write 400 pages and keep up with who might buy it.
Thanks for the Glittery Capuccino -- could I have extra sparkles? LOL
I'm still in awe of writing a story in 800 words -- I can't even get my blog posts down to that. LOL Well, once in a while I can. It feels unnatural though. LOL
And I hear ya on waiting for results, and trying to figure out who wants what. Sigh.
*crawls away to hide*
Do you want rainbow sprinkles or the silver ones?
I promise you, you can do it. Think of it this way, you write an entire book 800 words at a time. Every scene has a beginning, middle, and end. Grant it, my scenes are usually longer than 800 words, but if they could be that short if I knew they had to be.
It's just an exercise in keeping only the most necessary words. Which is what we're going for in a novel as well. It's actually a great exercise in writing discipline.
And Janga was skeptical for a while, but she wrote one recently. Janga will be the first to tell you, if she can do it, anyone can do it. LOL!
I'll take the rainbow ones. For THIS drink. LOL I'll save the silver ones for the evening drink.
Yay Janga! That's very cool.
I'm going to go work on some things (historical manuscript, resume, etc.) And maybe sacrifice a goat in the backyard. For luck. LOL
And I must add that there's nothing wrong with Baby Boomers as readers or writers. So there! :)
Wow, talk about a non-sequitur...
What Terri didn't say is that when I sent my story to her to read, much of her response was "Cut . . . cut . . . cut." LOL!
Donna, I was writing poetry long before I started writing romance fiction. I had some poems published, even won an award or two. But my critique group and my writing course profs always had the same advice as Terri. They just advised cutting words and lines instead of sentences.
Of course there isn't, Janga. LOL! Heck, Chance just sold a book with Baby Boomer characters. The point was that this mag will happily print those sorts of stories whereas many other pubs of varying lengths will not. Which wins points for WW, really.
And you didn't have to cut thousands of words or anything. LOL! Just here and there.
How 'bout a cute meet at a coffee shop? Or via a coffee shop. Like two people who go there all the time, sit at different tables...and then one day a piece of music is playing that they both absolutely love. One starts humming along, the other does and they meet each other's eyes...she blushes, turn away. He's charmed.
Suddenly a barista starts singing along at the top of his lungs (I've been there when this happens.) and the two both get up to move outside and there is only one table and... *click!
Make is some piece of music that means something to each of them, from when they were in high school...
I mean, really, Starbucks can be totally strange with the mix of music they play and you never know!
I should write this one... Hee, hee.
But no aliens or pirates?
Maybe I'll write one about a cute meet at a pirate festival or a renfaire...indulge my need for costumes...
LOL! This all would be so much easier with EPS, wouldn’t it. We’d know exactly what type of story an agent or editor was desperate for and poof! Here it is!
This gave me an idea for a story.
A writer tries to find out what an editor wants in a story by going on a blind date/speed date/eharmony /pick-up in a bar whatever. And she gends up getting more than a story idea! Ha ...
Julie - That is a great idea for a full length book. In fact, I'm stealing that one too. LOL!
Keep 'em coming!
Chance - I love the pirate festival one. She meets him in full pirate gear, thinks he's odd, then meets him in regular clothes somewhere else and sees him a little differently. LOL! You should do that one!
But I'm stealing the coffee shop one. Maybe. Hmmm....maybe you should do the coffee shop and I'll take the pirate one. I'm seeing that one in my head already.
Good, Terri! And I wanna ARC! LOL
Or two people are at a restaurant, sitting at separate tables. The waiter gets their meals mixed up. They have to exchange meals. One invites the other to sit at their table and …
Another good one, Julie. *cuts and pastes into story file*
Of course, darling. As long as you don't expect it anytime soon. LOL! I have so much shit on back burners, I need a wider stove!
Steph and I were sitting in Starbucks this weekend and they'll been playing funkadelic lately. Music he was listening to when we met in high school...30 years ago!
Some barista, probably in his 20's, starts belting out "WE GOT THE FUNK!"
I looked at Stephen, "He is too young to even know what funk means."
I think for a WW story I'd make it Nights in White Satin or something like that! One of those slow dane lo-o-o-o-o-o-ong songs everyone liked at the end of the dances...
Hmmmm!
Of course, darling. As long as you don’t expect it anytime soon.
Yah never knoe terri, I have a feeling that when the world finds you things are gonnnnna move real fast.
Sheesh! Make that 'they've' been playing and 'slow dance...'
Don't think the caffeine has kicked in yet!
knoe terri? That should be KNOW T(with a capital T) erri! Jeez
Lets blame it on the Ghost of Capt' Cha! Wicked thing is messin' with our posts!
*g*
Do we need to up the strength of the coffee today? LOL!
I know what y'all meant!
Julie - It can't go too fast or I'll never keep up. LOL! Though I am convinced once I move, I will get a handle on all this crap. I'm totally aware that this is yet another dillusion, but by golly I'm running with it!
Great ideas, pirates! Can't wait to see the stories that you devise. :)
And I want things to speed up. I'm tired of waiting. Seriously tired of it. It's making me even crankier. LOL
Ooh-ooh-ooooh! ( like Horshack from 'Welcome Back Kotter') Ooh-ooh-ooooh! Oooohhhh-I-got-one!
So
You’re going to do a series of short stories entitled “The Principal’s of Love”. The premise is: a group of kids from single parent families get together & form a club. The club's goal is to match one student's parent with another romantically speaking. In order to get the parents to meet each other, a pair of kids will get into trouble at school. The parents are called into the principal’s office ( hence the title “The Principal’s of Love” ). What they don’t realize is that their kids brought them together on purpose. With the hope that the two warring parents will find true love! Oooh so sweet! And sooooo sneaky!
Terri, you could write that series for years, IMHO.
Julie - You have the imagination, you should write this one. Actually, this should be a series on the Hallmark channel. Or at least a one-off movie...
Are you speaking from experience? ;-)
Donna - You are officially the mayor of Crankytown. We expect a lot of you. Your constituents on this ship are many. And cranky.
And I want it to speed up for you too!
Julie - You're killing me. That is an awesome idea. And as the single parent of a middle schooler, I could totally write that. Though it has connotations for a YA series as well. Which I'm not sure I'd do as well as.
But it's going in the file! You are a FONT, woman!
And as the single parent of a middle schooler, I could totally write that.
And
It Gives you real Street Credo, babe!
Donna – You are officially the mayor of Crankytown. We expect a lot of you. Your constituents on this ship are many. And cranky.
So what's the salary like? LOL It sounds like I'll have a LOT of responsibilities. :)
Okay, I'm taking my cranky-ass self off to do some chores. Catch you guys later.
It's a good idea, Bo'sun...we could even set it up here on the Revenge... We ought to do a round robin series. Everyone pick a pair of kids and write a parent meet. Sin can have her kid at the principals office for taking an ice pick to all the cheerleader's pom poms... My kid can be there because she wouldn't remove her pirate hat with the big feather during an in class health ed movie... ;-)
Are you speaking from experience?
Nah ... but I have been around one or two sweet but sneaky kids! So I know what their wicked lil' minds are capable of!
And mine was renting out Playboys ..."
sigh.
True story.
Donna - The pay is a lifetime supply of rainbow sprinkles. And rum.
Julie - I'd definitely have the kid-speak down. LOL! I'm going to ponder on this idea for a few days and see how I can use it. Just too good not to.
Chance - More like Sin's kid would take the ice pick to the cheerleaders. LOL! Screw the poms poms. And your child would be a hugger, you know that?
That's the sign of an excellent business mind right there.
How enterprising of him!
*LOL* Yeah, I figured the Playboy was a true story. *LOL*
I like the round robin idea. *LOL* I'm trying to imagine what my kid would be doing, rescuing cats or something. Or selling them.
Rescuing cats & breeding them! Or rescuing ( okay stealing) cats from "bad" homes and finding them new loving ones.
She would be the Robin Hood of Cats!
Robin Hoodlum! I'm likin' it! LOL
I'm picturing Hellie's kid stiff-arming Chance's kid. LOL!
Well, they'd have to be at school. It's hard to rescue cats from homes if the school is not near homes. HOWEVER, there are usually classroom pets...and students are always "rescuing" them and setting them free.
Well, it was a short day but I got several great ideas. Thanks everyone for throwing them my way. I'll be sure and let you know when I send the stories off.
:)
I'm late but 800 words... eek! I can't hardly keep me emails to 800 words let alone a full story. :)
I've barely got an idea but what about a woman leaving a dr appt just cleared of cancer and somehow meets someone. Someone younger or someone who hits her car or something....
* Marnee = highly medicated so maybe this idea will sound stupid to me tomorrow. Sorry in advance. LOL
Hey, my kid will be the one bringing in special brownies and making everyone very happy! ;-)
(Not that I advocate funny brownies...though I probably would...)
Glad to hear that you're out of surgery, Marnee. And back st home home ... I hope!
Really, Hels...we ought to do it.
Call it Leave It To The Pirate's Kid...
"back st home home..."
Home home? Jeez, somebody else sounds highly medicated too.
Sigh.
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