Timewaster's Guide Archive

That's it! I'm feeling left out. I'm reading the book! I did read the first three chapters on the website though. Gripping. Now, that's the style I think is fun. So, I'll get back to you, but so far, the girl, definitely the girl is my favorite. Sassy!

That is very informative (all of yous). Man, I wish I knew about this place a few months ago. I bet it really would have helped with my query letters. So, if I called it speculative fiction, that would be the better term? Or should I just stick with sci-fi? Votes?

Sooo, to go along with the portfolio for science fiction, what are some of the things you've all done to build up the resume? Magazines? Other genres? Is this something that's important to publishers or does anybody know?

Has anyone here tried to write a screenplay? (maybe that's a completely different topic)

As for that guy who wrote a killer query letter and that publisher is looking at his stuff because of it...I should look up who that was...what would you suggest?
I've tried so many different types of queries, from 'purely informative and to the point' to hyper 'get excited' to movie trailer like.  So far...

Hey, wait...one of my friends told me that our own Mr. Brandon had 27 rejections before his book was accepted. Is that true? She said that she would have crawled into a hole and given up if that had happened to her. Is preseverence the key then...or strategy? Both?

And THEN there's the waiting period. Man, sometimes that's the worst. I have checked out those 'writing market' books, but I think they get outdated fast. I can't tell you how many places I've sent them to and got a letter a few months later to tell me that they've been out of business for awhile.

I wish there was a way to kind of check the waters before you dive in and wait the allotted three to six months before you get another rejection. Like I said, I really like the idea of checking out books that are like yours to see who published them. Is there a way to see who was their agent? That could be very informative.

Anyhoo, just some crazy questions before I dive back to writing. I'm writing 'Meet Your Match' (another LDS chick lit novel), and I'm actually doing the narrative from the eyes of a 'sorta' villain. It's a new experience for me. I just hope it doesn't turn me evil or something. Yeah, scary!

I remember what C.S. Lewis said when writing 'Screwtape Letters.' He had to think like a villain and it was a little dark. Not like my story goes to such great lengths, but it's really hard for me to go that deep (ha ha, that could totally be used against me).

Ah hah!

Hey, how did I become a ditch digger? I thought I would always be on level one?

So what's your definition of sci fi/ fantasy, Archon? Let me hear the other side too.

By the way, that guy slamming his head on his computer until he's a bloody pulp is repulsive. I'm showing all of my friends!

Hey, is the BYU YA con (I totally had to look up that lingo), is that in the summer? Someone told me there might be one next month? Is that just wishful thinking? We were talking about writer's conferences at this Schooled Magazine meeting and a guy totally thought there was one in March.

I DO know for sure that there's an LDStorymakers writing conference in March (I get to be a flunky and pass out fliers or something).

Hmm, good point. Well, it takes place in the future...but it's written like fantasy. I wonder if that makes sense? All of my books, besides 'The Few,' which is definitely science fiction work that way.

You can click on the 'Only a Princess' blurb on the website if you like, but basically after a geological mishap, a ten on the Richter scale, (the survivors call it the ten plagues), the continents are split apart (another Pangea), leaving a mass of islands in their wake. Whether it was caused by the leftover debris or the volcanic eruptions, no one (conveniently) knows. All that is left are myths and legends, and a struggle for power.

You can imagine how much I had to pick apart the brains of my science major friends and siblings to get these 'possible geological end of the world scenarios.' And the research...it was fun, but a headache. A lot of it can't be confirmed or are just theories of what could possibly happen, so then of course my characters don't know 'the real story' either (they just know that their God saved the survivors; whoever, that God may be, depending on their culture). It's my favorite strategy when even I don't know the answer. I guess it's a little like real life in a way, so many creation theories, no one knows the 'whole' story. I actually think a lot of authors do it, and that's when I say, "Ah hah, they didn't know either."

So, anyway, the islands are the background of the story, but I zone in during the turning point of the war. Our heroes are losing. A dictatorship looks like it will finally take control. The pirates of the American Seas and the Revolutionaries of San Andreas can't stop the invaders...and the only one who stands a chance against it...is supposed to be dead.

I'm actually thinking about tearing the story apart (somewhat) and rebuilding it (I just want to make it shorter)--I really like the concept.

Anyway, I would totally appreciate it if you looked at the blurb on the story and told me what genre I should classify it (I bet that would really help when sending it in to publishers).

As I was writing the blurb, I realized that it might be a little 'Dunish,' except Dune takes place on a completely different planet. What's that classified as? I might classify all my books that way (except 'The Few' of course). Also, the titles are definitely up for change. My little brother tells me all my titles are c*&p . Maybe that's what needs to change?