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[BigMcLargehuge]

Hi everyone, I am working on a novel entitled "Tears of Amaterasu" meant to explore the Rape of Nanking from the eyes of two young Japanese soldiers. I am at the 30,000 word mark of the first draft and, aside from procrastinating at DU, average 5-10,000 new words a week.

I've been actively writing for the better part of 15 years with very limited success. I actually did better with a weekly political column that I've ever done with fiction, but I love writing fiction.

So, what are you working on, what pitfalls have you encountered, how do you get the motivation to keep writing when you can't get an editor to look at your stuff, do you write with music in the background or silence, how do you balance family time with writing time.

How much sleep have you lost to a project?

[Laughing Mirror]

1. To get editors interested

You might try doing a short piece that you have excerpted from your novel and publish that somewhere. Then show that to editors, along with any response readers may have made to it, to show that there is interest in what you are writing.

Be pro-active. Try to build a buzz around your book. Get people to read it, not just editors. Anybody. Use their comments and criticisms to make your book better. This will help to keep you from getting discouraged. Seeing people interested in what you're doing helps will give you the strength to go on.

It may take you a lot longer than you ever thought possible, but whatever you do, don't give up.

[BigMcLargehuge]

23. that's a good strategy

the only problem is the market for excerpted novel segments is miniscule.

[Sgt. Peppers]

2. You mean how many rejections came before I made TV as a pro?

I cannot count that high.

[frank frankly]

8. i was rejected by at least 75 publishers

until i found a very small one and made it work.

i can easily imagine another 75 rejections with the new book, so i'll just send out 76. ;-)

[BigMcLargehuge]

21. the best one i ever got was a simple post it

stuck to my title page that read "sorry, out of forms"

at one time I saved the rejection letters but moving to increasingly large boxes made keeping them a space concern. The one time I did place something though, I was stunned. The editor called and left a message on my machine.

That was mondo cool.

[NightTrain]

3. I've got several irons on the fire.

I'm actually sitting on several finished manuscripts. The two best are as follows:

BOBBY DREAMLAND (written in 1994, revised in 1997), a work of satire about the rise and fall of an incredibly good-looking, but woefully untalented, 1970s teen pop idol.

DEADWAX (written in 2001, revised in 2002), a murder mystery set in the world of record collecting.

To date, I've had absolutely no luck in placing either novel with an agent or a publisher. :-(

I'm currently knocking around an idea for another murder mystery, this one set at a college radio station. The working title is MURDER AT 5000 WATTS.

[BigMcLargehuge]

20. writer's market provided a pretty good resource for

seeking out editors. But I'd avoid the hard copy and stick to their web version as it's constantly updated.

[Madolan]

4. Utter amateur here.

Though nothing approaching the scale I see on this thread, I recently tried my hand at fiction after years of academic writing. I employed a suggestion by Chuck Pahlaniuk-- gather some like-minded friends, set a deadline, and challenge one another to write. Matter of fact, I set a theme as well (apocalypse, all interpretations welcome) and opened the challenge to an online community (LiveJournal). Friends and strangers responded-- submissions ranged from professional writers to first-time amateurs. It was really gratifying, and participation helped us all to challenge ourselves.

The stories are archived here, or here for Mozilla/Firebird users. Apocalyptic fiction of all kinds, from political to cultural to personal to environmental. It was a great time and a great help to many of us.

[BigMcLargehuge]

19. I was in one writer's group

and founded another when an attempted coup of the first group failed.

The problem I've always had with organized groups, even very loosly organized ones, is that very few of the members actively write. I appreciated their criticisms when I got them, but I wanted to also hone my editing skills and on virtually all occasions I was the only one out of 10 people who brought a manuscript.

I will have to check out Palinhuk's stuff. I liked the film version of Fight Club, and I imagine the book is better.

[flamingyouth]

5. That's awesome, Big

I'm a non-fiction writer, myself, working on a silent film bio (whenever I finish it, that is!)

Have you read "The Good Man of Nanking," by John Rabe? It's tough to read but a good book. I look forward to yours!! :hi:

[BigMcLargehuge]

6. I have read it

it was one of the books I used for research. I also read "American Godess at the Rape of Nanking" about Minnie Vautrine, Iris Chang's "The Rape of Nanking: the forgotten holocause of WW2", and a host of other books on Japanese militarism and political organization.

:)

I write non-fiction for a living, telecommunications related stuff.

[flamingyouth]

9. I knew you did the telecom thing

Just didn't know you were writing fiction. Well, I think it's great, and I'm very happy to hear about your book and can't wait to read it! :toast:

:loveya:

[BigMcLargehuge]

17. I will keep you posted as to progress

the best thing i ever did was hire an editor. It's good to have friends that edit newspapers.

[frank frankly]

7. one down, one in the oven

and by oven i mean, no i do not sleep.

always music in the background. loud music.

done with the new manuscript next month!

i may have more advice in the summer as i look for publishers...

keep on! its worth it!

http://www.incrediblythin.com/books_bookofspiral.php

[BigMcLargehuge]

18. I always have music on in the background too

I can't write in silence. Lately I've been working to either The Cardigans (First Band in the Moon and Carnival) or Iron Maiden (Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, and Somewhere in Time).

I don't sleep either, but that seems to work for me.

[oneighty]

10. Curious.

Shina No Yoru (China Night) I understand was written by a Japanese soldier about a girl he met in China. It is a beautiful song in Japanese. The words cry out his love for the Chinese girl. A contrast between cruelty and love and compassion.

I lived in Japan for three years. They are not a mean people by birth I think.

180

[BigMcLargehuge]

22. I don't think anyone is "born" mean

but I want to explore is how otherwise normal people can become evil given the circumstances.

[Interrobang]

11. I'm working on my second novel

The first one I never finished, and trunked when real life made it obsolete (I *hate* that when that happens!).

It's called NEARSHORED, and it's all about people working low-end, low-paying, no-benefits service-sector jobs and the "miracles of the new economy." Being as it's kind of MICROSERFS-like, it doesn't have a describable plot, per se.

[BigMcLargehuge]

14. I have an outline for a novel like that

I never followed through with it though.

Mine was to follow two kids straight from college and into a white collar job just before the dot com crash and follow them as they are corrupted and ground down by the system.

It was too depressing to write as we started having layoffs at my actual job.

Maybe someday I will work on it.

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. I started writing "chick lit" before it was a genre

Now it seems almost silly to write the stuff, but they say "Write what you know."

I KNOW Austin, Texas in the 80s, bands, unrequited love, and the like.

Sarah Bird and Tami Hoag both started out in romances. Tami moved successfully into suspense, and Sarah into more serious fiction, so I'm hoping I can do the same.

I'm up to Chapter 12. Working title has been "What Girls Want" after the Material Issue song, but the freaking Mel Gibson movie probably ruined that for me.

[BigMcLargehuge]

16. genre jumping is tough

one of the reasons I wanted to do a historical piece was because I couldn't even get into the science fiction genre, which is where I've always had the most interest (and virtually all of my writing fits there), but there are very few that escape the genre black hole.

Good luck!

My wife is a Chick-Lit fanatic, so I am certain you'd have at least one sale for What Girls Want!

[fudge stripe cookays]

26. That's encouraging Big, thanks!

I really enjoyed reading the "Rape of Nanking." Horrific and brutal, and educated me about a topic I knew nothing about.

This is something that everyone needs to read. Especially since the Japanese have never officially apologized or even really acknowledged that it happened. It just sort of faded from memory, and we can never let that happen.

Some of the stories from those women were just awful. I look forward to reading yours. Hurry and finish! ;-)

[BigMcLargehuge]

28. I am typing as fast as I can :)

Tears of Amaterasu will only have one short chapter where the main characters actively interact with the Chinese. I wanted to explore the event through Japanese eyes, but there will be one little oasis of humanity before the main character goes off the deep end.

[supernova]

13. Two books in progess

One that I have been working on for a long time because it's historical and require quite a bit of research. A queen in the middle ages.

The other is a recent development within the past couple of months, I need a repository for all my info collecting on foreign affairs/diplomacy. It's about a woman who is an ambassador. I don't know where or what subject yet... but might turn into a serial.

Interesting they are both political in a way. Heh.

[BigMcLargehuge]

15. very cool!

I've really enjoyed the research process that's gone into "Tears of Amaterasu".

[BigMcLargehuge]

24. sorry for not answering this thread more often over the weekend

had out of town company.

Keep writing everyone.

[Maeve]

25. I'm working on getting my short stories into book form

I've been writing them for my storytelling for several years and I have a friend in the business...(she's had a few of her things published, helped others I know and she is planning on becoming a publisher herself in the future)

I need to tell my tales out-loud to get them just right and it isn't always easy to get an audience. My best story I have probably told a hundred times to school kids (and it remains my most-requested!)

[BigMcLargehuge]

29. that's great!

Do you notice a difference between the oral and written experience?

[Maeve]

31. There are a lot of differences

Emphasis, especially, varies--I can pause for effect in performance or raise my voice, but that doesn't work on paper. Dialect is tricky, too--don't want to come across like a sterotypic parody, just add the flavor, if you follow.
I let Hubby edit for me--he had journalism school and was a practicing editor for a while when we first were out of college. Good to get a second opinion I can trust (best supporter and harshest critic!)

[BigMcLargehuge]

32. I used to use Mrs. McLargehuge as my wise editor

but she complained that I changed all the things she liked about the stories she edited.

I can only imagine how hard it is to take tales from oral to written. How do you get around the emphasis problem?

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. Have a romantic short story coming out in an anthology later this year

and am currently working on a teen chick lit novel.

[BigMcLargehuge]

30. WOW! Which anthology?

that's great!

The teen market is great if you can crack it, but be ready to write and write and write because if you score a good hit in that demographic they DEVOUR books. We must've had 100 Sweet Valley High series type books in our school library where I taught and there were new ones coming every two months. Same with R.L. Stine.