A. (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} kaiweilau) wrote,@ 2009-05-17 13:05:00 |
|
It's already over?
The house where we had the workshop, on the shores of scenic Gun Lake, Michigan.
I knew this was going to be a short workshop but wow the Hastings Point Writers' Workshop went by fast! I was the final critique. Perhaps it was good that they were almost all midwesterners as they did not rip on me too badly for giving them a novel that was still very much a raw WIP.
I'm glad I came. It was good to see other people's reactions to my story. I've been feeling kind of annoyed about this particular novel of mine for awhile. I wrote this novel because I was kind of getting tired of urban fantasy becoming so big without any real "urban" elements, in particular, certain depictions of NYC which was just Manhattan, only white-washed without people of color (or hip hop, or GLBT). I was also sick of myth-based stories that only seemed to focus on English / Celtic tales. This novel was a reaction to that.
Living room where we did our crits.
However, I've come to realize that my stronger stories begin either with 1) character or 2) a really striking image in my head (oh Merrie, you pegged me so well). In this novel, I started with a concept and not character or plot. As a result, this novel has been floundering.
I felt like there were so many issues that had to be dealt with that I just didn't know where to begin. You know that feeling of being so helplessly lost in the forest that you don't even know where to begin to try to get out? Yea, that was me.
View from the living room
This workshop was just what I needed to realize, 'hey that's not so bad, I know how to fix that!' Hearing people talk about my story gave me back my spark of enthusiasm. (And it is quite funny to me, that my novel, which started out as being a reaction to the unrealistic depiction of NYC, garnered accurate criticisms of "there's not enough real NYC in this book! There are too many fairies and not enough people!" The irony is not lost.) But yes, underneath all the randomness, unconnected scenes, attempts (both conscious and unconscious) to make it into a political novel and then not a political novel, there really is a story!
I just have to keep digging and moving rocks until I get there.
Thank you Merrie Haskell, for hosting, and to Victoria Witt, Emily Kajsa, and Elizabeth Shack, Steve Buchheit, Larry Hodges for making this such a great workshop!
The house where we had the workshop, on the shores of scenic Gun Lake, Michigan.
I knew this was going to be a short workshop but wow the Hastings Point Writers' Workshop went by fast! I was the final critique. Perhaps it was good that they were almost all midwesterners as they did not rip on me too badly for giving them a novel that was still very much a raw WIP.
I'm glad I came. It was good to see other people's reactions to my story. I've been feeling kind of annoyed about this particular novel of mine for awhile. I wrote this novel because I was kind of getting tired of urban fantasy becoming so big without any real "urban" elements, in particular, certain depictions of NYC which was just Manhattan, only white-washed without people of color (or hip hop, or GLBT). I was also sick of myth-based stories that only seemed to focus on English / Celtic tales. This novel was a reaction to that.
However, I've come to realize that my stronger stories begin either with 1) character or 2) a really striking image in my head (oh Merrie, you pegged me so well). In this novel, I started with a concept and not character or plot. As a result, this novel has been floundering.
I felt like there were so many issues that had to be dealt with that I just didn't know where to begin. You know that feeling of being so helplessly lost in the forest that you don't even know where to begin to try to get out? Yea, that was me.
This workshop was just what I needed to realize, 'hey that's not so bad, I know how to fix that!' Hearing people talk about my story gave me back my spark of enthusiasm. (And it is quite funny to me, that my novel, which started out as being a reaction to the unrealistic depiction of NYC, garnered accurate criticisms of "there's not enough real NYC in this book! There are too many fairies and not enough people!" The irony is not lost.) But yes, underneath all the randomness, unconnected scenes, attempts (both conscious and unconscious) to make it into a political novel and then not a political novel, there really is a story!
I just have to keep digging and moving rocks until I get there.
Thank you Merrie Haskell, for hosting, and to Victoria Witt, Emily Kajsa, and Elizabeth Shack, Steve Buchheit, Larry Hodges for making this such a great workshop!
