[sukouyant]

Moonluvpie, The Bustie formerly (currently? where are you??) known as Miss Thing posted a writing exercise in this thread that sounded like fun and worked for her to loosen her ink.

This site over here: http://www.100words.com
To play you need to write 100 words, no more, no less, everyday for a month. The craft is in the commitment and the outside limitations imposed.

This is them: "You can write about anything you want. Anything. Some people open tiny windows into their lives; others write surrealist poetry. Some writers post finely tuned, perfectly crafted vignettes; others show up at the end of the night and spew drunken nonsense onto the screen."

[Moonpieluv]

Ohhh... yes. I've been backed up blocked like a reststop toilet in ole'kentucky for some years now. People tell me to write, damn it. But.. I don't. I'll take those suggestions down below... and I have some good books that my mee-maw gave me...

I like books, want to be around them, and want to eventually write one.
That's why I want to work in a library.. hoping all the great authors and what not will blow some writer's dust under the ass and get me started again.

I already have a buddy who is published and lives in SF....

blargh.

[sukouyant]

Bumpity bump

[wombat]

True enough, chacha!

[chachaheels]

Oh, Wombat, the collective creative endeavor can be a communal nightmare of epic proportions. It's not always as rosy as one thinks and there is always someone who delights in frustrating the process somehow.

Can you tell I've come to prefer the lonely frustration of kicking my own ass into gear? At least it's only one person to be frustrated with!

I found a couple of writers' sites that might spur you on, if you're in the mood to do some writing:

writing exercises and 50 tools to help you in writing

Have fun!

[wombat]

thankee, raisin! I think the trouble is that creative stuff is not a group endeavor.

I always envied film makers and people in bands for this reason. I mean, their creative stuff is a group endeavor.

I have gotten less done because i didn't want to feel like the stereotyped dorky eccentric hiding away to do my stuff.

[raisingirl]

Bumping for Free Spirit.

[wombat]

Oh, RATS!! I only discovered NaNoWriMo at the end of the month last year and then I forgot this year -- just PLUM FORGOT!!

One of these days -- I have two novels lurking around in here. I really wish I had a group for writing, for music, for the web/computer stuff too where we could just compare notes and share resources and not be ... competitive in a crappy way.

In a way, Bust boards are cool this way and in a way they're not.

[bunnyb]

it's definitely the right (or write) thread for this! I remember it being mentioned last year, it's such a good idea - even if you get 20% of well-written words out of it, it's worth it, polishing can come later. It's a good exercise for discipline, reaching daily quota and blitz writing.

[faith]

Anyone doing NaNoWriMo? (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) I thought perhaps last year some people here were trying it. If you're not familiar, it's a motivating deadline to write a 50,000 "work of lengthy fiction" in one month (November). It seems like a good exercise, even if it obviously wouldn't be a super-polished masterpiece. Or is this not the appropriate thread for such things?

[spirit lust]

Yep, good points, little_idiot (not) and cleanoldguy (heh!).
One thing that's often brought up on writer's forums is the issue of writing for exposure vs writing for pay. A lot of writers begin with non-paying markets and move on to only wriitng for payment. That's how I went about it too. Some people have this "writers should never write for free" hautiness that I think is unfair to all the wonderful struggling and new mags/ezines out there. Some of my favourite markets can't afford to pay writers, but have good and established writers working for them. It all depends on how much time you have and how niche your interests are, I guess. I'd like to write for more good yet unpaid markets, but don't have the time, unfortunately. I support them in other ways, and I only write for pay.
Good writing!

[cleanoldguy]

'little_idiot', who clearly isn't an idiot, says: "Another important thing is to get to know the market you want to write for...."

Absolutely essential. Otherwise you're shooting blindly into midair, hoping to hit a duck.

One other bit of advice: Read online magazines. There are thousands of them, ranging from dreadful to wonderful, and on any subject you could conceivably be interested in.

Very few online magazines pay anything, but many are well regarded places to be published and your pieces there are quite respectable. The days of "only print publication counts" are long gone. Ezines are an excellent way to build your bibliography.

Here are a few good literary ezines; all have links to others, so potentially you could be reading a long time. Check the submission guidelines on the ones that appeal to you, and good luck.

http://webdelsol.com/

http://eclectica.org/

http://alsopreview.com/

http://www.2river.org/

http://www.poetserv.org/index.html

For magazines on your own pet subjects? That's why God gave us Google (and the annual "Writer's Market" books).

[little_idiot]

Another important thing is to get to know the market you want to write for. In a writing workshop last year, my prof had us read a ton of lit mags and then decide how our work would or wouldn't fit. I write mostly short stories and occasionally essays and poetry, so I was reading pretty widely for this project. I found some magazines that were way above my level (think the New Yorker) and some that I wouldn't even WANT my work in. Some do themed issues, and some magazines always have the same theme, like nature or urban issues or whatever. Some only publish poetry, or short stories; some will take photos or artwork as well.
Reading the contributor's notes can be pretty intimidating--most of the writers are already very established, have a PhD. from Yale or have won the Pushcart Prize or have had 6 books published, but there are usually at least one or two that haven't had anything published before. Some magazines especially welcome material from unknown writers. clmp.org has some good information for writers.

[spirit lust]

My question is this: How do i go about getting a short story published? Alot of magazines don't seem to want to take unsolicited material, so does this mean I need to get an agent? <BR>Should I just spend the money to self-publish (there are place here in SF that do that, but it seems kind of like a scam)? <BR>This is what I really should be doing with my life, but I don't have any idea how to get my stuff out there.

Hey saktii, are you still interested?

I write for magazines and newspaper (non-fiction though), and can answer some of these q's.

Getting a short story published - email editors and talk to them about it. Sell the idea to them, show your enthusiasm. Take the time to research the editor's name (in print or online copies) and make it personal; tell them a bit about you and your drive. Connecting with an editor personally is the best way to ensure that they're honest and take the time to explain things to you.
Also - read website 'submission guidelines' - they'll outline how to do it. Most mags and journals have them online.

Unsolicited material - that just means they won't publish it unseen. If you email them and propose the story to them, and they're interested in having a read, that is solicited. It's just a term for their conscious interest in your piece. You don't need an agent (though I work in non-fiction, and if you're going longer, you might look into that. but you don't need an agent for a one-time publishing in a mag or journal).

Self-publish - I can't answer that, but read and discuss with people who can here:
http://www.writers.net/forum/
and here:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/forums/index.php
The Freelancewriting site also has a list of markets that you can approach, it's a good tool. Be wary of scammers, etc, use your wits and be familiar with the journal/mag first, either in print or online.

If it's really what you want to do with your life, get into it. Read about how to go about it, from library books and online forums/sites. I haven't studied journalism and now it's my career (as well as being mom) - I've just learned through reading and experience. If I can, you can.

I'll check back if anyone wants to ask me about my ideas, or PM me.

Go well
Rebecca

[venetia]

Argh, I wish I wasn't on dial-up.

[sukouyant]

There's a Canadian show called Imprint that did a little episode on dreaded rejection letters and how some Ontario authors cope here's the broadcast

This one...

a rejection letter from a chinese economics journal:

If we publish your paper it would be impossible for us to publish any work of a lower standard... we are to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition, and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity.

Gentle? Sarcastic? You be the judge. But I can just imagine the argumentative responses they might have got to their brutally honest rejection letters, to provoke the form letter above.

[demoness]

Saktii, i hope this helps:

http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Redir/?189

[demoness]

Saktii, i hope this helps:

http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Redir/?189

[venetia]

If you are thinking about self-publishing then I've heard it's better to absolutely publish it yourself than to get involved with a "vanity press" or scam outfit. Like, it makes you look better to just do it yourself than to get involved with something dodgy.

[saktii]

My question is this: How do i go about getting a short story published? Alot of magazines don't seem to want to take unsolicited material, so does this mean I need to get an agent?
Should I just spend the money to self-publish (there are place here in SF that do that, but it seems kind of like a scam)?
This is what I really should be doing with my life, but I don't have any idea how to get my stuff out there.