Myke Cole on the Craft of Writing and Short Stories

http://mykecole.com/blog/2013/03/why-i-dont-write-short-stories-except-when-i-do

Don’t mis­un­der­stand me. I am NOT bashing short sto­ries. If you like to read short sto­ries, if you like to write short sto­ries, more power to you. I *do* enjoy the very occa­sional short piece. I also *do* write the very occa­sional short piece.

But if what you really want above all else is to be a nov­elist, then for the love of all that’s holy: FORGET short sto­ries. FORGET con­ven­tions. FORGET SFWA. FORGET money. FORGET con­nec­tions and an online pres­ence and proper man­u­script format and all the other bull­shit that gets thrown out there to avoid the bottom line, the ONE thing that you must hold sacred above all else:

Craft.

There is no end run. Want to be a great nov­elist? Write a great novel. It’s as simple as that.

It's so true, especially for an aspiring writer as you can quickly loose yourself in all of the above and that only detracts from your effects to get a novel out. There are sooo many distraction that water down your work and you need to tune your focus to getting that novel written. As I ramp up to set up my latest schedule for my novel, I'm trying to break down everything else I'm doing and trying to find a way to keep it simple.

In fact, I feel that I've even been trapped by trying to force out a synopsis for my story. My number one goal has to be to get 1,000 words on the page a day. Period. Then I can spend time doing everything else.

Okay, off to pound out those 1,000 words!

One week before Borderlands... story hooks, character hooks, and Shadow Ops!

I've completed the first pass on all the 16 stories, and about halfway through my final pass of them. Another attendee mentioned that it's a good idea to critique your own work, so I'll be reviewing another one. Actually, it'll be an interesting exercise as I haven't looked at my own story since I submitted it in late summer.

So what have I learned about the critiquing I've done so far? The importance of a hook, and not just a plot hook, but a character hook.

I'm currently reading Myke Cole's Shadow Ops: Control Point and it's a great example of a character hook that grabs you in the first couple of pages. Basically, it's a character who's thrust into a position where he might something against his character. Great hook. However, in the next couple of chapters, Cole takes that character hook and evolves a story hook out of it. And not that it's overly predictable, but the best part is that you know that the hook has sunk into as the reader before you even read the words that elaborate on the conflict brought about because of that hook.

And that ties into the next thing I learned is how important opening are. I know that kind of goes without saying, but it's really where you set the tone for the story and make that implicit promise to the reader that this is what they're getting themselves into.

So, when I turn my critical eye to my own piece, I'll have those two things in mind.

I'm also starting to get nervously excited about it. Next weekend will be my first writing weekend away. I think it'll be a big turning point as I'll be exposed to other writers trying to make a go at it. And of course, having the ears of some professional writers. There are a few writers who have attended the boot camp before, so I think that tells me of the measure of this weekend.