For all my friends out there who write sci-fi, Chuck Sambuchino has just released a list of literary agents who are actively seeking sci-fi novels.
They are all US-based agents, but I won’t let stop me.
I hope you find this as useful as I did.
Yet another great post from Writers in the Storm. Thanks guys.
See the full list here
To celebrate getting my short story published in the New Accelerator magazine, I have decided to put it out as a blog post. Enjoy…
To Serve a King
The pressgangs never came around here. Why would they? Pickings for naval impressment were slim in Albany. As one of the kingdom’s more remote regions and situated near the petering end of the Good Hope trade wind, the place was populated mostly by farmers. Granted, there were plenty of scrapyarders and a handful of metal workers here, but experienced sailors were few and far between.
And yet, the dreaded pressgangs had arrived.
Ok, so it’s an incredibly rare occurrence that makes me utter, “Well done Disney,” but in this case I think it’s valid.
Why?
Because I saw this today…
Oh yes.
And the pat-on-the-back goes out to Disney (and J.J.Abrams) for not only making these films in a manner that’s honest to the original trilogy, but also for keeping alive Lucas’s vision of the Empire as Nazis. I mean, just look at that screen shot. It could have been taken in Germany circa. 1940. I think they’ve made a bold decision by including such a political assertion in an age of such political correctness.
So like I said.
Well done.
P.S. Only 129 days to go…
I’ve not been posting on here as frequently as I would like, and whilst I’m not going to apologise (after all, the only person that really affects is me) I will tell you that I shall endeavour to keep future postings a little more frequent than of late.
So then, trying to get an agent to take on my debut novel is proving about as impossible as I expected. In response to that I’m currently rejigging my story – especially those notorious “first three chapters” that agents ask for – and will be embarking on a second wave of attack in the near future. Right now, though, at least I have some good news to impart…
It turns out that The New Accelerator magazine took a liking to a short story of mine and has decided to publish it.
The adventure is set in the same swashbuckling sci-fi world as my novel, and centres around a young lad who is pressed into service onboard a starship. Life aboard a solar-sailing ship tuns out to be nothing like he expected, and we follow his subsequent attempts to get away.
This short story was, in part, an experiment to see if I could convince readers of my maritime sci-fi world… and it appears that I can. Great. Additionally, it has given me confidence in the concept of my novel and the faith to go and get that published.
The New Accelerator is a bi-monthly compendium of sci-fi shorts, ten in each issue, written by authors from around the globe. My story appears in Issue 3, just in case you’re interested.
The magazine is only recently launched (which probably helped my case a lot!) but a few of the writers are excellent. I am incredibly proud to share the pages with some of these guys and certainly chuffed that somebody took up one of my stories.
This is definitely a feeling I could get used to…
Thanks for reading
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m one of those people who frequently overwrites. I just can’t get enough of chunky adjectives, hyperbole, laying-it-on-thick, over dramatisation, theatrical adverbs and big, fat, fluffy sentences that you can really get your teeth into.
However…
So I’ve just discovered this thing called the Six Word Story Challenge, or 6WSC, where you have to write a six-word story on a chosen subject. This time it’s film: On the topic of film, write a short story. Simple. Fun. Quick. I love it.
I’ve chosen to do my story on one film in particular and, of course, there was only ever going to be one film for me to write about, so here’s my story:
A childhood spent with plastic figures…
And the film?
This one:
Thanks for reading.
Welcome, friends,
I’ve just sent my first ten pages off for a sample edit to be done (for free, I hasten to add) and I have to say that it was the best non-spending of money I’ve ever not spent.
First of all can I say thanks to Jon from Editing For Authors who not only did the work, but also offered some very encouraging words about my book and its concept. He was also most prompt and very professional.
I always knew that an edit is needed, but it was amazing to see how these pros find all the stuff we, as writers, should find but don’t because we’re too wrapped up in the creative process – or something like that.
I’ll finish off by reaching out to other fellow first-timers out there. Get one of these done. No matter how good you think your work is (and, naturally I knew mine was perfect) there is still plenty that can be found by a pro. Plus it’ll improve your stuff, and that can only be a good thing.
So that’s it. That’s pretty much all I wanted to say.
Finally, though, can anyone come up with and ideas of how I can get this done for free? I’m skint at the moment. How about blackmail? Threatening letters to the editors? Selling my soul? My body…?
P.S. If you fancy reading on, I’ve included a short before and after example papagraph highlighting how the simple things make such a difference (changes highlighted in red):
Before…
His ship was a mess and he found himself surveying the carnage splayed around him with an unfamiliar feeling of impending doom. His solar sails were in tatters; his rigging was shredded and hanging limp in several places; the ion propulsion drives were phasing in and out of consciousness and half his complement of neutron spike cannon were either destroyed or now dripping with the parts of what once were their guncrews. He had absolutely no idea of what to do next, except to run and try to prolong the moment that an inevitable closing broadside would send them all to hell.
After…
His ship was a mess, and he found himself surveying the carnage < > around him with an unfamiliar feeling of impending doom. His solar sails were in tatters; his rigging was shredded and hanging limp in several places; the ion propulsion drives were phasing in and out of consciousness; and half his complement of neutron spike cannon were either destroyed or < > dripping with the parts of what once had been their guncrews. He had absolutely no idea of what to do next, except to run and try to prolong the moment when an inevitable closing broadside would send them all to hell.
I know differences aren’t huge, but it’s the small things that matter, eh?
Thanks for reading,
Gareth
Welcome, friends, to my new blog and my first post (which is actually a little bit of a cheat, but more of that in a second)…
So what’s this blog all about then? Well, I guess that it’s intended to connect with people: people I can talk to, people able to offer advice, people I can reach out to within a circle never before attainable prior to the digital age.
Now that I’ve finally embarked on the sci-fi novel that was bouncing around the inside of my head for so many years, I thought I’d share some of the conundrums and insights I had on the process of creating this story, whilst also trying to enlist the help and support of others in getting it polished and maybe even getting it published.
Writing can sometimes be a lonely pursuit. Sitting there in one’s own little world dreaming up plots, imagining characters, giving them names, developing scenes, conjuring up interesting places, working out the logic and motives for the craziness you have just invented and then giving reason to this whole, wondrous escapade can be a joyous and frustrating experience all at the same time. And for the most part, of course, the project is undertaken while restraining from talking about it too much with those close to you because you don’t want to ruin a story that, ultimately, you want them to read and enjoy. Hence, I thought I’d discuss it out here in the blogosphere instead
I’m sure there are many other writers out there who have the same thoughts and encounter the same issues as me and I also appreciate this may be just another blog about writing. Nevertheless, that doesn’t quell my urge to connect with others. I will also be blatantly honest and admit that I wish to use this as a platform to release some of my content out into the big bad world.
I also know that I can’t talk forever about writing, so occasionally I may just indulge in a little discussion of life and the rich kaleidoscope of highs, lows and oddities that makes it what it is.
Everything else you need to know about this blog is contained within the posts.
So that’s it.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, my surname is pronounced somewhere between /Ayenun/ and /eyenon/.
They say one should always finish with a question to encourage engagement, so here’s one for you: Is it bad form (and maybe a touch lazy) to use the text from the ‘About Page’ for your first post, or should you use the ‘About Page’ for your first post?
Thanks for reading.
Photo courtesy of Issy Mey.
How Do You Pronounce Eynon? 