tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post8628002554354653603..comments2024-03-25T20:45:50.003-05:00Comments on CrimeFictionWriter: To novel or not to novel, that is the questionMichael Brackenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post-67338166105566391702008-02-19T19:58:00.000-06:002008-02-19T19:58:00.000-06:00the cool thing is that you were so productive. If ...the cool thing is that you were so productive. If you can keep up that pace you would have it done in just a few weekends.<BR/><BR/>KevinKevin R. Tipplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04170714419133752724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post-71103262375306452972008-02-18T15:31:00.000-06:002008-02-18T15:31:00.000-06:00Those are the best reasons for writing a novel tha...Those are the best reasons for writing a novel that I've ever heard. It makes sense to write a novel when you put it that way. <BR/><BR/>thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post-57209889495261072562008-02-18T11:41:00.000-06:002008-02-18T11:41:00.000-06:00I know how easy it is to get sick of characters I'...I know how easy it is to get sick of characters I've lived with over the course of several hundred pages, and I suspect one of the reasons I was able to write so much this weekend is that I had not touched this manuscript in nearly two years. The characters, the setting, and the plot, while not new to me (I created them, after all), seemed fresh.<BR/><BR/>How important is it to be one of the anointed ones? Moderately important, and here's why:<BR/><BR/>1. Having books published (novels and short story collections) made me more marketable locally. I've picked up some freelance copywriting assignments simply because I'm "that guy who writes books."<BR/><BR/>2. Having books published enhances my cover letter when submitting short stories to new markets.<BR/><BR/>3. It enables me to answer the inevitable question from non-writers, "Well, have you ever had a book published?" (Though it doesn't do much for the follow-up question: "Why haven't I heard of you?")<BR/><BR/>4. It's an ego thing. Being able to look at my bookshelf and say "I wrote that and I wrote that and I wrote that..." makes my head swell.Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post-63589336515811080592008-02-18T10:53:00.000-06:002008-02-18T10:53:00.000-06:00I think there's one other question you forgot to a...I think there's one other question you forgot to ask yourself. How important is to you to be one of the annointed ones? Are you giving up short stories just so your name is recognized? As a short story writer, your name is well known to the editors you write for. You make a good living with your writing or else you'd be holding down another job. As near as I can tell, there's not much more money in writing novels (unless you hit the big time) than writing short stories. So is being a novelist all that important? Did your other four novels bring you a higher level of recognition? Just some thoughts that occured to me while reading your post.<BR/><BR/>One of the red-haired step- children who's pondering the same questions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10282376.post-2426191179628418712008-02-18T09:07:00.000-06:002008-02-18T09:07:00.000-06:00What I learned after writing a novel is that the t...What I learned after writing a novel is that the time it takes in writing it is only half the time it takes in getting an agent and a publisher. Or the time it takes in recrafting it for said people. Short stories are more fun and less stress. Plus I get darned sick of those same people over 300 pages.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.com