Writers Central

Off-Topic Forum for things having nothing to do with Twilight or the entertainment industry

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Tornado
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Tornado »

I'm not sure my publisher is up on standard names for things either! She's also interstate at the moment, so I won't be seeing her for a couple of weeks.

I really detest it when people label books as certain styles. Why does it have to be romance or fantasy, drama or sci-fi? Why can't it be all of the above? Labelling things is so restricting! I've been sending off library catalogue information on some of the books we publish lately, and I'm amazed at just how many categories even the simplest of books can come under.

And all these rules! I know Twilight has copped criticism for having no plot until so late in the book. Who cares? It worked for me - and a few million other people! It always reminds me of that scene in Dead Poet's Society, when Robin Williams' character makes his students throw out the introduction to their poetry textbook. "We're not laying pipe; we're writing poetry!"
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Amanda Beth
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Amanda Beth »

Well, there is a reason for it. Some people don't like fantasy or sci-fi at all, which is why I believe those types of titles are necessary. And as far as I know, harlequin romance was named because a publishing company by the name of Harlequin was the first king of romance publishing...I never knew it to be a negative, its just a more outdated term now.
Tornado
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Tornado »

Yeah, I get it if it's just saying that this book is sci-fi, and this is historical drama, but when you're calling things "menarche fantasy" it's getting a little bit ridiculous!
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Openhome
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Openhome »

Tornado wrote:This is the actual quote from the email: "Twilight, to me, is more or less 'menarche fantasy' - that means it will automatically have a romantic factor but it is as much fantasy as romance."
As a female who endured my own menarche and as the mother of four teen girls, I so WISH there was a fantasy element to menarche. Nope. It's about as real and ugly as it gets, so I don't understand her statement at all!

Tornado, fanfic writers have beta readers for a reason. Do you have one? I have three ladies helping me with my original manuscript because I need the help. You can re-work it yourself or ask for help from someone you know. I know that Amanda Beth doesn't use one, but I've been very blessed with the ones I've chosen.
Tornado
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Tornado »

I don't really understand what beta readers are. Do they have writing experience? I have had some other people read my novel, and it was they who encouraged me to try to get it published (I met them at another Twilight site!), so I think I'd need someone with a bit of writing nous. If this is the case, though, I'm happy to try it.
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VirginiaMay
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Re: Writers Central

Post by VirginiaMay »

Tornado~ A beta reader is someone who proof-reads your work for errors. Basically, they are volunteer editors but they do not necessarily have any professional experience or training. There are many betas out there who have extensive teaching related experience, and some are basically professional students that have the basics of grammar & punctuation down to a T because they use it so often. Some are just fans who have a basic grasp of grammar & want to help others who have the desire to write. Some betas only correct mistakes, and some betas offer advice and suggestions on everything from sentence structure to story elements & plot.

Hope that helps. There is a beta reader thread on the Lexicon, but I don't think it's very active right now. You could check it though. I found my very first beta here. :)
Last edited by VirginiaMay on Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
VirginiaMay
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Re: Writers Central

Post by VirginiaMay »

**Moderators please forgive the double-post.**

Fanfiction Writers: Here's something that may interest you! I first mentioned it today on the Fanfic Discussion Forum, but I'm putting it here as well for those of you who do not follow that thread. (My apologies for not thinking of posting it here sooner! The good news is, it will be going on for a while.) :)

Twilight Fanfiction author, Solareclipses, has started what she is calling The Canon Tour. From her blog, she explains it like this:

"The Canon Tour is all about bringing Stephenie Meyer's canon vamps back to the Twilight fandom. It's a series of six canon and AU contests that reflect SM's main books of the saga: Pre-Twilight, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn and Post-Breaking Dawn.

If you're interested in finding out more about this please visit the FAQ page on The Canon Tour's Website, AND/OR check out The Canon Tour's FFn profile.

There are multiple rounds and categories for this contest, so I just want to clarify that you do not have to participate in every round. You can participate as much or as little as you like. Submissions can be between 2000 & 15000 words, but must be canon or canon-AU stories. There are a few other rules, as well as prompts and "picspirations" on their blog, so again... be sure to check out those FAQs. :)

At the moment, the contest is currently in the "Pre-Twilight" round. Submissions are still being accepted until Aug. 31st, and will be posted anonymously to the FFn Profile page on Sept. 1st. Voting will run from Sept. 1-10th, and then winners will be announced. After that, it's not too late to get in the game! The "Twilight" round will begin on Sept. 20th and submissions will be accepted until Oct. 20th. Voting in that round will then begin on Oct. 21st. The contest will continue on in this manner until they get all the way through to Post-Breaking Dawn stories!

So... there you go. Happy Writing?? :write:
Tornado
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Tornado »

Cool! That sounds good! Pity I don't write fanfiction.

Virginia, I'm pretty good with the grammar/punctuation side of things. If I do need help in that, I ask my mother - the ultimate grammar nazi! It's more on ideas for the story structure and genre/related issues. I have peeked at the Beta post before, but it doesn't look like there's much going on there at the moment.

I have had another email from the lady in question, and it got a bit more specific. Apparently, she had no idea I was trying to write something that is like Twilight in its style (either she has absolutely no idea what Twilight is like, or I am a REALLY bad writer!). With that in mind, she has pointed out where my story doesn't work. I have asked her for suggestions on fixing it from a genre perspective, while keeping my ending intact.

By the way, can I just ask everyone's opinion on another thing. In my story, my lovers are kept apart because a law on their planet refuses to allow inter-racial relationships (they are two different races). There is no problem from a physical POV - their species are compatible in that area. It is just that one of these races sees themselves as elite, and does not allow their gene pool to be mixed. This lady does not consider this enough of an objection to count as a "forbidden" relationship. I disagree; there are many countries on our planet where things like this are taken very seriously, even to the point of death if they contradict it. What does everyone else think?
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Amanda Beth
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Amanda Beth »

Countries? It's only been acceptable for an african american and a caucasian to be together within the last three or four decades. You could find shelves of fictional stories of interracial relationships and the repercussions from it. People WERE killed for dating another race.
Tornado
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Re: Writers Central

Post by Tornado »

That's what I think! It seems totally reasonable to me, but she thinks if it's just because of some "silly law", then it's no big deal. It's easily changed. I think she has been living in a free country for too long!
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