Learn Writing with Uncle Jim, Volume 1

Re: To all of ya

Whew!!! This was quite a read. My eyes blurred so many times it took three days to pan through all of the wonderful information and suggestions. I think I'm finally caught up to speed.

Hello, my name is Spooky, and I'm a bookoholic. I've posted a few other places on the board, but I had to say thanks to Uncle Jim and everyone else for all the great tips provided for us first timers out there. I have reorganized my writing techniques from some of the pointers, and even made a primary goal list that now hangs on the wall in front of my desk. One of the goals I set for myself was to read a minimum of one fiction & one non-fiction books a week. This may not sound like a lot of work, but, I have children and take care of my elderly in-laws, add in BIC time, errands, cleaning, cooking, etc. and 2 books/week seems like a great place to start. If I find I need more of a challange I can always add another book. So, I guess the best place to start that goal would be the Best Seller list provided. Bravo Uncle Jim. You have once again supplied us with invaluable tools to further educate ourselves. And we don't even have to pay registration fees.

I do have one question though. I so hope it does not sound foolish. I saw tons of info about proper MS form (preference of publishers), but the one thing I did not see mentioned (don't flog me please) was how to separate between chapters.

Do you scroll to the next page, or do you skip a line? Ex:

(Page 14 line 10)
She drifted off to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

(page 15)
Chapter Two
The persistant buzz of the digital alarm clock woke her from a wonderful dream blah blah blah.

or should it be

She drifted off blah blah blah

Chapter Two

The persistant buzz blah blah blah

I hate to sound like the ninny, but I can't be the only newbie out there that is wondering, right?

ms format

As I understand, new chapter starts on new page, even if there's only one line on the previous page.

Re: To all of ya

Each new chapter starts half-way down a new page.

<hr>

There are reasons you want to start half-way down a page.

First, the Official Reason: The big blank area allows the editor lots of room to write notes, instructions to typesetters, and so on.

Second, the Real Reason: If there are fewer words on the first page, it's less likely an editor is going to bog down and stop reading on the first page. Once you've got the poor bugger turning pages, you've got him.

<hr>

Next: Quick'n'Dirty Story Injection Technique.

For the next month, watch a movie every night. You can do this by going to your local video rental place and picking out movies you've never seen before (extra points if you've never heard of them, even more points if you pick genres you don't particularly like), or by going to a local multi-screen theatre at a random time and seeing the Very Next Movie Showing that you haven't previously seen. Big box of popcorn is extra. Checking the movie listings in advance looking for something you want to see is not allowed.

The idea here is to fill your head with Images and Story Fragments. These will slop around between your ears and come out in Story of your own.

Re: Best Seller Lists

I start my new chapter 1/3 down the page. Anyway, he's right about leaving blanks on the page for any type of writeups.

Well well

Jim okay, but well i will not go in a movei couse i ain't got the time, and here in me town there is no movie at night lol ))))) But i will download every weekend something

And now to the real purpuse. I Wan't you people to read the very first chapter of me novell that i will post to the race i talked of a few posts before...Uncle Jim i'll be honord if you could read it throu and say your critic.

It was a day like all the other days. Me and the boys where flying guard roots in the beta 4 sector, when the chaos broke out in the radio.
- Help...please...help!! We're beeing attacked. Please help us!! Life support is damaged! The oxigen is fleeing! The hull is down to 30%! Please come immidietly!! Out location is.........
- Base do you got that messages?
- Yes Zeta - 1. The radio signature shows that the message come from sector beta - 4 quadrant 56. It's right next to you Zeta. Immidiat assitance is essential.
- Copy base. We're on out way.
The plate of my ship sqeezed together as i turned it in the way to quadtrant 56.
- Listen all! Engage hyperdrive! NOW!
My head stucked in the seat and the stars began to fade to a straight line. My innards began to crawl up into my stomec while the ship entered the hyperspace. The 56 was not far from us. Ten minutes whit hyperspeed. The radio was still. No new distress calls. The cold, shiny tail of the Anubela comet, flew past me when the voice os the base sounded in my radio.
-What is your position Zeta?
-Almost there base!! Slowing down from hyperspeed! We should see the....
My voice stucked in my throut as the view emerged from the dark space befor us. Bodys flooting soundlessly in the space. Legs, limbs and ather bodyparts all over the quadrant. From the ship there is only a peace of junk remaining.
- Zeta!! Zeta report in!! What happened out there?
- I can't tell base. You have to come out here and see it for yourself.
- What? What is the situation of the ship?
- It's a peace of junk. Nothing is left. Everybody is dead.
- Were they civils? Or military? Or mercenery?
- They were civils according to there clothes.
- Collect data Zeta - 1! And the corpses, and the wreck as well. Then come back to the base immidiatly.
- Copy base. Zeta out.
We collected all that we could, and then we left that massgrave behind us.


According to the this novel have to be max 20 pages, that all is the first chapter the got the name: hour two early morning. It gose on and every new page is a new chapter and a new hour. Real time novell I like it very much. It's kind of cool.

Please note that i'm hungaryan...I translated it from hungaryan and i know there are many bugs in it

Thx for reading it...and the critic

errr

Out = our ))) On our way and Our position..

Damn

Damn i shouldn't have posted it It has so much problems...It's much better in hungary...i could not translate it better...sorry guys

Re: Damn

Really? Hungarian? Wow, you have quite a surprisng and erratic grasp on our language (ain't,shouldn't, it's, and so on) then. Interesting.

You should post stuff like that in Share Your Work, though, not in here. If you want Uncle Jim to read it, maybe you could give him a heads-up in an EZ board message instead of putting it in here for his notice. What do you think, Jim? Emeraldcite? Just a suggestion...

Re: Damn

Yep, story bits for critique should go in Share Your Work with a note and a link here.

Brief Commercial Announcement

See announcement here: <a href="http://b27.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm16.showMessage?topicID=397.topic" target="_new">b27.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm16.showMessage?topicID=397.topic</a>

Hmmm

Hmmm interesting. Chris Goja inserted his whole first chapter in, witch was 3 imtes bigger then mine. Got a good critice and not even got brecked down. but nevermind.

My first chapter

Hannibal, got the same comment your scene received, i.e. I got told to post it elsewhere, which I did.

Like you, I suspect, I simply hadn't seen the other sub categories, and so didn't know about the possibility. Kind people have commented on it in this new location as well, though, so I would suggest you post there, as well.

Editing

You know, I'd love for you to do this, but there's something... what was it now?

Oh.

I don't have a manuscript...:head


Just out of interest, how did you decide on the price, Jim? I have no experience of this kind of service, so have no way of knowing if you're cheap or expensive. Are there standards for this sort of thing, like x dollars/page, or how does it work?


Chris - home, sick and home sick.

Somtehing

Okay

Re: Hmmm

Chris's first bit plus commentary is <a href="http://b27.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm31.showMessage?topicID=270.topic" target="_new">here</a>.

Chris Goja

I started an editing company with my friend Lisa not long ago. A large part of the market research we did involved determining that Uncle Jim was uninterested in editing for money. Now that he is, all I can say is YIKES! :ack

I checked his price; all I can say is :wha

It is very reasonable, mid-range or below, and for his kind of quality a huge bargain. Very bad news for the rest of us who try to make a living.

My first thought, when I saw what he was saying: how can I get him to edit MY manuscript?

The second thought: well this certainly ratchets up the stakes in the old editing biz!

Congratulations, Jim.

Eric

Re: Chris Goja

Geeze, qatz, when you did your market research did you look at <a href="http://www.windhaven.com/" target="_new">Windhaven Press</a>, <a href="http://www.ses-ny.com/" target="_new">Sherman Editorial Services</a>, or <a href="http://www.sff.net/people/lauraanne.gilman/dymk.htm" target="_new">dymk productions</a>?

Re: Somtehing

Q, there's always market for other editors. There are more than 52 novelists out there who need editing help, and most probably can't wait a year in line. Also, there are short stories, poetry, screenplay, etc. Competition is good. Maybe you can strike up a partnership with Uncle Jim.

Re: Hmmm

Also, there are short stories, poetry, screenplay, etc.

Click to expand...

It's unlikely that one editor would be qualified to work on all of those--if that's what you meant.

Editor

Why not?

well, jim,

Laura Gilman and Nancy Hanger are obviously class acts. Nancy, whose site I think I looked at, doesn't do exactly what we do, though it'd be great to get some of those contracts with publishers, and we're looking into that sort of thing.

I heard of dymk, for sure. Laura, well, what can I say? Lucky there's only one of her. Sherman Editorial appears to be a big downtown operation, which we aren't. Maybe Sherman just makes it look like that, but still.

There are lots of editors out there. Our basic market research was finding out there's enough work to go around, and deciding we were below your attennae! Other people, it's not like the editorial world revolves around Big Jim. This is just my way of complimenting him.

Maestro, as far as partnering up with Jim, well, my guess is he likes to work by himself, no frills. There are numerous other considerations into which I will not go at present. Actually, I would die for a chance like that for Lisa and myself. Even so, I will die anyway someday, so why should I go around looking for additional opportunities? Being someone's partner is a pretty big commitment, anyway. I am already Lisa's partner, and I am grateful for that. If Jim wants to employ us, he knows where we are. :thumbs

But this concerns the craft of writing, not who's editing whom. Editing is about honing the skills as well as making the basket look better. I think Lisa and I would like to put on a seminar in the Northeast next year having to do with what editing really is, because people don't really understand that I think, and we would most humbly invite you, Jim, to lead part of it. :hail Do you have free spots in your schedule?

Re: Editor

Maestrowork (on "most editors wouldn't be qualified to do all of those"):

Why not?

Click to expand...

Because to be truly qualified to be a consulting editor in a field you ought to have extensive professional experience in that field -- as a writer or, preferably, as an editor. You need to be able to show that you know how the money is made, because you've been making it yourself for some years.

Relatively few people have years of professional credits in novels, short fiction, screenplays and poetry. There's probably someone out there who does, but most professionals specialize more than that. Of course anybody can hang a shingle out and call themselves anything they want, but I personally wouldn't consider giving anyone money for their advice unless they'd proven themselves deeply in the field I wanted to write in.


Have Fun,
- Steve Eley

I agree with steve.

I know a fair amount about poetry, but am put to shame by some poets I know. I know about short stories and long fiction, but do not think my editing talents necessarily go to the former. I know a little about screenplays and like them, but do not think them at all fungible with novels. There is a reason why good editors do not do everything, and that is the same reason why good fiction is not mass-prodouced.

Careful with numbers--

In Japan, the number 4 is pronounced the same way as death ("Shi"). Four is most decidedly not a lucky number, and is generally to be avoided (i.e. never give four of anything as a gift, etc.).

Jeff

Re: Careful with numbers--

Fascinating info, Jeff -- and another reason to take great care when setting a story in a culture not your own.

<hr>

Fun things:

Preamble to the Constitution, Diagrammed!


The Pledge of Allegiance, Diagrammed!

Those who are playing along at home can try <A HREF="http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/diagrams/diagrams.htm" target="_new">diagramming</a> this stanza from A Visit from St. Nicholas:


<BLOCKQUOTE>
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
</blockquote>

<hR>

Oh, a reflected boast: Sales by some of our Viable Paradise students.