I've long been on the search for a mentor, but I was never really sure how to get started. I'm not holding out a lot of hope, but I thought I'd try this thread and see what happens.
Anyway, I've been writing pretty much since the 3rd grade, which would make it about 20 years now. Back then it was pretty much just kid's stuff like silly action and sci-fi stories. Then I moved into more advanced sci-fi after college. Then about 3 years ago I got bit by the literary fiction bug. At present I've gravitated towards more mainstream fiction.
My last project is a mainstream love story that leans towards being literary. It's called "The Best Light" and is about a nature photographer who travels to a small New Mexico town to search for information about the death of a woman he loved 25 years earlier. He meets the woman's daughter (who is not his daughter) and as they spend time together, a bond develops. If you need a point of reference, think of "Lost in Translation" if you've seen that movie.
I've put up the first chapter if anyone wants to read it for a sample. Go to http://pdilloway.bravehost.com/ if you would like to read Chapter 1. That might help you better decide if I'm worth the trouble.
Anyway, what I'm looking for in a mentor is someone who first of all is a published author. Not self-published. I've heard from plenty of unpublished people and after a while it starts to seem like the blind leading the blind. Anyone who has published a literary or mainstream fiction novel would be especially helpful, but I'm not too picky.
I think by now my writing skills are decent, but I'll let you all be the judge of that. I'd like to write something that can be published, so I'm hoping that someone with some experience can help me fill in the blanks.
Thanks for any help.
Anyway, I've been writing pretty much since the 3rd grade, which would make it about 20 years now. Back then it was pretty much just kid's stuff like silly action and sci-fi stories. Then I moved into more advanced sci-fi after college. Then about 3 years ago I got bit by the literary fiction bug. At present I've gravitated towards more mainstream fiction.
My last project is a mainstream love story that leans towards being literary. It's called "The Best Light" and is about a nature photographer who travels to a small New Mexico town to search for information about the death of a woman he loved 25 years earlier. He meets the woman's daughter (who is not his daughter) and as they spend time together, a bond develops. If you need a point of reference, think of "Lost in Translation" if you've seen that movie.
I've put up the first chapter if anyone wants to read it for a sample. Go to http://pdilloway.bravehost.com/ if you would like to read Chapter 1. That might help you better decide if I'm worth the trouble.
Anyway, what I'm looking for in a mentor is someone who first of all is a published author. Not self-published. I've heard from plenty of unpublished people and after a while it starts to seem like the blind leading the blind. Anyone who has published a literary or mainstream fiction novel would be especially helpful, but I'm not too picky.
I think by now my writing skills are decent, but I'll let you all be the judge of that. I'd like to write something that can be published, so I'm hoping that someone with some experience can help me fill in the blanks.
Thanks for any help.
