Questions

[myrionomos]

1 I have written 10 chapters of my first story and it will probably run to 13 or 14. The chapters vary between 4600 words and 7700 words. Is that reasonable?

2 Which is correct and if neither how should the following be punctuated?

"What is it?" she said quietly. (or)

"What is it" she said quietly?

I have written lots of formal reports over the years but haven't written any dialogue for 25 years and am therefore uncertain.

3 Should a multi-chapter story be submitted all at once or in instalments. In any event I will probably finish all the chapters before submitting any of it.

4 I have decided not to ask for an editor at this stage because it seems a bit unreasonable to ask anyone to look at a 65000 word story from a new writer. However is there a particular place I can post a link and ask for criticism. I am not one of those people who asks for criticism and then resents adverse comment .

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[_Lynn_]

1 I have written 10 chapters of my first story and it will probably run to 13 or 14. The chapters vary between 4600 words and 7700 words. Is that reasonable?

2 Which is correct and if neither how should the following be punctuated?

"What is it?" she said quietly. (or)

"What is it" she said quietly?

I have written lots of formal reports over the years but haven't written any dialogue for 25 years and am therefore uncertain.

3 Should a multi-chapter story be submitted all at once or in instalments. In any event I will probably finish all the chapters before submitting any of it.

4 I have decided not to ask for an editor at this stage because it seems a bit unreasonable to ask anyone to look at a 65000 word story from a new writer. However is there a particular place I can post a link and ask for criticism. I am not one of those people who asks for criticism and then resents adverse comment .

Thanks in anticipation.

1. One lit page equals about 3500 words, so those are reasonable numbers.

2. "What is it?" she said quietly.

said quietly = whispered, no? I also prefer asked over said, as it is a question.

3. What I find works best is submitting the chapters every set number of days. You have a better chance of keeping readers that way. When you wait too long, people forget about chapter one, moving on to all the other stories offered. Completing the story first is a great idea, and the best way in my opinion.

4. You can start a thread in the feedback forum. Put a link to the posted chapters when you have it and mention any concerns you might have.

As for an editor, there are some here who do novel-length stories. Finding the right fit between author and editor can take a while, but can be worth the wait too.

Good luck!

 

[CopperSkink]

65k is like a snack to Vic TG. My chapters range around 10k-20k, with some getting up to 40k. I prefer the Kellog or WhisperStory huge installments with 7-10 chapters rather than SIB-Factor 3k words and 33 chapters. Just because the scene changes doesn't mean it needs to be its own submission, but 65k is a bit long for one. Every time I see a story posted and I'm all excited about reading it, then I get to the end of the fist page to find the end, I "wtf?" and cry.

I understand your pain in having a longer piece to do, but like I said, that doesn't scare me. I'm willing to work on it if you've got time. And by "time," I mean you don't want to post it until January.

""What is it?" she said quietly." is correct, but to say "said" instead of "asked" isn't something I personally do. While I agree that "said quietly" is equal to "whisper" in value, it is different in effect. "Said softly" "said quietly" "said doucement" and "whispered" all mean different things to me.

""What is it" she said quietly?" is dead wrong. Since she asked a question, the question mark belongs inside the quotes. If you're using third-person narritive, the narrator (almost) never asks questions, and as such all question marks only ever exist within quotes. Not to say that you can never break the rules, but you've got to know them first, to steal from the Strunk and White homepage.

 

[myrionomos]

Thank you Mistress Lynn and Copper Skink for your help. I think my first task will be to complete the story and then review my options. At the present rate that will take to about the end of January 2010.

 

[CopperSkink]

There's no reason you shouldn't try to get your earlier stuff edited as soon as you're done with it. Look at me - I decided to finish mine before editing, now there's way too much for any one person to edit, and it's still not done, but that doesn't stop people from yelling at me to post something ffs. Go to the monthly sticky of who's available this month and pick someone out. But without putting words in anyone's mouth, I'm willing to be that we're all fuckass busy to be taking on any new projects >.> until the holliday season is over.