tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post4941542501873367451..comments2015-02-04T22:07:18.156-08:00Comments on Missouri River Writer: Death by StoryMike Robertsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-41009158074560729162010-08-14T06:12:49.643-07:002010-08-14T06:12:49.643-07:00Rachel, I needed that real-world feedback, thank y...Rachel, I needed that real-world feedback, thank you so much.<br /><br />My other stories, not so short, and my novel in progress are all on private blogs too.Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-24064724492412057402010-08-13T22:42:11.696-07:002010-08-13T22:42:11.696-07:00This really is kind of frightening, but also thoug...This really is kind of frightening, but also thought-provoking as well. Clearly many people consider themselves writers who only post on blogs or get published in magazines started by friends or themselves. They've never dealt with an editor or a rejection. In my professional guise as a senior editor, I was advised to use a pen name because some of the writers who come from this online world of automatic acceptance and zero critique, had made death threats to some of the editorial staff. It's insane, and thankfully it was only one or two troublemakers who were later fired, but still this never happened in print media.<br /><br />The other thing is that some publications won't accept works that have been published on blogs, and that's a grey area that many are still exploring. I keep my novels and books in progress on private blogs to avoid this so that only my beta readers can access them.<br /><br />God helps us all indeed.Rachel Blackbirdsonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02246966713076881105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-82192109533871314832010-08-13T19:51:23.910-07:002010-08-13T19:51:23.910-07:00Thanks Peg. If you want it, if you visualize it, i...Thanks Peg. If you want it, if you visualize it, it'll come to you.Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-59166745580936313502010-08-13T18:53:30.534-07:002010-08-13T18:53:30.534-07:00Thought provoking read. I love writing flash, but ...Thought provoking read. I love writing flash, but love reading a meaty novel. Now, to just come up with that novel idea.pegjethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15255191759031800811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-68436653154968054932010-08-13T17:51:07.225-07:002010-08-13T17:51:07.225-07:00Great comment, John. I think we agree too. More th...Great comment, John. I think we agree too. More than anything, I just needed to know that some of the better flash writers I've been privileged to meet via #fridayflash are serious enough to at least have considered the hazards as well as the advantages of flash writing. And I'm now well satisfied that's the case. You, Laura, Cathy and all who responded to my challenge are clearly serious writers unlikely to be trapped so easily. Best respect to you sir!Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-61044678164152881812010-08-13T17:40:48.233-07:002010-08-13T17:40:48.233-07:00I'm relieved that things are nowhere near this...I'm relieved that things are nowhere near this bad. We routinely see bestselling fiction that is more than double the 50,000 word pace thrown up by NaNoWriMo. George Martin, Stephen King and JK Rowling can publish 800-pagers that are sure to hit the bestsellers lists, and there are plenty of writers who wish to be the next scion of fat books. Flash fiction is growing in almost the opposite way from what you described in this flash: it's a result of individuals and desires on the web, not college education or the publishing market. Magazines like The New Yorker treat them as throwaways and filler before their features. If writers only do this, or only care for this niche, then that's a shame. Flash is a good element for the versatile writer, and there are great flashes, but doing things in miniature has taught me a lot about word use and pacing in longer form fiction. If we're serious about the craft then we ought to experiment with everything, and how each form reflects on everything else. I'm a little saddened for those who aren't like that. In that, I think we agree.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-83607302734924525172010-08-13T15:53:28.304-07:002010-08-13T15:53:28.304-07:00Thanks for the validation, Laura. I know this stor...Thanks for the validation, Laura. I know this story is an over-simplification, an extreme case, but I believe the point is valid: we're training ourselves out of something vital, the very ability to think through a complex real life time line. Some say the novel form is dying. I think it's only just beginning. If so, it's possible its existence as a tool for self reflection and psychological growth may be fragile.Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-87200379254545328922010-08-13T15:43:10.233-07:002010-08-13T15:43:10.233-07:00This is a wonderful, tight story that also scares ...This is a wonderful, tight story that also scares the hell out of me because it seems to be true. Attention spans are reduced to a few sentences anymore. Writing flash fiction helps me to tighen my phrasing but I will always be a novelist first for the richness of the tale.Laura Enohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09982794146667832204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-41757421283603002382010-08-13T06:59:05.239-07:002010-08-13T06:59:05.239-07:00Thanks Cathy. I certainly don't mind the chall...Thanks Cathy. I certainly don't mind the challenge of writing tight, clear stories in as short a form as possible. But I'm a die-hard believer in the idea that every story has its own optimal length. This FAD of creating stories that must be under so many words is, I think, ultimately deadly to the writer's imagination. It promotes a kind of story-telling laziness.Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-771599598545403432010-08-13T04:11:44.759-07:002010-08-13T04:11:44.759-07:00Thought provoking and I fear you're right. Esp...Thought provoking and I fear you're right. Especially in this comment - "Stories need room to flower."Cathy Olliffe-Websterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12729578896443750402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-91410693587012628452010-08-12T15:07:26.682-07:002010-08-12T15:07:26.682-07:00L'Aussie: I fear those students already ARE fl...L'Aussie: I fear those students already ARE flash fiction writers, and little else. Therein lies the danger, in my opinion. Thanks for the read and feedback!Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-11553148584597010252010-08-12T15:04:43.645-07:002010-08-12T15:04:43.645-07:00I do think things are not quite this bad, Kevin, b...I do think things are not quite this bad, Kevin, but I know from experience that prep for the work world almost always trumps liberal arts and thinking for thinking's sake.<br /><br />And I appreciate the discipline that comes with doing short fiction successfully. I'm just a bit nervous that there's very little reason for talented writers to push themselves beyond these relatively easy short-form works. Contests to tell stories in 55 words? C'mon. Stories need room to flower. Thanks much for the feedback.Mike Robertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067537471948526219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-7147082723040016132010-08-12T14:57:52.147-07:002010-08-12T14:57:52.147-07:00I enjoyed this perspective. Maybe the students wil...I enjoyed this perspective. Maybe the students will all be flash fiction writers..:)Denise Covey https://www.blogger.com/profile/07106490051555233439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296822299843111861.post-16426191291431262572010-08-12T14:51:00.076-07:002010-08-12T14:51:00.076-07:00The most frightening part of this for me? (Though,...The most frightening part of this for me? (Though, should I really start a comment with such a phrase?)<br /><br />"Those kids, they're just doing what we've been teaching them. To prepare for the real world and a limited job market out there...."<br /><br />A fear I have is that "modern education" is focused at a shorter time frame than I imagine education should. Perhaps there was a certain amount of it always, even "back in my day". <br /><br />That said, perhaps we shouldn't knock "sound bites". I've long believed that people such as Oscar Wilde and Samuel Johnson were masters of the form - they just called them something different.<br /><br />Happily, sales of dead-tree and electronic books seem to suggest it will be a while yet before what you write about here will come to pass.<br /><br />Still, a well-crafted tale about writing and writers and where it all might end up.<br /><br />Well done.KjMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17691028465137798738noreply@blogger.com