Reply #15: Welcome to the collective insanity that is the writers' world!

[MorningGlow]

:rofl:

It's indeed an addiction. My advice:

Write everything you think of, even if it's crap. Crap can inspire something better. And if it's only slightly crappy...well, that's what the editing process is for.

Some people can write several stories at a time, others can only write one at a time. I'm in the latter group, and I have learned that when new ideas come a'knockin', to take copious notes. Because you will not remember (long term) the details that come to you in the middle of the night or in the shower or while driving. ;) Then, when you're ready for a new story, you can go to those notes and be way ahead of the game.

Read as much as you write. Finding shitty stuff that's published will make you feel better about your own, superior, stuff. :D And studying really great works will help you improve your own.

Edit, edit, edit, and edit some more, to have the tightest story possible. Be cruel--be ready to excise some stuff that you adore, because if it detracts from the story, it's not as great as you think it is.

Have other people read your stuff, and make sure they're not, you know, your mom or something. Find people who will be critical. If you are convinced that your story is perfect in its first draft format, as though it were Venus sprung from the head of Zeus, you are WRONG. Invariably. Really. Not your fault--it's just that we writers get so close to our creations that we lose perspective. Other readers will give you perspective. Not all critiques will be correct (some will be insane), so get as many as you can and go with majority rule.

When you want to find an agent, editor, or publisher, do your research. Don't waste your time contacting outlets that don't carry your stuff. It'll only net you a ton of rejections and depress you.

Develop a tough skin--for critiques and for rejection when you attempt to publish. Don't take anything personally. If you have done your research and targeted agents or editors or publishers who would normally represent/publish your genre, and yet they toss your stuff back at you with barely a glance at it, KEEP GOING. Contact others. Because the ones who have rejected you could merely have been having a bad day, weren't focusing, or even had agita from a bad meal or a hangover from the night before. However, if all you get are rejections, look at your stuff again, and revise it. Maybe it could be better. (Heck, it could always be better...)

Most important (in the immortal words of Galaxy Quest): Never give up, never surrender.

I'm sure there's more advice, but that's the stuff that comes to me right off the bat. Feel free to ask more questions! :hi: