I’m sorry about the internet issues! That sounds exasperating. At the same time, I love that you’ve pulled this project from the shelves again and can’t wait to read more if we’re lucky enough! 🌸
Speaking with my editor hat on, I love that it starts with "hey!" because that's technically what a story should do--grab your attention and the literalness of this and how well it worked made me smile. :) I've linked to a Reedsy article about novellas below, but really, they can be whatever you want. They can really play with style and time and metaphor/symbol/image. That's what's so great about them. Have fun with it!
The Reedsy article is perfect. Thank you! It links to "How to Write a Novella", which is equally perfect. I didn't think about 'of Mice and Men' or 'Animal Farm' as novellas, but it appears they are.
I like this from How to Write a Novella:
"Sarah emphasizes the added importance of nailing down your central conflict when writing a novella. “Unlike a novel, where you might get away with having a complicated, multi-layered plot, the novella’s shorter length requires you to keep the conflict streamlined.” Your central story thread should always be exerting its gravitational pull."
That whole article is going to be useful. Thanks again!
2nd best: hearing different readers do the prologue of Canterbury Tales. Some emphasized the French roots, some the Scandinavian, all were fascinating.
I love Janet Kauffman, have been to more than one reading and I'm sorry I gave my signed copies of her books to Special Collections at MSU along with three boxes of association copies (because they collect my papers, books, and ephemera).
She taught at a writer's retreat at Cranbrook one year and she helped me with a short story that ended up being my one and only published SS. It went on to appear in the 'Best of Passages North' anthology and was nominated for a Pushcart.
I love her down-to-earth look at life. She inspired me to stick to my own blue-collar roots and not get high falutin'.
Did you know Stuart Dybek? I knew him a little, too, through the Oakland U writer's conferences, and loved his way of writing stories.
That's great! I met Stu now and then, but I think he looked down on me as a crime writer. I knew his buddy Mike Steinberg, founding editor of Fourth Genre.
Oh, I doubt that he looked down on you! He just wasn't the type. I sat in whenever Dybek came to town and I was never disappointed. I still have some old handwritten notes from a couple of those events. Only parts of them make sense, of course, since I was scrawling them as he talked.
I didn't know Mike Steinberg or the Fourth Genre. Must have been after my time there.
University-based writers have a tendency to think less of working writers who haven't followed the academic path. Trust me, I've seen and felt it. From him and other ivory tower authors.
That could be, though I never felt it myself. I mainly did freelance newspaper and magazine work without a degree of any kind, but I have to say I never felt out of place.
Almost everyone I knew had been to college, and some taught. there, but we stuck to admiring the work we did.
Could it be because we were a kind of sisterhood? It could be. I sort of didn't care what the men thought.
I also did years of freelance newspaper work too. And had an MFA and a PhD--and more books published than the entire CW faculty at MSU when I was invited to teach there. But the re-immersion in academe gave me more than enough material for two more novels. :-)
I love the image of a house covered with flowers (and am eager to find out how they're sticking to it - entwined together, perhaps?). It feels like Magical Realism to me, which is one of my favorite literary forms.
They're actually painted on. Huge blooming flowers. This piece of fiction is based on an actual feud that took place on the Keweenaw Peninsula in which one of the owners of a side-by-side painted huge flowers on her side of the house to spite the owner of the other side. The house stayed that way for a dozen or more years until new owners painted over it.
We all almost cried when we saw it again. I thought I had a picture but of course I can't find it.
I never knew the story of the feud and what precipitated it, so I made up a backstory and turned it into fiction. I can't wait to get working on it again!
Classic Ramona ... just sitting on a cheeky novella in the rafters ... with endearing characters and a “house covered with flowers” while the rest of us eat our breakfast like chumps.
You better finish this or I’m coming out my little ole self to drag the first draft to proper internet.
Everything occurs in the perfect time (trite but true🤣) and you having sub-optimal internet has resurrected this wonderful story. Perhaps that may not have happened any other way and the world needs this story.
Speaking of tech glitches I have been a paid sub of yours for awhile now and your posts never end up in my inbox, either by email (because I have that turned off) or on the app. I have to actually go into your website page to read your work, which I do every time I remember. When I look on the list of publications I read and subscribe to, Writer Everlasting is right there but just doesn't land where it should. Some pesky little gremlin at work.
Oh, no! I'm sorry you're having such a hard time getting here! I don't know how it works if you've turned off your emails but it seems like you should still get notifications through your app. Do you get others you subscribe to?
I'll pass this on to Substack support and let you know if I hear something.
Thanks as always for your kind words! And for paying to support my work. That means so much to me!
We live way out in the swamps of SW Louisiana USA and made the switch to Starlink. No more internet issues. Now there is nothing to force us to enjoy being offline. On second thought Starlink may not be the answer for you.
I’m sorry about the internet issues! That sounds exasperating. At the same time, I love that you’ve pulled this project from the shelves again and can’t wait to read more if we’re lucky enough! 🌸
Thank you, Erika. I may be sorry I spoke too soon but I don't think so. I think this is going to be fun!
Speaking with my editor hat on, I love that it starts with "hey!" because that's technically what a story should do--grab your attention and the literalness of this and how well it worked made me smile. :) I've linked to a Reedsy article about novellas below, but really, they can be whatever you want. They can really play with style and time and metaphor/symbol/image. That's what's so great about them. Have fun with it!
https://blog.reedsy.com/what-is-a-novella/
The Reedsy article is perfect. Thank you! It links to "How to Write a Novella", which is equally perfect. I didn't think about 'of Mice and Men' or 'Animal Farm' as novellas, but it appears they are.
I like this from How to Write a Novella:
"Sarah emphasizes the added importance of nailing down your central conflict when writing a novella. “Unlike a novel, where you might get away with having a complicated, multi-layered plot, the novella’s shorter length requires you to keep the conflict streamlined.” Your central story thread should always be exerting its gravitational pull."
That whole article is going to be useful. Thanks again!
So glad it helped!
Isn't that kind of how Beowulf starts? :-) Hwæt!
I don't know. Does it? Cool!
I'll never forget hearing the opening read aloud in an OE seminar. Wow.
I think I was too young when I tried Beowulf. I just didn't get it. I probably could have used you to explain it to me!
Hearing Beowulf read in Old English is a full body experience. Amazing.
2nd best: hearing different readers do the prologue of Canterbury Tales. Some emphasized the French roots, some the Scandinavian, all were fascinating.
Oh, I’m intrigued! So many questions about the house and the characters laid out in the first few lines - can’t wait to read more!
Hope you proceed with it! Looking forward to reading more. Good luck!
I love Janet Kauffman, have been to more than one reading and I'm sorry I gave my signed copies of her books to Special Collections at MSU along with three boxes of association copies (because they collect my papers, books, and ephemera).
She taught at a writer's retreat at Cranbrook one year and she helped me with a short story that ended up being my one and only published SS. It went on to appear in the 'Best of Passages North' anthology and was nominated for a Pushcart.
I love her down-to-earth look at life. She inspired me to stick to my own blue-collar roots and not get high falutin'.
Did you know Stuart Dybek? I knew him a little, too, through the Oakland U writer's conferences, and loved his way of writing stories.
And of course Elmore Leonard.
That's great! I met Stu now and then, but I think he looked down on me as a crime writer. I knew his buddy Mike Steinberg, founding editor of Fourth Genre.
Oh, I doubt that he looked down on you! He just wasn't the type. I sat in whenever Dybek came to town and I was never disappointed. I still have some old handwritten notes from a couple of those events. Only parts of them make sense, of course, since I was scrawling them as he talked.
I didn't know Mike Steinberg or the Fourth Genre. Must have been after my time there.
University-based writers have a tendency to think less of working writers who haven't followed the academic path. Trust me, I've seen and felt it. From him and other ivory tower authors.
That could be, though I never felt it myself. I mainly did freelance newspaper and magazine work without a degree of any kind, but I have to say I never felt out of place.
Almost everyone I knew had been to college, and some taught. there, but we stuck to admiring the work we did.
Could it be because we were a kind of sisterhood? It could be. I sort of didn't care what the men thought.
I also did years of freelance newspaper work too. And had an MFA and a PhD--and more books published than the entire CW faculty at MSU when I was invited to teach there. But the re-immersion in academe gave me more than enough material for two more novels. :-)
I love the image of a house covered with flowers (and am eager to find out how they're sticking to it - entwined together, perhaps?). It feels like Magical Realism to me, which is one of my favorite literary forms.
They're actually painted on. Huge blooming flowers. This piece of fiction is based on an actual feud that took place on the Keweenaw Peninsula in which one of the owners of a side-by-side painted huge flowers on her side of the house to spite the owner of the other side. The house stayed that way for a dozen or more years until new owners painted over it.
We all almost cried when we saw it again. I thought I had a picture but of course I can't find it.
That's fascinating! How neat that you can incorporate an actual bit of history, and thus commemorate those beautiful flowers.
I never knew the story of the feud and what precipitated it, so I made up a backstory and turned it into fiction. I can't wait to get working on it again!
What a great start, it makes me want to read more! Don’t worry about what form it is; write it, and I bet that will be revealed. Enjoy!!
Perfect writing time.
Our internet was down for the last 36 hours and it was fabulous for many reasons. Go for it, Ramona - life's for doing as well as pondering...
Classic Ramona ... just sitting on a cheeky novella in the rafters ... with endearing characters and a “house covered with flowers” while the rest of us eat our breakfast like chumps.
You better finish this or I’m coming out my little ole self to drag the first draft to proper internet.
LOL. I'm old, Luv. I've had a lotta years to collect this stuff. Also, I'm a bit of a hoarder so I have a hard time throwing my words away.
Not that I always make good use of them. No... that would be the sensible thing to do!
But this one feels right and it seems a bit persistent, so we'll see what happens. 😍
Everything occurs in the perfect time (trite but true🤣) and you having sub-optimal internet has resurrected this wonderful story. Perhaps that may not have happened any other way and the world needs this story.
Speaking of tech glitches I have been a paid sub of yours for awhile now and your posts never end up in my inbox, either by email (because I have that turned off) or on the app. I have to actually go into your website page to read your work, which I do every time I remember. When I look on the list of publications I read and subscribe to, Writer Everlasting is right there but just doesn't land where it should. Some pesky little gremlin at work.
Oh, no! I'm sorry you're having such a hard time getting here! I don't know how it works if you've turned off your emails but it seems like you should still get notifications through your app. Do you get others you subscribe to?
I'll pass this on to Substack support and let you know if I hear something.
Thanks as always for your kind words! And for paying to support my work. That means so much to me!
It's a strange glitch because everyone else I subscribe to comes through. It's no problem though, I try to go in and check on your website regularly.
I appreciate that. I did ask Support to check it out. I'll let you know if I hear from them.
Novellas and Novelettes are a god send for writers.
We live way out in the swamps of SW Louisiana USA and made the switch to Starlink. No more internet issues. Now there is nothing to force us to enjoy being offline. On second thought Starlink may not be the answer for you.