Old Blog, please ignore... @nightskywriter3 - Tumblr Blog

Attention!!!!

This blog it is about to go dormant!

Hey guys! I’m am moving to @nightskywriter! (Same username, I added a 3 to this blog title so I could keep both.) I am sorry for any surge of notifications if I reblog a lot of your stuff! The reason for the “relocation” is I want to be able to comment/like as Night Sky Writer. If you still want to see my posts please go to @nightskywriter ! Thank you for understanding!

#writeblr #writing #night sky writer #nightskywriter #writing prompt #writers #writing tip #my writing #tumblr writing community #writeblr hunger games

nightskywriter3

Hey guys! Does anyone know what Original Fic Fest is? I keep hearing about it but idk what it is. From what I understand, I think it’s posts some writeblrs are putting out about their OC/WIP’s. Is that right? Thanks and I hope you are having a good day! :D

nightskywriter3

@silvertalonwriteblr Thank you so much!

#original fic fest #Thanks!

librarysilverfish

Character Flaw Tag

OKAY finally doing this. Tagged by @authorisada @writin-maaagic and @morriganwrites-0124 (and some more from weeks ago??? I don’t really like this game fellas not gonna lie it took some prompting)

rules: bold the traits that apply to your character

Mirsen:

Ugh. Mirsen has the fewest negative traits out of my protagonists, according to this list. I keep thinking he’s under-developed but… I’m pretty happy with him as he is.

Tagging!! @faewhisper @nightskywriter @raevenlywrites

nightskywriter3

Thank you for tagging me @silvertalonwriteblr!! I have seen this game and it looks like fun! On to it!

William

That was fun!! Thanks again for tagging me! Now I would like to tag: @ratracechronicler, @writingtomorrow @sally-schultz @eyelessfatdragon. If you have already played the game or simply don't want to, no pressure!! 🙂

#writeblr #writing #tag games #tag game #William

#original fic fest #confused #question #Thanks!

ratracechronicler-deactivated20

Goblins take care of the plants and they live in caves built with flowery vines (like wisteria!) And the Goblins really don't like fighting but when they do, they can control plants and they usually use Kudzu! (The more powerful Goblins can use other plants but because their powers are meant for helping plants grow Kudzu is easiest for them) Kudzu is a really powerful vine-like-plant that takes over! It can tear down buildings and trees and it doesn't die! Sorry about the Goblin/Kudzu rant..😂

On the contrary, thank you for the Goblin/Kudzu rant! Halfway through, I decided to look up Kudzu…then you explained it. Alas, I am impatient, it seems.

I think it’s kind of pretty, plus you’re right about how powerful it is! That’s a very helpful plant to have control over, I’d imagine! I love this because people often think of plants as weak (cough Pokemon grass type cough) and Goblins as greedy, irredeemable little monsters while elves get all the kudos. Well, I got a soft spot for Goblins, and giving them unique and cool powers like this really makes me smile!

nightskywriter3

@ratracechronicler Thanks!! I love changing stereotypes and what creature has more stereotyping than Goblins? I am happy the info on kudzu helped, where I am from it is EVERYWHERE!! Thanks for doing this fun-fact thing, I think this is going to be fun! (If you decide to keep doing the Fun-Fact thing, if you decide not to no pressure!) Oh, and I should probably add, I am the anon, but my real-name is associated with my host blog so I can only send asks as my real name or anon and I prefer to stay anonymous or go as Night Sky Writer... Thanks again! Bye!

#sorry for the long post #goblins #kudzu #Night Sky Writer #NightSkyWriter

kingbellamy

DO YOU KNOW THAT KIND OF WRITER’S BLOCK WHERE YOU ALREADY HAVE A PLOT, YOU KNOW WHAT TO WRITE BUT YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO WRITE IT AND YOU JUST STARE AT THE COMPUTER SCREEN FOR HOURS UNTIL YOU FINALLY CLOSE THE DOCUMENT AND CURSE YOUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE

CAUSE I DO

nightskywriter3

Plot: Check!

Character Development: Check!

Fan-Fiction of the Book You are the Author of: Check!

Any Idea How to Write the Actual Story: Uh....

Author:

#writeblr #writing #writers block #writing is hard #writers #tumblr writing community #tumblr writers #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #Cass #castiel #Gif #text post #text #lol #writing funny

ratracechronicler-deactivated20

Writeblr Hunger Games Redemption Round

Here we go!

I had to reuse and rearrange a few characters, but I made it work! If there was a certain character you really didn’t want in this round (sorry, Dean…) then let me know and either you can submit a different character or I’ll swap them with one of my own. If anything’s missing or incorrect, also let me know, preferably via ask or message.

Don’t be shy! You are not being pedantic. I really need all the details to be right if this is going to be accurate, and accuracy is important to me! I’ve got a convoluted organization system. A lot of copy-pasting has been done and I didn’t get everyone’s exact words this time.

Sorry about some of the District swaps, although there were fewer than I’d expected there to be. (Hey, I had to switch Jacques to 10, the Livestock District! And this guy is terribly allergic to meat! Know what, last-minute thing, I’m gonna make his brother go instead. Jacques already gets all the fun.) I’ve marked who was switched where, so if the writing is still important to you and you want the district placements to be accurate, go ahead and ignore the technical placement! More power to ya!

I’d like to post the Bloodbath and Day 1 at about this time tomorrow, which will hopefully give people enough time to send in corrections and at least begin writing if they’d like to. Again, this round will go by fast, so there won’t be a lot of time for writing during the actual event–you’re welcome to post stuff five hours or five months after the events/prompts are posted. It’s all good!

I’ll reblog the master post of prompts tagging anyone who asks to be tagged tomorrow morning (~12 hours from now). If not…eh, you can find it! ;)

And now, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road!

District 1 Luxury:

Kenneth Kade “HeroMan” (m), @no-url-ideas-tho

Prince Therefor the Second “Prince Therefor II” (m), @owlsofstarlight

District 2 Masonry:

Kallias (m), @concealeddarkness13

Dean (m), @whollyart (moved from 3)

District 3 Technology:

Keirna (f), @concealeddarkness13

Kaine Leinn (m), @tawnywrites

District 4 Fishing:

Tara Swift (f), @no-url-ideas-tho (moved from 6)

Katherine Lawson “Katie” (f), @infinitelyblankpage (moved from 7)

District 5 Power:

Manny Mann “Vil” (m), @no-url-ideas-tho

Erya (f), @whollyart

District 6 Transportation:

Sadie Hintzen (f), @spacebrick3

William (m), @nightskywriter

District 7 Lumber:

Lukas Abernathy (m), @infinitelyblankpage

Olivia Misra (f), @westywrites

District 8 Textiles:

Zoe (f), @spacebrick3

Zachary Donovan “Zach” (m), @infinitelyblankpage

District 9 Grain:

Vethithon de Sae “Veth” (m), @owlsofstarlight

Kjiersten (~m), @spacebrick3

District 10 Livestock:

Sophia Grader (f), @westywrites (moved from 5)

Thomas Hans “Tom” (m), @ratracechronicler (moved from 9)

District 11 Agriculture:

Anise Torosian (f), @spacebrick3

Maldl-dan de Odelle “Maldl” (m), @owlsofstarlight

District 12 Mining:

Danielle Johnston “Dani” (f), @westywrites

Ori Belhar (m), @ratracechronicler

nightskywriter3

Let's do this!! Quick question, can we make posts from before the actual Games? (I didn't post the Last Visit or the Chariots Ride.)

gingerly-writing

dream: to be a big enough blog that reblogging someone really helps out their notes and follower count

septembercfawkes

What You Need to Know Most About Character Voice

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit I didn’t have much of an understanding of character voice two years ago. I’m an English graduate, and none of my professors in college really talked about it. I think I remember learning the definition in high school and reading it briefly in a few writing tips.

In truth, I’ve probably heard the fact that “voice is one of the biggest draws for getting an agent or editor” more than I’ve actually heard tips on writing voice. Since then, I’ve gotten to the heart of what voice is. Or so I think. You’ll have to judge for yourself. Here’s what I found for anyone who might be struggling like I once was, or anyone who wants to learn more. The stuff in this post is what helped me bring that elusive voice into focus.

First, by definition, “voice” can refer to the writer’s style, the narrator’s style, or, your characters’ persona, thoughts, speech patterns, and word choice.

Sometimes when people think of character voice, they think of first-person narration, but really, all characters have a voice of their own, even if they aren’t telling the story. To illustrate, here are three lines from Harry, Ron, and Hermione:

“Don’t go picking a row with Malfoy, don’t forget, he’s a prefect now, he could make life difficult for you…”

“Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?”

“I don’t go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.”

If you’ve read the books, I bet you can tell who said what.

Voice is made up of two things: What the character talks (or sometimes thinks) about, and how she says it. In other words:

What the Character Talks about + How She Says it = Voice

Hermione believes in following rules and frequently tells Ron and Harry to do likewise. She’s also very logical and intelligent. In the first line above, she chooses to warn Harry, and then explains, logically, why he should heed her warning. Ron usually says those comical one-liners, and his language is usually a little coarser than the other two, so his quote is the second one. Because Harry is frequently accused of things, he often has to defend himself, “I don’t go looking for trouble.”

What Your Character Talks About

So, What does your character choose to talk about? What does he not talk about?

In Lord of the Rings, the Hobbits often talk about food. They’re Hobbits, so they eat a lot more than the other characters and therefore food is important to their culture. Because they bring up food a lot, we know that’s what they are thinking about on their journey. They don’t casually strike up conversations about advanced battle tactics; they don’t have a war-based background. And any conversation they do have about battle tactics wouldn’t be on the same level as a warrior. So their background, culture, interests, and experience influence their voice.

If your character is a nutritionist, she might look at her lunch and talk about complex carbs, protein, calories, and vitamins. A fashionista might notice that her best friend is wearing this season’s color. A dentist might see people’s teeth first.

Remember, what your character chooses to talk about reflects what he’s thinking about. I know that sounds obvious, but have you really considered it? If your character says something, it’s also conveying to your reader what’s on his mind at that moment.

You can work that to your advantage by having your character say something surprising in a specific situation. If I have a character break up with her boyfriend, and she’s crying, and someone tries to comfort her, and she says, “It’s not Zach so much. Now I have to go to the dance looking like a complete idiot.” Not only is the response surprising—she’s not crying over the loss of Zach, but her potential embarrassment—it also reveals character—she’s more concerned with her image than the loss of her significant other.

Having that specific line stated in that situation conveys a lot about the character and her relationship with her boyfriend. It conveys what she’s thinking about most.

In Part 2 of this, I’ll delve into how characters talk, mentioning some of the potential problems and a few minor techniques you can use for a character’s voice.

UPDATE: Read Part 2 here

nightskywriter3

Thank you! I have been trying to find something like this for months! Also, sorry for the link. This song is now stuck in my head because I read Samwise’s line... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihMMw0rnKz4

#lotr #writeblr #character development #writing #voice #character voice #oc #wip

ofinkandpaper

First Seven Lines

I was tagged by @alittle-writer! Thank you for the tag~!

Rules: The first page of your novel or your writing in general often determines if a reader will stick to the book or if they’ll drop it. So I thought everyone who gets tagged can post their first seven lines and whoever wants to can come by their inbox and give a short review. – ronjadelahaye

Promises

This thing had been in my family for generations.

No one was quite sure where it came from, or who even in our family had originally gotten it, but there it was. At some point, it had become so integrated with our familial history that it became a family heirloom; being passed down from one generation to the next while the previous holder was on their death bed. It’s morbid, I know, but I had never questioned it - no one in my family ever had.

At least, not until my older brother seemingly went mad over it.

I don’t call him lightly - he had always been the best brother I could’ve ever asked for. The day our father had died, and he was given the old heirloom, it had seemed like everything was normal.

Heir of Legend

The wind blew, harsh and biting, against the park trees. So few people were out, it was rather - enjoyable. Not a single human in sight to bother the crisp January air of Zocherpark. Brand sighed in content; Inimene were such a bother. Though he had no problem calling them this as the Council of Mystics had requested of all of the Hidden Folk, he still wondered why they didn’t just call them what they were in their ‘universal’ language? The two words meant the same thing… or was it to keep them separated from his kind? It was troublesome to think about, so he sighed, leaned his head back against the tree he rested in the branches of, and closed his eyes.

In Emerald Shadows

“You are not serious!”

Anna paused in sharpening her ax’s blade at the outburst, closing her eyes to keep her tempter from flaring. The twins were at it again. She looked up and across the room to their older brother, hoping he would settle them down. All Owen did was shrug and turn the page of his book, continuing his reading and earning himself a glare and an aggravated yet understanding sigh. Breaking those two in the middle of one of their skirmishes was like trying to keep two bulls from knocking horns.

With a grunt, she pulled herself to her feet and, without even being noticed by the two, pulled a pair of soundproof headphones off the shelf between them.

——

Tagging: @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @writingtomorrow, @toboldlywrite, @nightskywriter, @the-gay-hufflepuff, @gettingitwrite, @theguildedtypewriter

nightskywriter3

Thanks, @ofinkandpaper, for tagging me!!! If I read any of those (your first 7 lines) from a book I knew nothing about, I would definitely find a comfortable chair because I would not be putting your book down anytime soon!

(Note: This is from my first draft...)

First 7 Lines from my WIP:

The room was dark. William couldn’t see his hands or the knives he held. Vera’s footsteps were too faint to hear her location. William moved slowly, keeping his knees bent. A sharp intake of breath warned William to duck. Vera’s blade soared across where his head had been milliseconds before. William swept his feet under her knocking her to the floor and she didn’t pause - she tackled.

——

Tagging:

@icechimaera , @aurinus , @hiddswritingrefs , @albatris , @writingtomorrow , @ratracechronicler, @hypnocutiegypsy , @chrissa-grace

#tag games #tag game #thanks for tagging me #WIP #William #Night Sky Writer #NightSkyWriter

sycretsside

So I just started my short story writing class! These are dialogue tips

#dialogue prompt #dialogue #writing #writeblr #writing tip

sunnydwrites

Tips for Including Imagery

Hey everyone, Abby here! Today I want to talk about imagery and descriptions, and how to include them effectively in your writing.

What is imagery?

For the purpose of this post, imagery is defined as “[the use of] figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses”. Put simpler, imagery is just a form of writing that helps the reader create vivid mental images of what’s going on.

Why is imagery important?

Do you remember in second and third grade, when your teacher would always ask you if the characters in your story were floating around in space? That’s why imagery is important. Your reader may not be that young, but having (even a vague) idea of where your characters are is better than nothing.

Neglecting imagery in your writing can sometimes make your readers think that a) you don’t care about this place or person, no matter what’s happening or b) this area or this person’s appearance has no relevance to the story at all. Let’s de-bunk these two.

You don’t care about this place or person, no matter what’s happening. This can often come of as unprofessional on your part. If you don’t care about the subject in question, why include it at all? You should probably try to include at least a phrase of description for everything you introduce.

This area or person’s appearance has no relevance to the story at all. Someone is going to find it relevant; many, many readers like to have a base for creating a mental image. As one of these readers, a lack of description of any sort is something I find highly annoying. And the same point above: if it’s completely irrelevant, why include it at all?

How much imagery should I use?

In order from least to most descriptive, I’m going to give four examples of imagery that I’ve seen before using an original character. Accompanying each one will be a quick description with some tips.

She had dark hair, brown eyes, and glasses.

This is a good method of description if you want to give a baseline introduction to a side character. It also works if you want your readers to be (vaguely) aware of a character who’s going to play a larger role in the story later, but in that case I would go a level up.

The phone in her lightly tanned hand reflected on the lenses of her glasses, hiding her dark brown eyes. There was a streak of electric blue in her shoulder-length brown hair.

This one is probably closer to the description level you would want to use for a character who will later be important to the story. You could also use this for major characters if you need the introduction to be a quick one, but if you have the time than you should probably step it up a little bit. Using this level of description for characters who play a very minor role in the story may be superfluous, depending on how they contribute.

Oblivious to the world around her, she scrolled on her phone. The light from the screen reflected brightly on her glasses, hiding the deep brown of her eyes. The cord of a single earbud disappeared in her shoulder-length dark brown hair, almost entangled in the streak of electric blue. She had a light tan that showed on her arms and through the rips of her dark jeans. She had the broad shoulders of someone used to fighting for her way and wore a t-shirt from a band she was sure nobody had heard of.

This is the general way I would go about introducing a main character. It’s a good way to show a bit of this character’s personality while also giving the reader a good idea of what she looks like. I personally prefer not to go much farther than this, unless there are any details that are screaming out for attention.

The phone in her hand lit up the lenses of her glasses in a cold light, masking the deep muddy brown of her eyes. Hidden behind those glasses were long, thick eyelashes, dark bags, and lightly applied makeup with a cat-eye wing. Her round, lightly tanned face was framed by dark brown shoulder-length hair, though the part at which she wore it revealed a streak of bright blue. She smiled down at the screen, revealing two wide front teeth and a dimple on one cheek. She wore an earbud in one ear, the cord dipping down below her phone before looping back up. Her black jeans, riddled with rips all the way to the upper thigh, were almost the ensemble of her outfit — they would have been if it weren’t for the leather jacket covering the t-shirt representing her favorite band. Masking brightly patterned socks were a pair of lace-up combat boots that climbed up to her mid-calf.

In all honesty, I cannot think of a regular situation in which this would be a suitable first impression. That is, unless your PoV character has a thing for recognizing every little detail or has an hour to spare to notice every single detail of this character. If you find yourself reaching this level of description, you wander into the dangerous info-dump zone.

Instead of introducing everything at once like this, try to include it all through context. Maybe at some point a wind picks up and she hugs her leather jacket tighter for warmth; that’s a lot better than just stating she’s wearing one.

Including Imagery in Your Writing

We got a little taste of the “levels” of imagery, but what else can we use hose levels for? Here’s a little set of guidelines that I like to follow in my own writing.

Level I Imagery

Use this one for:

Bare basics introductions

Moments when there’s not enough time for anything more

Somewhat relevant details that you think the reader should be aware of in the moment

Baseline description for a character that will be important later (usually in rare cases)

Characters that have less than five lines or don’t play a large role in your story

A quick run-down of a new place that the characters won’t be spending much time in

Returning to already established details in your story

Introducing details that are important to the story in the moment but may not play a large role later

Level II Imagery

Use this one for:

Describing characters that will be important later

Quick introductions of main characters

Regular introductions of side characters

An object or theme that will be important or recurring in the story

A place that the characters will be spending a moderate amount of time in

Introducing new details that may later become important in the story or that your PoV character would take the time to notice

Level III Imagery

Use this one for:

Introducing main characters in regular situations

A place that your characters will be returning to a lot or that will play a large role in the story

Anything major in your story that you want to draw your reader’s attention to

You’ll notice that I didn’t include anything about new details in the third level of imagery; if a detail is important enough to warrant an entire paragraph of description, if should probably be included in the main introduction.

So, that’s all I’ve got for today! In the future I’m going to make a post about actually writing with imagery that branches off of this one. Now that I’ve talked about how to include it, I should probably give some tips for how to actually write it. (Great planning on my part.)

If there’s anything you want to see me talk about in my next post or if you have any questions about this one, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask! Until next time, much love! <333

brynwrites

Redemption Arcs.

What is a redemption arc?

“Redemption: An act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake.” An act, implying action, which is created by choices, which just happens to be the basis of character development.

Some writers confuse redemption arcs with things they are not, and end up creating situations which aren’t redemption arcs at all, but rather bad writing, such as when:

The villainous character’s actions are never condemned by the heroic characters and the story, even when the villain is in the process of doing villainous things.

The villainous character is immediately forgiven for all the wrong they’ve done despite making no real effort to change their ways.

The villainous character suddenly becomes a genuinely good person without any notable character growth.

The villainous character is suddenly made unaccountable for their villainous actions because it’s revealed that someone else forced them to do it. Bonus bad writing: All blame is placed on the heroic characters for being unable to see how ‘traumatized’ the villainous character has been.

So now that we know what a redemption arc is not, how do we write a good one?

The four steps to a solid redemption arc:

Keep reading

#writeblr #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #writing resources #writers on writing #redemption arcs #writing tag: characters #character tag: development #villains

black-quadrant

raise your hand if you've got the sweetest followers and you appreciate each and every one

darling-cas

destielhoneybee

to each and every one of my followers!

cant-talk-rn-im-doingothgirlshit

adderall-anon

nightskywriter3

concealeddarkness13

Also, my character, Keirna, for the Redemption Round of the Writeblr Hunger Games, is extroverted and will want to talk to everyone. If there’s anyone who would like to interact with her during the whole Redemption Round, please message me or comment on this post!

nightskywriter3

William is in the redemption round as well and he is fairly introverted but curious and will talk! 😊

ratracechronicler-deactivated20

I just realized it is such a shame Tersatellus doesn’t have more exposure to the outside world, because if it did, there would be enough people calling Tim & Tom Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum that even Tim’s scariest threats wouldn’t be able to stop them.

You know what? They get Shakespeare references, don’t they? Oh, man, now I gotta find a place to make this canonical.

nightskywriter3

Yes!! That would be hilarious! 😂

nmmnick-blog

Formatting your Manuscript

If you’re planning on one day turning your manuscript in to literary agents and publishing houses, you need to make sure it’s formatted correctly. In many cases, your manuscript will be skipped over if it isn’t done to industry standard, so here’s the basics that you’ll need if you don’t want to be ignored. Before I get started, please know that this is aimed specifically at fiction manuscripts. If you’re writing non-fiction or a memoir, the expectations will be different, so it would be wise to Google what you need.

The Basics

Make sure your font is 12 point Times New Roman, Courier New, or Arial. These are the only three fonts you are allowed to pick from.

Your spacing should be 1 inch on all sides of the text. This is the default on most word processors, but double check your settings just to be sure.

Your text should be double spaced.

All of your indentations must be a half inch. Do not press indent. Instead, drag over the top arrow on the ruler to have every new paragraph automatically indent.

The Title Page

The top left-hand corner of your title page will have all your personal information. They want to see your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, the novel’s genre, and word count.

Your novel’s title is allowed to be between 20-24 point font if you want. Bold is also an option, but not necessary.

The title will appear halfway down the title page.

“A novel by [your name]” will be about three quarters of the way down the page.

The Next Pages

If you have a dedication, it will be on its own page.

If you have some sort of verse or quote, those will also need their own pages.

Do not include a page for acknowledgements.

The Chapters

Chapter titles will be 12 point font. No bolding or italics.

Chapters will start from one quarter to halfway down the page.

An easy way to format chapter headings is to press enter five or six times

Make sure you always start your chapters the same way every time.

When you start a new chapter, make sure you use a page break to bump the new chapter onto a new page. This will keep it in place so that it will never budge, no matter how much you cut out or add to the previous chapter.

Page Numbers

Page numbers will start with 1 on Chapter 1 of your manuscript. Page numbers will not appear on the title page or dedication page.

Page 1 will be labeled in the footer of Chapter 1. It should be centered.

Page 2 will be in the header of the next page.

From page 2 onward, your headers will be labeled like this:

If you insert a section break after the title and dedication pages, it will make it easier to insert the page numbers.

For the most part, this is the most important of what you’ll need to know for formatting your manuscript. I used this video as reference, so I’m trusting everything it says is true because it was made by an author who has several novels published, and because it was uploaded this year, it should be up to date.

But just remember, whenever you go to turn in a manuscript, make sure you check the website of the agent or publisher you’re trying to contact. They might have specifications that differ with the ones stated in this video, and you should always do whatever you can to abide by what they want.

embracing-hallows-end-deactivat

Reblogging aggressively. Some publishers will throw your manuscript into the slush pile or, worse, the trash if you don’t follow their desired format. Spec fic publishers are especially strict about manuscript formatting.

yeahwrite

Also reblogging aggressively.

pingo1387

These accounts are deactivated and the linked video is from 2012. Does anyone have any updates on this information and/or recent (from 2016, 2017, at the earliest 2015?) sources confirming any of this? It sounds like good advice but publishing/manuscript standards and requirements change over time.

scriptstructure

This is a fairly good basic rundown of how to format a manuscript, you can find other examples online such as this one: https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html the standard manuscript format hasn’t changed much at all since typewriters became widely available, and it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with it to make sure that your piece looks neat and professional.

But more importantly, if you’re going to be sending a piece to a publisher, you must read the publisher’s specific requirements which most have listed on their websites. Some publishers will request different fonts, line spacings, or font sizes, for various reasons, some will want you to list the length of the story by page count, or by word count.

I noticed in the tags someone was under the impression that you should just copy and paste your story into the body of the email–some publishers do want that, but it is much less common than publishers that want stories sent as an attachment. Again. Read the specific instructions given by the publishers. There is no one-size-fits-all.

By looking up and following the specific instructions given by the publishers, you show that you are someone who pays attention to detail, who is able to work cooperatively and follow instruction when necessary, and most importantly, that you respect the time and work that the publishers are trying to do. I’ve been on the other end of the slush pile, and when you’re faced with 500 stories, it becomes very easy to toss out the ones that don’t care what they’re sending out because they clearly can’t be bothered to do the most basic formatting.

I also want to correct a misconception by the late wrote-miss-ibis a couple of reblogs above here: the slush pile is good. It isn’t somewhere that stories get put. The slush pile is the pile from which all stories come. When you send a story (unless it has been specifically requested by an editor) that story goes directly into the slush pile, and the editors then go through the slush pile to find the things they want to keep.

As long as you follow the manuscript formatting, and pay attention to publisher requirements, you should be able to start submitting stories to publishers with confidence.

nightskywriter3

Reblogged!!

#publishing #reblog #tumblr writing community #tumblr writers #write #writeblr

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