The Writer’s Round-up 6 - 2021.02.23
The writer’s round-up is a weekly column that provides reflection, advice, and articles in the areas I want to develop as a writer: reading, writing, blogging, and marketing.
This week:
Use the sweep to add breadth and richness to a short story.
Seek commissioned work to stabilize your income.
Engage other writers to build a community.
If you want last week’s entry, look here.
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
Reading
I think I'm slowly re-developing my reading stamina--by that I really mean I'm developing interest in the novel I'm reading. The circumstances leading up to this moment were not ideal, but I'll take the result. I'm still reading Sojourn (slow reader here). I love the introspection that Drizzt undergoes at every step of his journey away from the drow.
I also started reading Ray Bradbury Stories, Volume 1. I feel like I've experienced a revelation. I also feel dumb for not having tried to read enough short stories before writing my own. Don't be like me--read, read, read.
Writing
After reading Bradbury's The Night, I see why he finds inspiration for short stories everywhere. There's so much that can be said about a moment in time. One of the great tricks a short story does is creating the illusion of a broader world. This is arguably easier to do in non-fantasy fiction, but that's not really the point. One of the tricks is the sweep, a short passage that gives larger context to the story at hand. A sweep can cover various topics: perhaps generations of a family tradition or geography way beyond the locale of the story. The key is to introduce it smoothly and not let it become the focus of the story.
Blogging
I think I'm getting better at writing for The Writing Cooperative. They accepted the article I recently wrote, "On Rehashing Evergreen Topics," without any requests for edits (which is highly unusual for me). While I'm happy to have the exposure, I am not willing to pour my energy into generating income from Medium's Partner Program. Consequently, I may need to seek commissioned work, as Aigner Loren Wilson suggests. Medium-owned publications are one potential source of payment. I would like to spend the money I make on more things writing-related, like membership in a writer's association and paid marketing tools.
Marketing
Marketing is getting easier. Thanks to the Buffer plug-in for Chrome, I've gotten pretty good about keeping up my social media queue. I try to maintain a balance between linking my own work and linking others' work in my blog posts to avoid spamming my readers with links. What's missing is the engagement. I read a lot, but I don't respond much. But one can't build a community in silence. In addition to reading the things I put in my queue, I have to take time to respond to them. Engaging others is how you get noticed.