Wednesday 24 March 2010

Responses to my survey - thanks again!

When I started writing my feature about novelists who start by writing short stories, I hoped to ask perhaps a couple of dozen writers how they started. I know everyone's busy with their own work so I thought I'd keep it simple and just ask for a 'yes' or a 'no' ... never anticipating the generosity of SO many writers, who took the time and trouble to send me e-mails or messages on the blog, Facebook or the RNA forum - and SO much valuable information!

As someone has so wisely pointed out to me - I should have known that a load of writers * would not be able to stop at one word answers - don't we all just love the opportunity to write about our writing!

Well, it's certainly been fascinating reading all your comments; and it's lovely to welcome some new people to the blog too. My feature is now virtually finished; I even managed to do percentages (with the help of an on-line percentage calculator!). I'm not going to reveal all the statistics that will appear in the feature - if/when it's accepted - but I CAN at least tell you that those who wrote short stories before progressing to novels are in the majority. You'll have to wait to find out the rest ... hopefully until the magazine publishes the feature!

The short story I was expecting to be in the last issue of 'Yours' wasn't: it's in this week's. And I've just had another one rejected. Which just about sums up a writer's life, doesn't it!

* What should the collective term for a lot of writers be? A scribbling of writers? Any thoughts?

7 comments:

  1. An insanity of writers or a madness of writers would be apt I think, Olivia!

    Well done on the Yours publication - commisseration on the rejection.

    Julie xx

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  2. Thanks Julie.x Yes, I like 'a madness of writers'! How true. We're all mad, completely mad!

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  3. How about a "hat-full" of writers - as in mad as hatters! x
    www.lydiajones.co.uk/blog

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  4. A draft of writers? A submission of writers? No, we're many things but not submissive!

    Well done on the article, hope it gets accepted (am sure it will be).

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  5. Yes, I like 'hat-ful' Lydia, although typing it just now, it seemed a bit too much like 'hateful' - which of course, none of us could ever be!

    'Draft' is good Womag. So's 'submission', without the submissiveness! And thanks for your good wishes, I'll let you know!

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  6. What about 'A block of writers'?

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  7. Love it, Gina ... although I don't love the idea of being 'blocked'! x

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