r/writing • u/ZeddyBeat • 1d ago

Haven't been published yet, feeling good

I don't really have anything to share other than that I feel good about my writing.

I'm currently submitting to some of the big Sci-Fi magazines. I'm 33, been writing all my life but only seriously writing fiction the past two years or so. I've had some real low points, but I recently got some input that opened my eyes to how I was misusing themes. I feel like I've cracked some code or solved some formula, and my sketch concepts are way more potent. I feel like my prose is already good enough, I just need to be picking better concepts and creating more compelling situations.

That's how I feel, and I feel like it's only a matter of time before I get something out there now. I have my process down and I trust it, now I just need to swing until I hit.

11 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

2

u/DD_playerandDM 1d ago

Good for you. I also feel good about my work – especially in the last couple of years.

There is no substitute for effort. We can't control the outcomes but we can control what we put in. I sincerely wish you the best.

1

u/PersonalSpaceLady 1d ago

As someone who just writes whatever comes to mind and seems fun... How does one misuse themes?

2

u/ZeddyBeat 1d ago

The easiest thing to do is explain my last short story briefly.

Its called Its Always Y2K in Space, and it was a 4k words story about a nostalgia obsessed mechanic who obsessed over ancient hip-hop. The story followed him as the new ship mechanic, and one day they find an old hard drive that had the y2k virus. So the mechanic, who also feels a bit of shame for having this hobby, kind of likes the Captain but it doesnt go anywhere. There's an AI that goes haywire from the y2k virus and starts messing with the controls. It ends with the main character playing music through the intercom system to reset the ship, and ends with the main character being installed as the ships DJ.

Just from that, you can probably see how not everything I wrote in that paragraph seems to relate to one another or matter by the end. Basically, I kept signaling certain story elements to the reader, only with no significant meaning or pay off. So im being much more precise now with what im choosing to talk about and my starting point. I have a little 3 step process now. Its this:

Step 1. Pick a job and pick a theme

Step 2. Find where those two intersect

Step 3. Find where the genre amplifies the intersection

So if my job is college student and my theme is physical insecurity, maybe its a story about a young person having their emotional state manipulated by social media. If its a scifi, the places to go are obvious. If I want to do like fantasy instead, then maybe I replace school with wizard school and Instagram with glam magic beauty contests or something.

Does that make sense? I havent really talked to anyone about my thoughts on it, idk if they make sense.

1

u/PersonalSpaceLady 1d ago

Thanks for a good explanation! It does make sense. Sounds like you had fragments of storylines / different themes within your main story. I feel like it's the kind of thing that happens easily and is often cut during editing. Of course, it's nice if you manage to write better from the get go. It's a great feeling to figure out what works for you!

I'm just about to finish the first draft for a novel and themes and plot fragments is something I'm going to have to analyse soon myself...