Trumpet is my first published novel, which is a bit odd really when you consider that the hero of TOTU originally came to be in the fifth of my Quasar stories, Quasarmoon.
I began writing the Quasar series back in 1991, and Trumpet didn't come about until 1994.
Fortunately, I waited ten years before publishing Quasar 169: Silver Sphere Sightings. Why is this a good thing? Because your work as an author is never as good as you think it is, and the best advice I can give any aspiring authors out there is to go ahead and write that idea that's been itching to get born, then set it aside for awhile while you continue to hone your writing skills. After a few years, go back and read what you wrote. Don't like it? Time to re-write and set it aside again. I guess you could compare the development of good fiction with a fine wine. When you no longer have any qualms with your work, let STRANGERS read it. Friends tend to lie to make you feel better, or just to encourage you when they recognize potential, but strangers are more likely to come closer to the truth.
Be open to criticism! If someone tells you they can't understand a passage and you spend long minutes trying to explain it--clearly that section needs a good overhaul. Simplify. Use metaphor. And please, PLEASE research your work! I interviewed my favorite veterinarian before tackling Trumpet, which features a young veterinary student and his instructor misplaced at a paleontological digsite in Montana. I know I didn't get everything right--even bestselling authors get their tales torn to shreds by "experts" of the field(s) they've chosen to write about--but, then, I pen fiction, not textbooks, and my main goal is to entertain more than educate.
What's your goal? Know it, research it, study examples of it, gather what you need to make it happen, then do it. I'm achieving my goals right now...what's your excuse?
|
|
