What are you writing about now?

[Fingon_Findekáno]

Yesterday, I was talking to a family friend who is in the process of trying to get her children's books published. She's pretty knowledgeable about working with agents and such. I asked her if she would read the prologue of my fantasy novel and give me feedback on it. She told me she'd be honored, but she warned me that she's brutally honest and has made people cry before. I'm a highly sensitive person, so I'm kinda terrified, lol. But I agreed anyway because I want to know if my book has any chance of being accepted by an agent.

She told me she would probably spend about a month analyzing it. So yeah, I'm scared. 🙂

Both wow, and yikes!! I’d be nervous too. And a whole month just to analyze the prologue alone?! I wonder how long it would take to get through your whole book… 😳

Just remember, regardless of whatever she says, her opinion is not the be-all-end-all of whether your book has a chance of getting published. She may have experience and know what agents look for, but other people with similar experience can and have given you feedback just as valuable too. Just have to take it all in balance, and hopefully not take it too personally. Your story-writing skills are phenomenal as they are! 😁

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

Both wow, and yikes!! I’d be nervous too. And a whole month just to analyze the prologue alone?! I wonder how long it would take to get through your whole book… 😳

Just remember, regardless of whatever she says, her opinion is not the be-all-end-all of whether your book has a chance of getting published. She may have experience and know what agents look for, but other people with similar experience can and have given you feedback just as valuable too. Just have to take it all in balance, and hopefully not take it too personally. Your story-writing skills are phenomenal as they are! 😁

Exactly! Like, how many times did Rowling's Harry Potter got rejected and see what it became?

 

[david_wendelken]

Reviews - whether you like them or not!!! - are valuable if you get the "why". Ent is absolutely correct.

My first book was a technical book published by Addison-Wesley. One of the reviewers made some comments about the organization of the book. It hurt.

After we got of the indignation and the hurt, we realized, "@#@*#$!!! He's right."

We corrected the problems and the book was ever so much better. 5 star ratings on Amazon better.

As for it taking a month, they're working this into their busy schedule asa favor to you. Be happy it's being done at all.

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

You've chosen the 'good course of action.' I'm proud of you. Glean every ounce of knowledge from it you can extract.

Thank you! 🥺 Honestly, you saying you're proud of me will really help me get through the anxiety of waiting for the feedback (and eventually receiving it). That really uplifted me today.

As for it taking a month, they're working this into their busy schedule asa favor to you. Be happy it's being done at all.

Oh, I'm not ungrateful. I'm glad she's taking the time to be thoughtful with it, and I don't have the time to do much with my book till the end of the month anyway, since I have my summer class.

I'm anticipating critiques, and I'm happy to act on them if they're reasonable. I just hope not to hear "this sucks in general." Or this was boring, or the characters uncompelling, etc. I've been working on this story for so many years, revised it so many times, and I've heard a fair amount of critiques already. I've even had Ent's expert eye on it. So I'd like to think it's at a fairly respectable level right now, but I guess we'll find out.

 

[Ent]

I've even had Ent's expert eye on it.

Yeah, not as much as it should have been I fear... busy-ness keeps me busy somehow.
And now, starting this whole new escapade into music, it will be even more dire.
That said, I will offer my services to look over your work and 'review her review' if you want, if there's anything she says you wonder about etc.
May not be needed...depends on how she handles her 'sharing.'
Sometimes it's hard to make sense of what someone is saying, and another set of eyes/ears/sapwood and heartwood can decipher things.
And if she gets under your bark, don't hesitate to cry on my branches.
I don't mind playing 'neighborhood grand-Ent' when needed.

 

[Glorfindel Goldtress]

I don't mind playing 'neighborhood grand-Ent' when needed.

I think you'll find you are everyone's neighborhood grand-Ent already! We will always need you.😊

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

I think you'll find you are everyone's neighborhood grand-Ent already! We will always need you.😊

I second this! I've missed having such figure in my life since my grandfather's passing almost 15 years ago, and I'm happy I have been able to connect to you in such a way, Grand-Ent!🥺

 

[Glorfindel Goldtress]

Ent's not our par-ent but our GRAND-ENT. Both because he's grand and because it suits him best.😄

 

[Maedhros_Nelyafinwë]

I concur as well! With your generosity and kind mentorship, @Ent at Large , you do indeed feel like something of an adopted grandpa to me.

And if she gets under your bark, don't hesitate to cry on my branches.

Depending on how harsh the review is, I might need this, lol!

Whenever I've gotten negative feedback about my book, I've asked people I trust to evaluate it more objectively, since I'm usually too emotional to do it myself, lol. And that helps me figure out if the feedback is valid or not. For example, when someone told me I should rewrite the book in third person, my close friends and family agreed that was ridiculous. But when someone told me my climax was rushed and unsatisfying, I felt offended by that, but my friends agreed that was true. So I've been (very slowly) working on writing a much better climax, and I'm glad for that.

 

[Fingon_Findekáno]

I think you'll find you are everyone's neighborhood grand-Ent already! We will always need you.😊

I fourth this! With the way you’re always kindly leading, gently correcting, sharing knowledge and teaching, encouraging others, taking an interest in us and even occasionally engaging in our humor, it means so much to us to have someone like you. You say our behavior gives you hope for the future; well, we would not be who we are today without having wholesome people like you in our lives who influence us for the better. ☺️

(Yes, I know this is the Writing Projects thread. This is the TTF Youth writing about how much Ent means to us. 😊)

 

[david_wendelken]

I had an awesome day today at my book-binding course. I'm learning all kinds of tricks on how to manipulate leather to decorate it to as part of a book binding.

Today I learned there is a product called "Stone Veneer". It's a sliver-thin sheet of sliced stone (say that 5 times quickly!). It's somewhat flexible so it can be attached to a soft book cover. Is that amazing or what?

A few months back I learned that there is a kind of paper being made nowadays from crushed up stone. And no, I'm not kidding.

Why would I tell this to you all?

Because if I had a story ready about a dwarf, I would SO print it on the stone paper and bind it with the stone veneer. Would that be awesome or not?

I have my thinking cap on because I REALLY want to do this.

 

[Ent]

You youth are all far too kind. Now I desperately need that "aww" emoji.

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

You youth are all far too kind. Now I desperately need that "aww" emoji.

🥺🥺🥺

 

[Will Whitfoot]

And finally, the OTTERHEAD website has finally gone live! Mostly I have been working on the OTTERWORLD link, elucidating the structure of the Omniverse and the current unraveling of timeline bundles.

 

[david_wendelken]

And finally, the OTTERHEAD website has finally gone live! Mostly I have been working on the OTTERWORLD link, elucidating the structure of the Omniverse and the current unraveling of timeline bundles.

That's great!

 

[david_wendelken]

Learned how to do a Coptic Style binding today. Not well, but I did learn how! Now I'll take apart the book and bind it again, this time (hopefully!!) the right way.

 

[david_wendelken]

I managed to get in a bit of light editing on Volume 1 this week. I've got some small inconsistencies and come up with a few ideas to help me move forward after this class is over.

 

[david_wendelken]

I met a particularly delightful and talented artist at my art camp this week. I checked out her website and found some new material for a story. I think this would be a particularly elvish way of weaving silk for high-end garments.

Please note this textile artist uses her page to highlight various works of art she makes, including garments.

The top half of the page may be considered "Not Safe for Work" by some, so use your best judgment. (It's not pornographic, just a person posing in a garment with very thin cloth.)

The relevant silk weaving material starts with the heading, "Memento Mori". She did did not weave the garment by machine or human hand, she choreographed the silkworms into doing the weaving. It's pretty awesome. Brilliant, actually!

https://www.vickiessig.com/process-silkworms

And now I have some cool detail for a story!

 

[Tyelkormo the Fair]

 

[david_wendelken]

View attachment 33708

That's really good advice! I'll make sure I use it on all writing going forward. When I'm away from the "finished" book a few more months, I'm going to go back through it and see where I need to make these changes. I'm too close to it now.