Avoiding "Sludge State", Using Feedback,

What I did and didn't do this month

Welcome to new subscribers and followers

About 30% of my readers follow me on the Substack App. A generous and unconditional welcome, if the mighty algorithm ever deigns to show you my work. Subscribing for free helps ensure you see stuff…

I have not posted for a month, because I have been in a sludge state, defined below. There is plenty coming in the next few weeks.

A reminder

I have two novels out I am truly proud of. Our Child of the Stars and Our Child of Two Worlds. They are widely available including from me in the UK.

I have some Free Fiction on my website (Tab, free fiction). I also offer creative services – including MS assessment and media skills/confidence. (Tab, Services)

Bung me a question or comment. Post below or privately here. Is anyone interested in a Zoom chat on all things writing and fiction?

Fire Jays by Paul Humphreys (Inkycovers.com)

Human Art

One conclusion of my experiments with AI art was that I should commission and pay for some human art.  I have a couple of pieces around the novella in progress from artist Paul Humphreys. One is a study of fire jays, birds local to Suncup Falls, and the other is a character study of Livvy and Marcus, two of the six main characters at the school. They are talented theatre kids and oh boy, do they know it,

I think it is striking that Paul managed to get the human relationship between the characters, with Livvy the leader. It’s something that AI is dreadful at doing unless you ask for a stereotypical scenario.  The fire jays are exactly as I hoped. The characters suffer from not being exactly like I see them in my head – Marcus is a bit braver than that even when something spooky happens - but they do meet the art brief exactly. I suspect I need to let go of that hang-up and accept someone else’s art is their interpretation. (The height is because it is a book cover),

“Livvy Takes The Lead” by Paul, as above.

Sludge State

There’s a wonderful point in the creative life where you reach a flow state – maybe for minutes, maybe an hour, maybe a few days. In this state you write with ideas fizzing and the words (or worlds) flying onto the page.  It’s this state which means I could never write a book by hand, I could not write fast enough, and it would be illegible.

I think I have been in sludge state, where things move very slowly, and trying to speed up can just increase the resistance.

Usual cures for this state include;

·       Blitzing horrible adult jobs, of which I have many.

·       Walking. In my case, 100%, some of the sludge state will be too little exercise. The brain likes being vigorously oxygenated - the animal act of walking also gives the brain space to muse on things.

·       Consuming challenging media – produced by creators with vision, or interesting ideas – or reading poor stuff and thinking how I would improve it.

·       Research that is interesting anyway.

·       Writing first drafts of something which doesn’t matter.

A high risk strategy is reading my old stuff, which has convinced me I should revisit the idea of a collection of short fiction. I have plenty of good stuff and a theme.

Querying agents update

There is no update. It takes time and it’s best to work on other things. Several of the agents don’t even reply to your submission if it’s a no.

Responding to feedback 1

I read a story to my writers’ group and it wasn’t a success. I thought the conceit was obvious, but clearly it wasn’t. Those who did get it got it too late. Without giving anything away, this was REALLY BAD because it looked like I was supporting THAT. The story was rewritten.

In such groups, sometimes the person who read their piece leaps to explain what they were doing, or to dispute the feedback. Or immediately and at length agrees with it, without waiting to hear what other people say.

I absolutely get this, it’s my default mode. I was furious about the feedback, but also, I was wrong. Bitter experience tells me it is far better to absorb feedback, sleep on it, and only ask questions to be sure you understand / draw out the comments. 

If you want feedback, your time listening to it is valuable. Pushing back reduces the new information you get.

Also, please for the love of whoever, don’t read a good poem then feel the need to explain it immediately. If the poem is good, it doesn’t need explaining. If it’s not, explaining it unasked doesn’t help.

Responding to feedback 2

I am in that interesting place with the novella. 4/6 beta readers have responded. Their thoughtful comments have been important, and I am digesting, pondering, and trying to figure out what to do. 

One produced the simplest, and in some ways the most complicated, response – he just got it, and even after a lengthy coffee and discussion, didn’t really challenge anything. That’s pleasing but also a bit uncanny.  The other three, a range of ages and sexes, gave me food for thought, all addressing similar issues but responding very differently. That I need to do something is clear. Exactly what is another question.

Learning how to use feedback to meet your intentions is a key skill.

On the novella, I’m very sure the central idea is strong, I need to decide how the mystery unfolds, and whether one crucial element is strong enough. I’m still committed to it being a novella. Other novellas in the same world are possible. I hoped for less of a rewrite but then for the writer, every day is a school day.

Next issue may be as soon as next week - I release an unseen short story, the case for AI reparations, and who knows, other exciting news!

Take care.

Oh, if voting in person in the UK, make sure you take eligible voter ID. Check on the Electoral Commission website.