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Joined: Apr 2011
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
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Anyone else have this problem? I just finished a first draft of a one-part stand-alone story and let my 10 year old daughter read it. Correction: Not just read it, let her BETA read it. I'm thinking my first mistake was not re-introducing her to Lois and Clark. (I'm know she watched it with me while she was a preschooler, but not all the episodes.) The problem is that while you all know the show, know the characters, know the plots to which I refer in my stories without me describing them in detail in my stories (or at least I hope so), she clearly does not. It would be like me reading a Dr. Who fanfic story. I know there's a doctor in it and he's got this really spacious British telephone/police kiosk he likes to travel through time/space in, but that's about it. Or like me trying out a new TV show, but starting in S3 or S5. It just doesn't work for me. She's watched enough of the Justice League and the original Lois and Clark (George Reeve version) show and the Chris Reeves' Superman I & II movies to know the basic characters (so, I thought that would be enough), but she doesn't know some of the plot points that came up in this story (and in our show), which meant I had to take her aside and explain what happened. Plus, it's an AU story, so it doesn't quite fit in canon (cough, cough, at all), which made it difficult to explain the original plot line and how it was different in my story. She absolutely loved the idea of correcting mistakes (especially mine) and volunteered to read ANYTHING else I write. (Sweet kid.) Reading her Beta is fun too, because I get to learn things about her that I didn't know otherwise, such as which words she doesn't know.  As a mother, I love that she mentioned these to me! As a writer, I'm hoping that my writing isn't too confusing to others, especially those whose first language isn't English. Anyway, I just wanted to share with others who might get a kick out of my experience and/or empathize with having a non-LnC fan beta read your fanfic. FYI: She's only half way through the story, so I'm not ready to post it yet. ("Mom, it's 13 pages long" -- double spaced -- "so how can you call it a short story??"  So, I won't be introducing her to any of my other fic just yet. Heaven forbid!) From the next room, I can hear her reading it aloud to herself, over and over, deciding if she likes how I phrased and described things -- torture for any writer, I must say.
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,956 Likes: 28
Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,956 Likes: 28 |
 A shoutout to your little one! She absolutely loved the idea of correcting mistakes (especially mine) and volunteered to read ANYTHING else I write. (Sweet kid.)  You got quite the reader there! But I do recommend leaving Nightfall Honeymoon until she's a tad older  ("Mom, it's 13 pages long" -- double spaced -- "so how can you call it a short story??" /EW really does love her adorable little one/ But I do admit, usually FDK usually doesn't longer than 6 pages, too, so... Also, what does she mean by '13 pages long'?  What has happened to the rest of the story? LOIS: Clark agreed to bed me right after we met as Lois and Superman. Duh!  Michael
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Joined: Apr 2011
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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You got quite the reader there! But I do recommend leaving Nightfall Honeymoon until she's a tad older Give me a little credit as a mother, Michael. I do know when to cover up my screen when the little ones enter the room (now, that they know how to read.) ("Mom, it's 13 pages long" -- double spaced -- "so how can you call it a short story??" /EW really does love her adorable little one/ I do. She came to me the other day because they are writing Halloween books in her 5th grade class to read to the kindergarten kids. The plot she had come up with her book was too complicated and she wanted me to help her make it less confusing and more streamlined. I said, "Sweetie, you came to the wrong person. I have the exact same problem!" It took a while of bouncing ideas back and forth but we finally toned down her plot into something manageable that she could write in a week. Now, if I could only clone myself so that I could help ME tone down my long-winded and confusing story lines, I might be able to finally finish Wrong Clark.  But I do admit, usually FDK usually doesn't longer than 6 pages, too, so... Also, what does she mean by '13 pages long'? What has happened to the rest of the story? I've written some short one-part stories before! This one will just as confusing and long-winded as my longer epics, I just condensed it into 13 pages. ![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/smilie/frech/e030.gif) LOIS: Clark agreed to bed me right after we met as Lois and Superman. Duh! Um... No. Absolutely not! I would never let my 10 y.o. read something like that! Nor would I let my daughter ever know I write stuff like that!  I wouldn't even show it (or Nightfall Honeymoon) to MY mother! The story I let her read is strictly PG. The words she didn't understand were "plague" (I used it as verb), "pseudonym", and "wryly".
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Feb 2010
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Not surprisingly, I agree with your daughter about thirteen pages not being a short story. To me, thirteen sentences is a short story. I'll even agree that paragraphs is a short story, provided that the paragraphs are not themselves excessively long. But thirteen pages is longer than almost all of my stories.
I guess everything is relative...
Joy,
Lynn
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2007
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I do know when to cover up my screen when the little ones enter the room Hence the  Although, covering up will also come back to haunt in a couple of years... The plot she had come up with her book was too complicated and she wanted me to help her make it less confusing and more streamlined. I said, "Sweetie, you came to the wrong person. I have the exact same problem!"  It's hereditary! Now, if I could only clone myself so that I could help ME tone down my long-winded and confusing story lines, I might be able to finally finish Wrong Clark. Now that's just wrong! Hmm...I'm starting to get an inkling that a certain type of reader might actually be complicit in creating this mess in the first place  This one will just as confusing and long-winded as my longer epics, I just condensed it into 13 pages./EW has taken on a special challange/ LOIS:  CLARK:  The story I let her read is strictly PG. /Barnie voice/ Challenge accepted! The words she didn't understand were "plague" (I used it as verb), "pseudonym", and "wryly". Hmm... Maybe I could plague Lois by using a pseudonym while dressed in tights, Clark thought wryly. Michael
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Dec 2003
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I let my 12 year old son read one of my stories. He said he liked it, but he's never asked to read another one. I think it just satisfied his curiosity as to what I was writing. I completely agree with you, though - my stories make more sense if you know the show well.
Susan, whose son has never read anything by Groobie! <<horrified shudder>>
You can find my stories as Groobie on the nfic archives and Susan Young on the gfic archives. In other words, you know me as Groobie.
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 167
Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 167 |
From the next room, I can hear her reading it aloud to herself, over and over, deciding if she likes how I phrased and described things -- torture for any writer, I must say. BEST.BETA.EVAH!!!  Seriously, I bet you'll learn a lot from this young lady She came to me the other day because they are writing Halloween books in her 5th grade class to read to the kindergarten kids. The plot she had come up with her book was too complicated and she wanted me to help her make it less confusing and more streamlined. I said, "Sweetie, you came to the wrong person. I have the exact same problem!" LOL!!! XD As a writer, I'm hoping that my writing isn't too confusing to others, especially those whose first language isn't English. It is not, rest assured *Runs to search for Nightfall Honeymoon on the archives* 
Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What
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Joined: Apr 2011
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2011
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As a writer, I'm hoping that my writing isn't too confusing to others, especially those whose first language isn't English. It is not, rest assured Oh, good. Phew! *Runs to search for Nightfall Honeymoon on the archives* There's also a version on the Nfic archives that's slightly different than the one on the regular archives. ![[Linked Image]](http://cosgan.de/images/smilie/frech/e015.gif)
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 492
Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 492 |
The Hugo Award for science fiction and fantasy uses - Best Novel: Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
- Best Novella: Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
- Best Novelette: Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
- Best Short Story: Awarded for science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
at 250 words per page which most books are that means a short story is less then 30 pages.
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