A List of Links: Quick Kills & Real-Time Rejection
Here’s this week’s list of potentially useful links for writers and rejectomancers.
1) I’m always looking for ways to bring more realism to combat scenes in the fantasy fiction I write, and one of my favorite resources is an article from Classical Fencing entitled “The Dubious Quick Kill” by Maestro Frank Lurz. Much of the article is drawn from historical accounts of duels from the 17th and 18th centuries and explores misconceptions about the lethality of sword wounds. A good read even if it’s not the kind of stuff you usually write.
2) Here’s another submission tracking website for genre authors called The (Submission) Grinder. It’s similar to Duotrope in that it includes a searchable database of publishers, but unlike Duotrope, it’s free (though they do accept donations). Personally, I prefer Duotrope, but if you’re looking for a free resource, then The (Submission) Grinder is a good option.
3) Another great reference for the fantasy fiction writer looking to bone up on historical melee weapons is the scholagladitoria YouTube channel. The channel is described as: “Videos by Matt Easton of Schola Gladiatoria, covering Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA)/Historical fencing, military history, antique arms and armour and general combat-related things.” Lots of good information here about weapons and fighting styles from various historical eras and cultures.
4) Lewis Editorial has posted the first in a series of prep articles for the upcoming NaNoWriMo. Good advice here and worth checking out if you’re going to take the plunge next month.
5) I found this interesting site a while back, and though I’m still not sure what to make of it, I thought I’d share. It’s called JukePop, and here’s the basic concept from their “about” page.
JukePop is a community for authors to release their story one chapter at a time, receive feedback from the community, fine tune as the story continues and publish when the story is completed. Readers receive portions of a novel in installments, building excitement and anticipation between chapters . . .
So, from what I can tell, authors post chapters of a novel, one at a time, and readers can “up vote” the story. Get enough up votes, and you qualify for cash rewards. Looks like there are other interesting aspects to the platform as well, including crowd funding and pay-to-read formats. It’s an interesting concept that might bear further research if the serialization format appeals to you.
6) Hey, it’s the look-at-more-shit-on-my-blog portion of this post. This time I’d like to draw your attention to Real-Time Rejection and the thrilling saga of “Story X.” The basic idea here is I’ve got a new story I’m trying to get published, and I’m charting the story’s progress in real time, posting the rejections letters as they come in. I’m up to four so far, and if I get to ten, I’ll post the story on the blog so you can all indulge in a little schadenfreude at my expense.
- Intro: Real-Time Rejection: The Journey of “Story X”
- Part 1: Real-Time Rejection: The 1st Rejection of “Story X”
- Part 2: Real-Time Rejection: The 2nd Rejection of “Story X”
- Part 3: Real-Time Rejection: The 3rd Rejection of “Story X”
- Part 4: Real-Time Rejection: The 4th Rejection of “Story X”
Got a useful link for writers? Share it in the comments.
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