im an author

[beddo]

ok. so i am a young author and i was wondering. how do you get to publish stories?. like has anyone ever published a story to a magazine or ever released a book here?

It's pointless trying to get something published with applying decent grammar and punctuation to your work.

Why don't your try entering your work into a competition?

 

[Singing Gremlin]

Well as an inspiring author also, looked up various agents etc, co-author is mad about getting everything right and polished so its getting worked and reworded a lot.

Firstly: write something GOOD.

Now am not saying this is bad. Just not GOOD. It's average, mediocre. Dread_repear has worded it quite well, but i prefer the blunt instrument approach as thats what helped me realise what makes incredible writing.

thoughts and emotions are key. You've laid the ground work in a semi decent way but you need to build upon it. Make it into a sky scraper of desperation and immersion that makes the reader feel like they are actually THERE. Imagine yourself in that position, colour the character with your emotions. Have him thinking of things other than how hes about to metaphorically molested by the water around him.

Think about what sound track would suit this scene well, it helps to give more flow to the writing and to plan where it's going better.

EDIT: Also, don't aspire to be rowling...she has abused the concept of magic =.= her villians are rubbish, a decent warlock would've dropped a rafter on the kid and turned him into street grease. Amatuerish in my view.

Tolkien and Pratchett however, are kings of fantasy and magic.

An aspiring author should not mock the successful. Especially when they get confused between 'aspiring' and 'inspiring'. Learn, yeah. Mocking is just asking for a *****-slap from fate.

On topic, I'd keep writing for a bit before you start looking to publish. Find people who will be honest with you and help you improve your style. The more you work, the better it'll get. As you say you are young, you've got plenty of time.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Reading through all of this, all I realize is that I'm behind on Chapter 4. Why haven't you folks been harping on me more about this?

EDIT
This post needs more content, what was I thinking?

Well okay, so you've definitely developed a rambling disjointed style, and while it is exceptionally difficult to read because of your formatting, in itself it is not inexcusably bad (as some on this forum believe it to be). Is it unrefined? Yes, but at its base it is acceptable. I will mention however that if you wrote an entire book in this style of frenetic description any reader will have a heart attack and die before getting passed the prologue, so keep in mind your obvious pacing issues as well. On a deeper sense, being that this is simply an excerpt, we have no inkling as to who is narrating this tale of watery woe, their motivation, etc, so I can't really comment on anything deeper than your style, grammar, and punctuation.

Assuming you're alluding to me in that "as some," statement, I'd like to clarify that I agree. The problem is an entire piece, long or short fiction, simply can't be misleading. Because that is the entire narrative we've been provided, end to end, the piece is inexcusably disjointed style.

Although, I'm going to echo the unrefined, but put a bit more emphasis on it. The language appears to have been carefully selected (subtracting the "blubs," which are somewhat childish). The problem is that it's been carefully selected to be highly artful. Artistry, though should never be fully exclusive from clear writing. If you are sacrificing a medium for a statement, then you've missed the point of the medium.

Satire and humor, regardless of format or genre, really needs to work well within its format. It feels, to me at least, that you've sacrificed writing as an entertainment medium to really hammer home the disorientation. I understood that I was lost, alone, and drowning well into the first two sentences. It's okay to remind me, but don't literally drown me in it. "Killing off" readers will mean no one will read your work. Simply put: Don't do it.

I'm not advising you to put away being artful, or carefully crafting your language; I'm advising you to keep your audience.

If it helps any, read it outloud. That would help with the pacing (as well and remove about 3/4 of the periods you have and improve grammar), and would give you a better sense of what you're trying to convey. I see what you're trying to do, but it could be done better. Reread it and ask yourself what you wanted to convey; finally, don't just upload a short story without previewing it first.

This. I've advised this to many people, and I will advise it many times more. Do this.

 

[Singing Gremlin]

If it helps any, read it outloud. That would help with the pacing (as well and remove about 3/4 of the periods you have and improve grammar), and would give you a better sense of what you're trying to convey. I see what you're trying to do, but it could be done better. Reread it and ask yourself what you wanted to convey; finally, don't just upload a short story without previewing it first.

This. I've advised this to many people, and I will advise it many times more. Do this.

It does, too. Just tried it with some of my own scribblings. Cheers!

 

[fedpayne]

Would you be offended if I asked how old you were?

This obviously needs some polish, and I'm afraid to say quite a bit of it. That is what I would advise; draft, draft and re-draft. Show it to people, ask them if there are any lines that jar, anything that doesn't quite seem right, seems out of place. Proof-read it yourself and be always asking how you can make it better.

I won't lie to you, I'm not a real writer... yet. I'm studying to be one though, and we workshop and edit each others pieces like crazy. PM me if you want to send me any stuff to look at, and I'll proofread it for you, if you like, and if you want, I'll send you some stuff to edit. But I'll need your word that you won't steal any of my imagery. My images are like my children.

Now, the piece here. Like I said, needs some polish, but you said yourself that you wrote it quickly. You seem to have developed some sense of rhythm, which I liked, but there were lines that made me cringe slightly. I find it painful whenever writers mention irony. Show, don't tell.

Also, like people have said, read shit. Carver, Hemingway, Chekhov, go mental. But channel, don't steal.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Ok for those who just took a shot at me...learn to fucking read.

I was speaking to the original poster so shut it.

and if you were referring to my mocking of rowling.

Still shut it my critiques stand. Don't like it? Leave the thread.