How many here write fiction? And what is your work about?

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   The Chrysalisposted 5 years ago

   Hi! I thought of asking how many other people are in the same - rather difficult! - position, of struggling with words and taking journeys in their imagination so as to create nice new stories... I work as seminar lecturer and translator, but my works of fiction are by far more important for myself...
   My favourite authors are F. Kafka and H.L. Borges. I generally write something between the two - there is actually a lot of space there, given they differ in many significant ways...
   I am very happy to be in this site, and look forward to discussing with you
   
   Regards,
   Kyriakos

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   1. 93

      Sparrowletposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hi - I write fiction too, short stories and I am working on my first novel, but I've not posted any fiction on hubpages before. I'm about halfway done with my novel (first draft, that is) and focusing on beefing up my characters, which is a challenge for me. I seem to be able to understand and "see" and know my characters very well, but need to find better ways to let the reader in on what I see in them! I have had a "real" editor read the first chapter of my novel and he said it is well written and has potential for "wide appeal" due to the subject matter. When first draft is finished he has offered to edit with me and then I think I might actually pitch it to publishers first and see if I get any bites. If not, I'll self-publish and hope for the best! Have you published any of your fiction in book form or here?

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2. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

   I love fiction and have written several as such. That's the good news.
   
   As for the bad news, that has to do with Google.
   
   In other words, it does not pay. Want an example? Here's one I formerly did at HP that never worked:
   
   "
   
   How I Got My Armadillo
   
   I decided I wanted an armadillo. Actually I have always wanted an armadillo. It’s just now I finally decided to do something about it.
   
   I visited several pet shops. No armadillos.
   
   I went to some animal shelters. No armadillos.
   
   I finally went online. There were indeed armadillos. But it appears the Environmental Protection Agency also really likes armadillos. So much so that all the paperwork and other bureaucracy made it impossible to get one.
   
   What was an armadillo lover to do?
   
   I thought and thought. And then the brilliant idea occurred…
   
   I went and bought myself a 3-D printer. They seem to be on sale all over the place now. Mine even had voice capability.
   
   I took it home. I started reading the directions. Everything was fine. Until I got to the chapter on raw materials…
   
   What raw material does one use to print an armadillo? I looked in the index. Nothing there regarding armadillos. Looks like I was stumped… But then I heard a noise at the window.
   
   It was one of the neighborhood cats. I opened the window and brought him inside. I explained the situation to him. He wanted no part of it. I reminded him that he still had eight lives left and threw in a bribe that I’d feed him for a week. He thought about it and then agreed.
   
   I put the cat in the printer.
   
   Stupid cat.
   
   I fired up the printer. “One armadillo,” said I.
   
   “Specifications please,” said the printer.
   
   Back to the instruction manual… There it was. Got to get the printing specifications/patterns for any given item one wishes to print.
   
   Back online. To my utter lack of surprise, there were no armadillo schematics to be found. But then I had the insight to narrow my search. I limited it to .gov sites. The NSA popped up. I went there. And there it was. Armadillo schematic 42.
   
   “What are they doing with that?” I wondered.
   
   There was a comment box, but I decided not to ask. Downloaded the specs and departed.
   
   Transferred the specs to the printer. The printer made various noises. Time passed. Sure enough, an armadillo began to appear. Took about a half-hour, but there it was. One complete armadillo.
   
   It wasn’t moving.
   
   “It’s not moving,” I told the printer.
   
   “Taser it,” said the printer.
   
   So I did. Apparently the spark-of-life thing. The armadillo stood up.
   
   And that is how I got my armadillo.
   
   "

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3. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

   I've transferred that one and nine others to my own website to no avail. Do it only for the joy.

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   1. 93

      Sparrowletposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      LOL that's cute! Imaginative and engaging, though it's more of a short-short than what you'd call a "short story". I don't know how long your other eight are, but have you tried Amazon kindle? I have eight short stories on there for .99 cents each and I sell one every now and then. Like you, it's mostly just for the fun of having them published, but they're there for all the world! You can see my list of stories if you check out Katharine L Sparrow on amz, I made covers for each one and all that. Kinda fun, though you're not gonna get rich off it, that's for sure!

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4. 75

   The Chrysalisposted 5 years ago

   Hi Sparrowlet and Paradigmsearch!
   Good luck with your works...!
   
   I haven't tried publishing anything on Kindle - it is made difficult for me because the language I originally write in isn't English...
   I do have some published (in print) books, namely a collection of short stories (titled The Chrysalis ) and a translation of 12 stories by Franz Kafka. I write in Greek. The language is very good, in my view, but obviously the market will be a lot smaller than for books written in English...
   
   I love short stories (and also flash fiction). My longest work is only around 40 pages, so a very small novella (if it can be even be classified as such; it is roughly 20.000 words).

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