Post by rockefeller on Oct 20, 2021 16:27:28 GMT
So here we have an apocalyptic tale of a father whose wife dies during childbirth delivering their daughter, not breech but "sideways," moments after escaping a run-of-the-mill nuclear Armageddon into an underground bunker. Somehow the baby survives her transverse birth to live for seven years alone with her dad in their bomb shelter. And all in the first paragraph.
The next 8000 words, via toggling points of view, mostly detail their journey from the bunker to the safety of an underground community which he somehow knew was there but had no way of communicating with. It's all a little vague. They have special surface suits (including one for a seven-year-old) they must wear at all times to protect them from radiation, which, because they've neglected to include a Geiger counter in their survival supplies, they have no way of measuring. The suits allow for breathing the contaminated air, but not eating or drinking. So they get pretty hungry without first somehow dying of thirst. (Not sure how they poop or pee... probably doesn't matter... but 30 days on the road with Ms. Rocks last month sort of attuned me to those considerations.) Happily, they do make it to a large underground community. But, unhappily, the daughter's suit has suffered a small tear and she dies of radiation poisoning. The End.
I'm about 78 percent sure that this is an abandoned novel. It has that "Oh fuck it, I give up" feel. Maybe a NaNoWriMo thing that sort of died on the vine after pantsing (vs. plotting) itself into a corner. My advice: write slower; revise copiously. Think NaNoWriDecade if not NaNoWriLife. For sure don't be afraid to bail and start over, just don't shop your abortive attempts around.
Okay, really, it's probably not that bad. I've read way worse, some of it published. (And, again, I like the utter absence of a cover letter. Is this the same VC as last time, or some new trend?) Maybe it just didn't change me. And I want to change. So no.
Last Edit: Oct 15, 2021 at 9:23am by rockefeller
The next 8000 words, via toggling points of view, mostly detail their journey from the bunker to the safety of an underground community which he somehow knew was there but had no way of communicating with. It's all a little vague. They have special surface suits (including one for a seven-year-old) they must wear at all times to protect them from radiation, which, because they've neglected to include a Geiger counter in their survival supplies, they have no way of measuring. The suits allow for breathing the contaminated air, but not eating or drinking. So they get pretty hungry without first somehow dying of thirst. (Not sure how they poop or pee... probably doesn't matter... but 30 days on the road with Ms. Rocks last month sort of attuned me to those considerations.) Happily, they do make it to a large underground community. But, unhappily, the daughter's suit has suffered a small tear and she dies of radiation poisoning. The End.
I'm about 78 percent sure that this is an abandoned novel. It has that "Oh fuck it, I give up" feel. Maybe a NaNoWriMo thing that sort of died on the vine after pantsing (vs. plotting) itself into a corner. My advice: write slower; revise copiously. Think NaNoWriDecade if not NaNoWriLife. For sure don't be afraid to bail and start over, just don't shop your abortive attempts around.
Okay, really, it's probably not that bad. I've read way worse, some of it published. (And, again, I like the utter absence of a cover letter. Is this the same VC as last time, or some new trend?) Maybe it just didn't change me. And I want to change. So no.
Last Edit: Oct 15, 2021 at 9:23am by rockefeller