Sunday, July 8, 2012

Votary Nerves - work-shopping

My latest novel project, the one I started in 2009, and have been tinkering with since, I am now work-shopping at Red Lemonade Press' site. I've been interested in them for some time now. They have an interesting, very liquid approach to the submission process, very community driven, pieces grow, conversations happen. Published works are curated from this community vs piles; what's driving conversation, how is a text evolving as part of the direct relationship between writers and readers?

It's easy to think of novels as a commodity sometimes, a story experience we may buy and enjoy and collect on our bookshelf, but rarely do we get to look at them in process, or get to see them on a final leg of a journey; polished yet still a little raw. I like the idea of that, and what Red Lemonade has concocted. And this being my first true novel length work, I'm still very much a student of the craft, and probably still will be on the outset of my fifth, tenth, and subsequent novel thereafter.

Coming from a background in theatre, I've always enjoyed the process of work-shopping and previewing a show for an audience. A nice chance to gain some objective perspective on how what's been churning in your head is actually translating, before you stamp it as a final thing and say it is what it is. I invite you to check out my manuscript, "Votary Nerves," a coming of age tale; a psycho nautical slide down the TV set of a young man's mind at the tale end of his adolescence. It's getting there. Your feedback is important to me. Hungry, I am, for readers and feedback.
Check it out here-> http://redlemona.de/jeff-phillips/votary-nerves

4 comments:

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

hit me with some passages and i would b glad to give some feedback.

The Igloo Oven said...

Thanks man! Would love to hear your thoughts! Here is a link to the manuscript, it's broken into chapters too for easier digestion - http://redlemona.de/jeff-phillips/votary-nerves

Jeb said...

jp, if you want me to give this another read and/or something else, just say the word. glad to see it move past the "telesnuffer phase," when it was already quite enjoyable :)

The Igloo Oven said...

Jeb! Would love it if you had another opportunity to give it a read. Would you rather read it from the Red Lemonade platform or a word doc?

Also, if you want me to take another gander at The March or any other pieces, send em my way!