Emerging From the Slush - AWP Panel

There's a lot of stories in that stack.
How do you make your story stand out?

Another panel I attended at AWP this year was the "Emerging From the Slush - How to get your short story published" panel.  The theme was looking at "Robert's Rules" - the ten ways to get you and your story noticed.  They handed out a bunch of neat-o bookmarks with all the critical information on it, so it was easy to get the main ideas at a glance, and know who was there.  Panelists were Robert Kerbeck (moderator), Michael Lemberger, Sujata Shekar, and Zach Powers.  (As before, the room was jammed to capacity, and I could not see the panel table, so I could always be certain who was talking when.  I have names when I'm pretty sure who was talking) 

In any case, I thought I'd share the list here and some of my notes.  There is nothing earth-shattering here, and I can't say I agree with all of the suggestions, but it is nice to have all the ideas in one place.

1. Find a Good Home
   Michael - Your work is not you.  Your work may be rejected, but that does not mean you are rejected.  Aim high, start at the top of your list, then move down it.  Send to the places that your favorite writers are being published, and don't take it personally when you are rejected.  Person speaking? - Don't forget your home town journals, which are good places to publish and to connect.
2. KISS Theory
   Robert - "Keep It a Short Story" (2500-4000 words ideally).  Sujata - Experiment with different page lengths with the same story.  It builds skills.  Shorter stories are easier to fit into most mags.
3. Non-Fiction, Baby
   Michael - Non fiction gets published.  Journalism, critical essays, memoir, slice of life - all good to consider.  Build a corpus of work around a theme that is not all fiction.  This is a great step into publishing.  Book reviews are useful and help build connections.
4. Get Personal
   Zach - Be personal in your communications whenever possible.  For example, "You published an author I like," "I'm a subscriber," "I received a personal rejection and you said submit again," or "We met at AWP and you said to give us a try."  Find a tidbit that sets your cover letter apart.  Just one or two sentences, and then the bio.
5. Be Strategic, Not Indiscriminate
   Zach - Submit a lot, but be discriminating.  Get to know some journals very well.  Study them.  Meet people from them.  Know where to submit.  Tier your favorites.  Michael - Know yourself and know your work.  Be yourself - you will get the readers you are supposed to have.  It's ok to pick some journals out of your comfort zone for submissions. 
6. Let Rejection Be Your Guide
   Sujata - This is not some kind of personal rating.  For myself, I apply to only one or two contests a year.  I like themed issues where they request new work, and new authors.  I don't happen to submit places that don't take simultaneous submissions.
7. Two for the Price of One
   Person speaking? - When you get an acceptance, send thanks.  Also, you can suggest that a brand new story is also ready to go if they are interested.  Michael - Can you pull together stories with a thematic link?
8. Go on Vacation
   Robert - Go to Writer's conferences, retreats, workshops, and meetings to meet people, develop relationships, and advance your career.  Try Tin House, Bread Loaf, Iowa Writer's Festival, Vermont.  Sujata - Workshops, Festivals, and Retreats are very useful if you do not have a traditional writer's background.  Apply for the scholarships.  "Voices of our Nation."
9. Be a Volunteer
   Sujata - Read the slush for a journal, you become a good reader and editor.  It depersonalizes the process and you see your own submissions in a new light.  You learn the myriad of reasons why things are rejected.  You learn what is out there so you can write something else.  Zach - Help run a reading series, organize events, etc.  Michael - Be happy for others. 
10. Editors Don't Bite
    Editors are people.  Get to know them.  Network, establish relationships, but don't monopolize their time.  Just talk and be sociable.

Image Credit - Stack of papers.  CC 2.0 Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FileStack_retouched.jpg

Demystifying The Business Side of Writing and Publishing - AWP Panel

I had a wonderful time at the annual AWP conference and book fair - this year in Washington, D.C.  It was my first AWP conference, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I went to some insightful panels and spent a good chunk of time in the book fair learning about new publications, programs, and yes, I certainly did buy some books.  I attended a reception hosted by a consortium of journals, and just generally had too much wine ...

So here is the first in a series of posts where I talk about some of the neat stuff that happened at the conference.  Now, as you know from my previous post on Panels at Cons I am not a big fan of panels in general.  However, most of the panels I attended at AWP were well moderated, and were able to keep my interest for at least half the scheduled time, if not more.  That's pretty good from my point of view.  (Still, check out the previous post, since I'd love to be able to do something other than listen to another panel.)

The first panel I attended, bright and early on Thursday morning, was the panel "Demystifying the Business Side of Writing and Publishing."  The panel members as listed in the guide are: Whitney Davis, Tarfia Faizullah, Paula Munier, Joshua Shenk, and Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum.  Although when I came in they were mentioning something about the panelists, and so there might have been a swap of some kind.  The room was completely packed, with people standing along the walls and three deep in the back.   I was completely blocked and could not see the panel table.  It was great to be in a well attended and high energy session, but it also would have been nice to be able to see who was speaking ...

I've attended a lot of panels and workshops with this subject, so I didn't expect too much info I had not heard already.  However, repetition of some good ideas never hurts.  Here is my distillation of some of the main ideas that were presented.

Demystifying the Business Side of Writing and Publishing

Submitting to Book Contests and Publications:

• Read.  Especially those books that have won the contest in question or that have been published where you'd like to be published.
• Best first.  Front load your best stories and poems in your submission.  This is more important than having an emotional 'arc' for example.  
  
• Vision.  The writer has to have a clear sense of what their aesthetic vision is for the work - so be able to summarize your work in a distinct way.  What is the lineage?  Who or what is this work like?  And then what makes it unique/different?
• Take your time.  Applications are conversations, don't just dash them off.  Imagine you are speaking through your application/submission - create a good impression of yourself and your book.
• No mistakes.  No typos, no weak stories or poems.  Don't give judges or editors any reason to object to your work.
• Be strategic.  Do not send the work to everyone under the sun, instead target those that appear to be the best match.  Some people say "send everywhere" but that is not a good use of anyone's time and energy.

Networking:

• "Network like hell." 
• Remember that you are your brand. 
• Put your picture on your business card so that people can put a face to a name.  
• If you are working in a solitary environment, then write emails and make calls.  Stay as connected as possible.  You are a colleague to other writers even if you don't see them in person every day.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help.  Look for people who will be generous.
• Put a limit on requests for time so people know what they are committing to - like "I want just 30 minutes over coffee" or "I need a quick 10 minutes for a phone call about X."

 Rejection and Tough Times:

• Embrace rejection.  Track rejections and see them as stepping stones to eventual acceptance. 
• Those who have success have a high capacity for humiliation.  
• Learn to live with your internal critic.  Learn when to listen and when to ignore that voice.
• "Remember the writers on Facebook all look successful and are all at home crying."  
• Be honest, don't try to portray yourself as a perfect human being.
• Don't be "precious" with your work, you can't be insulted when people ask for changes.

General Career Advice:

• Read copiously, read for your career. 
• Write about what you are passionate about.  
• Read the acknowledgements in books you love.  Who edited it, who represented it, who helped?  Learn where the writers you admire fit in.
• Look around and see what hasn't been done lately, think out of the box whenever possible.  
• Find a good editor.
• Look for awards, fellowships and residencies.     And don't miss your local resources for publishing and other opportunities - town, city, county, state ...
• Think strategically about your day job.  Be in environments that are creative and meaningful to you. "Adjuncting is atrocious, awful, and should be illegal."
• Keep learning and keep growing.  

Keep On Writing!

Sharpen up those quills
and get writing!

It can be hard to write when the world is pulling you in so many directions.  Many people feel their writing just isn't important in the larger scheme of things.  Especially for people who write fiction, their writing may seem so trivial to them, so much like it has no authentic connection to the outside.  And writing can be such a solitary endeavor, anyway, it can be difficult to see how it contributes to making a better world in the long run. 

"Write like it matters and it will." - Libba Bray
"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write." - Martin Luther
"If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood." - Peter Handke

I've been struggling with some of these thoughts myself.  After all, most of my writing will probably never get published, and will never garner a big audience if it does.  And really, what good is my beloved sci-fi novel in the face of all the ills of the world?  What good are my little horror poems, flung out into the cosmos like darts at a dragon?  Even that essay I wrote about grad school, the one that I thought was oh, so crafty and writerly, what has it changed? 

"Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises." - Anne Lamott
 "Don't judge it.  Just write it.  Don't judge it.  It's not for you to judge it." - Philip Roth
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
- Cyril Connolly

Well, it's changed me, for one.  Like now, when the world seems so very chaotic, I write and I find a place of focus and determination.  When I was my most depressed, I started my sci-fi series that means so much to me.  It may never get published, but it is a lifeline for me even (especially) now.  And even in the context of genre, I find myself writing about what matters to me - the nature of relationships, sacrifice, love, abuse, war, understanding, and more.  Not trivial issues by any means, as it turns out.

"I write for the same reason I breathe." - Isaac Asimov
"I admire anyone who has the guts to write anything at all." -  EB White
"Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now." - Earnest Hemingway

I want to encourage everyone to write, in whatever way works for them.  Get out those empty journals sitting on the shelf and start filling them up with quotes or whatever moves you.  Blog about your progress on your memoir, and then go write some more of that memoir.  Jot your poems down while commuting or drinking the morning's caffeinated beverage.  Scribble song lyrics in the margins of your class notes.  Fill your lunch breaks with introspective essays.  And if you are like me, huddle up with your computer in bed and pound out that fiction novel that you are just, oh, so close to finishing.  It may change more than you think.  There is no way to know - but certainly if we write nothing, then nothing will be the change we get.

Image Credit:  Sharpening Quill Pen.  Wikimedia Commons.  CC 4.0

Matching Your Story to the Perfect Market

Finding a good home for your story can be a challenge.  Doing a good job when looking for the right home can mean saving a lot of time and grief for everyone involved.  In the end, a good match means happiness for writers, readers, and editors. 

1.  Know the Genre of your Piece
This seems easy at first, but genres can merge and blend.  Additionally, the publishing world is always coming up with new genres and sub-genres.  Do you know the basic definitions for your genres?  What makes a story a sci-fi story?  What are the types of fantasy?  How much romance makes for a Romance?  What is Slipstream?  After you've identified the genre(s) and sub-genre(s) of your piece, consider the style or tone in which it was written.  Perhaps it is humorous, surreal, dark, technical or some combination.  It may be helpful to write out the words that fit your story to have on hand as you are considering markets.  As an example, a recent story I finished has the "classification" Horror, Monster, Apocalyptic, Romance, Dark Humor. 

2.  Find the Markets 
You are probably already reading many of the publications in which you'd like your work to appear.  Finding new markets is petty straightforward, since most in our genres are listed with either ralan.com (free) or duotrope.com (charges a yearly fee).  I've also found markets by checking out the tables at various conferences, looking at the publication history of stories in anthologies, and looking at author bios for where they have previously been published.

3.  Know the Markets
You probably know the publications you read pretty well.  You know the tones, genres, styles, and subjects they like to publish.  Do the same for other markets that interest you.  The best way to familiarize yourself with a publication is to buy a copy and read it.  Online journals make this part of the research very straightforward, since the material is right there for the reading.  You also protect yourself this way - you might reconsider submitting to a publication where the stories have a lot of typos and grammar mistakes.

4.  Follow the Guidelines
Read the guidelines for each publication carefully.  The submission guidelines probably have details about what the journal is looking to publish.  There may be special issues, themes, or anthologies open for submission, individually or at the same time.

5.  Know the Editors
Check the "about" page of any journal, and find the editors.  Do some research on them.  See where they have published, for example.  This can be challenging, since not all publications make it clear who will be handling your submission.  Still, if the Editor-in-Chief is known to dislike vampire stories, it is probably a waste of time to submit them to the mag, even if the mag does not specifically prohibit vampire stories.  Keep an eye out for editor's notes or interviews.  For example, Duotrope has posted some interviews with editors that give a bit more insight into what they are seeking. 

6.  Other Issues
Along with concerns about genre and content are issues related to compensation and rights.  Some markets pay more than others.  Some markets buy more rights than others.  Be sure you know what obligations you incur whenever you submit piece of writing.  Such concerns may have you choose one market over another, as a better home for your work.

And there is it.  Hopefully these suggestions will help us both identify good homes for our stories.  Of course, the submission process itself is the food for an entirely different blog post.

Image Credit:  Magazines, photoxpress.com

Vonnie Winslow Crist and When Opportunity Knocks

Vonnie Winslow Crist

I've been neglecting the blog in a most woeful fashion.  Didn't even get that last poetry post up.  But to make up for it, I've some tidbits of wisdom from speculative fiction writer and poet Vonnie Winslow Crist. 

Vonnie was the guest speaker at my local writers club meeting this last Thursday, and entertained us all for an hour with anecdotes from her career and practical insight into writing and publishing.  Her works include:  Essential Fables and River of Stars, both poetry collections from Lite Circle Books, fantasy novel The Enchanted Skean - Book 1 of the Chronicles of Lifthrasir from Mockingbird Lane Press, as well as The Greener Forest and Owl Light, collections of short stories and more from Cold Moon Press.  She has also edited much, volunteered much, and produced many columns and articles.  Her talk was titled "Be Ready When Opportunity Knocks and How to Find Those Hidden Opportunities."

Her first piece of advice is to always be writing.  She underscores the fact that you can't respond to any publishing opportunity unless you have appropriate work ready to go.  Keeping a backlog of poems, stories, and manuscripts means you have something in your pocket when you see a notice, hear a rumor, or find a great contest - and the deadline is coming up fast - like tomorrow.  Don't stop writing as you wait to see if your entry wins or if your submission is accepted.  Write something new while you wait.

Along with 'always be writing' is keep improving.  Vonnie points out that every piece of writing we do, no matter how brief, helps us improve our craft.  She emphasizes the importance of finding a critique group, and making sure it is one where all the members have the same level of writing expertise.  Read articles, magazines and books about the craft.  For fiction writers she recommends The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.  You might want to take workshops, courses, or even go back to school (as she did) and earn an advanced degree in writing!

Vonnie suggests we be creative about finding publication "homes" for our work.  She reads the bios of other writers to see where they've been published, and checks out directory style websites appropriate for our genre (I happen to use ralan.com and duotrope.com)  Don't neglect local outlets such as newsletters and bulletins, and keep an eye open for anthologies in your genre.  You can't underestimate the library, either.  Use your community (below) as a source of information on unique places to publish.

She emphasizes the importance of staying connected with the community.  This includes other writers, editors, and publishers.  Staying connected can mean:  attending writers' conferences, joining societies, attending conventions, volunteering to edit pieces or write articles, helping out with local meetings, etc.  Some of these opportunities will cost money and others will be free labor at first, but all can have payoffs down the line.

Vonnie points out that one opportunity can lead to another, so leverage opportunities.  For example, she won a poetry chapbook contest, and used that as the means to get a publisher interested in a full sized book of poetry.

Finally, she says, "When you see an opening, jump!  You can't fear rejection - say 'Yes' then work hard."

Actually, she said a great deal more, but you'll have to be lucky enough to catch her in person for the whole talk, and to enjoy her entertaining style.

Image Credit:  Vonnie Winslow Crist from her website.

Ten Ways to Help Avoid "Culturefail" in Speculative Fiction

Be prepared to include all
kinds of people, places, and
cultures in your speculative fiction.

One of the panels I attended at Arisia 2013 was "Avoiding Culturefail."  This expert panel hoped to express to its listeners how to "win" when writing about another culture.  In other words, when writing about "the other" (which in some sense we do every single time we write), how can we avoid propagating negative tropes and stereotypes?  How can we ensure that our writing becomes part of the solution, rather than continuing the problem?

Here are some of the main ideas I gleaned from the panel.  I distilled them into ten points as a reference list when starting and then working through a new story.

1. Commitment.  Commit to yourself to doing the best that you can when addressing cultural issues in your work.  You may not succeed in a "culturewin" but only a commitment to try will give a writer that opportunity.
2. Know Thyself.  Ask, "Who am I?  Where am I coming from?  What is my perspective?  What are my biases?  How does the nature of privilege in my life influence my approach to that "other" I am writing about?"
3. Research is the beginning.  The canonical phrase "do your research" still stands.  Intellectual knowledge of your subject, including cultures represented, is a necessity.  
4. Community Contact.  Research is only the beginning.  After reading up on your topic, don't stop there.  Research is only the very first step.  Deep knowledge and understanding requires engagement with the culture in question.
5. Be Thorough.  Research and community involvement need to be carried out on multiple levels.  Engage with more than one person of the culture you are writing about.  Use all the senses when doing research, i.e. looking at photos, listening to music, touching artifacts, and eating the cuisine.  Absorb stories, myth, and other literature.
6. Subvert the Tropes.  When writing, subvert the common tropes, cliches, and negative stereotypes.  Tell an effective counter-narrative.  
7. Be Uncomfortable.  Allow yourself to go to the uncomfortable places and "tell the harder truth."  Do not ignore issues of privilege, power, and oppression in your work.  Humble yourself.
8. Conduct a Diversity Survey.  Conduct a diversity survey of your manuscript that includes the statistics of who and what is represented, and how.  Such numbers may surprise you, and may lead you to change aspects of your work.
9. Get Feedback.  Ask for constructive criticism of your manuscript from people who are a part of the culture groups in question.  Be prepared to accept feedback that is emotional, since some issues are highly charged.  Be gracious to reviewers and consider their input carefully.
10. Be Prepared to Make Changes.  Feedback and community engagement may lead you to reconsider your topic and/or how it is presented.  Be prepared to make major shifts in the work, if necessary.

I think of all the points here, I was most struck by my number seven, Be Uncomfortable.  I so often try to avoid discomfort, I think we all do.  As a writer, setting up tension and then resolving it is part of the process.  This point suggests to me that I shouldn't be over anxious to rush to a resolution, but instead I should abide in that space and allow the discomfort to remain a while.  There is clearly much to learn there.

Image Credit - Photoxpress.  Isolated pencils drawing.  Colored Pencils.

52 Stories - A Story Every Week - Update

Stories coming to life on the screen, yep.

As noted previously, I decided to take this year and write a story a week (starting May 1).  Last week was my quarter-of-the-way-there mark.  It's time for a progress report to keep me organized and honest.   (Follow along with Twitter hashtag #52Stories.)

Overview

Some weeks have seen the production of multiple stories, while others (especially when I was on vacation) saw no stories.  All in all, I'm one story behind.  I'm pretty happy with this progress, since while I've been writing the short stories I've also been writing and submitting poetry and continuing with edits on two novels.  Not to mention the blogs and ... well, you know how it is.
 
Here are the stories by working title, genre, and word count.

1. Priorities, Science Fiction - Robot, 99
2. A Natural Disaster, Fantasy - Urban, 697
3. +Hidden Things, Science Fiction - Dystopian, 850
4. ++Nanostories, Various, ~100 (Stories for Twitter zines, 140 characters each)
5. New Year's Resolution, Horror - Zombie, 4925
6. Walking on Eggshells, Horror - Paranormal, 6136
7. Hobby, Horror - Serial Killer, 100
8. How My Dog Almost Ended Poverty, Science Fiction - Humor, 7003
9. ++For Sale, Horror - Humor, 243
10. What God Says, Science Fiction - Urban, 995
11. Dark Gold Spinner, Horror - Fairy Tale, 4360
12. Learning to Taste, Horror - Werewolf, 6496 
13. ooops.

Observations and Issues

Total word count is 32,000 words, which is an average of 2667 for each of the twelve weeks.  I was thinking it would be closer to 3500 but there are a lot of flash pieces in there.

Good Stuff

Three of the stories above have (+) marks next to them.  "Hidden Things" has one + mark.  It made it to the very last round of screening for a professional journal.  I've yet to sell one of my stories or poems at a professional rate, and so this is a benchmark for me.  The journal sent the piece back with lots of great comments, and a lot of encouragement.  So I'm going to let it sit a while, go through another round of edits, and see if a different pro journal wants to pick it up.

The story "For Sale" and one of my nanostories "Blind Date" were selected for publication.  Another nanostory "The Skeleton" won a small online Twitter contest.  (I also had three poems published this quarter, and another scheduled.)  

Plans and Issues for Next Quarter

So during this next quarter I'll need to write 14 stories, and I'm going to see if I can write a little less flash.  I'd like to see more stories in the 3K to 5K range.  But there are going to be a couple of other challenges for the second quarter, which for me runs from July 30th to October 28th.

I had already decided to dedicate the month of September to finishing the next round of edits on one of my novels.  I don't know if I'll have time to write anything else at all in September.  I also have a week in October where I'll be at a professional science conference, and I suspect writing time will be hard to come by.  That means I lose five of my thirteen weeks.  If I am going to stay on track, I will need to produce two to three stories every single week in August.  I do have a week set aside for a writing retreat, but it might not be enough.  We'll have to see.

I am also continuing towards my goal of having a horror chapbook of poems ready to submit for contests and publishing sometime next year.  That process includes writing, editing and submitting individual poems to journals up front.  I had a few poems picked up so far this year, so I'm hopeful.

Well, I have my work cut out for me.  How about you?  What does the next quarter have in store?

Pax, All

Image Credit Computer, PhotoExpress.com

Five Ways to Motivate Yourself to Edit That Writing

Writers seem to fall into two categories when it comes to editing.  Either they struggle to produce a first draft, and then relax and edit; or they happily pound out a first draft, and then look forlornly at the fruit of their labor and wish it could edit itself.

I am in the latter category, and so I am very interested in how to stay motivated to do what I find to be the most difficult part of the writing process.  Here are a few tips that work for me, and I hope they will help others with my mindset.

1.  Learn how to edit.  This one seems like a no-brainer, but I actually had to realize this consciously at some point.  I thought I knew perfectly well how to edit, because my idea of editing was moving around a few paragraphs, cutting out a sentence or two, checking for consistency errors, and then fixing up the spelling and grammar.  Those are certainly things you do during editing, but that isn't the heart of the process.  I had to go back to the drawing board and really dive into the nature of editing.  Until I did, I had no idea how to address issues with major and minor plot arcs, how to rewrite entire sections, how to check the progression of character growth, and so much more.  The short version is, that in becoming a more skillful editor, editing has become less tedious.

2.  Rally your support network.  If you don't have people to help support your writing efforts, it is worth the time to build a network.  This might include a personal writing group in your local area, joining a writing association or society, connecting with people at local small bookstores, finding like minded people via social networks, using online writing forums, and more.  They can be there to help motivate you, just as you can be there for them.

3.  Make a schedule and set benchmarks.  Any job seems daunting when you look at the whole thing at once.  Break your editing project down into pieces.  Set reasonable deadlines for each of those pieces.  Set benchmarks so that when you reach certain points, you can go back and reassess how your plan is working, and tweak it up if necessary.

4.  When editing, don't do anything else but edit.  It's easy to get distracted if we allow ourselves to constantly multi-task.  We find ourselves texting, tweeting, checking email, seeing if we have any phone messages, eating at our desk, etc., all while we occasionally take a stab at editing.  Instead of taking that kind of a approach for a long time, take a single-task approach for a short time.  Take a twenty minute chunk and do nothing but edit.  Stay on task.  It will be easier to swallow if done in small increments, but as you develop focus, it will be more natural to just do editing, and ignore the email.

5.  Celebrate when you reach intermediate goals.  So many times we deny ourselves any celebration or congratulations until a project is utterly completed.  It is more motivating to set intermediate goals along with your long term goals, and then be sure to celebrate all of them.  Have others join in when you celebrate, and do something to mark the occasion, however small.

Well, that's five!  There are a lot of other ways you can motivate yourself to get those edits done.  What are your favorite ways to keep yourself chugging away?

Pax, all.

Image Credit:  Editing, Nic's Events, Flickr via Creative Commons, CC 2.0

Brilliant Writer Award Thanks, and Other Updates

Art:  Writer Award

Many, many thanks to Deirdra Coppel at A Storybook World for presenting One Writer's Mind with her "Brilliant Writer Award!"  It is always an honor to have the blog get positive feedback from other bloggers out in the speculative fiction community.  I really enjoy blogging, mostly because it provides a chance to connect with other fans and writers of the stuff we all love.  So thanks to Deirdra and to all my followers and readers!

As far as updates, NaPoWriMo has ended and I did indeed produce more poems.  I didn't manage to create one a day but I ended with sixteen drafts.  Two of them are actually not bad at all so I'm feeling good about my effort for the month.

Apparently these crazy challenges like "write 30 poems in one month" or "write a novel in a month" actually work for me.  Since I've also been thinking of going into a short-story writing blitz, anyway, I've decided to try another of these crazy challenges.  The idea is to write one story a week for 52 weeks in a row.  I was inspired by Nicole at Rivera Runs Through It and couldn't get the idea out of my mind.  Now, I've seen this idea roll around for some years and have always talked myself out it.  Not this time.  I am tweaking the rules for myself to be 52 stories by May 1, 2013.  Naturally, the target is one a week but given my travel schedule I might write some ahead or have to do catch up.  Anyway, there is my stated intent - should be a very interesting writing year.

Pax, All

Image Credit:  Brilliant Writer Award, Deirdra Coppel at A Storybook World

New Projects Amidst the Snows and Melts

Photo: Crystal Grotto in Snow

While I wasn't surprised at the usual December rush and January catch-up, I was indeed surprised by the overall magnitude of catch-up. So while the snow variously piled up and melted away (iterate) outside, I was busy inside, trying to finish edits to my novel and keep up with paperwork for a poem to be published in an anthology.

Although I did not keep my blogging schedule, I can at least say I kept my overall writing schedule. But since this blog, and your blogs, remain very important to me, I have once again renewed my commitment to blogging, and have returned - hopefully refreshed and invigorated to tackle the challenges of 2011. Or to continue to tackle them, since the year certainly started off in the fast lane for writing projects.

My novel with the working title "A Warm Day in Hell" is now edited and ready to go for further critique, if necessary, and publishing, if I can hone in on the skill and luck necessary to make that happen.  I'll be taking it to "The Muse in the Marketplace" conference in Boston later this spring.  It should be a great meeting for networking, learning more about how to approach the issue of publishing, and hopefully a chance to get my novel one step closer to the printed page.

Late last year my poem "Officemate" was selected for publication in an anthology being produced by the Maryland Writer's Association.  The book is close to rolling off the presses, so soon I should be able to tell you more about it.  I can already say the Association has been quite proactive in setting up readings, events, panels and more to give area poets a chance to meet, mingle, and present their art.  I am looking forward to participating in a reading or two in the spring and summer, and perhaps attending a writing conference if my schedule permits.

In addition, of course, is this blog.  I have really enjoyed my association with other writers in the blogosphere, and want to expand that.  I've forged a few good partnerships on deviantArt and I think the art helps keep my posts fresh, interesting, and useful (definitely for me, anyway, and hopefully for you, too.)  I've wanted to make sure my own project updates were included on the blog, but were not the focus.  The focus is on writing.  Along with that I did want to continue my 'weekly' writing prompts.  My goal is an archive of about 100, to use as an educational tool, a fun activity, and to keep my own creative wheels turning.  I thought it would take two years to build, but given the pace it is looking like three or four.  They call that the 'Planning Fallacy'  :)

Those are my most concrete goals for the year, but other ideas continue to percolate.  I am working sporadically on two other novels, one a stand alone book, and another a part of the sci-fi series I've been kicking around for so long.  I've been trying to produce a body of short stories to publish, say 25 or so, as a means to hone the craft and get some name recognition, but that goes slowly.  I have eight right now, and I have not worked very hard to get them out on the street.  As always, I'd rather be writing than anything else, and that is not too practical if the goal is publication.  Otherwise, I have my eye on producing a chapbook of poetry centered on my theme from last year, 'the horror of childhood.'  I have about a dozen good drafts in the theme, and want to work through NaPoWriMo (A poem a day in April) to see if I can manage to get the number up to two dozen.  And of course I'll rifle through my ideas and outlines for novels come November, and jump in once again on NaNoWriMo.

That is enough.  It is certainly plenty.  And yet I actually hope I can do more.  I've been kicking around an idea for a workshop for other writers.  This would be something I would offer to writers of science fiction, given my own background in planetary science and astronomy.  One idea was a workshop about why water is considered necessary for life as we know it and the basics of astrobiology, so sci-fi writers can be more informed about the topic when they create their own life, alien or otherwise.  It would be an enjoyable way to meet other writers, and to give something of value to the community.  So the first question for you, is this ... if you as a speculative writer could attend at workshop given by a professional astronomer-type, what subject would most grab you?  What do you hope you'd walk away with?

I'm interested to know how others have set up their goals for the year.  Has 2011 started with a mountain of projects, or has it moved in nice and easily?  What are your major milestones, and your 'if everything goes perfect' plans?  Any meetings or conferences in the works?  Plans for your blogs?  I'd love to hear it ...

Pax
Bryce

Image Credit:  Crystal Shrine Grotto, Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0

Update: And A Little Horror

So I took a break from my blogging and novel writing to produce a very short story.  I noted a call for a horror story, actually, one of less than 500 words, and decided I would tweak an idea that had been on the back shelf of my mind, and submit it.

This is strange for any number of reasons.  Sci-fi is my first love, the most perfect of genres.  But I have been enjoying fantasy more and more over the years, and have continued to include elements of it in my stories.  Horror was something I never wrote, but would read on occasion.  Usually because the periodicals or anthologies I was looking at would carry all three themes, together, in a sort of "it's fantastical so we'll stuff it all in" approach.  So I ended up seeing quite a bit of horror, especially in short story form.

Anything "horrific" that I've written has always, always, contained fantasy elements.  Horror for me is almost by definition a fantasy concept.  Ghouls, demons, aliens with bad tempers and long probes, that kind of thing.  But this call was for a horror story that had no fantasy elements.  It had to be in a modern setting, and it had to be completely believable.  I thought about it for a long, long time.  I finally came to the conclusion that modern, believable horror was basically going to be like watching the nightly news.  The editors of the publication in question had in fact stated that they already had enough serial killers, and wanted something else.  I ... I'm laughing as I type that and I don't even know if it's funny.

But I did have this small idea, a good fit for a very small story, and thought I'd give it a go.  Well, it was the hardest 400 words I think I've ever written.  Writing it has taught me a very interesting lesson about myself.

I almost always write in first person, past tense.  I do this because my characters are me; I feel what they feel, hear their internal voices like I hear my own, and live their experiences with them.  Writing becomes a reporting exercise of "how can I present this so the reader feels like they are here, too?"  It is part of what makes sci-fi and fantasy so enjoyable for me to read and to write.  I can actually be there, be a part of amazing worlds and stories and futuristic adventures.

So horror, from this perspective, is HARD.  Painful, actually.  And I'm wondering, now having written a small story that had my palms sweating by the end, how anyone would find it enjoyable to read.  It scared the pants off of me, just writing it.  And yet people spend gazillions of bucks each year on the horror movie industry.  I begin to see why I don't usually read this stuff. 

I am chickens$!t.

Writing a story like this is creepy exactly because it is way, way too real.  The movie "Alien" is one of my favorites.  It is really super scary, and handles suspense beautifully.  Many people would describe it as space horror at its finest.  And yet, I can still watch it and imagine I'm basically safe.  It's on another planet with aliens, after all, and I'm a scientist.  The story I wrote is nasty and could happen to anyone.  And that's ... well ... horrible.

So on with the update.  I am enjoying maintaining my two blogs, and they are helping to keep me honest about my writing schedule.  I had a few tough days, and so didn't work on my NaNo novel, but got a little bit in on it last night.  Need to keep chugging on that.  It's up over 50K, now so I've met the obligations of the exercise.  But the story is shaping up, and so I'm going to continue and see where it leads.  And as above, I submitted a short story.  I'm also kicking around looking for blogs, forums, publications and such that have good information and a lively community.  As I find them I'm putting connections right here for easy access.  And I've been going through and finding some of the better RSS and blog services and listing with them, in the hopes that it will help others who may be interested in this blog actually find it.

Pax

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdlugosz/ / CC BY 2.0