Summary
Another tough start this morning, but not as bad as two days ago. After a few false starts, I dug into a new story called “Last Days with Mary.” It’s #26 and 2,700 words long and is another, very different, android story. It features an unlikable protagonist and I almost aborted, but got a good start on it early and then went for a run.
My run was shorter than the 10k I wanted, my body is physically tired from these many long days. But, on the run, I could better see the potential for the story, so carried through. And, I must keep reminding myself, it’s all practice. Read it to Aleia and she liked and I liked it too now.
Edited “A Changeable Face” (formerly called “Face of Clay”) and sent it out to Dean.
Last night, Aleia suggested that it would be possible to get two stories done in a day and wrap this thing up sooner. It wasn’t exactly a challenge, but tell that to my crazy brain. Since today’s first story was such a reasonable length and something popped into my head, I wrote a piece of flash fiction (finally! I’ve been trying for so long) called “Letting Go the Stars.” It’s 900 words, I’m and not at all sure if it works, but this is practice, right? So that makes #27.
So then I go for a walk with Maddy and realize I didn’t hit this story from the right direction and came back and wrote it again. Now it’s first-person and 800 words.
I read them both to Aleia and we both like the first version better. Go figure. The story being so short, it wasn’t a big deal. But I am coming to see a pattern here: I’m convinced a story doesn’t work right after I write it. If I give it a little time, I like it a whole lot better when I read it to Aleia or the next day. In either case, what I think of the story doesn’t matter. Get it out. Let the market decide.
Since I’m so close to the end, I decided to skip the month-end roundup and just keep moving. I’ll do more reflecting once it’s all done and I’ve had some time to digest.
Stats for Today
Strategies Employed: Running (this is a reliable helper)
Lessons Learned: I seem to keep needing to relearn some lessons, like “It’s all practice, so relax and have fun. There is no ‘bad story’ police, nothing is going to happen if you write a stinker.” Also, get the story out and let the market decide.
Words Written: 4,600
Hours: 5.25
Stories Sent to Dean: 1
Story Summary
| # | Story | Total Words | Done? |
| 1 | Woody and June vs. the Fungus-Head Zombies | 5101 | Yes |
| 2 | Daisy’s Heart | 5800 | Yes |
| 3 | The Disappearing Neighborhood | 2773 | Yes |
| 4 | Woody and June vs. the Grand Canyon | 6070 | Yes |
| 5 | Home in Time | 4483 | Yes |
| 6 | Wink, Plum, and the Bones that March | 5972 | Yes |
| 7 | The Stars in Hoshi’s Eyes | 2532 | Yes |
| 8 | Android Eve and Adam | 3512 | Yes |
| 9 | A Long, Hard Fall | 8475 | Yes |
| 10 | Fitz’s Second Chance | 2800 | Yes |
| 11 | Fake Jake | 1565 | Yes |
| 12 | With Light Years Between Us | 4670 | Yes |
| 13 | Life and a Starling | 2278 | Yes |
| 14 | Dancing Kite | 1524 | Yes |
| 15 | Jump in Time | 8768 | Yes |
| 16 | Death by Vodka | 2100 | Yes |
| 17 | Death by Cookie | 4094 | Yes |
| 18 | Ela and the Naiad | 3655 | Yes |
| 19 | Is Anyone Receiving This? | 1717 | Yes |
| 20 | Breathing in the Stars | 2400 | Yes |
| 21 | Woody and June vs. the Ex | 10232 | Yes |
| 22 | Article Seventeen | 2918 | Yes |
| 23 | One Last Trick | 4312 | Yes |
| 24 | Death by Apathy | 3373 | Yes |
| 25 | A Changeable Face | 5241 | Yes |
| 26 | Last Days with Mary | 2800 | No |
| 27 | Letting Go the Stars | 900 | No |
