Writer
The Short Version (TL;DR) Time flies when you’re writing like mad… I started this whole thing a year ago today, which is so hard to believe. The stories have done well in the market, “The Stars in Hoshi’s Eyes” found a home with The Saturday Evening Post, several earned Honorable Mentions from Writers of the Future Contest, plus more good news I can’t talk about yet. I’m still living with these stories (in some good …
The Short Version (TL;DR) I was a different person during the challenge. Focused. Driven (well, more driven). Exhausted, but happy. I prefer writing stories quickly, just letting the story take you over until it is done. I’m itching to do something like this again, but I have other priorities right now. It will be quite some time before I’ll know how these stories did. The Longer Version The Experience Wow. This was so intense. I’ve …
Summary And… done! A quick pass on “Through Other Eyes,” a bit of cleanup, and off to Dean! And if you are wondering, I was up early and writing. Started another story that is a follow up to “Wink, Plum, and the Bones that March.” I wanted to dig into Woody and June #5, but needed to do some research first. Not a lot of writing today, but I gotta write! Stats for the Marathon …
Summary Last story today! Really, can’t believe it. Last night when I was pondering it, the pressure descended. Last story of the challenge, better make it good. Nope. By the morning I had shaken that off. Pressure like that is terrible for the creative process. I got right to it, coming up with a interesting title, “Strange Ways,” and started typing out a sense-filled opening about a homeless man that doesn’t make eye contact because …
Summary Late start writing today at 6:45 a.m. (hey it’s a Sunday) and wrote a short time travel story called “Goodbye Mrs. Hopkins.” I thought it was going to be another piece of flash fiction, but not quite. At 1,300 words it’s very short. It is story #28. I’m liking these very short stories right now. It’s like getting a nice gentle down hill stretch for the end of this marathon. And then, because the …
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, …
Summary Finished up “Death by Apathy” and sent it off. That makes 24 stories out the door in 30 days! Aleia really liked this one, but I didn’t think much of it yesterday. A little time away, another pass through, and one small flourish at the end, and I like it now. It’s a nice addition to the series. Started a new story, “Face of Clay” (tentative title), #25. It’s 5,100 words long. I had a …
Summary So I think I worked too much yesterday. I got up a little late, and made it to writing at 6:30 a.m., but couldn’t get anything going. I started several stories but I was either heading into already covered territory, or bored, or clear it would be a long story. So I gave it until 7 and switch to my day job. At lunch I finally got an idea that drew me in and …
Summary Another very busy day. #22, “Article Seventeen” out to Dean. Wrote a story about a magician called “One Last Trick.” It’s #23 and 4,300 words. This one did some big, unexpected twists at the end that had me have to go back and revise half of the scenes. It went from one Point of View (POV) character to two. The story is better for it, but boy it made this a long day. Heard from …
Summary Busy day, but managed to get #21, “Woody and June vs. the Ex” out the door to Dean. Wrote a short sci-fi story called, “Article Seventeen.” It’s #22 and at 2,800 words is a much better length. Took a few minutes and entered the changes into #2, “Daisy’s Heart” from my proofreader. A bunch of commas, a few tense goofs, and that was most of it. It was in good shape (btw, a good …