Monthly Archives: August 2013

August 25, 2013 · 10:33 am

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 34 the one with the practice flash

Week 34! I did get a new story out this week (A Measure of Sorrow) along with two others I sent back out the door.

Next month, I will participate in a flash fiction challenge where they send out a prompt based on genre, location, and an object. This starts at midnight on a Friday and you have until midnight on Sunday to turn in your story.

Yeah. Crazy.

So crazy, I thought maybe I should train for it. Back in the day, in the Army, we had a saying: Train as you fight. Why not apply that to this situation?

My goal on Friday was to dash off a flash fiction piece in a day. I used the examples on the site, only I made three separate lists, so I wouldn’t go into any story with preconceived notions. I mixed up the selections using a random number generator.

What was my first assignment?

Romantic Comedy / A drug rehab center / a glass eye

Yes. Because nothing says romance or comedy like drug addiction. But … I did it. I had a story by the end of Friday. I’m not certain it’s something I’ll ever send out. I am fairly certain it’s offensive (see “glass eye” above), but it was a blast to write and reassuring.

I may come in last, but I feel pretty certain I can write a story for the challenge (albeit an offensive one).

Writing:

  • Practice Flash Fiction ~ 1,000 words

Submissions:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • A Measure of Sorrow
  • Alliance ~ Yep, sent it right back out again

Rejections:

  • Alliance

Acceptances:

  • None

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August 18, 2013 · 10:39 am

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 33 the one with the concussion

Week 33! I got my write one in early this week. A good thing since the rest of the week was consumed by a concussion, my daughter’s, not mine. She’s recovering quickly and only has the smallest of headaches this morning.

Also this week, I revised one of my draft stories for submission, so this coming week I can send out something new along with a story that’s been making the rounds already. I have a backlog of stories (more than I realized) that I’d like to get all dressed up and sent out the door.

Writing:

  • Ghost in the Coffee Machine ~ 3,800 words. This may be my silliest title ever.

Submissions:

  • The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty (audio market)
  • The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date

Rejections:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date

Acceptances:

  • None

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August 12, 2013 · 9:15 am

Ten day challenge day 9: the story behind the story

10 Day Write Blog Challenge button200

I didn’t plan day #9 like this, but it worked out just fine. Today’s prompt:

Post either a setting or character profile from your latest fiction project, a chapter summary of your non-fiction book, or a discussion of the theme or object inspiring a poem, article, or other writing project.

So … I’m still a little amazed that Kazka Press accepted The Girl with the Piccolo. It’s … uh … whimsical? I don’t know. Anyway, they did, and there it is. I started down the path of this story with a prompt from The Writer’s Regimen, which was, in part:

Try creating a character whose occupation is one that you are not familiar with and do some research as to what knowledge and skills he or she would need to fill that position.

Why I tried searching on jobs that involved noise, I’m not certain, but I came across listings for jobs in the United Kingdom for noise officers. I remember thinking, sure, we have people who clean up trash, purify water, and so on. What if you had to clean up noise?

Probably because I’m former military, officer = army, and my mind went off in that direction. The rest of it? You got me. I do know this. The following phrase popped into my head at one point:

Everyone always underestimates the girl with the piccolo.

There you go. That was enough character/conflict for me to take the idea and run with it for about 1,000 words. The story begins with:

No one thinks about the empty note casings after the nightly revelry. Someone has to pick them up, right? That I spent four grueling years at the Acoustic Academy at Stormy Point for the privilege is something I try not to think about.

You can read the rest here.

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August 11, 2013 · 9:07 am

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 32 the one with the story at Kazka Press

Week 32! I was speedy this week and finished my write 1 story on Wednesday. I played around with another, slightly longer, idea that I hope will shape up into my write 1 for this coming week.

I also need to do some revision and shape a few more stories for submission. Mainly because I’m running out. Everything is all tied up in as many submissions as possible. I need to get some “new blood” out there, so to speak. I would also like to finish out the blogging challenge as well (just two to go–I can do that, can’t I?)

Writing:

  • Incriminating Evidence ~ 1,000 words.

Submissions:

  • Alliance

Rejections:

  • The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty (audio market). Nice rejection with an invitation to submit other stories.

Acceptances:

  • None

Published:

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August 5, 2013 · 9:23 am

This fox wants to be your friend

I spent Sunday morning with the fox family in our backyard, by which I mean, I was up on the deck watching them. Seriously, I don’t know what’s in our lawn, but clearly it’s delicious.

One came back later in the day, near sunset, to frolic and chomp a few more delicacies, but it was too dark to snap a picture.

fox

fox1

fox2

fox3

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August 4, 2013 · 10:19 am

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 31 the one with the surprise acceptance

Week 31! This week, I conclusively proved that staring at your submission tracker does not make editors respond faster. I stared at that thing all week long, and it wasn’t until Friday that I received any type of response.

Of course, one of those responses was an acceptance from Kazka Press for their Sax & Violins (and Other Tales of Music) issue. And seriously, I was not expecting this. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased. I’ll write a bit more about it when it goes live on the Kazka Press site later this week. It’s a combination Write 1/Sub 1 and the Writer’s Regimen story.

Writing:

  • Shadow Creatures ~3,500 words. Mind you, this is not the story title, just a placeholder to remind me what the story is about. Apparently, it is about shadow creatures; that could change.
  • Blog post challenge

Submissions:

  • Breaking Plans ~ New story out this week.

Rejections:

  • Alliance

Acceptances:

  • The Girl with the Piccolo ~ Kazka Press

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