Category: Weekly Writing Check In

Weekly writing check-in: the one with another birthday

 

Another birthday, you say? Well, yes, yes there was. My son turned eighteen this week (yeah, how did that happen). We also attended his college orientation. Not to mention he made a jaunt up north for Scout camp.

Busy week means not quite as many words. It also means there’s a grimy dutch oven in my front hall that will be cleaned by someone who isn’t me.

However, I did get some writing in. That’s the power in having a routine. And speaking of routines, I’m going to complete my busy Sunday (more camps! more things!) so I can get back to it tomorrow.

Writing Work:

  • Pansy 2.0 ~ 4,080 words

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Doreen’s Muse

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the birthday

tracksMy birthday, that is. Did I write on my birthday? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Not quite as many words as last week (that three-day weekend helped the word count), but I’m pleased.

I also sent some work out, saved my book from hanging out on the wrong side of the tracks, and renewed my driver’s license (one of these things may not be true).

No rejections this week, no sales, but lots of words.

Writing Work:

  • Pansy 2.0 ~ 10,686 words

Submissions:

  • The Perfect Canvas
  • Five to Freedom
  • Abandonment Issues

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with some writing

To be honest, I was a little scared to try the redraft. I wondered: would it work? Was this a crazy idea? One week in, and I think the word count speaks for itself.

I should be clear that I’m not copying what I already have in the first draft. Even scenes that stay mostly the same need to shift in subtle ways–characterization, world-building, and what-have-you. I have sudden thoughts, such as: Wait! I need to introduce the poodle!

I also received a check this week for a story I sold  a while back. In the memo line was:

For Incriminating Evidence

Incriminating Evidence is the title of the story. Still. It feels slightly illicit.

And, speaking of other stories, I got a couple out the door as well. So, all in all, it’s been a good week.

Writing Work:

  • Pansy 2.0 ~ 11,881 word

Submissions:

  • Doreen’s Muse
  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Rejections:

  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Keeping Quiet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available in print and electronic format:

Print, Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

Last week at $2.99 for the electronic copy!

Also available as a Kindle Match Book. Buy the Print version from Amazon and get the Kindle version for 99 cents! (Note: you must buy the paperback first for this to work.)

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the book launch

Book on a bench.
Book on a bench.

Well, yes, I launched a book this week. I also managed to do a few other things as well. A couple of submissions, some structural work on the story I call Pansy (which is the name of the main character, not the title).

You may remember that I drafted this story last year. And yes, I did. This year, I plan to redraft it. And I will! Or at least, I’m feeling optimistic about the prospect.

Why a redraft? Well, when I reached the end of the first draft, I was all: Oh, so that’s what the story should be. It will be far easier–and faster–to redraft it than to try to revise the original manuscript.

Or so I hope.

All in all, a pretty good week.

Writing Work:

Submissions:

  • Ghost in the Coffee Machine (audio market)
  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Rejections:

  • The Maze
  • Ghost in the Coffee Machine (audio market)

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Keeping Quiet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available in print and electronic format:

Print, Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

Also available as a Kindle Match Book. Buy the Print version from Amazon and get the Kindle version for 99 cents! (Note: you must buy the paperback first for this to work.)

Weekly writing check-in: the one with all the rain

slow roadThis week was filled with rain and launch activities for the release of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. I’m really pleased with the free read activity (see links below). I love being able to offer a try-before-you buy sample. (I also love downloading and reading those myself, which is the main reason I’m doing this.)

It’s getting downloads at Barnes and Noble and Apple, but it’s no surprise that the most action is at Amazon:

screen

Otherwise, I did more work on Pansy, some world building and what I call, for lack of a better term, structural work. I’d like to say I’ve done more writing work this week, but I can’t.

No submissions, but then, no rejections either. I still have some pending work out there, too. I suspect there will be a deluge of rejections much like the rain we’ve had this week.

Writing Work:

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

It’s still free! Get two young adult short stories and the first four chapters of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet.

KindleThe Trouble with Prom, Nook,  iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the free read

I’m still gearing up for the release of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. One of the things I experimented with was making The Trouble with Prom (two original YA short stories and the first four chapters of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet) a free read. This wasn’t too difficult, but it did involve some online gymnastics on my part. (If you’re interested, leave a comment, and I’ll let you know how I did it.)

I did some world-building work on Pansy this week. I didn’t manage any submissions, although I do have some stories I need to proof and send out to the next market. Soon. I will get back to that soon, since I enjoy it.

Writing Work:

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

It’s free! It’s free!

KindleThe Trouble with Prom, Nook,  iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the graduation

I am still gearing up for the release of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. Part of that includes finishing the “listening” edit to catch any typos that may have slipped through. It works wonders, you guys. If you’re looking for another way to proof your work, I highly recommend obtaining some sort of text-to-speech program.

Actually, I have two: a software program on my computer and the text-to-speech function on my Kindle. This last is nice, since I can send my manuscripts to my Kindle, then take a pair of ear buds and listen just about anywhere I want to.

I also did a bit of editing work on some short stories and started a read through of a novel draft I wrote last year.

But most importantly, this week, I watched as my son walked across the stage and received his high school diploma.

 

Writing Work:

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the sneak peek

So, this week I played around with a bit of short, short fiction, just for fun. I transcribed a story I had longhand in my notebook into electronic form and did a little brainstorming on how to expand on it.

No submissions this week, but two rejections, one for a story that was rejected a few months back–by the same market.

Uh, yeah. They weren’t sure if they’d sent the rejection, so they sent it again. But! It was a nice rejection, letting me know that the story came oh, so close, and would I like to submit again when they reopen for submissions. So, yeah, it beats a sharp stick in the eye and all that.

Otherwise, I’m gearing up for the release of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. Part of that includes releasing The Trouble with Prom, which has two original YA short stories and the first four chapters of The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet.

Writing Work:

  • The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet ~ proofing. layout, etc.
  • Nano fiction ~ three short, just for fun “Twitter” fictions.
  • The Longest Night of the Year ~ from notebook into electronic form, some revision work.

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • Abandonment Issues
  • Redacted ~ two rejections, one submission! Milestone!

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

KindleThe Trouble with Prom, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords

 

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the cover reveal

Keeping QuietSo, yesterday, if you noticed, was the cover reveal for The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet. But I’ll add it in here, just in case you missed it.

The scheduled release date is June 24, 2014, so stay tuned. It will be available in e-format and print, and so far it’s been a grand adventure pulling this all together.

In other news I got another new story submitted, which made up for the three that were rejected. I also pulled a story from a market that had it for a very, very long time. It was, in theory, short-listed. But since this particular market has had long stretches of silence, I thought it better to pull it and do something else with it.

Plus, the editor at Fantasy Scroll Magazine asked me to do an author interview that will run in the issue with the story I sold them last week.

Writing Work:

  • Lots of proofing, lots of typo catching, lots of “What on earth is wrong with my spine?” (the book’s spine that is, not my own)

Submissions:

  • A (K)night in the Royal Arms (new story!)

Rejections:

  • Five to Freedom
  • What Little Remains
  • The Perfect Canvas

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the novel breakdown

No, my novel did not have a breakdown. Also, I did not have a breakdown while finishing my novel, amazingly enough. But! Finish it, I did!

The Time After came in at 94,070 words. This looks like a lot of words, and I suppose it is if you write them all at once. Here’s the week-by-week breakdown of that:

Week 1: 5,069
Week 2: 5,388
Week 3: 6,827
Week 4: 5,291
Week 5: 7,774
Week 6: 8,081
Week 7: 8,637
Week 8: 5,833
Week 9: 5,004
Week 10: 7,214
Week 11: 6,113
Week 12: 5,226
Week 13: 5,707
Week 14: 5,531
Week 15: 6,283

But let’s break it down further. I worked on this novel for 101 days. If you look at it like that, I wrote, on average, 931 words per day. That’s not a blistering pace. It’s doable. It’s about the amount that can fit into Anne Lamott’s one-inch picture frame.

For me, the best way to stack up words is to stack them up a little bit at a time on a regular basis.

In other news, on the day I finished the novel, I also sold a short story. That’s not something that happens every day. But it did on Thursday.

Writing Work:

  • The Time After ~6,283 words
  • Incriminating Evidence ~ edits
  • The Fine Art of Keeping Quiet ~ copy edits

Submissions:

  • Abandonment Issues

Rejections:

  • Doreen’s Muse

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None