Category: Write 1/Sub 1

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 20 the one with an accidental novel

Week 20! This is the week I hang my head in shame. Did I stop writing? No, quite the contrary. This is the week I admit that what I have on my hands is a novel. Worse, it’s a very strange novel.

Yes, I know. I’m not sure I can truly count it as a “write 1” but there you go. I mean, what am I going to do? Not write? Given the choice, I will always go with the writing.

Writing:

  • Pansy~ 7,200 words.

Rejections:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies ~ I don’t have the official status yet, but I know the outcome. It made the “long list” (top fifty) in the Women On Writing Flash Fiction contest, but not the top ten (which includes publication). That is made any sort of list at all is nothing short of amazing. You’ll see below why I’m counting it here.

Submissions:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies ~ there was another contest where I wanted to submit it. This worked out rather neatly.

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 19 the one with a revised novel

Week 19! What a week. A software release at work (this is no small thing) and revisions on Speechless. Plus, I managed to write a short story and submit two.

I credit this to my participation in Write 1/Sub 1. Sure, the accountability factor helps. But it’s more than that.

In a way, the slow and steady writing is a lot like exercise. When you need to give it your all and run the race as fast as you can, you’re in shape for it. While I’m looking forward to relaxing and filling the creative well (so to speak), I don’t feel burnt out from this round of revisions.

Writing:

  • Sunset~ 1,200 words.
  • Revisions on Speechless, edits up to the end. As tempting as it was to rush, I kept a steady pace. I ended up adding about 8,000 words to the story (this is a good thing) and I’m pleased. I’m also looking forward to relaxing a bit.

Rejections:

  • Just a Matter of Time ~ not surprised, it was a long shot.

Submissions:

  • Filling the Space
  • The Patron Saint of Lost Things

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 18 the with … wait, is that a sale?

Week 18! With a little luck, this week, we’ll have some sunshine, and warmer temperatures, and maybe spring. Crazier things have happened.

My brain is totally into the revision of Speechless, so the 1,000 words I managed were a little rough. But … I managed them, and that’s the main thing. Plus, I had some good and surprising news this week as well. Keep reading to find out.

Writing:

  • Vigil ~ 1,000 words.
  • Revisions on Speechless, edits up to chapter fifteen. With all the changes, I’ve added ~5,000 words so far. I’m hoping to be done this week. I wanted to be done this weekend, but better slow and steady than rushed and sloppy.

Rejections:

  • Filling the Space ~ uh, this one went off into the ether, I think. I don’t know. Anyway, it will be the sub 1 for this week.

Submissions:

  • The Burden of So Many Roses ~ to a reprint market.

Acceptances:

  • Elvis Has Left the Building ~ I sold this to Untreed Reads and it will come out as its own little e-book. From what I’ve seen/heard, they have fabulous distribution and editing/proofing. This was an older story that I still thought I should/could send out, so I’m pleased to have found a home for it.

Other:

  • Pitch contest: I’m a finalist in the pitch contest I entered a few weeks back. 

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 17 from snow to sun

Week 17! Last week it was all snow. Now? We have sun! We’ll be inching toward eighty degrees here today. It’s a little surreal.

Even with the revision work, I wrote something new, if short, this week. I got my submissions in, even submitting something new along with a re-submission of another story.

Writing:

  • Long Walk Home~ 1,000 words.
  • Revisions on Speechless, edits up to chapter nine, new scenes added (and some deleted). In total, I’ve added 4,400 words to the manuscript. Because I’m “aging” it (from tween to teen) this is a good thing. The book can go a bit longer without any worries about it being too long.

Rejections:

  • None

Submissions:

  • Leap of Faith
  • Just a Matter of Time 

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 16 the one with more April (snow) showers and rejections

Week 16! And what a week is was, was it not? Glued to the news, two and a half hour commutes thanks to an epic April snowstorm, and those are just the things I remember.

The rest of the week I revised and I wrote a … well, let’s call it another episode of what I’m thinking of as Pansy’s story. I sent out another new story this week, although for this coming week, I may go with a re-submission of a story that has been making the rounds. I have enough on my writing plate that revising another short story might be more than I can handle.

Writing:

  • Downpour ~ 4,500 words.
  • Revisions on Speechless, book map, new calendar, and the first two chapters revised. Yay!

Rejections:

  • The Patron Saint of Lost Things
  • Fellowship award I knew I wasn’t going to get

Submissions:

  • The Weight of Secrets 

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 15 April rejections bring …?

Week 15! So, yes, I knew it was coming. One glance at my submission tracker would tell anyone that April might have more than its fair share of raining rejections. And they’ve already started to fall.

But that’s okay. That’s the way it works. And hey, look! I’m not running out of stories to submit. Ah, yes, the upside to rejection.

Of course, not all the news is bad; some of the news is in progress, for lack of a better description. I hope to say more about this soon.

Writing:

  • Daydreams and Nightmares, ~ 3,000 words.
  • Revisions on Speechless, moving it from tween to teen.

Rejections:

  • The Madness in King’s End
  • The Burden of So Many Roses ~ came back fast, but it was a nice rejection; I’ll try here again
  • Just a Matter of Time

Submissions:

  • Filling the Space

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 14 the one where I look ahead

Week 14! I spent some of my writing time this week revising a story to send out (it’s next week’s sub 1), and looking at the handful of stories I want to send out this month.

One, I’d like to have some new stories making the rounds. Two, I’m running out of stories to submit. (I have 18 pieces out at the moment, some duplicates, but still, I need more stories) Three, there are some submission deadlines I’d really like to hit. All that adds up to more revision.

Also, this week, I sent out my first reprint submission. We’ll see how that goes.

Additionally, I spent some time reviewing the calendar for the next three months. We. Are. So. Busy. I still hope to stay on track with Write 1/Sub 1, but I’m not going to stress about trying to write ALL THE THINGS. Some things will just have to wait.

Writing:

  • Market Day, ~ 4,000 words.

Rejections:

  • The Madness in King’s End

Submissions:

  • The Madness in King’s End
  • Pitch contest
  • The Burden of So Many Roses to a reprint market (!)

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 13 the one with the monster award

Week 13! Here we are, three months into this experiment and I’m still on track. Amazingly.

So far, for the year, I’ve managed to write fourteen stories and send out twenty one submissions. Add to that two acceptances. So not only do I win the monster award for March, but I’m one third of the way through this experiment and looking forward to even more.

I’ve been surprised at just how many (odd) ideas are knocking around in my head and how many of them seem to fly off my fingers, seemingly from nowhere. That’s been the biggest reward so far. It’s like lifting a rock and discovering not squirming bugs, but many shiny, shiny things.

Writing:

  • Pansy, Too (continuation/standalone addition to Out of the Blue), ~ 1,500 words. Yes, I suspect a time will come when I can’t call these standalone episodes or what have you, but for now, I am.

Rejections:

  • None

Submissions:

  • Rhymes with Orange

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 12, the one with the recurring characters

Week 12! That story I mentioned last week, the one I thought could have recurring characters? Well, they recurred. I wrote another little adventure for them that almost stands alone. Close enough, at least, that I’m counting it as my Write 1 for the week.

I did not do any revising. This is bad. I have plenty of stories, mind you, but not revised and edited stories to send out. That is on the to-do list this week. Unless a story ends up rejected. One can hope. See? Optimism in the face of rejection. A side benefit of Write 1/Sub 1.

Writing:

  • Pansy (continuation/standalone addition to Out of the Blue), ~ 3,170 words
  • Untitled something-or-other, ~ 2,000 or more words, in progress

Rejections:

  • None

Submissions:

  • The Patron Saint of Lost Things

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 11, the one with even more stomach flu

Week 11! Oh! What a week. Everyone in the house, minus myself, came down with what we suspect was the norovirus. Seriously. They were all sick. I was not. This equation does not balance. Trust me.

Despite that, and the weather, I did manage to get a story written. One that came out of the blue (and yes, I’m calling it that), with characters and a world with the potential to recur.

Writing:

  • Out of the Blue, ~ 2,670 words
  • Untitled something-or-other, ~ 800 more words, in progress

Rejections:

  • The Madness in King’s End   

Submissions:

  • Land of the Free (Haircuts)
  • The Madness in King’s End 

Acceptances:

  • None