Writing – Page 53 – Writing Wrongs

Ten day challenge day 9: the story behind the story

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.

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

Ten day challenge day 8: writing routines

Jumping back on board with day #8. Today’s prompt:

Post about your writing routines / rituals / habits or quirks – or – your writing origins story

The key word in the above is routine. Not rut. Not chore. But routine, like exercise routine. (See post #6 in this challenge where I write about exercise.) The benefit of a routine–or habit–is that you remove the decision-making part of the process–and the angst that surrounds it. Now is the time I exercise. Now is the time I write. Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.

You know, like that.

Anyway, after I eat my lunch, then I write. Since I’ve been doing this on a regular basis, I’ve discovered that some of my best days happen when I walk in without any idea what to write. I do mean nothing. Not a clue. No muse. No inspiration. But! It’s time to write. So. I go do it. Often, I have a conversation that goes like this:

Me: You’ve got something brewing back there, right?
Unconscious Mind: Don’t I always?
Me: …
UM: No, really, I do. It’s only when you force it and think too hard that I don’t. I’m shy that way.
Me: Right.
UM: I always have your back, as long as you don’t think.
Me: I’ll stop thinking.
UM: Good girl.

Or something like that. The hard part is trusting yourself to do this. But this idea is hardly original to me. In fact, I’ve borrowed this idea from Ray Bradbury. On a card I carry with me, I have these three rules from Zen in the Art of Writing:

Work
Relax
Don’t Think

Need a bit more convincing? Here are seven more rules from Mr. Bradbury. See if they don’t resonate.

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 30 the one with more invisible characters

Week 30! I almost thought I wouldn’t make my write 1 this week. Yesterday, I had two invisible characters, a mystery on my hands, and no idea how the story might end. None. Zero. But I kept writing, since I could see what happened just a sentence or two ahead of where I was in the story. That, and I kept muttering, “The end is in the beginning.”

And what do you know? It was. Considering that I started this story with no idea that the end would be there, I’m pretty pleased with that. Also, if you’re keeping score at home, this would be my third story of the year that involves invisible characters. I have no idea what’s up with that.

I also took the day off from the blogging challenge yesterday. I did write 3,000 words of a 5,000 word story. So. There’s that. Plus, I proofed another that I hope to send out today.

Writing:

Pulling Threads ~5,000 words
Blog post challenge

Submissions:

The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date

Rejections:

None (!) but looking at my submission tracker, I’m due for a deluge any day now.

Acceptances:

None.

Ten day challenge day 7: tools of the trade

Today’s prompt:

Post a techie-type blog previewing the software or technical tools you use for writing – don’t forget about your organisation approach, backups of your files, and reference tools etc. If you have lots, choose one tool you can’t live without, and profile that. Don’t forget links, and screenshots.

The more I write, the more I find the whiz-bang techno tools less useful. While they might be helpful for some writers, to me they always have that whiff of “magic bullet/secret handshake” about them (not that you can smell either of those things). What I mean is this: It’s that promise that if only you use this software/method/whatever, then–and only then–will you achieve your publishing dreams.

But the more I write, the more I find I simply need this:

Paper and pen–cat optional, but highly recommended.

That would be paper and pen, word processor when I can’t keep up with my thoughts. That being said, I am not averse to technology when it comes to writing and submitting. Tools I use:

Dropbox

Love, love Dropbox. File backup, file access, file sharing.

Duotrope

I know a great many writers were upset when Duotrope went to a pay-model (you know, in order to stay in business, pay their staff, minor things like that). I decided that it provides more than enough services to be worth the subscription fee.

Text-to-speech

I don’t have a link to this one since this is something you’ll need to play around with, and what you end up choosing (if you do) depends on the OS/software/technology you have. But! I highly recommend some sort of text-to-speech program, either on an e-reader, your PC, or both.

This is how I proof stories and queries and such that I send out. True, you won’t hear the difference between there and their, but did you leave the “l” out of public? You’ll hear that. Worth the price right there.

Ten day challenge day 6: come on, everybody, do your exercise

Today’s prompt:

Share a personal interest or hobby that you have aside from writing – how has this inspired and impacted your writing? Required: at least one photo!

I’m fairly certain the photo is meant to highlight my wonderfully creative hobby that I have in addition to writing. Alas. I have no such thing, at least nothing worth taking a picture of. Instead, I have this:

Yep. Exercise. I work out every single morning, even when I’m sick (because generally I don’t realize I’m sick until after I exercise). How does it inform my writing? Let me count the ways:

That initial tug of resistance. It lasts for all of five minutes.
Some days you simply flail around. That’s okay.
Some days, you’re so hot, you’re on fire.
Endurance.
Pyramiding up on the weights.
Lightening the load.
The zone.

In fact, I find exercise so similar to writing that I wouldn’t want to do one without the other. Plus, I use the same handful of workout tapes. I know the routines so well, I often daydream about my stories while I work out.

Ten day challenge day 5: top blog posts

Here we are at day 5! Halfway through the challenge!

Today’s prompt:

Show off 3 of your best blog posts (with links!)

Why are these your best (so far!). Consider comments, page visit stats, or the content.

My top three are really an illustration of: author platform, you’re doing it wrong. That being said, if I cared deeply about that sort of thing, my blog wouldn’t have the name Writing Wrongs, would it now? So, drum roll please, for my top three blog posts:

Part 1: I want to be an Airborne Ranger

I remain amazed and humbled at how many people continue to read my Blogging Airborne series. It gets so much traffic, I’ve been thinking of compiling the posts, doing a bit of polishing, and offering it in e-book format. I suspect some people may want to read the series, but would rather not do it on the computer.

George Clooney doesn’t live here anymore

The popularity of this post simply makes me laugh. Plan on stalking Mr. Clooney? Be sure to stop by my blog first. I suspect it’s the inclusion of photos that makes this post land in my top ten month after month. Well, that and the varied antics of Mr. Clooney.

Life less creepy: The Janesville Baby

Come for George Clooney, stay for the creep out–my reminiscence about that unexplained doll hanging in the window of a house in a small, southern Minnesota town. The owner of the house died last year, and the doll was removed, but this post ended up linked on a site about the doll, so it gets a fair number of visits.

So, to summarize my blog in three phrases:

Airborne School
George Clooney
the Janesville Baby.

Honestly, I think this reveals more about me than I want it to.

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