Ten day challenge day 1: Pitching a fit

10 Day Write Blog Challenge button200So, I decided I needed a little bit more in my blogging life than my weekly Write 1/Sub 1 check in post each Sunday. Enter the Ten Day Writing Blogger Challenge hosted by Hunting Down Writing. I like this challenge because it’s open (until November) and there are alternative prompts as well. 

For someone, like me, who often stares at prompts and gets the mind/screen, both are blank reaction, this is perfect. Day 1 prompt is:

Introduce your latest writing project with an elevator pitch or maximum 250 words.

Or

Discuss whether writers should blog about writing.

I’m going to go with the first, because I think it’s obvious how I feel about the second. Here’s the pitch that won the pitch contest I entered a few months back, for The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath:

MacKenna’s mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad’s moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother’s combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.

Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he’d raised her to be a “warrior princess.” MacKenna turns to her grandmother–who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother’s personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate’s false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.

While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents’ tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad’s behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns–with a life-threatening secret of his own.

If ever a girl needed her mother, it’s now.

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but are a mother’s words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna’s future?

As with my other military-themed books, it’s something people like the sound of, but not the actual product. The consensus is: writing–you’re doing it wrong. This is followed by: But if only you did this, or this, or that, or this other thing, then, THEN, then we’d have something.

The problem? This, or this, or that, or this other thing are never the same thing. Ever. This is a two-fold problem. I totally admit to being close to this subject and yes, stubborn about some of the content. The other is everyone has preconceived notions about the military and they can’t help but bring that to the manuscript. I don’t blame them because it is that sort of topic.

What will I do with this book? As of now, I like where it’s at. I really do. If I decide to self-publish, I’d probably want a touch more distance from it (because yeah, I’ve changed my mind about whether something is “done” in the past). For now? I’m happy with it. I learned a lot in writing it, and I’m glad I took the time and effort to get it as close to the book that I want it to be.

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 28 the one with the birthday and amusement park

Week 28! It was my birthday this week, also, the big trip to the local amusement park with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop (I’m one of their leaders). It’s what they wanted to do with their cookie money this year. I hazard to say that a good time was had by all–yes, even me.

We got to the park right when it opened, did all the long-line rides in the morning (when there were no lines) and the water park in the afternoon. The hardest part was the shopping at the end (each girl had some money to buy a souvenir). Oh, the deliberation that went into that!

Writing wise, it was a quiet week. Wrote a story, submitted a story, and that was it.

Writing:

  • Odd Jobs ~2,500 words

Submissions:

  • Just a Matter of Time

Rejections:

  • None (!) I had to double check, but no rejections this week.

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 27 the one with the midweek holiday

Week 27! This was a weird week, what with the Thursday holiday (I worked on Friday). I worked on some more prompts from the  The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen. The result: a maybe flash fiction piece and the start on something possibly longer. We’ll see how that shakes out this week.

Writing:

  • The Girl with the Piccolo ~1,000 words

Submissions:

  • Alliance

Rejections:

  • Just a Matter of Time ~ Another nice rejection and I’ll send this one out again in the coming week.

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 25 and 26 the one with the power outage

Week 26! Last week, we spent four days without power and I was grateful that I:

1) Sent out my sub 1 early in the week.
2) Was working longhand on a story and could simply keep writing.

I’m still behind on prompts from The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen. But it’s not like they’ll go all soggy in the summer humidity or anything. I’m guessing on my word count, which turns out to be pretty accurate once I know how many words a page of my current notebook holds (this one, with the hedgehogs, about 250 to 280, depending).

As you can see, I went a little crazy on the subs this week. Next week, my aim is to get at least one brand new story into the mix–and not get too ahead of myself and run out of things to send.

Writing:

  • A Boy and His Witch ~1,000 words (last week)
  • Keeping Time ~ 1,000 words (this week)

Submissions:

  • Filling The Space
  • The Burden of So Many Roses (reprint market)
  • Just a Matter of Time
  • The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • The Burden of So Many Roses ~ you guys, what a nice rejection! Not only did the editor ask me to submit in the future, but gave me market suggestions for this particular story as well (and permission to name drop). So. Yeah. It went right back out this week.

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 24 the one with a complete novel

Week 24! I did not do any prompts from The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen this week. I was all about Pansy and I figured the prompt emails aren’t going anywhere. I will simply extend the regimen an additional week for myself. (Alternately, you could save all the prompts and use them every other week, or weekly, or whatever. The content doesn’t have an expiration date.)

But, as I said, it was a Pansy week. And I’m excited to say that I now have a complete rough draft of nearly 54,000 words. All this from a flash fiction call for submissions prompt.

Writing:

  • Pansy ~7,243 words.

Submissions:

  • The Madness in King’s End 
  • The Patron Saint of Lost Things

Rejections:

  • The Patron Saint of Lost Things
  • It Only Takes a Minute

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 23 the one with hot goblin action

Week 23! A fun week with The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen. No doubt all the other writers are crafting prose that illuminates the human condition. I, on the other hand, write a story that involves hot goblin action. Really.

That being said, I don’t necessarily mean action of the bow-chicka-wow-wow variety. Still. The story has a goblin. Who’s hot. In more ways than one.

I also wrote two flash fiction fairy tale type of things. There’s a third I hope to write that goes with the first two.

On top of this, I wrote ~ 3,000 more words in Pansy and even better I know how it ends.

Writing:

Submissions:

  • The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty ~ reprint market! I sent it to Drabblecast and wonders of wonders, it made it through the first round, so now I wait some more with fingers crossed.

Rejections:

  • Filling The Space
  • The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date

Acceptances:

  • None

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 22 the one where it turns into June

Week 22! I woke up yesterday and all of a sudden it was June. How on earth did that happen? Wasn’t it just May (like two days ago or something)?

I totally wrote myself into a corner with Pansy this week. I was chugging along and then had the thought, if I write the scene this way, I have no idea how to get them out of it. Then I shrugged and did it anyway.

After my writing session, the solution smacked me in the head. The funny thing? The answer was in the very first scene I wrote, back when Pansy was supposed to be a response to a flash fiction prompt (and 43,000 words later …).

This book is weird. In more ways than one.

Writing:

Submissions:

  • Playing Soldier

Rejections:

  • Playing Soldier ~ I like those fast markets–no messing around for them.
  • The Weight of Secrets ~ this was actually a rejection from last week that I forgot about. Another benefit of Write 1/Sub 1–you totally forget the rejections the second they happen.

Acceptances:

  • None

Other:

So. Yeah. I won that pitch contest I entered. And now I’m thinking … thoughts. Not necessarily deep thoughts, mind you. Still. I’m thinking them.

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 21 the one with a long weekend

Week 21! I’m still working on Pansy, as you can see. I’m maintaining a good pace–not writing so much that I burn out, but enough that I don’t get all twitchy, either.

I’m also all signed up for The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen, which starts next Saturday.

And … I wrote a blog post that wasn’t a check in, so there’s that as well.

Writing:

Rejections:

  • Leap of Faith
  • The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date ~ very nice rejection from UFO2 anthology. Not quite funny enough, but Alex did call it a beautiful story. He invited me to submit something else, but I have nothing that is both speculative and funny. Maybe by the time UFO3 rolls around.

Submissions:

  • The Short Sweet Life of My Invisible Prom Date ~x2. Since this came back in a day, I decided to send it back out again.

Acceptances:

  • None

Other:

I got the most charming sorry you didn’t win, but … note about The Life Expectancy of Fireflies:

Although the four finalists have been selected from the sea of talented entries, we wanted to let you know that your piece sparked conversation between the editors and is still being considered for possible publication online. With that in mind, we ask that you hang in there like a kitten on a tree branch while we sort the details out. Thanks for participating. You are magical.

I haven’t heard back yet, so we’ll see what we’ll see, won’t we.

One way to capture those fifteen magic minutes

In late November of last year, I was searching for a way back into my writing. I was searching for a way to do what Ray Bradbury urged here:

“I don’t believe in optimism. I believe in optimal behavior. That’s a different thing … Action is hope. At the end of each day, when you’ve done your work, you lie there and think, Well, I’ll be damned, I did this today.

It doesn’t matter how good it is, or how bad – you did it. At the end of the week you’ll have a certain amount of accumulation. At the end of a year, you look back and say, I’ll be damned, it’s been a good year.” ~ Ray Bradbury

Terrific and inspirational advice but how, how, do you get there? How do you turn your hope into action? One way is to create a writing habit (which works an awful lot like an exercise habit–in fact, exercise has a lot in common with writing, but that’s fodder for another post).

Take a quick look at Rosanne Bane’s post on Why Habits Work When Discipline and Will Power Won’t and you can also read her post here about those fifteen magic minutes. To everyone who says you can’t create something worthwhile by writing for fifteen minutes three to five times per week, I say:

You can’t create anything worthwhile if you never start.

So go. Start something. What that something is matters less than you think it does.

So anyway, back in late November, when I was trying to figure out a way to start, I stumbled upon The Southeast Review’s 30-Day Writer’s Regimen. They were gearing up to run a version during December. I nearly didn’t do it. Come on, December? The holidays? How on earth was I going to write? Then I decided it would be a Christmas gift to myself.

It was very low stress. All I needed to do for each prompt they sent was write a single page, longhand (that’s maybe 250 words for me). It didn’t even need to be about the prompt, just whatever came to mind after reading it.

I missed a day or two (but oddly, not Christmas itself). One prompt inspired exactly nothing, so I wrote about my reaction to that prompt (wow, I have a whole lotta nothing for this one …). Some prompts got a page. Some built a continuing story, one became a poem, another a flash fiction piece. And one was the jumping off point for my very first Write 1/Sub 1 for the year, which ended up at ~8,000 words.

All because I decided I could write a single, longhand page per day for thirty days. By doing so, I built a habit, one I happen to love.

And … they’ll be running the Writer’s Regimen again in June. All new material. Still plenty of time to sign up. Anyone want to join me?

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