Tag: short stories

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the banner week

So this past week? This was a banner week. I sold not one, but two stories to pro-paying markets, including one of my dream markets, Cicada. They bought reprint rights to Straying from the Path, which just goes to show that you can sell a story more than once, and do so at a good rate as well. One myth dispelled.

Plus, I finally found a home for The Life Expectancy of Fireflies! It’s a quirky, slightly disturbing story that’s received a lot of personal rejections along the lines of good story/not quite right for us/send us your next thing. This sort of response is gratifying if a little frustrating. But Fine Linen Magazine looks like a grand home for it.

I finished up the week with a rejection (because you can’t win them all) and with the final scenes for Gone Ghost. Last week? I like you very much.

Writing Work:

  • Calvino class: Finished reading If on a winter’s night a traveler, drafted my essay. Now all I need to do is post it and respond to the other essays. Almost there!
  • Writing ~ 3,000 words
  • Finished Gone Ghost

Submissions:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Rejections:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Acceptances:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • Straying from the Path

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with oh never mind, I’m too tired

Last dance competition of the season last night. So. Tired. And I’m not even the one who danced. We rolled into the driveway at about 11:30 p.m., which I’ll have you know is way past my bedtime. And the dog’s bedtime. And the cat’s bedtime. Everyone was just a bit off their game due to this schedule change. If sleeping can be called a game, that is. In the case of our pets, I think it can.

Kept up with my course work. This is the last week of the Description class, and while I’ve enjoyed it, I’ll be glad not to have the extra homework to do. Otherwise, I made two submissions this week, had one rejection, and one story short-listed.

And now, I’m just going to go read or nap or something that doesn’t involve moving.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Incriminating Evidence (reprint market)
  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies

Rejections:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with another sale

So … I sold a reprint this week to Evil Girlfriend Media, which is one of those inspired names, right up there with Mad Scientist Journal. I also discovered that the Kazka Press website is no longer online, so I will start looking for reprint markets for the stories I sold there as well.

I kept up in my classes, but I’m finding it difficult to balance two craft-heavy classes with writing new words. But I knew this month would be a difficult one for new words anyway, what with dance competitions and camping trips and who knows what. And as everyone knows, it’s the who knows what that’s particularly time-consuming. So, it’s working out. I’m enjoying the classes, revising some work, and sending out some as well.

Oh, and I sold a couple of things in there too. See? It all works out.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Keeping Time (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the selfie from the end of the world

So we recovered from camping in enough time to attend the Starpower dance competition. One of these days, I’ll have a weekend with nothing scheduled. I’m looking forward to that.

I have managed to keep up in my classes (more or less). Even better, I have something in each category below this week. I’m so excited about the anthology. I had so much fun with that story (although I’m fairly certain you can’t call it a happy story–it is the end of the world after all). I’m also excited to have another vignette in Vine Leaves Literary Journal.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • A Measure of Sorrow (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • A Measure of Sorrow

Acceptances:

Publications:

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the 99 cent sale

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

The YA Spring Fling continues this week, so if you haven’t had a chance to enter, head on over. Lots of books, lots and lots of books.

I’m continuing with both of my classes (I should probably go post my homework), managed a little writing, a little outlining, a little ghost research. Plus I sent a new story out into the world.

Also, if you want to grab Now and Later for 99 cents on Kindle, it’ll be that way for a week.

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 2,300 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • In a Manner of Speaking

Rejections:

  • Abandonment Issues

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on! Enter to win a print copy of Now and Later.

Or … grab the Kindle version for 99 cents. One week only!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the YA Spring Fling

YA Spring Fling Contemporary

So, yes, the YA Spring Fling started on Friday. There are lots of books, not just contemporary YA, but fantasy, sci-fi, horror. Have a favorite genre? You can probably find it in this giveaway.

In other news, I started another class this week. Why? Because I’m crazy. Well, yes, I am, but that’s not why. Way back at the start of the year, I signed up for the Description class at the Loft Literary Center. Then the Narrative Design class came along, and I decided to start that as well.

And things are just a little bit crazy, what with Girl Scouts and dance competitions and the like. But I know that:

  1. It won’t stay busy forever.
  2. It’ll be worth it if I hang in there.

Now, a deep breath before I jump into my busy Sunday (cookie booth, here we come).

Writing Work:

  • Writing work ~ 5,250 words
  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Straying from the Path (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is still going on!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Weekly writing check-in: the one with three stitches in my head

So … this week? A little fuzzy. Monday evening, I smacked my head into a dining room chair, hitting my brow right on one of the pointed knobs on the chair back. I did this hard enough that it required three stitches to close up the wound. No concussion, fortunately (but apparently there was a lot of blood).

So … no new writing this week. I did some revision and editing, set up the Goodreads giveaway, and drafted my lesson for the narrative design class (which I still need to post). I also sent out the two stories that came back in this week, so I came out even there.

Writing Work:

  • Revision/editing work
  • Goodreads Giveaway for Now and Later
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • A Measure of Sorrow
  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Rejections:

  • Like Bread Loves Salt
  • A Measure of Sorrow (reprint market)

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

None, but the Goodreads giveaway is live, as is the print version on Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Now and Later by Charity Tahmaseb

Now and Later

by Charity Tahmaseb

Giveaway ends April 02, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the dance competition

Very quick update today. My daughter has her first dance competition. Someone is nervous. That someone may be me.

I finished the short story I was working on this week and then switched gears to edit a different short story. I got the proof of Now and Later submitted, and now I’m waiting for the copy to arrive so I can do a final review.

Even better, I submitted two stories this week. And I kept up with my class, more or less.

And now … it’s time to dance.

Writing Work:

  • Writing ~ 3,000 words
  • Revision/editing work
  • Submitted proof for Now and Later
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • The Perfect Canvas
  • Like Bread Loves Salt

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the Girl with the Piccolo

So, this week came with a very nice surprise. The Girl with the Piccolo made the list for Best of Cast of Wonders for 2014.

Plus, I made a submission. A new one! At long last. So, there’s that. I also worked on the print layout for Now and Later. It’s a little bit trickier than a novel layout since I need to build a table of contents, apply a different “master” to each short story, and so on.

Writing Work:

  • Writing ~ 9,207 words (Five more words than last week. That’s crucial, people, crucial.)
  • Print layout for Now and Later

Submissions:

  • Steps to Goodbye 

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the talking Valentine

So, I was very excited to see hear The Burden of So Many Roses in audio in time for Valentine’s Day. I figured it would go live right about that time, but it was still a nice surprise.

Otherwise, just a touch over 9,000 words this week. No subs or anything. I’m itching to switch to short fiction for a while, but my stories keep morphing into longer things (current project word count: ~70,000 words). Maybe once this current story is done. Maybe.

Writing Work:

  • Writing ~ 9,202 words

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

rosesThe Burden of So Many Roses is live for your listening pleasure. Generally, I have a tough time reading/listening to my work once it’s out in the world, but Tina is incredible. Go give her a listen. I couldn’t be more thrilled.