Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Story sixty-three
I finished writing my 63rd short story of the year earlier this evening. It's a 2,300-word story intended for an anthology of stories about athletes. Rather than going for the obvious--wrestlers or football players, for example--I opted to write about a caber tosser.
I had a rough idea for this story on May 3, but had only written a few sentences prior to seeing the call for submissions. I did a little research about caber tossing and then wrote the story yesterday and today.
The editor of the anthology requires queries prior to submission, so a query left here a few minutes ago.
I had a rough idea for this story on May 3, but had only written a few sentences prior to seeing the call for submissions. I did a little research about caber tossing and then wrote the story yesterday and today.
The editor of the anthology requires queries prior to submission, so a query left here a few minutes ago.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
26
I received my 26th acceptance earlier this evening, a bit of crime fiction to appear in an anthology of biker fiction. I knew this acceptance was coming--had even mentioned it in an earlier blog post--but didn't count it as an official sale because the editor was awaiting approval of the publisher before issuing contracts. The contract arrived today.
Story sixty-two
I finished my 62nd short story of the year a few minutes ago, a 4,000-word St. Patrick's Day confession I started writing on October 25. Rebecca--aka Plot Monkey--provided me with the idea and helped me rough out the plot before I started writing. I'm printing the final draft now and will put the ms. in the mail tomorrow.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Published
My story "He Was a Substitute Santa" appears in the December True Story.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Some story ideas deserve to die
Brokeshell Mountain
The tragic story of misguided snail herders. They ride turtles and drive the snails from the midwest toward the west. They intend to sell the herd to fancy French restaurants in California. But they never make it. A wrong turn sends the herd across the Great Salt Lake.
The tragic story of misguided snail herders. They ride turtles and drive the snails from the midwest toward the west. They intend to sell the herd to fancy French restaurants in California. But they never make it. A wrong turn sends the herd across the Great Salt Lake.
25
I received my 25th acceptance of the year earlier today, this time for a 3,400-word confession/romance I submitted on September 30.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Quoted
I get quoted in the strangest places. From an October 19 blog post titled "When You’re Starting Your Own Business – What Successful Businesswomen Know":
Starting a new business can be hard, and many entrepreneurs quit because finding clients is harder than they thought, they feel discouraged, they lose hope, or they no longer believe in themselves or their product. The longer you persevere, the more you improve your chances of starting a successful business. “A writing career is nothing more than a long series of disappointments punctuated by occasional moments of success,” says Michael Bracken. Successful businesswomen know that this isn’t just true of writing careers!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Story sixty-one
I completed my 61st short story of the year a few minutes ago. It's a 3,600-word confession that begins with a woman being stood up on Valentine's Day and progresses from there. The ms. will go in the mail tomorrow.
I started writing this on February 11 and had about a third of it complete but no clear sense of how to get to the happy-ever-after ending the story needed. Plot Monkey and I spent Saturday evening looking at some of my incomplete manuscripts and she helped me finish plotting this one and a handful of others.
I started writing this on February 11 and had about a third of it complete but no clear sense of how to get to the happy-ever-after ending the story needed. Plot Monkey and I spent Saturday evening looking at some of my incomplete manuscripts and she helped me finish plotting this one and a handful of others.
Published x3
My stories "Keeping Secrets" and "Falling in Love" appear in the December issue of True Love. Both are romantic confessions.
And I forgot to post this a few days ago when my contributor copy arrived: "Pussy & the Cat Burglar," a hardboiled erotic mystery, appears in the November issue of Hustler Fantasies.
And I forgot to post this a few days ago when my contributor copy arrived: "Pussy & the Cat Burglar," a hardboiled erotic mystery, appears in the November issue of Hustler Fantasies.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Story sixty
I finished and submitted my 60th short story this evening. It's a 3,200-word bit of sexually-charged women's fiction. It seems a bit too explicit for the confession magazines and not explicit enough for the erotica market, so I sent it to New Love Stories Magazine.
I started "writing" this story November 25, 2008. Actually, I started dictating the story on that day. I had been unable to write because of my bypass surgery the previous September and the drugs I was taking at the time futzed up my brain. In an effort to overcome the physical and mental challenges I was then facing, by changing how and where I wrote, I purchased a new laptop computer and dictation software and tried to dictate new work.
I dictated about half the story before I stopped. I wrote the rest of the story this week using the conventional method--by typing on the keyboard of my desktop computer--but, amazingly, kept the first half almost word-for-word as I had dictated it.
I started "writing" this story November 25, 2008. Actually, I started dictating the story on that day. I had been unable to write because of my bypass surgery the previous September and the drugs I was taking at the time futzed up my brain. In an effort to overcome the physical and mental challenges I was then facing, by changing how and where I wrote, I purchased a new laptop computer and dictation software and tried to dictate new work.
I dictated about half the story before I stopped. I wrote the rest of the story this week using the conventional method--by typing on the keyboard of my desktop computer--but, amazingly, kept the first half almost word-for-word as I had dictated it.
