Short year

One of my goals this year was to limit my fiction reading to short stories, including all variations of less than novel length. With only two exceptions--the final proofread of my novel Stud and a rereading of William Goldman's The Princess Bride--I accomplished my goal.

I started the year reading mostly crime fiction because I had several back issues of AHMM and EQMM and several crime fiction anthologies in my to-be-read pile. As the year progressed, I added fiction from other genres, including fantasy, horror, literary fiction, and science fiction.

I read books and magazines; anthologies and single-author collections; stories written by male and female writers; stories written by gay, straight, and lesbian writers; stories written by black, white, and hispanic writers, as well as stories by writers of other ethnicities; stories by young, middle-aged, old, and long-deceased writers; stories by new and long-established writers; stories that were funny and stories that were sad; stories that turned me on and stories that turned me off; and all manner of other stories.

My original goal grew out of the realization that the bulk of my fiction reading consisted of novels, yet the bulk of my fiction writing consisted of short stories. I was becoming insular, my knowledge of the current state of short fiction increasingly limited to what I was selling and not what other writers were creating.

As the year ends, I find myself having learned one important lesson:

There is no single correct way to write a short story.

Will I continue to limit my fiction reading to short stories in 2012? No.

Will I include more short fiction in my reading mix than I did prior to this year? Yes.

Will I continue to concentrate on writing short stories rather than novels? Absolutely.

Merry Christmas!

I'll be away from computers for the next few days, celebrating Christmas with family and friends, so I'm taking a few minutes now to wish all of you a Merry Christmas.

This blog is primarily a public journal where I track my writing progress--sales, publications, and occasional thoughts about the process of writing and publishing--and I appreciate the comments y'all leave on the blog and in personal emails.

So this holiday season I wish you all health, happiness, and increasing success.

73

I received my 73rd acceptance of the year this evening, this time for an erotic crime story.

Some days are better than others

Today's mail brought eight rejections.

Eight.

I've had better days.

71, 72

I received two acceptances today, my 71st and 72nd of the year. One is for a story about a pickpocket and the other is a romance.

Published 6x

My stories "Dance Partner for Life," "Just My Type," and "Love in Aisle 6" appear in the January 2012 True Story.

My stories "Kissed and Dismissed," "When New Year's Eve Came Twice," and "Heartbreak in the Homeland: Is My Son a Killer?" appear in the January 2012 True Confessions.

Published

My short crime story "Woman in White" appears in the December issue of Big Pulp.

70

I received my 70th acceptance of the year in today's mail, this time for a Valentine's Day-themed confession.

Published 2x

My short mystery "Chalkers" is now available from Untreed Reads (read an excerpt and order a copy through the The Untreed Reads Store http://bit.ly/v85k5W.

When eleven men return to their college alma mater for homecoming forty years after graduation, do they dare reveal the long-held secret that binds them to one another?

From the publisher: "We are also running a special in The Untreed Reads Store that if a reader adds both Chalkers and News Flash" -- my previous release from Untreed Reads -- "to their cart, they'll save 30% on News Flash. That's good through December 31st."

Also published: The November issue of Bohemia includes a reprint of my ghost story "Pushing Coal."

66, 67, 68, 69

I received four acceptances in today's mail, all for confessions. Three were written this year and sold on first submission; one was written in 2004 and sold on fifth submission, to the magazine that originally rejected it in 2004!

There have only been three years since 1976 when I recorded more acceptances--71 in 2004; 77 in 1995; and 84 in 1991--and there's still more than a month left in the year!

Free "News Flash"

November 20-November 26th is National Puzzle Week, and Untreed Reads is offering all mysteries (novels, collections, short stories, novellas, series) are 30% off all this week. Some titles, including my short story "News Flash," featuring Waco, Texas, private eye Morris Ronald "Moe Ron" Boyette, are free.

Read an excerpt and order your free copy of "News Flash" here.

Published

My story “The Bear Family Christmas Project” appears in the anthology Christmas Warmth (XoXo Publishing) edited by Cynthia MacGregor.

Fifty-two

I finished and submitted my fifty-second short story of the year this evening, a 3,700-word Valentine's Day confession that I started writing on August 18.

Published

My story "Mother's Christmas Gift" appears in the December issue of True Confessions.

63, 64, 65

I received three acceptances yesterday, my 63rd, 64th, and 65th acceptances of the year. All were for confessions scheduled for January publication.

Published

My story "Woman in White," scheduled for the Winter 2001 issue of Big Pulp, is temporarily posted at their website: http://bigpulp.com/issues/2011_12/bracken_womaninwhite.html.

Published

My Christmas story "Bright Lights, Big Hearts" appears in the December True Story, on newsstands now.

Recognition for Many Genres, One Craft

From the editors of Many Genres, One Craft, a writing textbook to which I contributed, this news:

First, the book was an Award-Winning Finalist in the Business: Writing and Publishing category of The USA Best Books 2011 Awards, sponsored by USA Book News.

Second, it was named #5 in 10 of This Year's Terrific Writing Books by The Writer Magazine in their December 2011 issue!

210

No, this isn't the number of stories I've written this year or the number of acceptances I've received. This is a different, but equally important number.

This morning I weighed 210 lbs. This is my lowest weight in 20+ years.

Mid-summer 2006 I was near my peak weight in the mid-230s (my peak was 239 several years earlier). Through a combination of circumstance and intent, I slowly took weight off until I was in my mid-220s when I had my quadruple heart bypass in September 2008. The cardiologist wanted (and still wants) me to lose more weight.

Ever since then, my weight has bounced around. I would work to pull it down to the mid-210s, only to see it climb back up to the mid-220s. And it's always easier to gain weight than lose weight.

This summer, again through a combination of circumstance and intent, I began losing weight again. Only this time my weight has continued to drop; I've not yet had it bounce back up.

I've lost weight through a combination of smaller portions, better food choices, and a modest increase in exercise. If I could kick my worst habit--the over-consumption of Mountain Dew--I would probably lose weight faster.

Why am I posting this news in my writing blog? Because I suffer from the same malady as many writers: Too much time with my ass in a chair, mindlessly munching on snacks as I write.

If you suffer from this same malady, perhaps it's time to make some changes in your life.

Get up, get moving, and get healthy.

I know I'm better off for having done so.

62

I received my 62nd acceptance of the year this evening, this time for a fantasy involving a dragon.