Not perfect, per se, but definitely better and faster. It's amazing what happens once you establish a regular schedule and routine; I sat down to bang out an idea for a new short story I had, tentatively titled "Y Marks the Spot,", about a female assasin who has tiny nanomachines in her blood that are triggered by the Y sex chromosome in men.
Before I knew it, 1200 words had poured out.
No, I'm not getting sucked into the "Novel in a Month" thingy . . .
Science Fiction and Fantasy Author
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Saturday, September 24, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Submission Time
I finished polishing a 6700 word short story, "A Fairy for Bin Laden," yesterday afternoon and submitted it to Fantasy Magazine.
It only took them a day to reject it; I did notice that they use a form letter: the content was identical to a rejection from a month or so ago of the first story I had the nerve to submit for publication.
It's a nice and gentle rejection letter, all in all.
Within the hour, I turned around and submitted it for Clarkesworld consideration.
I keep telling myself that all writers have been rejected, from J.K Rowling to Hemingway; I just need to have faith in myself and stay level-headed and persistent.
A new story is in the works, about a female assassin with deadly nanotech in her blood.
It only took them a day to reject it; I did notice that they use a form letter: the content was identical to a rejection from a month or so ago of the first story I had the nerve to submit for publication.
It's a nice and gentle rejection letter, all in all.
Within the hour, I turned around and submitted it for Clarkesworld consideration.
I keep telling myself that all writers have been rejected, from J.K Rowling to Hemingway; I just need to have faith in myself and stay level-headed and persistent.
A new story is in the works, about a female assassin with deadly nanotech in her blood.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Commitment, Action
(Takes a deep breath)
I'm going to write, dammit, and I'm going to be published. I've been a voracious reader all my long life, and a closet writer for just about as long. I will do this.
What prompted this? In a word: rejection.
A few months ago I dusted off the concept of a short story I wrote about 20 years ago, about a rabid Boston Red Sox fan who attempts to lift the "Curse of the Bambino" from the team in 2004, after the eighty-some years of inexplicable bad fortune that followed the team's sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
I thought the story was pretty good. I submitted to Fantasy Magazine. It was politely rejected.
Clarksworld. Rejected.
Apex. Rejected.
Maybe the story wasn't so good. I determined to try again.
Over the past few weeks I've been squeezing a few hours here and there writing a story about a fairy named Tinkerbelle who helps in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. It's been a fun ride, and I can see already the results of practice; it's a much better piece of work.
We'll see what happens when I finish it, polish it, and push it out into the cruel world.
It's writing, dammit.
To channel Yoda: "There is no try; do or do not."
Here we go.
I'm going to write, dammit, and I'm going to be published. I've been a voracious reader all my long life, and a closet writer for just about as long. I will do this.
What prompted this? In a word: rejection.
A few months ago I dusted off the concept of a short story I wrote about 20 years ago, about a rabid Boston Red Sox fan who attempts to lift the "Curse of the Bambino" from the team in 2004, after the eighty-some years of inexplicable bad fortune that followed the team's sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
I thought the story was pretty good. I submitted to Fantasy Magazine. It was politely rejected.
Clarksworld. Rejected.
Apex. Rejected.
Maybe the story wasn't so good. I determined to try again.
Over the past few weeks I've been squeezing a few hours here and there writing a story about a fairy named Tinkerbelle who helps in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. It's been a fun ride, and I can see already the results of practice; it's a much better piece of work.
We'll see what happens when I finish it, polish it, and push it out into the cruel world.
It's writing, dammit.
To channel Yoda: "There is no try; do or do not."
Here we go.
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