Results, but no progress

Confession: I have the ability to be bored, looking for something to do, and totally ignore chores at the same time.

Reading:

• "L. DeBard and Aliette: A Love Story," by Lauren Groff
  
• The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Hitches a Ride" - 1,245 words (Estimated completion 14%)
• "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold" - Outline 100%
  

Revising:

• "The Revenant"
• "Cora and the Sea" - Third draft 50%

First off, good news! A little more than a month ago, I wrote a story entitled "Hattie Donnelly's New Doll" for the Writers Weekly 24 Hour Short Story Contest. The results came out today, and I once again won Honorable Mention. Out of the eight times I have entered the contest, I have maintained a 50/50 win/loss ratio, assuming that honorable mention is a win.

I do have to count it as a rejection in one sense, however. My tally below of submissions and rejections is designed to count publication, and only the top three places in this contest get that honor. So I've bumped my rejection counter up by one. Perhaps I should put an asterisk next to it.

Funny... I went to Greenport yesterday. The last time I did that, I came home to find that "Dolly Hobbles" had been accepted. That place really is my lucky charm.

Sadly, I didn't do anything else constructive today. I think that I succeed most with my writing under just enough adversity to put time pressure on me, but not enough so that I have no time at all to write. This is something I will have to address if I ever quit my job to have a full time writing career. In such a situation, I couldn't afford to slack off.

That's still far, far in the future, however. For now, I just need to get up tomorrow morning and do my thing like always. Maybe get another 500 words of Ferian finished. After all, if I can get the next Ferian chapter done, plus the next 24 hour contest at the end of this month, I'll be back on track for my one-story-a-month pledge.

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 5
  
• Accepted: 1
• Rejected: 2
• Pending: 2
  

New Contest

Confession: I had an amazing headache this morning. All better now, though. Well, mostly better.

Reading:

• "Toga Party" by John Barth
  

Writing:

• Untitled Dark Fantasy Project
• "Hattie Donnelly's Favorite Doll"
  

Revising:

• "Cora and the Sea"

Future Projects:

• Dairhenien's Library - Development
  
• Floorcraft - First rewrite of 1-5, first draft of 6-8
• Ferian Fetlock - Next chapter, "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold," followed by "Ferian Fetlock Takes a Wife."
  
• July 26th 24-hour Short Story
• "Motley" - Expansion
• "Fireworks and Earthworks" - 5% into first draft
  
• Untitled School Mistress Story

Unpublished Stories/Status

• "The Revenant" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "The Frost Fugling" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Leaves and Sunsets" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Motley" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Black Pudding" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "A Happy Ending" - 1st Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Illuminated" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Pictures of the Old Port" - 5th Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "What Price Stamps" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "A Cup of Coffee" / "Morning Tea" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted

Check out the topic for this season's 24 Hour Short Story Contest:

The bells on the door were still echoing as she stepped further into the old toy store. The owner winked at her and turned back to his black and white television set. She reached under the rack on the back wall and pulled it out. It was just where she'd left it last week. She approached the counter and put the item down.

He turned to her, grabbed the item with surprise, and said, "This is NOT for sale..."

It's a great topic, but I've had a harder time than usual in turning it into a story. I think the main reason is because the word limit this time is 900 words, which is about one scene's worth of writing. It's hard to tell an entire story in one scene, especially when all these other ideas kept intruding into my thought processes. I could have more easily written a 5,000 word story on this topic, within the time limit, than a 900 word one.

Still, I'm nearly done... it stands at 728 words right now, and I'm about to get to the climax. A little judicious editing and I'll send it in. (Not bad for three hours of work... I got the topic at 1pm, but I didn't actually sit down to write until 3pm, and since then I've also been to the grocery and eaten dinner.)

Okay, it's pretty much done. I'll step away from it and come back later on for a final check, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 2
• Accepted: 1
• Rejected: 1
• Pending: 0