All My Projects

Confession: I have just enough fashion sense to know when I look like crap, but not enough to effectively do anything about it.

Reading:

• "Pa's Darling" by Louis Auchincloss

Writing:

• Untitled Dark Fantasy Project

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Unpublished Stories/Status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
  

I think this is a good exercise to do, and perhaps I'll keep it going. Above I have listed all of my projects, current and ongoing. I think I need to start getting that "Future Projects" list shorter by actually completing drafts of some of those, and need to change a bunch of those "Unsubmitted" tags to "Submitted."

I think I'd like to keep this list going every day, although I'll need to find a way to copy and paste instead of retyping it every time. I might also change the "Writing" and "Revising" categories into "Currently Working On," since in practice I usually work on either the revision or the composition at any given time. If I happen to be working on both, I'll put both under the same heading.

Regardless, this gives me a good way to measure my progress, and to remind myself of exactly what I have waiting for me, especially during those times that I sit down to write and can't think of what to work on.

I was thinking this past weekend about how much finishing some old projects will help me clear my plate, and I think that's true. There's nothing like a game plan to get you going. In fact, as time goes on, I think I'm going to start ordering this list so that I always know what I want to work on next.

I just reread the list, and I think my first step is clear. I need to finish the "Cora and the Sea" revision this week, since the reading is coming up soon, and I want to get some feedback on the new version before I read it aloud in front of a group. Also, I've got that new 24-hour short story to do this Saturday, and it has to be done Saturday afternoon. (Which reminds me... I need to make sure I actually get some sleep Friday night....)

After that, the best thing will be for me to get some of those stories moved over to the "submitted" column. There are a few, like "Black Pudding" and "What Price Stamps?" that are in good enough shape to send out as-is. Maybe "Pictures of the Old Port" too. I can submit "Morning Tea" today. Why not at lunch? All I need to do is to finish the cover letter, then I'll have one more story out.

The next step will be research. I made a promise not to send "Illuminated" out just anywhere, and that means researching a good place for it. The length is a factor that makes that more difficult, though. For a new author, the longer the story, the more difficult it is to sell. I wonder if it would be in my best interests to sit on it for a while, do a revision in a couple of months once I get a bit more objectivity, and try to shop it out again then? Either way, I need to explore a few more markets and see what stories I have that would suit each one. That's going to be the single biggest step in getting the "finished" stories submitted.

Of course, as you can see, I don't have a "finished" category for anything. Until a story is actually published, it's not finished. It's almost like each story is always growing and changing, and each submission is like taking a picture of it at that moment in time. If it gets accepted, then there just must be something about that snapshot that works. (Of course, that doesn't mean I can't keep tinkering, does it?) It's like the story is all grown up and has moved away from home.

Hmmm... perhaps the metaphor is apt. I'd like to send a few more stories off to college, and turn their rooms into a rec room. They're welcome to visit, and I'll be happy to do their laundry, but it's time they got their own place.

Publication Status:

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

New Schedule

Confession: I'm not sure whether I'm a morning person or a night person. I think I'm motivated more by inertia--when I'm in bed, I want to stay there; when I'm awake, I want to stay there too.

Reading:

• Someplace to be Flying, by Charles de Lint
• Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse"

Revising

• "Cora and the Sea"

It's been about six weeks now since I've started trying to get serious about writing. I've learned a lot in that time about what it takes to motivate me. I've also run into difficulty with another project, which is exercising and getting into better shape. To be perfectly frank, I haven't made any progress at all in the latter.

What I need is to do is develop a plan, and here it is:

• 5:00am - Wakeup
• 5:15am - Leave the house on my bike; pedal around for a while
• 5:45am - Return home; shower
• 6:00am - Breakfast
• 6:30am - Leave the house, go to Panera and write
  
• 8:00am - Leave Panera, go to work

That leaves my evenings free for whatever, and accomplishes both of my goals, exercise and writing. I'll want to devise an indoor exercise plan at some point, for rainy days (like tomorrow, honestly), but that can wait until I have the habit firmly established.

Meanwhile, I've taken a break from Someplace to be Flying to read the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. I read the first volume back in the early 90s, but never read the following volumes. I visited the Strand yesterday and found the whole series in hardcover for cheap, and treated myself.

It's good, better than I remember. I've come to think of most in-universe licensed fiction as little more than fan fiction, but Heir to the Empire has been a good read in its own right.

I Have Found My Motivation

Confession: I'm afraid of epiphanies. It's not that I fear they're not genuine, per se, but rather because I'm afraid I'll lose that feeling, and with it the motivation will be gone. Then due to my own negligence, I'll lose out on the great thing I could have had.

Reading:

• Someplace to be Flying, by Charles de Lint

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse"

Revising:

• "Dolly Hobbles"

I had an epiphany today. I was in the town of Greenport, New York, and I decided that was where I wanted to live my life.

That's a big declaration, and it's not directly associated with writing, so let me give some background. I've been kind of tossed around on the seas of moving over the last ten years. After finishing up at Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi, I moved to Washington, DC for nearly seven years. I moved back to Memphis after that, but for a while I thought that DC was where I wanted to live. But at some point, I realized that was because of the people I had left there, and who were no longer there. But Memphis held no attraction for me either, so when I was offered a transfer with my job, I took it, and wound up on Long Island. And here I am.

I like Long Island, but again, I feel no particular connection to it. But somehow, Greenport was different. It felt right, but there was more than that. I can see myself living there. I can imagine a sense of satisfaction from being there. In essence, I can see myself being happy living there.

But of course, I would need a job. And that's where writing comes in. Greenport would be perfect for me if I were a full time writer. And therein lies the further development of my Plan.

I'll work backwards. To live in Greenport as a writer, I need to be a full time writer. To do that, I'll have to quit my current job, and to do that, I'll have to have a sufficient source of income both to make the move and live when I get there.

To do that, I'll probably need to sell one novel and have some good contracts for others. And to do that, I need to establish myself as a writer... oh, and actually finish the novel(s).

For that, I need more practice at my writing and some publications. So that means I need to write stories and submit them. Which brings me to where I am write now.

I wrote a few days ago that I was in a period of the doldrums... well, I think the last few days have brought fresh wind to my sails. I have a reason to write now that goes beyond just liking it. Each finished story, each submission, each is a step on my road to achieving that dream. And that's a major thing. I'm working towards a lifestyle that I want very much to have. And I can achieve it.

Weekend Plans

Confession: I am addicted to Blistex Lip Medex. I have a little blue tub of it in every room of my apartment, in my car, and at work.

Reading:

• The Snapper, by Roddy Doyle

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse"

Revising:

• "Dolly Hobbles"

There's a lot of pressure for me on the weekends to get as much accomplished as I can. It's hard to do much writing during the week... in fact, keeping this blog has been the one thing that forces me to thing about writing on weekdays. But on the weekends, I have wide open swaths of time to write, and I should make the most of it.

So here's my plan for tomorrow.

• Get up
• Shower
• Get my ass over to the Panera for breakfast, coffee, and a little revisin'

You see, all week people have been helping me to revise "Dolly Hobbles." It's not a bad story, but it betrays its origins--i.e., written in an afternoon in six hours and not touched since. Well, this is when I touch it again and turn it into something worthy of submitting elsewhere.

• Drink me some coffees.
• Get a sore ass from wooden chairs, go home.
• Maybe watch a bit of the teevee.
• Lunch! Pizza from Tony's, and read some more on The Snapper. Girl's gonna have that baby pretty soon.
• Come home again, pack up the stuffs.
• Off to the B&N for an afternoon with Ferian Fetlock.

I've got the beginning of this story and the end of it so far. There's a big chunk of middle that I skipped, and that is totally not like me to do. I think it's because I don't have a good concept of this story yet. Knowing me, that means I need to

• Take a walk

It's the best way for me to think. I can't seem to do it sitting still for some reason, and the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow.

It's a distinct possibility that tomorrow, I might complete one story and revamp another. Kind of exciting.

Revision Plans

Confession: I think I'm good enough to get published, and I often don't understand why I don't get immediate positive feedback from everything I submit. Then, when I look at the massive gaping flaws in what I submitted later, I wonder that I ever get positive feedback.

Reading:

• Master of the Cauldron, by David Drake
• Realms of Fantasy, June 2008

Revising:

• "Illuminated"

Just a quick post today. My new goal is to revise and submit one story per week until all of my stories are currently submitted. I'm going to keep a file on which stories have been sent to which magazines, and when, so that I'll know when to expect a response, and also know where to submit for maximum coverage.

I'm also going to research one or two new magazines per week, and keep a list of possible magazines for submission, along with their websites and other qualifications. I'm going to put together a "queue," so that when I get a response from one magazine, I can immediately send it off to the next.

However, I don't want these business aspects of writing to interfere with the actual fun part of writing, so I'm going to dedicate only one evening a week to this task. The rest of the time is all about the writing.

What story should I do next? I'm thinking that I should finish up the first Ferian Fetlock... I'd like to have one of those finally completed.