A Week of Writing: 8/13/18 to 8/19/18

Finally managed to squeak one of these things out on a Monday. Here’s my writing week that was.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from one of my favorite speculative authors, C. J. Cherryh.

It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.

– C. J. Cherryh

When I finished the first draft of my novel Late Risers (currently with my critique partners), some friends and family were surprised by my rather subdued celebration of that milestone. I think C. J. Cherryh’s quote speaks to that a bit. You see, the first draft is the easy part for me (well, less difficult), and maybe it’s not all garbage, but significant portions of it are destined for the revision dumpster. The hard part, the crucial part, the absolutely gotta-nail-it part is the second piece of her quote, “edit brilliantly.” That’s the process I’ve started, and that’s the process that will determine whether I end up with a salable novel or something destined for the trunk.

The Novel

Late Risers is still with my critique partners, and I eagerly await their notes. One of them is a good friend who lives nearby, and he’s been giving me tidbits of feedback as he goes through the book. Based on what he’s told me, I’m happy with the things that are working, and I’m not surprised by the the things that aren’t. So far, so good, but I know there’s going to be a lot of work to do once I get the manuscript back and start going through the notes.

Short Stories

I write a lot of flash fiction, but I really struggle to complete those stories in under 1,000 words. Last week, I submitted a story to a market that capped stories at 800 words, so I cut one of my flash pieces down to size. It was a good exercise in keeping only what you absolutely need, and I honestly think the story is better after losing 200 words.

Got a few more submission out last week.

• Submissions Sent: 2
• Rejections: 0
• Acceptances: 0
• Publications: 0

No rejections last week, but I have a number of stories pushing that 60-day mark, so I expect a response pretty soon. The two submissions last week put my at 81 for the year. My pace has definitely slowed in the second half of the year, but I only need 19 more submissions to hit my goal of 100.

The Blog

Two blog posts last week.

8/14/18: A Week of Writing: 8/6/18 to 8/12/18

The usual weekly writing update.

8/17/18: The Rejection Reversal with Michael Bracken

The prolific and talented Michael Bracken shared a rare type of publisher response he recently received and let me blog about it.

Goals

I’d like to pick up the pace on my short story submissions this week, so I’ll focus on that. I’ll also continue to read through the 35,000 words I have of another novel and continue to tinker with its outline.

Submission Spotlight

This week I’d like to call your attention to a newer market that publishes flash fiction (and just a bit longer) and pays a professional rate of .08/word. The market is Factor Four Magazine, and the speculative genres they’re interested in are: “. . . science fiction, fantasy, supernatural, super hero, or any combination of these . . .” Definitely give them a look if you have a story that fits. Guidelines in the link below.

Factor Four Magazine Guidelines

 

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That was my week. How was yours?