A Week of Writing: 10/12/20 to 10/18/20
Another week of writerly doings. Here’s how I did.
Words to Write By
This week’s quote comes, once more, from Elmore Leonard.
“My characters have to talk, or they’re out. They audition in early scenes. If they can’t talk, they’re given less to do, or thrown out.”
-Elmore Leonard
I love this one, mostly because I write the same way. I tell my stories primarily with dialogue, and characters who don’t talk–or, you know, ones I can’t figure out how to make talk–fade into the background or even disappear in revision. All of my main characters, especially in long-form fiction, are absolute motor-mouths, and since they need someone to talk to or at, my secondary characters follow suit. I always hear dialogue first when I start writing, and my characters reveal their motivations and personalities by talking, first in my head, and then on the page.
The Novel
As I mentioned in last week’s update, Hell to Play is on hold until I get moved at the end of the month. I’ve tinkered a little, but I’m not going to get into the meat of the next revision until I’m set up in my new office. I gotta admit, I’m kind of enjoying the break, and I think I’ll be recharged and rearing to go once I dive back in.
Short Story Submissions
Zilch. Nada. Bupkis.
- Submissions Sent: 0
- Rejections: 0
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 1
- Shortlist: 0
- Pending: 14
Yeah, I know, pretty pathetic. I didn’t send a single submission last week, mostly because I was busy packing. I’m gonna try to get at least one or two out this week, but, again, packing and moving take priority. I also did not receive a single rejection last week, which is odd because I have whooping 14 submissions pending. I expect this week will be busier, and I’d guess at least one rejection will show up in my inbox before the week is done. I did have a publication last week, and I’ll talk about that below.
Publications
My story, “Childish Things” was published last Friday at The Arcanist. It took third place in their HalloweenFlash contest. Interesting note, I have placed in every one of The Arcanist’s flash and short story contests (five so far). Of course, by writing that, I have all but guaranteed I won’t place in the next one. 🙂 Anyway, you can check out “Childish Things” by clicking the graphic below.
Goals
Again, no stated goals this week. I need to get packed, get moved, and if I can, squeeze a little writing in between.
And that was my week. How was yours?
Effectively Wild – A Baseball Horror Story
Night Walk & Other Dark Paths
Acts of War: Flashpoint
Acts of War: Aftershock
Acts of War: Stormbreak
Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy 