Weeks of Writing: 2/22/21 to 3/7/21
A couple more weeks of writing come and gone. Check it out.
Words to Write By
This week’s quote comes from Joseph Heller.
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.”
~ Joseph Heller
I feel this one in my soul. Writing is rarely easy for me. I struggle to get started, I struggle to keep going, and I struggle to finish. I actually accomplish these things by gritting my teeth, steadfastly ignoring the demons of doubt and fear, and just getting on with it by sheer force of will. Maybe it’s not this way for some authors, but I’m with Joseph Heller. This shit is hard, and though it does get easier to some extent the more I do it, it has yet to get easy. But, you know, maybe it shouldn’t be easy. Maybe the struggle, and more importantly, overcoming that struggle, is how you produce your best work. There does seem to be a correlation between how hard a piece is for me to write and how good it is (or how quickly I sell it). So maybe I need to embrace the trouble and come to terms with the idea that it just means I’m on the right writerly path.
The Novel
Making excellent progress on Late Risers, and I’m nearly finished with revisions (like 95%). I’m also working on the synopsis, my author CV, and a few other things I need to start shopping it around. I received a third set of critique partner notes on my other novel Hell to Play, and with the other two sets, I now have a clear course charted on how to take the book to the next level. I hope to get Late Risers out the door this month, and then dive into Hell to Play in April.
Short Story Submissions
A few more submissions in the last couple of weeks. Not too bad.
- Submissions Sent: 3
- Rejections: 1
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 0
- Shortlist: 1
- Pending: 9
Three submissions in the last two weeks, which puts me at eighteen total for the year. More or less on track for one-hundred. I basically need an average of two per week, which, so far, I’m doing. Other than a couple of subs, I did have a story get shortlisted at a pro market I’ve been trying to crack for years. I’ve been shortlisted there before, though, so I’m not gonna get my hopes up too high. Only one rejection in the last couple of weeks and still no acceptances for 2021. This is a weird business. You can go gangbusters for months and then just run into a dry spell that’ll suck the confidence and motivation right out of you. The only thing you can do is keep writing, keep submitting, and keep trusting in your work.
I did make substantial progress last week on a new short story, which I should finish this week. That’ll give me more submission grist for the rejection mill. 🙂
Night Walk
We’re getting closer to the release of my first collection of flash fiction Night Walk and Other Dark paths. Last week we interviewed Valerie Herron, the artist responsible for the excellent cover and interior art for the anthology. We asked Valerie about her work, her influences, and how she got to be such a badass artist. You can check out her interview by clicking the full jacket art for Night Walk below.
Goals
Still working toward finishing the revision of Late Risers (I’m nearly there). Gonna try and finish the short story I worked on last week and maybe get a couple of submissions out.
And those were my weeks. How were 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 