A Week of Writing: 5/17/21 to 5/23/21
Another week gone by. Here’s how I did.
Words to Write By
This week’s quote comes from W.H. Auden.
“Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.”
– W.H. Auden
I often see writers worrying about their work being original, as in something no one has ever written before. The truth is someone almost certainly has, and to come up with something completely original is nigh impossible. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but most of the novels I’ve enjoyed trod well-travelled paths in terms of premise, tropes, plot, and so on. What makes them stand out is that authenticity W.H. Auden is talking about. The author’s voice, their style, their approach is the secret sauce that makes or breaks a book in my opinion. Often times that’s simply adding a small twist to an old trope, especially one that highlights the author’s passions and point of view (authenticity again). So, original is great if you can pull it off, but authenticity, IMO, is what makes great stories.
Short Story Submissions
Again, only one submission last week.
- Submissions Sent: 1
- Rejections: 2
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 1
- Shortlist: 0
- Pending: 9
- 2021 Total Subs: 39
One submission per week is not gonna get me to 100 subs for the year, but here we are. I did send one this morning, so this week is off to a good start. Looks like a miscounted somewhere, and I actually have one more submission that I thought for 2021. Anyway, the one this morning gives me 40 for the year and I need to be at 45 for the month to stay on pace. Possible, sure, but I need to get my shit together. Two form rejections last week, both of which are so run-of-the-mill they don’t bear any discussion. The publication was another article with Dark Matter Magazine. More on that below.
Media Tie-In
Work continues on short stories for Privateer Press in their new Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika setting. Last week, I finished the fourth story and it’s currently under review. There’ll be some revisions, but as with the other pieces, it won’t be anything too difficult. I’ll start and finish the fifth and final short story this week. I’m also under contract for five 1,000-word vignettes, which I should be able to knock out next week. Writing 1,000-word stories is something I’m pretty good at. 🙂 I’m well ahead of the deadline, which is always a good place to be.
Publications
Another installment of my monthly Rejectomancy column at Dark Matter Magazine went up last week. This one is about rejections, so, you know, it’s a subject on which I have a fair amount to say. You can read it by clicking the link below.
“Normalizing the No: Rejection Letters”
Night Walk
My flash fiction anthology Night Walk & Other Dark Paths has been out for over a month now and it’s getting some nice reviews. You can pick up a copy of your very own in print or eBook by clicking the cover below. If you do grab a copy, please leave a rating or review and help me out with those Amazon algorithms.
For an inside peek into the anthology and its stories, check out the Night Walk Wednesday feature right here on the blog. I’ll give you all the juicy rejectomancy stats on individual stories from the collection.
- NWW: The Big Picture
- NWW: Things That Grow
- NWW: Do Me a Favor
- NWW: When the Lights Go On
- NWW: Where They Belong
- NWW: The Night, Forever, and Us
- NWW: Time Waits for One Man
- NWW: Small Evil
- NWW: Far Shores and Ancient Graves
Goals
More submissions and more commission work for Privateer Press.
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 