Weeks of Writing: 6/28/11 to 7/11/11
Catching up on the last couple of weeks. Here’s how I did.
Words to Write By
This week’s quote comes from Agatha Christie.
The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.
– Agatha Christie
I definitely get story ideas when I’m doing housework, but the place where the ideas really get hopping for me is the gym. Well, exercise in general. I don’t know why, but if I’m sweating, I’m coming up with ideas. Ultimately, I think Agatha Christie is hinting at the fact that sitting down at your computer (or typewriter in her case) and saying “I will now come up with ideas for a story or novel” is now how it works for most writers. The ideas come when you’re not weighed down by the pressure of MUST CREATE. I think what doing the dishes and working out have in common is they both don’t require you to really think about the task. Your body knows what to do and just handles shit while your brain is free to wander and ponder. I really like this quote because it lets me tell myself I’m not doing housework to procrastinate revising my novel, I’m doing RESEARCH, goddamn it. 🙂
Short Story Submissions
Not the best the start to July, but I got on the board.
- Submissions Sent: 3
- Rejections: 1
- Acceptances: 0
- Publications: 0
- Shortlist: 0
- Pending: 10
- 2021 Total Subs: 56
I need 63 submission by end of July to stay on pace, and I’m currently sitting at 56. Seven more shouldn’t be too hard to pull off. The only rejection in the last couple of weeks was another close-but-no-cigar personal rejection that tells me a) I need to keep submitting that story (which I did) and b) I need to keep submitting to this market (in the works).
The Novella
The last couple of weeks were pretty busy with house guests and other general life stuff, but I did manage to add another 3,000 words to Effectively Wild, pushing it over the 15,000-word mark. I think it should end up in the 20,000 to 25,000-word range when all is said and done. I’d really like to finish that first draft this week. We’ll see how that goes.
Night Walk
My flash fiction anthology Night Walk & Other Dark Paths features 40 of my best stories. You can pick up a copy of your very own in print or eBook by clicking the cover below.
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
- NWW: The Rarest Cut
Goals
Work on the novella, send out more submissions, do some marketing for Night Walk.
Those were my weeks. How were yours?
3 Comments on “Weeks of Writing: 6/28/11 to 7/11/11”
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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 
Ideas always come to me at strange times. Usually, while I go for a walk or something where I have no pen and paper to write them. I have been doing a lot of article writing these days. The best of luck with your goals. I have read your work and know it’s great; You will find the right publishers for your work. I wish they all get pushed. The best to you.
While my story ideas come at random times, I find I’m able to do me best plotting for those stories when on a run.
Yeah, I do a lot of plotting during cardio too. It’s honestly a good distraction. 🙂