Tag: writing tips
Writing Acts of War II – Week 7 Update
Seven weeks on the board, and the first draft of Acts of War: Aftershock is in the home stretch. Here’s how week seven breaks down: Progress: I wrote 12,040 words and ended on chapter 29. My total word count is near 80,000 words, and… Continue Reading “Writing Acts of War II – Week 7 Update”
Writing Acts of War II – Week 6 Update
Six weeks down, and I’m starting the third act of Acts of War: Aftershock. The epic conclusion is in sight, and, well, they don’t call it “WAR” MACHINE for nothin’. Progress: I wrote 11,062 words and ended on chapter 24. Some of these chapters got… Continue Reading “Writing Acts of War II – Week 6 Update”
Writing Acts of War II – Week 5 Update
Five weeks have come and gone, and I’m past the halfway point in the first draft of Acts of War II. Before we get started, though, I’m pleased to announce the book now has an official title, Acts of War: Aftershock. Here’s the skinny… Continue Reading “Writing Acts of War II – Week 5 Update”
4 Reasons for the Same-Day Rejection
Here’s the scenario. You fire off a short story submission, fully prepared to wait the two weeks or one month or however long it takes for them to read your story and make a decision. You check your email a couple hours later and BAM! They’ve… Continue Reading “4 Reasons for the Same-Day Rejection”
Writing Acts of War II – Week 4 Update
I’ve completed week four of the first draft of Acts of War II, and I’m well beyond the one-third mark. Here’s the details on week number four. Progress: I wrote 11,185 words, completed act one, and ended in the middle of chapter seventeen. I’m… Continue Reading “Writing Acts of War II – Week 4 Update”
When Should You Reply to a Rejection Letter?
Should you reply to rejection letters? A good question, and 99.9 % of the time my personal opinion is a resounding NO. The most compelling reason is that many publishers will straight-up tell you not to reply to a rejection in their submission guidelines, and… Continue Reading “When Should You Reply to a Rejection Letter?”
October/November 2016 Submission Statement
I didn’t have a chance to recount my submission efforts for October, so I thought I’d combine them with November and do one big ol’ update. What follows is a two-month submission report, and since I was fairly active, especially in November, there’s a lot… Continue Reading “October/November 2016 Submission Statement”
Rejections and the Revision Decision
How many rejections do I let a story accumulate before I revise it? That’s a question I get asked a lot these days (maybe because I plaster my rejections all over the internet). It’s a good question, and my answer usually is something like,… Continue Reading “Rejections and the Revision Decision”
Submission Protocol: The Waiting Game
If you’re a writer who regularly submits short stories and who also uses submission tracking sites like Duotrope, then the following scenario will likely be very familiar to you. You send your submission to a publisher, noting on Duotrope their average response times for rejections… Continue Reading “Submission Protocol: The Waiting Game”
Tiered Form Rejections: Fact or Fiction?
If you’ve been submitting stories to the many literary and genre magazines, journals, and zines out there, then you’ve no doubt heard that some markets have more than one type of form rejection. Not only do these publishers have more than one, they have… Continue Reading “Tiered Form Rejections: Fact or Fiction?”
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 