Archive for

Back to (almost) the Beginning

In the last few years I’ve neglected my writing career. I got so wrapped up in trying to write a novel that I Ignored the other aspects. Yes the pandemic swashed my book readings and literary conferences, but I also didn’t pay much attention to the on-line life either. You can tell just by looking at this blog how little attention I gave it. Perhaps I was burnt out and needed a break from the endless news about who published what. I think I also needed to recharge creatively.

In short, I checked out.

Now I find myself writing again (and trying to finish) new stories. Today I submitted something for the first time in YEARS. That felt really good. Felt productive.

But I find myself staring at my writing life and realizing it is in shambles. I don’t have a submission plan. I don’t have a list of places to send stuff. I’m going to have to start from scratch. Some of the places I might have wanted to submit to are now gone. They folded in the pandemic, or are on an indefinite hiatus. There is also the old dilemma of places that take themes and certain styles (Hard SF for example). I already write weird stuff, finding places for it to live is yet another task I have to add on.

I should say that I am not complaining. I feel like a gardener that neglected their garden and now have to clear all the weeds away to make room for new plantings. It’s work, but not bad work. There’s a lot to do, but once I get going, I just have to maintain.

So that’s where I’m at right now. Dusting off old stories, rewriting them if necessary, and finding homes for them (where ever that is) occupies my time now. I still have a couple stories in progress that I will finish (one will be done by Sept. 1) and then I’ll see where I’m at.

I’ve got a busy fall a head.