Skip to content

May 11

Things I Did in the 36 Hours After My Thesis Reading

Things I did in the 36 hours after my Thesis Reading:

1. Stay up until 1 am because I am so amped from reading, I can’t fall asleep. Eventually, I get up eat half a peanut butter granola bar and drink a glass of almond milk. 10 minutes later I fall asleep.

2. Wake up at 6:30 am, because after years of getting up at quarter to six for work, it is physically impossible to sleep past seven. Even on my days off.

3. Go to CVS fist thing in the morning because there is a sale on that shampoo and conditioner that smell like coconuts. Decided I needed a new mascara too.

4. Go to brunch with cousin. Have yummy veggie quiche.

5. Run errands with cousin and end up in Ulta. Resist urge to buy more. Remember coconut stuff is sitting at home.

6. Answer “Write more stuff,” when cousin asks what I am going to do next.

7. Come home and veg by looking at pictures of reading on Facebook. Remember I took pictures too, but decide I can post later. Watch The Blacklist instead.

8. Go over to my Mom’s house for Mother’s Day. Give a small bravo to myself for buying gifts weeks ago. Give large thanks that my Mom is alive and well.

9. Hang out with parents. Gorge on Urban BBQ, Dad brings home. Eat chocolate cake I bring for desert.

10. Arrive home in time for The Good Wife season finale.

11. Call Dad after show is over, so we can talk about finale.

12. Fall asleep and wake up Monday at 6 am.

13. Took day off of work, so back to the mall to pick up a few more things.

14. Go to Target for printer paper (because I used the last of mine printing my thesis). Walk out buying paper, vanilla almonds, and a cupcake.

15. Tell myself I need the cupcake. Graduation present.

Graduation Treat.
Graduation Treat.

16. Make list of places I’m going to send stories.

17. Pull out notebook that has the first 500 words or so of a novel I started last summer.

18. Realize laundry is being neglected and clean towels are dwindling.

19. Realize four years ago at this time, I sent off my application for graduate school.

20. Write blog post about things I’m doing now that I am a graduate.

My grad class. I'm 2nd from the left.
My grad class. I’m 2nd from the left.

Apr 30

End of April 2015

Oh wow! What a month! My thesis is done, turned in, and returned with an acceptance! I took a big, cleansing breath and am ready to move to the next part. That is really about continuing my challenge. The rejections came this month while I worked. I was so busy writing, nothing was mailed out.

Here’s where I stand:
Rejections: 17
Acceptance: 0
Submissions: 1

Pitiful, I know. This weekend is looking quiet for me, so I will send out more. The hard part of school is over. Yet, I need to keep the pressure on.

I’m so far behind my writing goals, I think I may just scrap the first four months of the year. Better to not try and catch up and just write. I still have that longer piece I need to finish. It’s funny, but even though I’m not in school, I still give myself homework! Lol!

New Feature for Blog
Over the next month or so, I’m going to be adding a few new things. I want to add a (running) list of minority SF &F writers. Sparked by this article which ran in the Washington Post, I decided that I wanted to add another place for people to find these authors. Writers are out there, but they don’t get the same coverage that others do. There are no particular order, some might even be writers I don’t care for. If the writer has a website (if they are still living), I’ll link to it. I just felt like I hear too often, “I can’t find X” or “I didn’t even know about X.” So this is my little attempt to help you find X.

Mar 31

End of March 2015

Just a quick post. I’m working hard on my thesis and I’ve got to devote most of my time to that.

Rejections: 14

Acceptances: 0

Submissions: 5

Next month should see some changes in the numbers. But for now, nothing much has changed.

If you celebrate it… Happy Easter! Or Happy Passover!

Mar 15

2 Comments

Mid-March Post 2015

Not much has changed. I got a couple more rejections, but I have refrained from mailing them back out. One side effect of my school work is that I keep focusing on rewriting and redrafting. So now I’m looking at everything I have ever written and saying – Must rewrite before I send out.

It’s like looking in your closet and hating everything you own. That blue skirt? It would be perfect if it was an inch longer. Or that pink top? If only you had some white pants to go with it… I look at my writing wardrobe and I just want to change everything.

But, but, I have no time. This damn thesis is preoccupying all of my attention. So this challenge has come to a grinding halt. I still have stories out, but I’m not submitting. Once I graduate in May, business will pick up. But for now, the numbers are tiny.

Rejections: 13

Acceptances: 0

Submissions:6

Other thoughts:

Damn shame about Terry Prachett. Such a fun writer.

I didn’t know this was a thing, but apparently there are lots of girls who read and talk about their book hauls on Youtube!!??? WHEN DID THIS BECOME A THING. THIS IS SO AWESOME! I need to do this. It looks like so much fun. But alas, my computer is so old that the camera stopped working years ago. And I don’t have a smart phone (yet). So no Youtube for me. Maybe when I manage to get a new computer, I will start. I think that will be fun.

Get in Trouble

Speaking of books – I got the new Kelly Link book a few weeks ago (see pic). I haven’t dived into it yet because I am reading The Historian. (I know I am a few years late to that party, but better late than never.) But as soon as I finish, I’m on to Link’s book.

I still need to get Trigger Warning. Also this spring Kate Atkinson’s new book in the same world as Life After Life will be released. It’s called A God in Ruins. If you didn’t get on board the Atkinson train in 2013, I would suggest you do so now. And if you love Downton Abbey this is in the same vein. Not so much upper and lower class soap opera stuff, but the time period is the same – early twentieth century England – and it has plenty of drama.

Side note: Margaret Atwood has a new book out in the fall. I don’t know what it is about, but I know I will be buying it.

Oh, and a new writer name Benjamin Percy has gotten on my radar. Really, where have I been? I read and excerpt of his book, Red Moon, and I am hooked. That book (or any others he has written) is on my To Buy list. I love discovering cool new (to me) writers.

So that’s it. Challenge is slow. Lot’s of new books out there (or forthcoming). Plus – new season of GOT in April. Yep, it’s starting to look like spring. The sun is shining and it’s starting to warm up. Cherry blossoms are almost here.

Spring 21

Mar 1

End of February 2015 Update & Trunked Stories

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I forgot. Nothing changed in February. No rejections came in, nor did I mail anything else out. I think the cold weather and the snow slowed everyone down. I know I feel like a slowpoke.

Rejections: 11
Acceptances: 0
Submissions: 8

One thing I didn’t mention last time concerned a flash fiction piece I have trunked. I like the story, but I have learned that even the mere mention of vampires (even if there isn’t a character in the story!) makes most editors roll their eyes. After getting comments about how they are sick of vampires (again just mentioned, not actually what the story was about or even an important plot point), I realized that this story needs to sit for a while. Too many other writers are sending these stories out, and I can’t expect my story to be treated any better.

It’s a hard thing to let a story go. I have a few that I wrote years ago, but I probably will never rewrite them. I want to work on projects that I am excited by and not cling to works that are flawed and might never been very good. Part of me used to believe that, given enough time, the story will work itself out. But I’m not so sure anymore. Sometimes, I think I just didn’t write a good story.

Yeah, sometimes I write bad stories.

For whatever reason, I needed to write it down. But I can’t treat every piece like a precious, unbreakable object. Sometimes I just write a story to see if I can write in a certain style or subject matter. The challenge interests me.

Now I realize, not all of those stories should be shared. Or maybe I shouldn’t try and sell them. I can always put them up on this site. The two stories up right now, I chose to share because I didn’t think I should sell them anywhere else. Comfort Zone has the main character die at the end and that is so overused, no one would want it. (Although I still like it and am quite proud.) Triton’s Fist was written for a contest and I didn’t like the idea of sending out such a specific story anywhere else. I’ve heard editors are annoyed when they get left over stories from contests. It was a short, creepy story I enjoyed, so up it when too.

I guess I am learning to let go. Not every story I write will be successful. The important point is that I keep writing, because I do have some stories that I think are very good. I realize not that I will never run out of ideas. In the past, I worried about this. But thanks to my challenge last year, I know this is not true. Just when I think I have run out, I get two more. (or more!)

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
–Leonardo da Vinci

Never did that quote ring more true than now. This story will be put aside with the others. Those stories that I find interesting, but I don’t want to put any more thought or energy into them. Maybe I wrote them just for fun, or maybe I thought it would turn into something more significant. All I know for sure – I am done (for now) and I have other work to do.

Feb 15

Mid-February Update 2015

Half way through February and it is a cold, cold day. I woke up to negative temperatures and decided the staying in was the best thing to do. Plus I got a little snow last night, just a light dusting and nothing like Boston or other parts of the Northeast. So, today was clear, sunny, and a little whiteness around to remind me that it is still winter. Despite the beauty of today, spring feels far away.

Here’s the update for my 2015 Challenge.

Rejections: 11

Acceptances: 0

Submissions: 8

Stories go out and come back in a sort of wave. My e-mail is quiet and then, BOOM!, three rejections come in the span of a few hours. I’ve been pretty good about sending them back out, but I have been slacking in the past few weeks. Thesis is getting all my attention now. I haven’t been writing new material, nor have I been good about mailing pieces out. Truthfully, I need to not worry about this right now. My focus should be on graduating and writing the best thesis I can.

Hopefully as I get closer to graduating, these numbers will start to change. I’d like to have 15+ pieces out in circulation. And maybe, I’ll also get around to finishing that longer piece too.

Hope you are staying warm.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →