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Posts tagged ‘creative life’

Sep 2

Building My Garden – Beginning of September 2024

Happy Fall!

I spent the summer doing all things writing. I finally uploaded two stories that had been published years ago and one story I uploaded in my chapbook in 2015. I thought about it a long time and decided to unpublish the collection. I will be uploading most of these stories later on this year. I think it is better to offer each on its own and let the reader decide whether or not they want to read them. Each short story will be $3.49. In January, I’ll evaluate if I should change anything or continue.

I also was able to finish another new story that leans a little long. I’m warming up for the new novel and I wanted to finish this story I started last year. I knew it was going to be long beacause usually my short stories are about 1500 – 3000 words. I think this story is double (?) the words. We’ll see…

So, three stories self-published, one completed short story, and plans for at least one more self-pubbed story and one traditional story to come out this year. For the rest of the year, I’m going to push for a finished first draft of the novel.

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of my first fiction story being published. I remember being so proud of myself for finally getting something out into the world and feeling like I was a real writer. Cut to ten years later, I have published five stories traditionally and (now) three stories self-pubbed. It is not a huge amount of work, but it’s not nothing. In some ways, I’m a bit disappointed I haven’t done more. Comparison is the thief of joy and seeing other writers rack up the publication credits is tough to see. Of course I am happy for them, but seeing the slow progress of myself is, at times, depressing.

However, I have found a new mantra to help motivate me and bring me out of depression.

A few weeks ago, I was watching one of those on-line guru videos on YouTube and I read a comment that stuck with me. It read, “If you want a butterfly, don’t chase butterflies. Build a beautiful garden.” I decided that this would be my plan going forward. I wasn’t going to worry about individual publications, or what anyone else was doing in their writing. Instead, I was going to build a metaphorical garden for my writing career. Story after story. One story was not going to get me what I wanted, but a collection of stories would. I will build my garden flower by flower, plant by plant. In the end, I I hope to have a beautiful garden filled with stories that I love.

Going forward, I’m just going to link my Amazon Author page in the Published Works section of this site. Any traditionally published stories will still be listed too.

Happy writing! (And gardening!)

Jun 23

End of June 2024 Round Up

Happy summer!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I’m basking in the comfort of air conditioning and hard at work on my next writing project. While I’m happy to enjoy the sunshine, I don’t really like to sweat. Indoors I stay.

Let’s recap my writing news for the first half of the year and what I hope will be some achievements for the last half of the year.

In March, I decided to really try and get some stories out for submission. I made the commitment to submit five times a week. Although there was a week I didn’t make it, I made up for it and submitted extra the following week. As a result, in the month of April I got two acceptances. I was floored. I’d never had that happen before, but it motivated me to keep going.

One story (Siren Call) is already out. The other will be published this fall. After four years, it feels good to see some of my work out in the world again.

Also, I finally stopped procrastinating and self-published two of my previous short stories for Amazon Kindle (See the Published Works Page for the link). They came out so long ago that the rights have reverted back to me and I’m putting them back out into the world. I will do the same for my other stories too (both published and unpublished). I view my short stories as marketing for an eventual longer work. The short stories are cheaper and shorter in length, so if someone is unsure whether they want to buy a novel, they can buy a story and see if they like me.

And I am writing a novel. I still have a long way to go, but I’m making progress. Like I said, those two acceptances have been great for my motivation. I’m hoping to be done with a first draft by September 1st.

Also, I have four other short stories that either need to be finished or rewritten. I’d like to get them submitted too.

So, in the last half of the year, I have a novel draft to finish and four short stories to work on. I’d like to self-publish two more stories (one in 3rd quarter and one in 4th quarter), get two more acceptances, and have a complete draft of my novel. That’s a lot, but I like aiming at big goals.

Finally, I quit X (Twitter) last fall, but I have joined Instagram. Feel free to follow me here.

Hope everyone’s summer is fun and productive!

Jun 2

3 Strategies I Use to Keep Writing with a Day Job

So here are three strategies, I use to get my writing done while holding down a day job.

Read more

Mar 31

Back in the Saddle Again – Update March 2024

About six weeks ago I was in the grocery store. I was doing my usual weekly shopping and came across a deal too good to be true. Olay body wash was on clearance sale for $1.80 a bottle. I had a coupon for $5 off three. So, I bought 3 bottles for $5.40, used the $5 coupon, and walked out of the store paying only .40 cents for 3 bottles of body wash. (They smell good too.) For the first time in years, I felt like the old days (aka pre-covid) were there were actually good deals to be found at the grocery store. I don’t need to tell you how expensive things are now and walking out of the store that day felt like old times.

Since then, I’ve found some other good stuff too. Frozen lasagna, salads, tomatoes, carrots, are just some to the products I’ve caught on a good sale. It’s not everything I need, but enough to feel like old times.

Recently, I’ve also started re-watching some of my favorite TV shows from about 10 – 15 years ago. Elementary, The Good Wife, and Grimm have all made their way to my DVR. I’m not sure I’m falling into a nostalgia hole, but it has had an interesting effect on me.

It reminds me of who I was 10-15 years ago.

In the 2010’s I was a lot more productive with my writing. I feel like since 2020, I have really slacked off. True, I was trying to write a novel from 2020-2022, but I didn’t do much else. I didn’t keep up with publishing news, or work on this blog, or even submit stories. Isn’t it weird that even though I was home a lot, I didn’t push my writing career forward at all. I did, in fact, slide backwards.

Well, not anymore. Recently, my job has put me back on full remote work, meaning I am home all the time now. But instead of slipping back into my old ways, I’ve gone back to more like I was in the 2010’s when I worked full time from home. (Side note: From 2015-2019 I worked from home full time.) And I have been a lot more productive. This month alone, I submitted to 25 places! I also have started a new project and feels promising.

In April, I’m going to keep working on the new project, but I’m also going back and re-visiting older stories that have fallen by the wayside. There are at least three that need to be dusted off and given some attention. Hopefully by May, I’ll have more stories to submit for the summer.

I’m glad I took a break for that year or so. From March 2022 to about September 2022, I didn’t write a thing. And then when I started to dip my toe back into writing and publishing, I felt so overwhelmed. I needed to go slow. Like I said in my last post, I felt like I’m starting all over again.

But now I’m back and gaining more momentum with my work. I’ve got a pretty good writing schedule and, so far, it’s working for me. I’m feeling productive and trying like hell to build something that looks like a writing career. I know that this will take time, but right now, I’m pushing forward.

I hope everyone else is feeling as productive as me. You can do it!

Aug 27

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.

Jun 19

Let’s Catch Up — June 2023

It’s been a while, so I thought I would write a post to sum up what’s been going on.

In my last post, I talked about finishing a novel. It didn’t happen. I wrote diligently for a few months, but by March of 2022, I knew the book would die off. I just wasn’t interested in pursuing the project. The characters had grown stale and I didn’t know where to go next in the plot. So I put the book aside and decided to try something else.

In truth, I put writing aside. I didn’t quit, but instead took a few months off. In April of 2022, my job announced they would be bringing us back into the office. So my hour and fifteen minute commute would resume. Luckily, it is hybrid and I still get to work from home most days of the week. Writing got put on hold and I focused more on the day job.

But inflation was kicking my butt and I needed extra money. So I did what millions of people have been doing, and I got a side hustle. My gig of choice was reselling. I had some luck, finding a few valuable things at the thrift store, and I sold some of my own personal items. I didn’t make much money, but it kept my busy and I learned a few new skills. I had always thought I was a terrible salesperson, but I have learned that if you have something people want, it is very easy to sell it to them. I had fun treasure hunting and selling my wares, but as I said, I didn’t make very much (about $30 to $40 profit per month) and starting in January I began to sell off my remaining inventory and close up shop. I never wanted to replace my job (I like my work.). I just hoped to pull in an extra $100 a month. When that didn’t happen, it was time to pivot.

I didn’t forget about writing. Sometime in September 2023, I cranked out a new short story. That was my first finished project in years, and I attribute it to the break. I stepped away from writing and when I came back, I had renewed energy. The pressure was off to write this novel and I could go back to writing the fun stuff, that I was excited to work on. I was busy at that time with day job, reselling, and now writing again. Because I had such a limited amount of time, I didn’t waste it worrying. I got down to work.

So now that I am not reselling, I’m back to writing in my extra time. I’m currently working on a new short story and figuring out what my next move is going to be. Since the start of the year, I’ve been asking myself, what do I want my writing career to look like? Where do I want to be in 5 years with my writing? I’m not sure. I want to keep pushing out new and interesting stories. Perhaps one day I will stick with a story long enough to write a novel. It’s half way through the year and I’m still asking myself, what matters to me?

I do know that I’ve grown a little more discouraged about submitting to journals and zines. I’m not against them, but I look at the guidelines and none of my work seems to fit what editors are looking for. I don’t seem to be creating work that will make them money and if you can’t make an editor money, they’re not going to publish you. They may love the work (and even love you), but it’s a business and I understand that now more than ever. (Reselling. You can love and item, but that doesn’t mean anyone will buy it, or pay the price you want.)

More and more, I think self-publishing is just the best way for me to go. I may continue to submit to the bigger places (or even smaller if I think I have something that is a good fit), but I will not be as diligent as I was. Time to let that go.

I also think I’m letting go of the idea of being a full time writer. Maybe when I’m in my retirement years (hopefully I can retire) I’ll just be a writer. For now, I’m sticking with my day job. I just got a promotion this month, I’m aggressively saving for retirement, I’m getting my other money on track (emergency fund, budget, etc.). Now is not the time to take my foot off the gas. I turned 46 this year and I know that I want to have a better future. The fantasy of full time writer is just not in my reality right now.

And yet, I’m still going to write the work that excites me and that I think is valuable. No one else may agree with me. After all, no one is waiting with baited breath for my work. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop writing. This was a hard truth for me to realize, but I think I’m better for it. The pressure I put on myself, stifled me, stilted me, and ultimately make question every word I wrote. I couldn’t work like that.

Now, I’m in a place of — Who Cares if It has no Market Value? It’s cool and I want to write it!

I plan on repeating this mantra every time I feel that pressure. And yes, I will try to update this blog more regularly too. I stepped away for far too long. Breaks are sometimes necessary and now I feel refreshed and ready for the next chapter.

Thanks for sticking around. Write again soon.

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