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Posts tagged ‘Thesis’

Mar 15

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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

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.

Sep 1

Short Story September Challenge 2014

I’m starting my own challenge this month. Since my goal for the year was to write a new story every month, I know I have fallen behind. So far this year, I have only written three new stories. I realize that I need to step up my game. Therefore for the month of September I will write a new story every week. I’m calling it – Short Story September. If can write more, I will, but I think one a week is a good goal. That will bring my total up to seven for the year.

I spent a good part of August working on my longer piece, which might be a novella. I’m still not done, but pretty far along. I think I will be done by the end of the year.

Still no word from any of the stories I have out at markets right now. A few said I should hear from them by the end of August, but I’m not really focused on getting responses back on time. I have sent them my best and all I can do it hope the various editors like the stories. Plus I’d rather hear a delayed “yes” than a quick “no.”

I am also about the start my last elective class for grad school. After this class, it’s thesis. In July I pulled my four best stories that will become my thesis. Two are in very good shape and might need only small edits. One is about 60% and I am working on right now. Another needs a major overhaul, but I won’t start that until October. It is a tough story, because it is not the typical type of story I tell. I really took a risk with this story, and so I want to take my time rewriting. A draft of my thesis is due the first week of class, so there is no grace period. You show up and work. No excuses.

In case you were wondering, yes I work on multiple projects at the same time. I usually have a couple longer pieces that I work on here and there, one active short story that I am starting, and one story I am revising, all going on at the same time. That doesn’t even count the work I have to do for class. From what I’ve read, some of my other friends are the same. They work on one thing for a majority of the time, but when they want a break they write something else. I guess I’ve never been a person who can focus on one thing for a long period of time.

In hindsight, this was a very productive summer. More so than last year. At some point I will post my total word count in new fiction for the year, but that won’t be until December.

Happy Fall Everyone!