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Posts tagged ‘writing’

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 I will do the same for my other stories too (both published and unpublished).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.

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May 12

The Time I Quit Writing #1 – Mid May 2024

Spring is here and I can't help but think of renewal when it's this time of year. I've also been a little nostalgic and found myself thinking about my early adulthood.

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Apr 28

Take Some Risk – End of April 2024

On the night of February 15, 2024, I had one of the most memorable dreams I have ever had.

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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.

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