icy editing time

We have had another ice storm (the 2nd one this season and the 4th major storm this season. How lucky are we.) This one did more damage to the trees than the other one, which means when this mess melts I will be having a good time with the chainsaw. it has also set me back on my writing. Mostly because it involves more days off from school for my daughter. I get very little done when she is home. It is not her fault that her and her brother like to argue and fight so much.

So, while I haven't gotten any new writing done I have managed to hit the halfway point of the edits/re-writes in a novella I wrote last year. Beneath These Walls is coming along quite nicely. The overall story isn't nearly as bad as I remember when I wrote it and, while the good characters scenes are going very smoothly, the bad characters scenes are being chopped and rewritten so that they hardly resemble their original scenes.

And now that both children are up they have decided to go at each other like wolves on an elk carcass I have to go.

Pleasant surprises

Opened the mailbox yesterday and, much to my surprise, I found a copy of Catherine Gardner's chapbook "The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon." Now, I won't get to reading it until next week because I am this close (holding my thumb and forefinger about a quarter inch apart) to finishing reading another book and I can't hold multiple storylines in my head anymore, but I am looking forward to reading it and posting a review of it when I do.

I am now over 60% of the way through my edits in my MG book. (It might be YA, I am really not sure. It is a matter of introspection in the character and I don't know if I have too much for an MG book or too little for a YA book.) Anyone have any insight into this?

I haven't started any short stories this week, but I have gotten a ton of stuff (sorry Aaron) done around the house. I also haven't heard back from any editors this week, save for a couple of proofs. (*Sigh* maybe next week I will hear back from an editor.)

TGIF

it is already Friday and it is supposed to be a real hot one this weekend. Probably the hottest days of the summer so far. At least I won't be working outside in it. I will probably be doing what I have been doing all week. Editing.

I haven't started any new stories this week although I did manage one rejection from Shimmer (my longest rejection time from them yet) I re-worked the story a little and sent it on to the Mo-con antho from Apex. We will see what Mr. Broaddus thinks of it. Probably not what he is looking for either, but we will see.

In the meantime I have looked at a friends book and discovered a new author I really want to read (will be ordering his new book coming out in October I believe) and have been started editing my MG book again. it isn't as bad as I thought it might be and I have certainly been away from it long enough to be objective. I think the third re-write may have been the charm for this book. Still, when I am done I will be taking anyone up on reading it and telling me what is wrong with it. This could be awhile yet. Don't worry, I will let you know when I am ready for that.

I can't believe that summer is drawing to an end and soon my daughter will be starting school again. It will be a change in the writing schedule, again. I am hoping for a good change that will allow me more time at the keyboard or with pen in hand. Summer is not good for my productivity. It is good for the kids. I just wish I could teach my 2 year old the finer points of a good fishing hole but he doesn't have the patience for it like his sister.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. See you on Monday, unless I hear some amazing news in the interim.

Sometimes the time flies

I sat down yesterday afternoon to finish my Vermin story. I thought I had about 300-400 words left in it. by the time I pulled up for air I had added another 2000 words. Oops. Still, I read it through- pulled some lines, added others, checked my punctuation and verb tenses- and shipped it off. Somehow, a story I wondered if I would be able to hit the 3K minimum became an almost 7K story. I still don't know how it happened. I never write them that long, ever. Not unless I am writing a book or a novella. It is my longest 'short' story to date. I believe it is the longest story I have ever submitted.

In other news- I have other shorts I would like to write. Today will not be the day they get started though. With two of the three things on my to-do list for the month of July out of the way, I am going to start in on the third thing, which is edit my MG book and get it ready to submit to agents. I have high hopes for this one. It isn't supernatural, but instead bound by reality and written from the point of view of a boy. This is not the way most MG books are written these days so I don't know if I stand a shot with it at all. We will find out. I always liked the action adventure stories when I was growing up. I hope that stories like this still have a place in today's world.

I hope everyone is having a good week. Talk at you all later.

And they call this a holiday

Tomorrow may be the Independence Day but it is not a holiday, not around this house. I ave finished putting my edits into the computer and after reading the ending, for the 5th time on full read through, I am not happy with it. It seems to be missing something that I can't put my finger on. I think I may have to let this one simmer for a while longer and maybe change the POV that I tell the story from. Not what I want to do, but I think it will do the story more justice. Besides, it is only 23,000 words long so it won't take long to change it. I just have two POV's I would tell the story from. The third one I can't consider because they die in the end.

So, now that one project is filed until a later date I can focus on cleaning the house and building monkey bars for the kids. Tomorrow I bake some cookies and then we blow stuff up, or watch other people blow stuff up, legally. It is completely legal.

Also, before I go I want to give a shout out to Barry Napier who just had his collection, Debris, picked up by Library of Horror Press. If you haven't already, go on over and give him a virtual pat on the back. Even if you don't know him. He would like to meet you. He is a nice guy, really.

To all of you out there, have a good and safe weekend. Don't put sparklers near your eye or in your friends eye, although rude strangers- NO, Don't do that either.

Thirsty Thursday

the old stand by at the bars in Ames (and probably everywhere else) was Thirsty Thursday. The weekend is so close from here you can almost taste it. Regrettably, weekends don't mean as much to me as they used to. Granted I don't have to go to class anymore, but I also don't go to work anymore (The luxury of being a stay at home dad). This means Thursday is just another day and I hope to accomplish 2 things. 1. get another 25 pages of edits into the computer. 2. finish reading the non-fiction book I started 3 days ago. Everything else I want to do today is gravy.

I know I said earlier that my edits would take 2 or 3 days to input. They are going much slower than that. So far I have worked for 2 days on it (not a lot of time each day but as much as my life allows) and I am only half through the process. I almost dread the process I have in front of me with my MG book. It is only slightly longer and I am unsure how much work I have to do with it. It is a 3rd re-write of it so I am hoping it goes smoother.

In the meantime, I am enjoying the unseasonably cool weather we seem to be having right now. It isn't even cloudy, just cool. Mos of the day I can open the windows up and let the fresh air flow through the house. I also took the boy out yesterday to check the raspberries (and look for fuzzy woodland creatures) and can report that most of them are not yet ripe. But soon. . .

Hope everyone has a good day and if, for some reason, I don't post tomorrow and you live in the states, Happy Independence Day (that is the 4th of July)!

today is a good day

I finally finished my edits, on paper, yesterday. Today I plan on transferring some of those edits to the computer. I know this takes longer, but I feel that I am more thorough. I know I am an anomaly when it comes to this, but I don't care. I also seem to add a lot instead of cutting. Yes, there was some cutting, but I seemed to add as much or more back. I hope it made for a stronger story. I will know on the third read and more after my wife gives it a try.

In other news, I was excited to see that Duotrope has added a ton of new markets, most don't pay, but the markets are there. Also Apex magazine is back and accepting submissions. I just wish I had a story to send them. My mind is aflutter with new ideas and not a single one is short story length. Am I alone in this?

I hope to start making my posts a little more timely and not so sporadic as they have become. I appologize for this. Have a great Tuesday.

Thursday, already

I can't believe how fast this week is going. Yesterday, before the boy woke up, I managed to get another 2500 words edited in the ol' novella. Just 30 pages to go (7500 words) I hope to get through that today. I seemed to have really found my stride in the second half of it and haven't had nearly as many notes on the page as I did the first half. I hope this holds up. Although I am thinking of changing the ending. Not really changing the ending, but more like changing how the ending comes about. If that makes any sense.

I also managed a nice lunch out with the wife yesterday at a local Chinese restaurant. It was nice, and good food. Don't ask what I had. I end up butchering the spelling of whatever we eat. If it wasn't for Oscar Mayer I wouldn't know how to spell bologna.

If anyone is interested, I came across this editorial by JA Konrath about the whole free vs pay market on e-books. Interesting article. it is here. He also wrote an article about his own sales online (I found it interesting, I don't know if you will) Here I know that these numbers don't apply to me (I have never had a best seller, or a pro sale for that matter) but numbers still fascinate me.

Hope everyone has a good Thursday. Have a productive, virus free, acceptance filled day!

Goals for the week

I have a very succinct list of goals for this week. I am writing them down so as to remind myself. If you are actually interested that is fantastic.

1. finish this round of edits in my novella. I said it would take 8 working days for this and I have put in 4 or 5 so far. I am on track to finish within this time frame. That is just the paper edits. Then I have to take the time to put those corrections into my wp file. that will probably take 2 or three days.

2. put the last coat of drywall plaster on my tape joints in the spare bedroom I have been working on. This should only take a couple of hours.

3. brew my first batch of beer. The kids got me a beer brewing kit for Father's day. They must really love me. ;) I am actually looking forward to this project, and really looking forward to the finished product. Something that really can't be rushed.

4. mow the yard. I think I will start on this today. we have 2.5 acres and is has rained like crazy in the last week. I am considering having my neighbor bale it into hay for the cattle. Either that or I need sheep to graze in it. Actually it will only take about 2 hours to mow the whole thing. the trimming is going to take about that long as well.

I think that about covered it. I have a couple of other things I would like to get done: finish my vermin story because I think I am about 300 words from the end, take a load of scrap metal to the landfill, go fishing, weed the garden. But I will get to those as I see fit.

hope everyone has a productive and fun week. I can say that because I don't work for a living. ;)

Not much to say

This has been a good and bad week. Not anything groundbreaking either way. For those of you that read my last post the dentist thing went well. I still have all of my original teeth. I did manage to lose my cell phone and had to order a new one and my back went out (a rib actually) Those were the bad things. I also managed to go with the wife and daughter to see UP!. Very good movie. The 3-D was different than it used to be. I am also halfway through my edits on my novella at this point.

In other news, I finished reading one book and started on, perhaps, one of the most unique books I have ever read. The story telling is actually pretty straight forward, it is the point of view that we get the story from. Chet the Dog. Yep, it is told from the dog's point of view and it is good. I actually bought Dog On It three months ago and I am now the 3rd person to read this copy. Mind you, the story itself isn't groundbreaking. No huge revelations about how to write are coming forth while I am reading this, but it is a fast read and entertaining. After all, don't we read to be entertained.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. I plan on grilling out and looking at antiques this weekend. Last year at this antique walk I bought a 1910 copy of the O'Henry book Options. I can't wait to see what I can find this year.

Monday went well

At least the sun is shining here today. We are supposed to get another inch of rain tonight, but for now the sun is shining.

Yesterday I started in on the editing, major editing, of my novella which I am now calling 'Behind These Walls.' In my usual style, I am doing more adding to than taking away. At the rate I am going this could take me awhile. It probably didn't help that I stopped to play a couple of round of Wii bowling with my daughter (she kicked my butt every time and she has terrible form. I got her back when we played tennis.)

I also started a flash piece for Shroud's newest contest. Unfortunately, the story is due Friday so I have to get cracking (those of you that know what the contest is will get the joke there). I think I have a good story line going for it, I just need to get my ending into it.

I doubt if I get a lot done today, my children and I are going on a roadtrip to my Mothers place so I can fix some things around her house and so the kids can visit their grandma. I had better get going. It takes two hours to get there.

All sorts of goodness

Yes, it is Monday and I am associating that with all sorts of goodness. First off, a great big Congratulations to Felicity Dowker, one of the most kreative spellers I know, who won the Ditmar Award for Best New Talent. Talk about a gal who has taken the underworld by storm with her dark fiction.

In other down under news, if Jaws didn't make you squeamish to get in the water, BT's story Murky Depths on 52 Stitches will.

the third thing I am cheering about is that I am done hanging sheetrock in my spare bedroom. Most of you won't give a damn about that, but I am glad that part of the construction is done. (I still have more sheetrock to hang, but the bedroom is done which is all I was worried about.) My back is also so far out of whack I am afraid that I won't be able to sneeze this week. You think I'm kidding. It has happened to me before.

In other news we had a spectacular lighting storm last night. I wish I had set up my video camera to record it. Sometimes hindsight blah, blah, blah.

This week starts editing. Major editing of a 24,000 word novella I would like to submit to Damnation Books. I also have a Vermin antho story I can see the end from where I sit, I just need to get there, edit it and submit before the deadline is over. In July. These two projects should consume most of my free time this week, and then some.

Hope everyone has a good week. Probably read more about me tomorrow, unless My house floats away with all the rain we have been getting lately.

April, in with a bang (or a slap)

Double whammy yesterday. Got my first rejection of the month, not a big deal. We are all adults here. I can handle that. Then as I was updating my Duotrope files I came across a post that From the Asylum was closing, for good. Crap. I had a story out with them for 3 months. Not like the story I had with them for almost a year, but still. Crap. Another one bites the dust. I think the hurricane they had in the area last year, really did them in. I have no clue what this is going to do for their anthologies. If you have a piece accepted with them, I wouldn't be afraid to contact them.

In other news. Started the re-write/editing process on my YA book, Big Chief's Gold. this is more fun than a short story, as far as the editing goes. I don't know, exactly, what is different, but it feels more fluid to me. Maybe I had good bones to work with- I don't know. I think I will be done with what I have in another two weeks. Then I will let it sit for a while and work on another book I have in the wings. After that comes the Novella and then I get to do it all over again until I feel I have piece good enough to show others.

Isn't this fun.

Month 2, Day 1, Jamie 0

February is upon us and the warm air that my place was blessed with yesterday is gone. It did not get warm enough to melt all of the snow despite getting close to 60 degrees (I still have 30 inch piles of, now dirty, white stuff all over the yard). It is supposed to warm a little later on this week. Just as long as we don't get any more snow I will be happy. My snowthrower has operated more than it should have this year.

Now it is is time for *January in Review*-

January was actually a pretty good month, by my estimation. I wrote 2 flash pieces and two short stories. One of the flash pieces was accepted by Flashes in the Dark and will be on the website the 25th of this month. I had eight stories rejected and I have 17 stories out in sub land (the longest being to Another Sky Horror Antho at 388 days, the shortest being to Necrotic Tissue from last week) I have two stories, should they get rejected, will be retired. I managed to write a couple of thousand words in my book, Invasion.

I also managed to read or finish or start: Deep and Dark and Dangerous (YA book but a very good ghost story), The Poisoned Apple (Hello Cate!), and I am half-way through Just After Sunset by Mr. King. I have also been reading through Shroud #4 (Much different than I though it would be but I am enjoying it immensely).

I don't know what my plans for this month are yet, other than editing the hell out of my short stories and possibly finishing draft #1 of Invasion. I have a slew of books to start on if I want to (Money Shot, Return to Luna, Zombie Haiku-and that is just to start) and I will be turning another year older this month, to be celebrated by opening up a well chilled can or bottle of beer (hell, you could tap a Keg. I won't argue, just be sure to invite me over) and drinking with a medium rare steak and fried potato and onions.

Hope the weekend is going well and I look forward to seeing the progress we all make in the next month.

It is official

I am the world's worst at grammar and spelling. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever seen any of my work in any form before an editor gets hold of it. It is something that should have been a New Year's resolution but, since I don't believe in them, I will start now. I have two old Grammar books I am pulling out and am going to read and even do the exercises. (I keep misspelling grammar as grammer. You can see my dilemma.) My goal is to be better. I know that most editors do not want to put in as much work as my writing takes to get it up to speed. I will be spending the next couple of weeks, when I am not working on a novel, editing the hell out of everything that has not been accepted and I deem still worthy of anyone reading.

It is going to be a daunting task and not easy I will admit but I hope to make it out of my own slush a better writer.

God help me.