Goals for the week

I don't know if this will do any good, but I am setting goals for the week with my writing. I will probably fail miserably but at least I can fail in front of all of you. Here we go-

1. I will finish my triangulation story. As polished as I can get it and submit it. It will not be a horror story, but many of my stories aren't. I can live with that.

2. I will re-write the first third of a novella that I wrote last spring. This should amount to the first 40-50 pages or so. It should be interesting and I hope to turn it into more of a ghost story than a suspense thriller. I think it will add to the suspense when I am done.

3. read, read, read. I am far behind on my reading for the month and I really would like to get caught up. I hope that my boy and his new fascination with play-doh will not get in the way of this goal.

I think that should do it. I don't need to set myself up for blatant disappointment. I hope everyone had a productive weekend, even if it wasn't writing. It is easy this time of the year to get lost in everything else that is going on as we are only a little over 2 weeks away from 2010. Have a nice day.

Friday (TGIF)

We are slowly getting back to normal after our blizzard on Wednesday. They are at least having school today, although the buses will only run where they can because they haven't got all the gravel roads plowed out yet.

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of the day editing. Several hours worth. I think it was worth it. It had a lot of problems and i think I fixed most of them. I also managed to submit said story and now I can wait, and wait, and wait. . .
maybe I work on something else to kill the time.

I love being a writer. how is your week going?

WIP Wednesday

It is a blizzard here. I have large drifts of snow behind my garage doors that are probably taller than my truck at this point. The wind is blowing like crazy and occasionally I lose sight of my mailbox which is only about 20 yards from the house (probably closer). Not a single car has traveled the road this morning, mostly because the plows haven't been by yet. As I am writing this my wife's job called and said they are closing for the day. I think the only thing open around here are the grocery stores and no one can get to them.

I saw yesterday that the Triangulation Antho series is open for business again. I subbed to them last year and didn't make it in, so I thought I would try again this year. The theme is End of the Rainbow. Interesting, or so I thought. I am giving it a whirl. Here is my opening-

It was the last thing I received from my grandma. A prism. At least that was what she called it. It always sat in her kitchen window, which oddly enough, faced the north and never caught the sun.
I could never get it to work, not even on the most brilliantly sunny days. My father speculated it was cut wrong and couldn't refract the light properly. Still I kept it, in my kitchen like she had, even though in my tiny apartment the kitchen had no windows.

Winter Wonderland (or the white apocalypse)

It is the second snow of the season, the first was exceptionally early in October. The tenth to be accurate. This snow actually stuck for more than a couple of hours. They are calling on another 6-10 inches tomorrow and high winds to go with it. It could turn into a full fledged blizzard. I hope not, but it could.

I honor to commemorate this first snow of the season I am getting my truck worked on and making sure my snowthrower runs. I think I need to change the oil and put a new sparkplug in it. I should also get new gas for it. In the meantime, I might try to get some edits and re-writing done, although it isn't looking good for such frivolity. Here is a picture out of my backyard for your viewing pleasure.

Another religious holiday in Iowa

Today starts one of the most important religious holidays to many Iowans. Shotgun deer season (we don't allow hunting deer with rifles in this state) opens day and even though the sun is not yet up it is light enough to see the hunters driving by with their blaze orange vests and caps on. It is tamer than it used to be around here. My first year in this house it was almost scary. We had no neighbors that we could see (we have 2 now, the nearest is 1/4 mile away) and I watched in horror as some hunters, known by the locals as the cowboys, drive a herd of deer from their trucks, half of them loaded in the back. They almost caused an accident in front of our house by pushing the deer into the path of an oncoming car. I know at least two of the deer didn't make it out of the field next to my house, at least not on their own.

I am a more civil hunter. I prefer to wait or take a nice walk through the trees, by myself. I will give credit that the way they hunted they had a much better chance of getting something (like being shot) but I prefer my way to theirs. It seems more sporting.

In writing news- I managed to finish one story I have been working on since October, now I need to sit back and edit it. I also received a nice form rejection from one of the mags on Cate's list, Shock Totem last night. I will look over that story and figure out where it shall go. I might hold off on sending it out until the beginning of the year when Necrotic Tissue and Shroud re-open for submissions. I like the story too much to give it to the first market I come across. I don't know if that makes me a snob, but I don't care.

Have a good weekend.

Friday post

Don't you love the title of this post. So original. So thought provoking.

Really, I have been up to amazingly little this week. I have gotten some words down, but not very many. I have worked on reading some friends stories, but I haven't made it through them (and not because I don't like them. Quite the contrary, they are actually some of the best work I have read from these people.). I have tried to work on re-writes of my own stories and haven't made it past the first chapter.

Some weeks are like that. I will get over it. Maybe today will be more productive. How is your week going?

December, in like a lamb

I know, March is the month that comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb but I think that December is where the Lamb exits stage right. mostly because it is supposed to be almost 60 degrees today and tomorrow it isn't going to get above freezing. Lucky us.

I was wrong about my post yesterday. I said I probably wouldn't get any more rejections in my inbox before the night was through. I was wrong. I got a lovely personalized rejection from an agent. Apparently she really liked what I was trying to sell, but it isn't what they are buying right now as they are narrowing their focus as an agency. At least it was encouraging. It was at least the most encouraging of all of my agent rejections so far this year.

I don't know how much writing is going to get done today. My daughter is home sick from school (the stomach-like flu strikes the Eyberg household again) and both children are being exceptionally demanding this morning. I will see where this afternoon goes. I would like to work on my NaNo story and get it closer to done. I still think it has some teeth.

Now, as we go into the last month of the year, I must get going myself. Later.