4 posts tagged “writing fiction”

So today I mailed off my three entries to that writing contest.  It's the same one I entered last year and got to "finalist" status.

I'm not totally sure this year's offerings are actually any better, although overall I think I have made progress in my writing over the past year. 

Well, we'll see.

Two of my entries wanted to be longer stories and I cut them forcibly to get to the 3500-word limit.  So if I cut too much, then they won't make sense.  And I didn't have time to get the cut versions thoroughly critted by my crit buddies.  So, hm, I don't know. 

The other was a piece of flash fiction of only 700 words.  I'm never sure if my flash-fic is densely-packed enough.  Sometimes it strikes me as just too glib or simplistic.  So I dunno. 

Welp, just have to wait and see.

Had an interview today, which was encouraging. 

Jeez, friends are great. 

Also, trying to get a piece whipped into shape for this year's version of that contest I entered last year & managed to final in.  I had a piece that I thought fit well with this year's theme, but when I brushed up the draft it turned out to be 7800 words in length.  Whereas the contest has a word-count limit of 3500 words. 

Crikey. 

Can I really cut this concept down by more than half, and still say what I meant to say? 

Well, I'm giving it a shot. 

That's the beauty of computers, y'know; I still have the previous version on file, if I don't like the results after the cuts. 

For last year's theme, I came up with 3 all-new concepts and liked them all, managed to write up 2 of them within the word-count limit, and the other one grew so far beyond it that I knew it wasn't meant to be.  But this year no new pieces on the theme are popping into my head, so I feel like, if I'm going to hit it at all, I need to cut this one piece down 'cause I've got nothing else right now. 

Heh, well, getting back to it.

Cheers.

But I'm not giving up on the writing. 

Tomorrow I'm shipping out a piece that hasn't been tried with a pub since last summer -- and that (IMHO) is much improved since then. 

So at this point I have 3 pieces out at various pubs, and 2 more up on my crit-group wiki.  Hopefully my fellow wikians will give me some constructive crit there before I leave for vacation.  I have pubs in mind for both of those two after the wikians have at them. 

Tomorrow my in-laws are taking the kids, and I'm going to spend most of the day applying for jobs. 

But, I'll also take the kid-free opportunity to drop that story in the mail -- although they love the Post Office.  We have a nice man there who gives out stickers and lollipops to urchins.  But, I will find it easier to wait in line without them!

Oh, PS -- my brother's wife had the baby this morning!  Yay!  -- Precious Princess's FIRST GIRL COUSIN!!  (Yes, she did turn out to be a girl.)  Too bad they live in Tennessee and we won't get to see much of them.  But, I also have to get my baby-gift in the mail tomorrow as well. 

Now all 3 of us are parents, and my parents have 5 grandkids.  Whew!  This time last year, my 3 kids were the only ones. 

It's very weird to be this old.  I don't feel as old as I am.

Sent off two stories to a contest today.  There wasn't a limit on the number of stories an individual author could submit, and I couldn't decide which of two was the best, so I just sent them both.  What the hey.  Let them decide which one is the best.

Still haven't heard about the other two stories, the ones I submitted to pubs at the end of Feb.  Welp, still hoping. 

I'm actually feeling pretty good about my writing these days.  I have so many dang short stories and novellas in the works that I never get enough time to work on them as I'd like.  I feel that my skills are close to being ready to tackle a longer project, like maybe a real novel...

I have three more short pieces that I want to do something with -- well, four -- and then when I've submitted those to their various intended markets, then I plan to get started on a real novel.

Wheeeee!