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[Apr. 23rd, 2008|04:59 pm] |
My new reading material:
The First 5 Pages by Noah Lukeman
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
The Elements of Style by Strunk & White (re-read)
The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante
Ron Carlson Writes a Story by Ron Carlson
Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain
And one more yet to arrive in the mail. XD |
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[Apr. 9th, 2008|07:03 pm] |
The perks of a flat tire, calling CAA, making an impromptu service appointment, and dropping $800 on a full set of new all season tires?
The hour you have to wait for a shuttle home, reading The Five Ages of the Universe by Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin and coming up with a new short story. And the hour spent waiting to be shuttled back to pick up the car? The perfect amount of time to write a first draft. |
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[Apr. 8th, 2008|05:25 pm] |
"The Saddest Way To Say I Love You" was just selected for the June 2008 edition of The Ranfurly Review. A literary journal based in Scotland.
I am now slowly moving about the globe. . . |
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| Writer's Block: Saturday Night |
[Apr. 6th, 2008|03:51 pm] |
They're invariably spent working - just like Sunday mornings, and Friday nights, and weekday afternoons etc. With the exception of a few hours away daily, my fingers are permanently fixed to my keyboard. |
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| Atwood; poem |
[Mar. 25th, 2008|10:13 pm] |
If I was a Princess, a Popular Tune
If I was a princess, with silver and gold,
And loved by a hero, I'd never grow old:
Oh, if a young hero came a-marrying me,
I'd always be beautiful, happy, and free!
Then sail, my fine lady, on the billowing wave -
The water below is as dark as the grave,
And maybe you'll sink in your little blue boat -
It's hope, and hope only, that keeps us afloat.
I fetch and I carry, I hear and obey,
It's Yes sir and No ma'am the whole bleeding day;
I smile and I nod with a tear in my eye,
I make the soft beds in which others do lie.
Oh gods and oh prophets, please alter my life,
And let a young hero take me for his wife!
But no hero comes to me, early or late -
Hard work is my destiny, death is my fate!
Then sail, my fine lady, on the billowing wave -
The water below is as dark as the grave,
And maybe you'll sink in your little blue boat -
It's hope, and hope only, that keeps us afloat.
(The Penelopiad, Atwood, 51-52)
I am in love with this poem & I don't even know why. Perhaps it's the subtle poke at the futility of existence, and codependent love. Just the same, sometimes it's hard not to feel so inferior. I love Atwood. |
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| 3rd publication goes live |
[Mar. 1st, 2008|03:48 pm] |
I'm live on the web again. . .
The Enchanted Womb
*Happy Sigh* |
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| dante, the cat; dante, the character |
[Feb. 21st, 2008|10:21 pm] |
The new face of Dante Doran. Well, Dante cat. Of Dante & Ruby fame. He's the one out front. The other one is Silly Foolish!
Can you believe I have a hard time remembering his name?! It's because in addition to his looks, he doesn't act at all neurotic, angry, or is he particularly imaginative. Ah well, I still love him. |
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[Jan. 30th, 2008|10:24 pm] |
"As the weather in the Northern Hemisphere hits the deep, dark cold of winter, it's not surprising that our thoughts turn somber. As we walk landscapes lined with skeletal trees, we think about endings; we grapple with our mortality.
This issue examines the subject of mortality from a variety of angles: from the perspective of those grieving loved ones, such as in "My Search for Life After Death" by Raghbir Dhillon, "A Healing Story" by Mark Joseph Kiewlak or the poem "All That Remains" by Jeannine Pitas. Taken to a humorous degree, Shaylen Maxwell explores the effects of fearing death too much, in "The Cat, Ebola and a Shoebox Coffin."
In this issue, as well, are life-affirming stories about what it means to be human, to live this mortal life, from appreciating grandchildren, as in Wayne Scheer's "One Day Down, Three to Go" or finding redemption through a pet, in Amy Barone's poem, "Felid Score."
May those who are grieving find solace and comfort in this issue, and may all others discover insights into what it means to live on this mortal coil."
Alyce Wilson, Wild Violet editor
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Ahha! That made me laugh. XD
Explores the effects of fearing death too much. Story of my life. |
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[Jan. 28th, 2008|06:50 am] |
No matter how trying, I never feel quite as at home as when I'm in front of the monitor, the music blaring in my headphones and the keys under my fingertips, lost in a world all my own. It's true peace. My authentic self.
Part 1 of Dante, and the rest of what never happened is through. 6 more to go. |
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[Jan. 24th, 2008|10:28 pm] |
In December of 2006, I finished Dante, and the rest of what never happened. With a new puppy as of January 2007, and a move as of mid February, I didn't get into editing until the 1st of March. I probably edited the novel for a total of two months (at most) before writing Turtle Bones. At the time, the editing was so exhausting, and I had an estimate it would probably take 3-4 months to edit. By the third part of the novel, I was stuck, sure that I couldn't rework the section because I didn't know how.
I chose to change my focus. Write another novel. Sure I couldn't solve the problems I'd run into. Only to run into the very same problems with TB, except being forced this time to solve them. With TB out of sight, I find myself editing approx 70 pages a day. It's a huge feat! And it's quite easy, I must say. Primarily because I was so enamored by the sentences I couldn't bear to cut anything out. And now all I seem to do is cut. Distance is my friend! And I recognize now that just because it's funny, clever, or witty, if it doesn't add to the story, then it has to go.
It's allowed me to be extremely clear & concise and I like the tone of the manuscript thus far. I do not foresee the same long haul as far as editing goes. It's like I've finally got the perfect degree of distance from the piece. And learned to solve a lot of the problems I developed in the manuscript that later crept into TB. Like god-awful repetitions when I was writing with the intent of expressing an idea, rather than a scene. I have a horrible habit of fearing I won't stress the point enough so I over-stress it. TB was an ideas novel so it seemed like a good 2/3 of the novel was riddled with repetition.
I forced myself to endure intolerable suffering while editing TB, because I wasn't about to abandon yet another novel only to write a third and repeat the error yet again. I learned to fix it. And it hurt. But today I am ecstatic I suffered because it was something I obviously had to learn and it's made the editing easier.
I hope this means progress! LOL. |
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[Jan. 18th, 2008|12:30 am] |
My query list dropped from 14 to 12 today. Whine. It's expected to turn off a few people rather instantly. And I have a large list. 12, and can still extend it by another 15-20. And I expect rejections. Just the same seeing them as I open my e-mail was sad.
But on the plus, I had another story accepted with New Works Review . They accepted my prose sketch "The Playground of Imagination." It was a total shocker! So that's 3 short stories I've published.
The worst part of agency rejections is that they haven't even got a chapter to read to reject on. Just the query. Read my novel! Please! Read it and then tell me to write something new. Haha. XD |
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[Dec. 31st, 2007|02:18 am] |
My first publication went live!
Yeah, it's now the second, but it was actually the first. Sad because my bio reads 3 wabbits. And I feel like I've had four for months now. And I have. At any rate, I am currently giving it a read over but I'm in one of those moods where I just loathe my writing. These days are more rare but still excruciating. I'm having a hard time even looking at it. . .
But here it is anyhow:
The Cat, Ebola, and a Shoebox Coffin
Author's Bio!
I also sent off five submissions to a variety of lit magazines thanks to www.duotrope.com. What a blessing that site it. We'll see!
Happy New Year's Eve! |
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[Dec. 14th, 2007|03:09 am] |
I found this last night in my search for google images. So funny. Thank goodness it's not all true.
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[Oct. 10th, 2007|12:17 am] |
** This journal is mostly Friends Only **
(banner made by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) lecollage)
This journal is dedicated to my writing, exclusively. I've been an aspiring writer since third grade, an aspiring novelist since I was eleven, and a full time writer since September of 2006. In this time I've been working without relent on several large projects and a trillion little ones.
This journal is 'friends only' mainly for the sake of keeping my excerpts open for a select few. If you wish to be added, just comment how you found my journal & I'll be sure to add you promptly.
My publication credits include:
Humour excerpt "The Cat, Ebola, and a Shoebox Coffin" @ Wild Violet.
Fantasy short story "The Lunar Balloon" @ Reflections Edge.
Literary excerpt "The Enchanted Womb" @ The Oracular Review
Prose sketch "Playground of the Imagination" @ New Works Review.
Humour short story "The New Nicholas Rigby" @ Literal Translations.
Literary short story "The Saddest Way to Say I Love You" @ The Ranfurly Review. |
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