Sometimes you just get lucky. After the rejection I received from my short story submission to a Chicago literary magazine, I was a little slow to jump back in the mix. My rejection pile continues to grow and my confidence needs a boost once in a while.
I've been invited to join a team of writers on an anthology project. Each writer submits a story, which comprises the length of one chapter, and serves as editor to another story in the book. It is the chance of a lifetime and it's only the start. The follow-up book to the anthology is already in the works as well.
This is a very exciting opportunity and I will be happy to share more when it gets closer to the publication date. Time to put the novel aside and get to this project. I'll post more soon.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Time...
...keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin.' Been busy, though the book is killing me right now. I'm stuck on how to write a 'party' scene.
Imagine a ton of people in a room in various stages of sobriety all having several conversations at the same time. There are people bragging and arguing and flirting, all concentrated on themselves, and the dialogue needs to come across on the page as if the reader is right there. That's one of the challenges I've posed for myself, and it's not even a big scene. It's just something that needs to happen in the story and it's giving me a headache (as if I'm there with the start of a hangover as well).
This story is as unknown to me as the reader and each day of writing reveals more about the characters and the way they see the world. I love the discoveries I make each time I sit down to find out what's going on. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!
Imagine a ton of people in a room in various stages of sobriety all having several conversations at the same time. There are people bragging and arguing and flirting, all concentrated on themselves, and the dialogue needs to come across on the page as if the reader is right there. That's one of the challenges I've posed for myself, and it's not even a big scene. It's just something that needs to happen in the story and it's giving me a headache (as if I'm there with the start of a hangover as well).
This story is as unknown to me as the reader and each day of writing reveals more about the characters and the way they see the world. I love the discoveries I make each time I sit down to find out what's going on. I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Characters do the strangest things...
I sat down to write out a scene this morning and the characters started misbehaving all over the place. I couldn't control them. Every time I tried to force one back into his or her role, another started to act up. This went on for quite a while and then I let them just do whatever they wanted. They were happier for the freedom I gave them, but I have no idea what to do with the scene anymore. I doubt I will end up using this material, but I think it's important to let the characters dictate their own actions. The scenes and conflicts are more honest when the emotions and actions come from the characters and not the writer.
I just hope that they got all of that craziness out of their system. I have work to do. :)
I just hope that they got all of that craziness out of their system. I have work to do. :)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Summer, a time for...work.
Summer is here and the weather is getting away from typical Chicago chills. The birds are out, the bass are biting and golfing is in full swing. This is the perfect time for me to get crackin' at the novel.
It's sad to watch the leaves in the trees from my office window, but if I don't keep at this it will never be done. It's been said that if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. Writing for a living doesn't allow for much outside help, so if it's not done well it can only be the writer's fault. If it is done with talent, skill and determination, it's to the credit of the editor! Not fair, but still the most pleasure/pain possible in a career choice, as far as I'm concerned. :)
Haven't gotten my grades back for this semester yet, but I expect good things. I made so much progress in these last few months that it's going to be so hard to leave, diploma or not. I guess I'll still be around, still keep the same circles of writing friends and professors, but it seems miles away already.
Enough of my babbling! The birds are singing and the printer is humming. Sounds like a good day to write.
It's sad to watch the leaves in the trees from my office window, but if I don't keep at this it will never be done. It's been said that if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. Writing for a living doesn't allow for much outside help, so if it's not done well it can only be the writer's fault. If it is done with talent, skill and determination, it's to the credit of the editor! Not fair, but still the most pleasure/pain possible in a career choice, as far as I'm concerned. :)
Haven't gotten my grades back for this semester yet, but I expect good things. I made so much progress in these last few months that it's going to be so hard to leave, diploma or not. I guess I'll still be around, still keep the same circles of writing friends and professors, but it seems miles away already.
Enough of my babbling! The birds are singing and the printer is humming. Sounds like a good day to write.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
The gears keep grindin'...
Well, the next step of my technological evolution is complete. My website is (almost) completely finished. Even though it's currently 'published' to the web, I think I will always consider it a work-in-progress.
On my site there are buttons that link to samples of my fiction and other writings, teachers and writers I respect, and places to shop for books in Chicago. There is a brief bio and my writer's statement, as well.
I'm starting to feel like I have an understanding of this stuff now. It's kinda' nice!
Check it out: http://www.transcendwords.net Let me know what you think from the Contact page.
On my site there are buttons that link to samples of my fiction and other writings, teachers and writers I respect, and places to shop for books in Chicago. There is a brief bio and my writer's statement, as well.
I'm starting to feel like I have an understanding of this stuff now. It's kinda' nice!
Check it out: http://www.transcendwords.net Let me know what you think from the Contact page.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
BFA Bound!
Well, school is almost over. Another semester closer to the BFA in Fiction Writing degree from Columbia College Chicago. The writing community here is strong, almost a renaissance movement, and something I hope to keep lasting ties with after graduation.
One thing I've made sure to do while in college is 'network,' a terrible word, I know. The most important thing, however, is making sure not to lose touch. Burning bridges is artistic suicide, in my opinion.
Every person you meet that shares your interests is a potential link to a new agent or an open-minded publisher or, even, a small literary magazine that needs to fill some space in the next online-only issue.
One can never tell who their next contact will come from. Keep your friends close, but keep your contacts closer.
One thing I've made sure to do while in college is 'network,' a terrible word, I know. The most important thing, however, is making sure not to lose touch. Burning bridges is artistic suicide, in my opinion.
Every person you meet that shares your interests is a potential link to a new agent or an open-minded publisher or, even, a small literary magazine that needs to fill some space in the next online-only issue.
One can never tell who their next contact will come from. Keep your friends close, but keep your contacts closer.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Waiting is the hardest part...so don't wait.
I'm waiting on an acceptance (or rejection) from a Chicago literary magazine on a submission I sent out not long ago. I was lucky enough to meet and sit down with one of the editors and the time we spent discussing one of my stories was an absolute treat.
Not often enough, as writers, are we able to sit down with a professional editor for direct one-on-one consultation. It's extremely difficult to get published and I think writer's need to see their work through the eyes of the people they send it to for submissions. In the end, though, the story is the writer's and if editors want to make drastic changes or flat-out reject it for publication at their magazines then there are other places to shop it around. That is, however, only if the submission has some merit and a level of talent and hard work poured into it. Bad writing is seldom published by good magazines. That said, here I wait to find out if I have what it takes to make it onto the list of those that can call themselves published writers.
As the title of today's Blog states, I'm not just waiting. There is work behind-the-scenes which keeps me from losing my mind on the possibilities of being published or rejected. "A watched pot never boils." While the manuscripts I have 'out' are going under an editor's microscope, I am working on a new batch of stories to be submitted next week. I figure the best way to keep from thinking about it too much is to keep the ball rolling.
Perhaps by my next Blog I will have an answer to the question of whether or not I've had my first major publishing credit, perhaps not. In the mean time, though, I will be busy putting more of my work out there. I know practice and determination are two key elements to being published and the busier I am the better I feel about the work I do. Besides, working beats waiting.
Not often enough, as writers, are we able to sit down with a professional editor for direct one-on-one consultation. It's extremely difficult to get published and I think writer's need to see their work through the eyes of the people they send it to for submissions. In the end, though, the story is the writer's and if editors want to make drastic changes or flat-out reject it for publication at their magazines then there are other places to shop it around. That is, however, only if the submission has some merit and a level of talent and hard work poured into it. Bad writing is seldom published by good magazines. That said, here I wait to find out if I have what it takes to make it onto the list of those that can call themselves published writers.
As the title of today's Blog states, I'm not just waiting. There is work behind-the-scenes which keeps me from losing my mind on the possibilities of being published or rejected. "A watched pot never boils." While the manuscripts I have 'out' are going under an editor's microscope, I am working on a new batch of stories to be submitted next week. I figure the best way to keep from thinking about it too much is to keep the ball rolling.
Perhaps by my next Blog I will have an answer to the question of whether or not I've had my first major publishing credit, perhaps not. In the mean time, though, I will be busy putting more of my work out there. I know practice and determination are two key elements to being published and the busier I am the better I feel about the work I do. Besides, working beats waiting.
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