A (Belated) Update: 2 Stories Published

I’ve been really slacking on this blog stuff. But with the holidays squarely behind us, I’m slowly getting back on track.

Which leads me to two important announcements: I’ve had two stories published since I last posted. The first is in the December 2011 issue of Fantastique Unfettered. It’s called “The Bachorum Principle,” and was born out of anger. I can honestly say it’s the most disturbing story I’ve ever written.

The second appears in the January 2012 issue of Bards and Sages Quarterly. I wrote “Little Brother” in 2010. I don’t remember what inspired it, other than wanting to write a horror story from a little boy’s point of view.

The new year is off to a decent start with two new short stories drafted and a third in progress. How are you progressing toward your goals so far this year?

A Very W1S1 New Year: A Review

I realize this is late for a year-in-review post, but this is really more for my own amusement and record than anything else. Self-indulgent? Maybe. But here it goes anyway.

As a part of 2011, I joined the W1S1 effort. That is, I strived to write and submit a story each week. Though I started in June, I kept on track for quite a bit. I eventually dropped back to the monthly version of the challenge because I was trying to finish the draft of my novel. Still, I kept up with that version as well.

So, what’s the verdict?

The six months I participated in W1S1 in 2011, I wrote more stories than I ever had before in any previous year. Here’s some stats:

Drafted: 16 brand new stories

Revised: 12 stories

Submitted these 12 stories along with 7 others from 2010

Rejections: 99

Acceptances: 4

Pending: 14 (including 5 subs made in 2012)

I don’t like making new year’s resolutions, but I feel confident this year is going to be a good one for writing. Though it’s somewhat out of my control, I’d like to make several more sales this year, including to pro markets. I’d like to be able to join the SFWA by the end of the year.

Nothing’s guaranteed, but I know I won’t get anywhere unless I write. And write. And write some more. And once I’m done, I need to submit. And submit. And submit some more.

Here’s to a prosperous 2012 everyone!

Short Story Nominated for Pushcart Prize

I received some rather exciting news yesterday. A short story of mine that was published in September, “Maribelle Remembers Ice,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Rhonda Parrish, editor of Niteblade, nominated my story along with five other pieces for consideration for the small press award.

This is pretty awesome. I’m honored that my story was included. Pardon me while I go perform a celebratory dance.

The Short Story-Novel Balance

The title of this post would imply that I’m able to balance both short story writing and novel writing at the same time. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case. New short story ideas are so bright and shiny, I must write them RIGHT NOW! Of course, that puts my novel on hold and prevents me from achieving my long-term goals. Cue the sound of my depression creeping back…

So, now that I’ve wrapped up a short story for an anthology, no more bright and new short stories for me. Nope. I’m done. If I get an idea, I’m jotting it down or making a brief outline but THAT’S IT until my novel draft is done.

You know I started this novel for NaNoWriMo last year? Yeah. Pretty sad. And I just now reached 64k. Granted, I had to backtrack and dump about 30k a few months ago to add a new POV character, but still. I can’t help but think, “I should be done with this by now,” every time I open up Scrivener to write.

Alas, it won’t get done unless I, to quote a certain captain, “Make it so.” That’s why I’m putting a moratorium on new short stories and even revisions of drafts I’ve already written. Apparently, I can’t be trusted with working on multiple creative projects.

I’d like to have the novel draft done by November 27. If I write 1,000 words a day from now until then, I should reach 100k. I might not need all of those words, but I’d like to allot for them anyway. Once the draft is completed, I’ll worry about revising the handful of short stories I have sitting on my hard drive as drafts at the moment, maybe pen a new short or two, then dive into structural and plot revisions. I hope I can clear plot problems up in one go and then tackle the details, but there’s no way of knowing until I start.

In other words, I’m getting serious, yo!

“Maribelle Remembers Ice” Published at Niteblade

I have a new short story up at Niteblade today. It’s called “Maribelle Remembers Ice.” Here’s an excerpt:

Maribelle’s eyes open. This time will be different, she thinks and looks to her right. Sea urchins stick out of the ice cave’s walls, purple spines swaying whenever the wind disturbs them and bumblebees freeze in the air, on the verge of buzzing, but never quite.

Read the rest on the site and be sure to check out the rest of the issue as well. There’s some great stuff in there! There’s even an illustration by Marge Simon for my story, which is so beyond awesome. “Maribelle” started as a free-writing exercise. I had an image of a woman in an ice hut, waking from a dream, surrounded by sea urchins in my head and the story tumbled out from there. It goes down a dark path, but I hope you enjoy it.