08 December 2012

Long time, no blog.  Life with a little one is something else.  LOL.  Am loving it.  Made Nano a little . . . interesting, though.  Instead of 50k, I hit 13.  Better than nothing, so I'll take it.  The story is still going.  In fact, it's quite complex for a seat of the pants novel it started out to be.

I sent out another submission tonight.  Poems.  Now, it is a waiting game.  Best time to get some more projects done.  For the new year, I've come up with 5:

"Mitch" -- my 100k novel I've not yet finished.
"Deconstructed" -- the Nano not yet whole, but doing a damn fine job of showing its depth.
"SNI: Thorndale" -- a paranormal drama (book 4 out of 10+).
"Rage" -- zombie book.  Why not, they're fun!
"Risque Gamble" -- the romance I was dared to write by a high school friend (let's stick to traditional, because, frankly, I suck at smut).

On top of those, deadline of 300 days, starting twenty days ago-ish, I've pulled out a short story to revise and flesh out the way I wanted it, before trying to write to the confines of a publisher who had already filled their allotment.  So, goody!  I get to put it right and the way I should have in the first place.  The error in writing it is mine -- I should have written for me first and foremost before submitting.

“Better to write for the self and have no public than to write for the public and have no self.”

 ~ Cyril Connolly

(Critic & Editor 1903-1974)

This is a lesson, sadly, I still find myself learning as time goes on.  Not often, mind you, but even infrequently is enough to know I've forgotten to remember this.  In everything I've written for the sheer joy of creating a written work, I've written solely for myself.  And, when people did come across those, the acclaim was there (base of the matter in writing: having readers appreciate the written words).

Writing for submission calls or to fit within word counts, that is where I keep falling short in 'getting it right.'  Again, that is a clue to see above advice.  Write for yourself.  Write the story your characters have to share.  Ignore the limits, the critics (that inner one's a bitch), and the helpful friends.  In short, F--- the rest and write what your characters know.  All the rest is details -- and those are for the editing.

So, here I sit, sneaking what time I can while the baby sleeps to post a lesson (re)learned and start placing a story back to the tale it was meant to share.  This is a good life -- the life of a writer.

PS: Practice more on writing cover letters, synopsis, and queries.  The business end of the job is by far the most tedious.