Browsing
Category: Author Notes
-
Rejection is Step One
I have received my first rejection letter. It was the flashfic I posted a couple weeks ago: The Mandolin. Shouldn’t I be disappointed? Instead, I’m elated. After all the authors I’ve talked with and the workshops I’ve attended, a rejection is the start to your career. I’m at the very beginning of this adventure and…
-
DragonCon Shenanigans
We have returned to our hotel room after an epic day at DragonCon. I have enjoyed the time with my brother and sister and mother and mother-in-law and brother’s friend and, last, but not least, my angel of a husband. We have eaten fine food (and crappy food). The crab cakes from the Ritz Carlton…
-
Flaws will be morphed to strengths with more key tapping
Wow! What a day! First day of the Jody Lynn Nye workshop complete. I know I’m at one of the biggest parties of the year, DragonCon. I am surrounded by geeks of every shade and creed. I am in nerd nirvana. And I’m sitting in class all day getting edumicated. Yes, I said edumicated. It’s…
-
The Mandolin
I am initiating short story Monday. I say I want to write for a living, but I don’t sit in front of this keyboard for a set number of hours and make it happen. Number of hours has proven difficult. Hence, I am changing it to goals instead. Mondays are short story day. I have…
-
I don’t think I want to be an editor
This is hard work! I have completed the fifth sample out of the eight I have to read and critique for the Writer’s Workshop at DragonCon next week. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. The first one I read was gobbity goop garbage. It tried to combine genres that do not fit together: zombies, magic,…
-
Friends Working Towards Being Writers
I cannot stop picking at my legs. I am re-staining my kitchen table a dark walnut to match the modern feel of the house better than the light oak color that screams 80’s. I’m usually not neat about such projects, but decided I needed to look more professional. So, I’ve been wearing gloves to keep…
-
Houston Museum of Natural Science
I am having a glorious week! The week full of relaxation has turned into an incredibly productive time. I LOVE happy little surprises. This kind of discipline brought on by a steady schedule and a destination to work instead of trying to eek out a few hours here and there with no guidance has been…
-
How do you know when the story’s done?
I have combed through “Larry and his Ghost” making numerous editorial changes, debating each word and sentence structure. Nancy Katz pulled time aside to read through it as well, correcting some things I missed. Thank you, Nancy! I still don’t think it’s perfect. I’m not even sure the story is exactly what I intended to…
-
Woot! First Short Story complete!
I have officially completed my first short story including the editing process which I found painful to say the least. The completed story used 8105 words which I needed to cut down to 7000. I successfully reached 6999. Yes! I have sent it to Nancy Katz to see what she thinks. I’m going to print…
-
Cafe Productivity
What is it about writing in a cafe that produces more words on paper for me than sitting quietly at home? I studied my way through college at Panera. (Yes, I was a bit of a late attender having graduated in 2010, thirteen years later than I should have if my life was linear.) I…