NaNoWriMo 2013 - day 16 update

Word count: 28,003

It's been a busy month, but I've surprised myself with how well I'm managing to keep up with the word count. Hopefully I'll reach the 50,000 goal before I have to leave to visit the in-laws for the American Thanksgiving.

The story is a lot of fun. THE UNDERDOGS is a NA urban fantasy. Geeks with magic. And one of them has a goat. Well, the goat was once a cat, but his owner's magic went awry and changed him into a goat.

There's a lot of talking and no romance. It feels weird to me on that level. Yet I did want this to be a buddy story. Except it's focusing on the two friends I didn't expect it would. But it works.

I have my local writers critique group today. So hopefully I'll get a chance to write tonight. I want to make 30,000 before the day is out.

For all those participating in NaNoWriMo, keep writing!

YOU CAN DO IT!

Squish the big ideas

It's been a productive week despite everything that has happened. I researched queries and tweaked one of mine for my paranormal romance trilogy. The query had gotten some attention and I thought I couldn't fix it up any more. I surprised myself that I managed to do so. I sent it out to an agent earlier this week. I hope it looks even more professional and, more importantly, nabs the attention of the agent.

I submitted a horror story to an anthology yesterday. An old one about a horrific fever that I edited for the anthology.

I've also been working on my new dark fantasy short story. I hoped to finish it this week, but it's turning out bigger than I planned. My muse has big ideas. She creates great worlds. Yet sometimes they're too big. It's up to me to rein her in and squish her big ideas into a smaller space. It's tough work for me, but it's also good for me. I want to write novels, but short stories are an excellent way to learn the craft of writing.

My son's hands are healing well. It's driving us both bonkers to be stuck in the house and unable to do everything we usually do, but we're surviving. We're going to get together with friends this weekend to do something even if it's just playing at a park. It will be a quiet long weekend, but that's fine. Five weeks until Gen Con.

Happy Canada Day! And Happy Fourth of July!

I'll just keep trying

Two more rejections. One short story and one manuscript. The short story is not good enough for a SFWA certified publication. I will write another story. It will be a better story. I will craft it with all my skill and polish it until it shines. I have a great idea for a dark fantasy story. I only need to think of a twist for the ending. Something no one expects.

As for the manuscript, it has gotten some love, but it hasn't managed to find a home. It's mainstream paranormal romance (on the erotic side). I received a simple form rejection letter this time. I think I will put the manuscript aside for the time being and concentrate on my newest WIP. This new one was written for a particular publisher. I believe it has great potential. It really needs to be polished, though. And a title. I still haven't manged to think of a title.

I did some editing for my WIP yesterday. I chuckled as I read it. It's a fun story. Nothing heavy or too dark. A wonderful paranormal romantica getaway for readers.

One of those Mondays

I knew it wasn't going to be a great day today when my son started to get stuffed up on the weekend. He's thrown up twice today and is fighting taking a nap. It's nearly dinnertime. Please, take a nap! How people with children and a full-time job manage to find time to write amazes me. That's dedication.

I received a short story rejection this morning. I was short-listed, but I got the basic email rejection. I've gotten a lot of rejections over the years, but it's a little harder to take the ones when you've been short-listed first. I really like this little story, too, because it's my only hard boiled detective story true to the noir style. I hope to find a home for it some time soon.

This coming Saturday, I'm attending my first meeting of the South Central Indiana Fiction Interface (S.C.I.F.I.). I'm excited I was invited to join. The two writers I've met through email so far are highly experienced. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the group. I submitted a short story to be critiqued during the meeting. There are only two other stories being critiqued. That makes me nervous. I'm a shy person and I have social anxiety. I'm terrified of speaking in front of groups. Yet I know it's important to do these things if I want to become a professional writer. I have done read and critiques at conventions before. I've gotten faint, blushed a deep red, almost lost my voice, and trembled so that my hands were shaking as I held the paper. I don't know how to chase away the anxiety. I just have to do it. It isn't the end of the world no matter how much it might feel like it. Are there any tricks that you use to help when you're speaking in front of a group? I welcome any tips and advice.