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Batspan

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Izz -- Thanks for the encouragement. I stole a couple hours today and revised the new story.

Melinda -- Good job getting a new one underway.

I prefer hours of uninterrupted time for writing and that's not available right now, so I need to be efficient with what time I can grab.
 

Izz

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Looks like everyone is working hard in life and writing. I did not complete a story this week, but I got a good start on one. I hope everyone has a smooth week.
:hooray: Yay for starts!

Izz -- Thanks for the encouragement. I stole a couple hours today and revised the new story.
Well done, Batspan! :)

I've been revising/reworking a couple unfinished stories from last year, stories which i thought were going to run to novelette length, but which i now think i can keep in short story territory.

In the meantime, novel momentum has nearly stopped. I'm not at an impasse, i just need to discover a bit more of the plot and character motivations if i want to continue without having to then go back and delete a whole lot of stuff (my corkboard is getting filled with pieces of paper, which does make me happy :D).

Also, i pulled out the printed copy of the badgerpunk first draft and hope to start looking at that this week. I'm still feeling like i need to rewrite from first to third, but at least i can go through and make that job a little easier by cutting the unnecessary stuff.
 

Batspan

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Izz -- Sounds like you're on a roll! Finding the right length for something can be a challenge.

Hooray on the novel-in-progress. You might have fun with Scrivener. (It has a free trial). It made revising the first draft of my novella much easier. And it has a corkboard. I like being able to drag and drop when I'm playing with sequence -- I sometimes draft scenes in random order. It also does all the formatting and can do mobi files for eBooks.

I'm hoping to finish the story this week.
 

Izz

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Hooray on the novel-in-progress. You might have fun with Scrivener. (It has a free trial). It made revising the first draft of my novella much easier. And it has a corkboard. I like being able to drag and drop when I'm playing with sequence -- I sometimes draft scenes in random order. It also does all the formatting and can do mobi files for eBooks.
I haven't tried Scrivener, though it's been recommended to me by several peeps. I should give it a try sometime. Plus i've never really thought of it for editing, only for organizing. Thanks! :)
 

Batspan

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You're welcome. Sounds like what you're doing is working fine for you. I just get a kick out of trying new things. And I have this theory that if I become more efficient, I can continue this fiction habit without going broke.

Stole more time to work on the new story.
 

Batspan

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Yay, Izz! You are back.

Thanks for the encouragement, Izz and Melissa. Rejections have been hitting me harder lately.

I stole Halloween for fiction. Finished the new story. It ran over 5k. Revised a much shorter psychological horror tale. Got them both submitted.

I'm back up to six out at pro markets.

It was gratifying to finish the new story, "Decipher This or 13 Days Aboard The Mae West." It's a near-future seafaring treasure quest with archaeological underpinnings, cartography, breeches between the living and the dead, cannons, a giant stingray and the relationship between a codebreaker and a veteran.

Now if only I can make more money for having so much fun.
 
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Izz

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Yay, Izz! You are back.
i'm still feeling buzzy this morning :D No idea if the story's any good or not, but: finishing :D

Thanks for the encouragement, Izz and Melissa. Rejections have been hitting me harder lately.
:Hug2:

I stole Halloween for fiction. Finished the new story. It ran over 5k. Revised a much shorter psychological horror tale. Got them both submitted.

I'm back up to six out at pro markets.
Nice!

It was gratifying to finish the new story, "Decipher This or 13 Days Aboard The May West." It's a near-future seafaring treasure quest with archaeological underpinnings, cartography, breeches between the living and the dead, cannons, a giant stingray and the relationship between a codebreaker and a veteran.

Now if only I can make more money for having so much fun.
That sounds like a pretty awesome story, Batspan!
 

Melinda Moore

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Glad you finished a story, Izz! And I'm glad Halloween was writing time for you Batspan. My writing time dwindled to nothing this week it seemed. I'm looking forward to getting a lot more done next week.
 

Batspan

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Thanks for all the encouragement. Izz, that buzzy feeling is a good sign. Great feeling to finish a new story after time away. You're over the hump.

Melinda, good plan. I'm finding the more I keep my focus on productivity, the more I get done. I hope your week goes well.

Got November off to a good start with a new flash written and submitted. This morning I got up early and made it 644 words into a new story. This may be the solution. I can't afford to keep stealing time from work that pays the bills.

I've decided to increase my output of new fiction. I'm going to aim a few things at semi-pro markets this month for calls that appeal to me. The rough part of the top-down submission system is that the optimism that fueled the project is getting buried in rejections.

I'm at six pro subs out and one semi-pro, and two of them are recent stories. Using the do-it-anyway approach to keep at it.
 
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Aislinn

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The rough part of the top-down submission system is that the optimism that fueled the project is getting buried in rejections.

Ah, this is so familiar. I'm feeling the rejections at the moment too. Well, not all of them, but the ones where I feel like I had a good chance or I waited a particularly long time, or for some other reason felt like I 'deserved' a break, lol. (That's the toddler in me.)

It's great if you can keep churning out the stories though, Batspan. My problem is, all these rejections are seeping into my thinking, so that my latest ideas never seem 'good enough'. Maybe they really aren't any good, but I think it might be more productive for me to write all the stories and let the market decide. Particularly when the alternative seems to be not writing at all.

Izz, congrats on finishing a story!

Batspan, your new story sounds fab!

Melinda, hope you have a good week :)
 

Izz

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Got November off to a good start with a new flash written and submitted.
Nice!

This morning I got up early and made it 644 words into a new story. This may be the solution. I can't afford to keep stealing time from work that pays the bills.
Also nice! Let me know how getting up early works out for you. I've been thinking about doing the same myself, but it's difficult because, well, dark and bed!

I've decided to increase my output of new fiction. I'm going to aim a few things at semi-pro markets this month for calls that appeal to me. The rough part of the top-down submission system is that the optimism that fueled the project is getting buried in rejections.

I'm at six pro subs out and one semi-pro, and two of them are recent stories. Using the do-it-anyway approach to keep at it.
Yeah, i think you have to have a steady output of new stories to keep the rejection weariness at bay. I like having at least 10 stories out at any time, so i've got a bit of work to do :D

Ah, this is so familiar. I'm feeling the rejections at the moment too. Well, not all of them, but the ones where I feel like I had a good chance or I waited a particularly long time, or for some other reason felt like I 'deserved' a break, lol. (That's the toddler in me.)
:Hug2:

It's great if you can keep churning out the stories though, Batspan. My problem is, all these rejections are seeping into my thinking, so that my latest ideas never seem 'good enough'. Maybe they really aren't any good, but I think it might be more productive for me to write all the stories and let the market decide. Particularly when the alternative seems to be not writing at all.
Yeah, write what you love and let the markets decide. Don't let the self-doubt seeds grow into vines and choke your writing.

Izz, congrats on finishing a story!
Thanks! :)
 
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Yeah, write what you love and let the markets decide. Don't let the self-doubt seeds grow into vines and choke your writing.

This!

When I've had a series of rejections, especially if they're for stories I really liked or had hopes for, I feel that self-doubt trying to take up its perch on my shoulder. But it is a familiar feeling now, and one I try to ignore. (It does help to know I have a handful of publications, too.)

What helps me, and I don't presume it will be the same for others, is remembering why I write. I love creating stories and vignettes, and when I don't write I begin to get depressed. For me, the act of creativity helps keep me sane in a world that is otherwise full of jobs for other people, and as worthwhile as those things are, it's not enough. So for me, its good to write things sometimes that I think will never be published, just for the sake of writing and exploring. That kind of thing reassures me and helps me get my energy back.
 

Aislinn

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Thanks, Izz and Fihr :)

Last night I sat down and listed the stories I've written this year with word counts and added them all up - and discovered it has been a good writing year, really. Much better to focus on that than my publication record at this point. I also noticed I took a complete month off in January without the world coming to an end, so maybe right now I need to recharge a little (without panicking) before the words flow again.
 

Izz

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I also noticed I took a complete month off in January without the world coming to an end, so maybe right now I need to recharge a little (without panicking) before the words flow again.
Sometimes a rest is exactly what's needed :)
 

Melinda Moore

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I also noticed I took a complete month off in January without the world coming to an end, so maybe right now I need to recharge a little (without panicking) before the words flow again.

I took the summer off from submitting short stories and focussed on my novels. I found I actually missed the short story turn around after a couple of months, so I know the time off was successful :)
 

Izz

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Had an 'oooh' moment tonight while watching The Lone Ranger. Note: this had nothing to do with movie--just providing some setting :D

Realized one of the stories i'm working on is actually two stories. So i took a scene and pasted it into a new document, where it shall sit until i come up with the rest of the story for it.

Also, i'm writing a whole series of short stories involving the same character. It's fun (i have tried this before, but only halfheartedly).
 

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Congrats, Izz! Sometimes I love when a story is two, others it just bugs me. Either way, it's progress in the realization!

I got all sickly like and tired, so haven't been writing much. And during nano, no less!
 

Melinda Moore

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Sounds like your writing is going well, Izz!

Mine was good at the end of the week. I finished a novelette.
 

Izz

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Congrats, Izz! Sometimes I love when a story is two, others it just bugs me. Either way, it's progress in the realization!
Yep, definitely progress. In this case i'm happy because i felt like i was trying to tunnel through hard rock with a trowel.

I got all sickly like and tired, so haven't been writing much. And during nano, no less!
Hopefully you'll be back on track this week! :e2cheer:

Sounds like your writing is going well, Izz!

Mine was good at the end of the week. I finished a novelette.
:hooray: Well done, Melinda! *does the dance of story finished happiness*


I had a bit of a d'oh moment this morning. Just realized (unless i only typed the title of the story wrong) that i submitted the wrong story to Analog. Sent a sheepish email asking if i can withdraw the story in the queue so i can resubmit the right one. :eek:
 

Aislinn

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I had a bit of a d'oh moment this morning. Just realized (unless i only typed the title of the story wrong) that i submitted the wrong story to Analog. Sent a sheepish email asking if i can withdraw the story in the queue so i can resubmit the right one. :eek:

Oops! Good that you realised though :)

It's nice to hear of everyone making progress. Not so much for me, but I do have a new idea for a larger project - and a new notebook!

Does anyone have experience with Waylines? I had a second round bump about 4 weeks ago, and it did say to query if I hadn't heard after 3 weeks, but I feel that if I query I might be inviting the rejection... It's clear I still haven't quite mastered the art of forgetting about my stories out on submission.