WHO'S BAD?

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I started this post as an e-mail to my RFW partner L'Aussie Denise.  I haven't really communicated with her in a couple weeks, and she's been very patient as I try to get my blogging life back on trac.  You know what THEY say about quitting college; you'll never really get back into it if you take a break?  Well, I think the same can be said of blogging - or any (healthy) habit you take a hiatus from.

Hell no, this isn't a "I'm quitting blogging" post.  Get yer fingers off that un-follow button . .

Slow blogging is not NO Blogging.  For me, that means I do more lurking from my google reader than posting or commenting.  (Posting comments through RSS feed just seems weird to me still.)

I'm just behind, and saying I may be there a couple weeks longer than expected.  That doesn't mean much to anyone but me - and a few authors I said I'd have the guest post/book review up by a certain date, and my RFW partner who expected a level of participation on the Appreciating the Zealotry post (thank you to a few of the A-Z hosts who participated in our event and allowed us to steal one of their gadget-logos) which I'm still catching up on.

During April I had some everyday sh-iza to focus on; and didn't get as much writing done as I thought I would during my blogger break.  I feel good about the real-life/family guff I attended to.  Made it easier when my father passed away, as I was already ensconced in family issues.  I know my dad's faith was at work there, not my belief in universal coincidence.  He had a way of looking at things that calmed my mind . .

Now you're wondering where the "Who's Bad" theme comes in?  Well, I'm bad; but not in a "gee I'm so sorry I've let everyone down" type feeling bad - though I do feel some guilt that things are getting postponed a week.  I'm feeling Bad A$$ right now.



Cuz, I got a short story completed.  That's right!  Who's been writing on a new concept?  Well, not totally new; but I took a project that started as a 200 word prompt, then grew to a flash, and eventually a short story that got two outright rejections and one (or two) no responses, and re-wrote it almost totally to a new concept with a few hours to spare before submitting to my ftf crit group.

Seriously; that's what I've been doing while not checking e-mails, or commenting, or putting together future-scheduled posts.  I've been writing.  Most of you are familiar with that concept, ya do it everyday; but for me, it could be months between full on writing sessions.

Who's bad?  I'm bad, baby; I not only started that rewrite, but I even put in a brand new last line that worked well into the new concept.  Turns out that story I was having trouble getting just the right length and selling was actually the end, not the entire plot.  See, what have I been telling ya'll about my writing: I always write the end, then have to figure out how all my characters got there.  Why didn't I see this months ago?

Well, maybe I was waiting for just the right prompt idea . .

My crit group had a lot of good feedback on how to make the new story flow better - and of course that thousand or so words that was left of the old writing pretty much didn't fit anymore.  Except the one section . .  Nevermind.  I spent four nights working on this story concept (Wednesday through Saturday) getting practically no sleep b/c I still had to go to the day job (and pull overtime on Saturday).  Sunday night, I took the evening off and was in bed by 10p.

I'm still reading through all the feedback; but it is the first full length story I finished THIS YEAR.  And over 6,000 words too! I'm pretty proud of myself for starting and finishing a concept - with a publisher in mind.  Oh, I'll share . .

On the right side bar of my blog you'll see the above icon, with a link to Second Avenue Second Hand anthology.  Here's a re-print of the main criteria:

The Good Stuff

Lemon Twist Press is looking for short stories from 2,500 to 10,000 words in length (storeies 5,000 and up are encouraged as we have limited slots at 2,500 - 5,000).

We are very interested in gathering stories from multiple genres for this project.

We would like to appeal to the greatest audience possible so here is what we're NOT looking for: Erotic, Erotica, Children's, *Poetry.

*We require a single piece of poetry to appear before the prologue of the book. A mysterious, slightly dark piece relating to our theme. Submit up to 5 poems for consideration.

The unifying theme for this project will be an old, run-down second hand shop which must appear briefly in every story. The name of the shop is: Second Avenue Second Hand.

Each story will center around an object - any object one might find in a second hand shop. The object you choose will drive your story i.e.: good luck, bad luck, or worse! The object may have been just purchased and then the story ensues, or, the object was bought long ago or perhaps passed down from a family member and now needs to be gotten rid of (this might be where the bad luck or worse comes in). So we can typically expect to see your main character in the shop either at the beginning of your story or at the end. The story is not about the shop or the shopkeper, it is about your character(s) and the item and what it has caused in their lives.

So; are you interested?  Here's the link again, in case  you're tempted.  There is a lot more to the criteria than what I've posted, so be sure to click on it and read the whole post.  You too could feel like You're Bad once you complete your 2500-10k word short story.  You've got until 8/31 to write, polish and submit your story.

Denise honey; I will visit your blog and send you an e-mail soon as I get these couple guest posts scheduled.  And, I'll be visiting everyone else too.  I so miss my bloggy friends and their updates.

Well, its late - again.  I'm going to bed.