Yikes! Nearly two weeks since I posted here! The truth is, not much has been happening. Certainly nothing worth blogging about. I have written zero words this month. Well, aside from the notes for my Nano project. I've been mapping it out with a very rough outline. I continue to think that story over in my head each day, still not convinced to take the plunge and give Nano a shot this year. I've also been busy on several other non-writing projects, so I figured if I am going to do Nano, this month would be a good time to get to all the things that have been piling up, cuz I won't have a lot of time in November.
I've been reading everyone's blogs, but just have been too tired to comment. I haven't even bothered to trying to get caught up on Twitter. I get home each day and it announces that I have 200+ new tweets to read. That's when I leave the room and go take a nap.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
WIP Wednesday
My WIP this week is a story called The Anubis Appropriation. The title is recycled and has a strange history to it. It started off as an unnamed Tweet story for thaumatrope. They rejected it, so I decided to expand it beyond 140 characters to a full blown 100 words for the now defunct Micro 100. At this point I came up with the title, to help describe the story of two buffoonish con men/adventurers who raise a mummy from the dead in hopes of tricking it into revealing the hiding place of its treasure. It got rejected again. I think I posted a different 100 word version on this blog as part of that 100 days/100 Micros thing that I gave up on. Then along came The Scroll of Anubis anthology. I expanded the idea into a 3000 word story, but since the anthology already had the name Anubis in the title, I changed the story's name to The Legacy of Seshat. This time the story was accepted and it tells the tale of Arthur Davis and Miles Kirkpatrick, two unscrupulous Indiana Jones wannabes that get in over their heads when raising the mummy of Prince Ibus from the dead. Davis and Miles survived the story, which brings us to my WIP.
Since I never used the name The Anubis Appropriation, I decided to haul it out again for a new story, again featuring Davis and Miles ( I hope to use them in several future stories, each one detailing a new scheme of theirs or further inept attempts at getting rich while dealing with the supernatural). This time they're trying to procure (steal) an ancient Egyptian artifact from a Las Vegas pawn shop that legend says was cursed by the god Anubis and which gave rise to Jackal-men, which in turn eventually lead to modern werewolves centuries later. Maybe this time the title will stick.
My flash piece The Sea Hath No King is now up at AlienSkin magazine. Check it out and let me know what you think. It was one of those stories that I wrote on the spot, having been inspired by the old monster films, The Horror of Party Beach and The Monster of Piedras Blancas. In fact, I paused one movie halfway through and came to the computer to write the story before continuing with the film. Dutiful members of the Aaron Polson fan club should note that the new issue of AlienSkin also features his story, Melons.
Since I never used the name The Anubis Appropriation, I decided to haul it out again for a new story, again featuring Davis and Miles ( I hope to use them in several future stories, each one detailing a new scheme of theirs or further inept attempts at getting rich while dealing with the supernatural). This time they're trying to procure (steal) an ancient Egyptian artifact from a Las Vegas pawn shop that legend says was cursed by the god Anubis and which gave rise to Jackal-men, which in turn eventually lead to modern werewolves centuries later. Maybe this time the title will stick.
My flash piece The Sea Hath No King is now up at AlienSkin magazine. Check it out and let me know what you think. It was one of those stories that I wrote on the spot, having been inspired by the old monster films, The Horror of Party Beach and The Monster of Piedras Blancas. In fact, I paused one movie halfway through and came to the computer to write the story before continuing with the film. Dutiful members of the Aaron Polson fan club should note that the new issue of AlienSkin also features his story, Melons.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ideas
Numerous times over the last two decades, when reading interviews with various writers who were asked about their ideas, I've seen many say that they have more than time to develop them all. Often the mere notion of having that many ideas was foreign to me because in times past I always struggled to come up with a good idea myself. Sometime last year, that all changed.
About this time in 2008 I decided I was going to give writing another shot. However, before I could start, I had several other projects I wanted to complete before devoting my time to my muse. While finishing up those projects I would often come up with an idea for a story, which I would jot down in folder "for later development." Once I wrapped up those other projects and had time to write, I had several ideas to draw upon. Many were based on personal experiences with a horror "twist" thrown into the mix. Which one did I tackle first? Why, none of them. The first thing I did was write four flash stories for 52 Stitches (two of which were accepted). After that I passed over my idea pool in favor of a new story for Dark Jesters (reject) and then Devil's Food (Accept!). Long story short, here we are a year later and I have yet to tackle any of those ideas I had. In fact, I've added to the list of story ideas. Now I finally understand what those writers were talking about. Not enough time!!!
I bring this up because I've been thinking over various ideas for a possible Nano project. I'm fairly sure I've settled on one known only as "Jars" at this time. This idea came to me about six weeks ago (once again, bypassing all those earlier ideas) and I've been plotting it out in my head over the last couple of days. When I consider the core idea, it seems like a good candidate for a YA adult book, so I am unsure how bloody to make it. Then again, I might go balls to the wall and go for a more mature focus. Either way, the first death in the story is a High School teacher. Sorry, Aaron!
About this time in 2008 I decided I was going to give writing another shot. However, before I could start, I had several other projects I wanted to complete before devoting my time to my muse. While finishing up those projects I would often come up with an idea for a story, which I would jot down in folder "for later development." Once I wrapped up those other projects and had time to write, I had several ideas to draw upon. Many were based on personal experiences with a horror "twist" thrown into the mix. Which one did I tackle first? Why, none of them. The first thing I did was write four flash stories for 52 Stitches (two of which were accepted). After that I passed over my idea pool in favor of a new story for Dark Jesters (reject) and then Devil's Food (Accept!). Long story short, here we are a year later and I have yet to tackle any of those ideas I had. In fact, I've added to the list of story ideas. Now I finally understand what those writers were talking about. Not enough time!!!
I bring this up because I've been thinking over various ideas for a possible Nano project. I'm fairly sure I've settled on one known only as "Jars" at this time. This idea came to me about six weeks ago (once again, bypassing all those earlier ideas) and I've been plotting it out in my head over the last couple of days. When I consider the core idea, it seems like a good candidate for a YA adult book, so I am unsure how bloody to make it. Then again, I might go balls to the wall and go for a more mature focus. Either way, the first death in the story is a High School teacher. Sorry, Aaron!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
September Stats
Wow, September really flew by. I suppose because I was on vacation for nearly two weeks the month seemed to zoom past faster than normal. Without further ado, the stats for the month:
New stories completed and subbed: 3
Matches, Martyrs and Mortality (3400 words)
Letter from the Dead (750 words)
Trial of the Century (2700 words)
New stories begun but incomplete: 1
Curse of the Fallen Star (700 words so far)
WIP's worked on: 1
Church of the Deviate Minds (added 2900 words, 5000 total)
Total words written in September: 10,450
Rejections: 4
Shroud
Rymfire ebooks (vermin antho)
Ideomancer
Horror through the Ages anthology
Acceptances: 3
Church of the Deviate Minds to Alienology: Tales from the Void
Ground Zero to Night Chills magazine
Sanctuary of the Shadowed Sleeper to Zombology IV: The Undead vs. the Living Dead
Overall, it was an excellent month. I can't complain. After 78 days, Ground Zero was rejected by the Vermin antho, but just three days later Night Chills Magazine snatched it up, so that was very gratifying. I've been going great guns on short stories all year, but I'm giving serious thought to participating in Nano this year. I almost gave it a shot last year, but opted out at the last minute, since I still had projects that needed finishing. This year I have no other commitments, so the idea is more tempting. I have one more short story that I want to complete in October and if at that time I'm up for it, I'll begin outlining my Nano project. Time will tell.
New stories completed and subbed: 3
Matches, Martyrs and Mortality (3400 words)
Letter from the Dead (750 words)
Trial of the Century (2700 words)
New stories begun but incomplete: 1
Curse of the Fallen Star (700 words so far)
WIP's worked on: 1
Church of the Deviate Minds (added 2900 words, 5000 total)
Total words written in September: 10,450
Rejections: 4
Shroud
Rymfire ebooks (vermin antho)
Ideomancer
Horror through the Ages anthology
Acceptances: 3
Church of the Deviate Minds to Alienology: Tales from the Void
Ground Zero to Night Chills magazine
Sanctuary of the Shadowed Sleeper to Zombology IV: The Undead vs. the Living Dead
Overall, it was an excellent month. I can't complain. After 78 days, Ground Zero was rejected by the Vermin antho, but just three days later Night Chills Magazine snatched it up, so that was very gratifying. I've been going great guns on short stories all year, but I'm giving serious thought to participating in Nano this year. I almost gave it a shot last year, but opted out at the last minute, since I still had projects that needed finishing. This year I have no other commitments, so the idea is more tempting. I have one more short story that I want to complete in October and if at that time I'm up for it, I'll begin outlining my Nano project. Time will tell.
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