I haven’t done a post on how the writing is going for a long time, so I thought I’d do an update.
My attempt in June to write a bunch of stories based on cool photos I found mostly hasn’t panned out, because I’m flighty. And because everything I’m writing these days has somehow ended up CRAZY, unsaleablely long. I’ll maybe finish them someday, but right now I’d rather spend energy on other things. Especially since it’s now the end of July and I’m no closer to making my New Year’s resolution than I was in January. I mean, I guess I’m 2 dozen rejection letters closer, if we want to get technical…
In lieu of completing anything new, I ended up taking that time for administrative organization: I cataloged all the pieces of short stories that I have lying around, the full stories that were too problematic to print and needed re-writes, and organized the records of where I’ve sent everything I’m currently shopping. Not fun, but a necessary part of this ‘trying to get published’ stuff.
I did drastic edits of 2 imperfect short stories, and am now doing rewrites on another 2 unfinished works that I’m hoping to get rotating. Right now, I have 4 things on the market. That’s at least twice as many as I’ve had at any given time before now. I’m feeling pretty proud of myself.
I’m on draft 3 of my novel synopsis, too. Which is just as hard to write as all they say it should be, if you were wondering. Legitimately awful. I’ve given myself a tentative finish date of August 1st. It’s coming up quick!
So, no real news to report. Just the ongoing tide of stories out and stories in that has become my regular course of things. I’m feeling good about movement, though. At least I’m being productive.
Now on to all that editing.
, by Rainbow Rowell: Georgie McCool has always put her career as a scriptwriter front and center, and her husband Neil has picked up the slack. When she and best friend Seth have the chance to pitch the script of their lifetime, if they can write it in five days, Georgie knows Neil will be upset. But he’ll probably roll with Georgie’s assessment that they can’t bring the girls to his family’s house for Christmas like they planned. Georgie didn’t forsee that Neil would be more than pissed. He takes the girls to his parent’s house, leaves Georgie in California, and then is strangely unavailable. Frantic, Georgie calls Neil from an old rotary phone in her bedroom to find that she’s dialed 20 years in the past. But can she save her marriage from decades away?
, by Terry Pratchett: Tiffany Aching accidentally joins the dark mummer’s dance, and then has to contend with Jack Frost, who thinks she’s his new girlfriend. Embarrassing snowflakes in Tiffany’s shape, a cornucopia spilling out all sorts of things you just don’t want, the Nac Mac Feegles, and relations with the human boy Tiffany has a thing with are just some of the problems she faces. But now that Tiffany has dethroned the goddess of spring, will Summer ever come again?
, by Ursula K. LeGuin: Genly Ai has agreed to go as an emissary to the planet deemed Winter to see if he can get them to join the ecumenical society of planets. It is first contact, and Genly is more than aware that he could be killed or imprisoned. Winter is a world where most humans there are genderless until they mate, and over the course of a lifetime can be both male and female. The planet is as unforgiving as it’s icy landscape, with a strange code of behavior called shifgrethor, and Genly is getting nowhere with his quest. He places his trust in Prime Minister Estraven, who is then accused of treason and cast out of the kingdom. But Genly and Estraven meet again in a work camp on the outskirts of civilization, and together they undertake a perilous journey over icy wastelands so that they can be free.
Casey E. Hamilton 