Friday, August 30, 2013

Story Ideas

"Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any."
Orson Scott Card


If this is true, I think I miss a lot of them. It's so easy to get lost in the whirl of "to do" lists and daily regiment that my mind isn't free enough to see things creatively. There have been times when I've been in that relaxed and creative mindset that ideas just come like crazy. History, the news, hypothetcals all are great places for ideas. And everyday life and everyday people work too.

In fact, one of my first published short stories in high school was about everyday people I knew. The story was fictionalization, of course. But the characters were so accurate that my friends recognized them and that got me into a little trouble.

The story that's currently getting published is also a story I noticed one regular, regimented day. I have dozens of stories sitting in my drawer that I've mined from days like these. So maybe there is something to what Card said.

Lesson learned: see the stories everyday, and exercise care in choosing which stories to tell.


Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Novel News

I sent my revised novel, Uploaded, back to my agent late Sunday night. It was my goal to get it off to him before school started again on Monday. (So I barely made my goal.) He'll take a look at it next week. He discussed my book with a publisher who expressed interest. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, I need to keep up my writing during the school year. It's tough to find time. I've been working on the sequel to Uploaded, but I don't know if it will ever see the light of day, so I'm wondering if I should set it aside for a little while and focus my energies on another project. I may return to my book about Abra, Cain's daughter.

Thanks for all of your comments and support!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

First Story Published!

"The secret of our emotions never lies in the bare object but in its subtle relations to our own past: no wonder the secret escapes the unsympathising observer, who might as well put on his spectacles to discern odors."  George Eliot, Adam Bede


Welcome to my blog! Writing is part of who I am, and I will probably write forever, no matter what. You can check out my bio page to read about how long I've wanted to be a published writer. I'll get a photo up on that page soon.

For now, my biggest news is that my short story "In Our Own Backyard" is going to published in the third edition of the Garbanzo Literary Journal this October. ( The link to their website is below.) Since this is my first real publishing credit as an adult, I am ecstatic. I hope that this is the beginning and that there will be more to come.

They only make (by hand) 300 copies of each edition. The rest is sold as an ebook. Typically the magazine is $20 plus shipping. I can buy a few for $12, so if you are interested in buying one at a discount, let me know!


http://www.garbanzoliteraryjournal.org/Home.html