shaydchara: dirty black keyboard with the F1 key missing (F1)
March the first, already, hmm? Let's see if I can't at least do 3 things make a post.

Thing the first: After much debate and planning, we're getting a puppy. She's a four month old Pomeranian. Name is still under debate. We're picking her up on Thursday night. In preparation for introducing puppy to household with senior cat, we acquired a Feliway diffuser. So far it seems to only be confusing the cat.

Thing the second: I did a first pass at our taxes last night (on paper, because I actually don't mind doing them by hand), and due to various circumstances from last year that resulted in me overpaying the government, I'm likely to get a fairly substantial chunk of money back. This is a pleasant surprise.

Thing the third: Cyberpunk novel rewrite progesses. Spouse is proving invaluable in articulating and expanding world-building concepts that I have written intuitively. (What? We only share a brain part-time.)

...I'm sure there were other things. In fact, there were other things while I was typing, but they have escaped me again. Argh.

Oh. I still have #SFContario notes to type and post. Those need to get done before Ad Astra. Sheesh.
shaydchara: an orange tabby cat sitting beside a t-shirt that says "pen > sword" (pen > sword + Rufus)
Or: resolution, not resignation

Somewhere along the way, I picked up the idea that I had to resign myself to trying to write short stories. Yes, I know, that sounds ridiculous when spelled out plainly like that. However, one gets these ideas, and they get stuck. As a corollary, when my short stories didn't work, I had to resign myself to the fact that I couldn't write short fiction.

Bollocks, as my Brit friends would put it.

Why is it so hard to convince my brain that I can write to whatever length I need to write to, and worry about finding a market for it afterwards? Granted, working on longer pieces doesn't give the same sense of short-term gratification (and this is why my novel edits laaaanguish like languishing poets), but if that's where the idea fits, why fight it? Fighting it is a waste of time and energy that could be put into writing.

Thus, a resolution to replace my resignation: I will write the ideas as they come to me, and worry about the saleability of them afterwards. If a brilliant short idea strikes me, then I will write it as a short (250 words from a dream netted me a sale to AE Micro; it *is* conceivable). Otherwise, I will continue collecting my meandering threads until they resolve into whatever form they are supposed to take. (SteampunkTO, I'm looking at you.)

I'm not trying to make a living as a fiction writer: I'm content to work as a Technical Writer for a regular pay cheque. I just want to get the stories that I have *written* so that they can be read. And if I'm constantly second-guessing myself about fitting a market, I'm not getting the words out. I'm impeding readability.

Goals, then:
- Finish 1st draft "Carnival" by end of November. Stop worrying about word count.
- Write whatever SteampunkTO bits strike me
      - design that damn lace pattern/code to accompany it
      - come up with a working title >.>
- gorram edits/rewrites to Node. Just do them already.
      - Come up with an alternate name for Node book 1. Seriously. Enough with the 10 year long misnomer.
- Write some fanfic. Because. It is fluff and candy.
- Listen to Rawlins Cross more often. Because. It is both therapeutic and inspirational.


*Title from "A Sad Story" by Rawlins Cross, from the album "Living River". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Story sale

Jun. 11th, 2010 02:50 pm
shaydchara: a pen and notebook (Default)
Sale! (Yes, yes, I've known for several days a week and been lax in updating.)

"Carefully Constructed" to Crossed Genres, for the July issue, "Lies".

This story is set in the world of my (first draft finished, don't ask how revisions are going >.> ) novel, The Node.

That working title has been the working title for about ten years. I don't know how I will ever adjust to calling it anything else, if the need arises.

Angst about the novel aside, it is still really exciting to see one of my boys and some of the world finally making a public debut. It is a little weird that it's Jaz and not To'mei, but maybe that makes sense given that To'mei gets an entire novel (or two) and Jaz is always secondary.

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shaydchara: a pen and notebook (Default)
Shay D.

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