Thursday News

Today is Thursday. Today is the day we are supposed to hear back on the Writer’s Digest Short Story contest.

But I’m not sure whether we would hear back on it via email or snail mail or both. And unfortunately, I’m leaving town from work, which means I can’t check the snail mail until I get back Sunday. So I may be a winner, I may not be. Ugh, suspense…

UPDATE: Just got the email at 11 o’clock my time. I’m not among the winners, unfortunately. Oh well, better not to stress over it all weekend, right? Good thing I’m going on vacation, now I can treat myself to something fabulous tonight. 😉

The upshot of losing means I can enter my short story Trick or Tree into other contests and see how I fare. It’s really short, like 1,500 words. But that was the requirement for this particular contest.

OUT OF TOWN?

And just where am I going out of town you might ask? Does this give you a clue?

The BFF is down in New Mexico for work, so I’m going down for the weekend and we’ll catch the sights, like Roswell and Carlsbad Caverns. I’m sure I’ll have lots of pics to post on Tuesday. Who knows, I may even run into a blue box. I mean, there are a few likely places to encounter the Doctor. Obviously, London. Utah (woot!). And of course, at least once in Roswell, right? 😉 I’d love it if someone had erected a blue box, I’d be giving a fangirl squee and the BFF wouldn’t have a clue why. She’s not a fan. Sci-Fi isn’t her thing, although visiting the UFO museum is somehow. *shrug*

I feel like I’m so close to getting the query letter done. It’s like it’s just around the corner. I may work on it on the airplane, or I may just read my Kindle. But I’ve got my handy dandy bluetooth keyboard, so if I feel like it at any point during the weekend I certainly will (likeliness is probably 10% though).

Does anyone know how they notify for Writer’s Digest competitions? *sigh* I’m guessing it’s a no-win, but hey, I’ve still had quite a lot of success lately. And there are still future opportunities for Trick or Tree in the future. I’m not going to let it get me down.

Have you ever been to Roswell or Carlsbad? Any recommendations? Ever won or lost short story competitions? Are you waiting on news that’s keeping you in suspense? Let me know in the comments below.

Row80 Check-In Nov. 12th

The leaves are getting sparse these days. I’m guessing future photos will probably involve winter landscapes. But I’ll find something of beauty to post here for you. And now the goals:

• Write at least 3 short stories intended for publication.  I’ll probably try my hand at several more than three, but the hope is to find three gemstones among the rocks.
  I entered Trick or Tree into the Writer’s Digest Short Story Contest. I think we find out who won sometime in February. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya? I haven’t made any progress with Dog Shy or any other short stories, but I feel like getting Trick or Tree entered took precedence.

• Read the helpful books to prepare me for the editing fest that will be late November early December on Shade.
  I’m making pretty good progress with this. It really comes down to getting on the train and getting it done. I think I’m nearly halfway through Story and then On Writing will be next. Story is still pretty awesome. And as usual, I’m posting little nuggets of Robert McKee wisdom on Twitter. Enjoy!

• Have read all 201 available Anton Chekhov’s short stories, sprinkled with Hemingway and Bradbury.
  I’ve read 40 of 201 Chekhov short stories.

• Once December hits, tear Shade apart and polish it to pure awesomeness!  Shade is came out this morning now that Trick or Tree is taken care of, and I plan to polish the first chapter up as much as I can to get it into its contest before Thanksgiving. Then back into cold storage for a time until December hits. Yikes, I need to read my writing help books faster…

• No Treat November. I’m 50/50 successful so far. Some days I’m on target, other days I have a cupcake. Slowly but surely, I’ll get there.

• The Holiday Book Read! Finished Pretties by Scott Westerfield. I really enjoyed his previous book Uglies, but Pretties toward the end I felt disappointed. It was too formulaic for me, like he’d recycled the plot of Uglies, tweaking it to be slightly different for Pretties. Anyways, it didn’t drive me to want to read the next book like Uglies did. I may give Abandon a brief look this weekend, but I’m really going to push for getting Story read. Short Pretties review forthcoming.

Now it’s time for your update. How are you coming along on your goals? Any major progress to report? I know a lot of you out there are doing the NaNo. Stay strong and keep on writing!

Row80 Check-In Nov 7th

I’m really going to miss these leaves. They’re already starting to disappear, although many trees are still very beautiful. My goals:

• Write at least 3 short stories intended for publication.  I’ll probably try my hand at several more than three, but the hope is to find three gemstones among the rocks.
  Trick or Tree got its final feedback session. Not as red as I thought, and my editor friend gave me a few good suggestions to tighten it up. I’ll probably focus on getting Trick or Treeready this week and submit it to the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Contest. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?Dog Shy I finished this morning, but I can’t decide how I feel about the ending. I’m not sure if I want it to be nefarious or sweet. Decisions, decisions. Maybe spending time on Trick or Tree will help me decide. I’m thinking nefarious might be better…

• Read the helpful books to prepare me for the editing fest that will be late November early December on Shade.
  Life events have been kind of crazy and I had my parents visiting from out of town, so helpful books have not really been read. I intend to remedy this from today on out. I really want to finish Story so I can get to On Writing and eventually Donald Maass’s two books.

• Have read all 201 available Anton Chekhov’s short stories, sprinkled with Hemingway and Bradbury.
  I’ve read 32 of 201 Chekhov short stories. It can barely be called progress. I really need to take the train and leave the car at home!

• Once December hits, tear Shade apart and polish it to pure awesomeness!  I’m going to pull Shade‘s Chapter One out early for a contest with the Gotham Writers’ Workshop. It’s YA only. You can submit your title and the first 250 words of your novel. If you win you get a full manuscript submit with NY agent Regina Brooks. I think the top 5 get a one-on-one with her. Either way, I think it’s worth trying. Shade will come out after Trick or Tree is all finished and entered.

• No Treat November. Thusfar has been wholly unsuccessful, but yesterday I finally got on target, and I’m working for it today as well. It isn’t very easy. I think the problem is I used to cook all the time and take the leftovers for work, now I’m just scrambling for whatever I can find in the fridge or at the store. Oh well, No Treat November continues. I’m using MyFitnessPal to help. I lost 15 pounds two years ago with it, and was able to maintain those lost for another year. I’ve gained 10 back now. It’s my laziness in eating habits really, since exercise hasn’t changed that much. Back to MFP I go!

• The Holiday Book Read! Okay, I felt like I needed to at least snag a couple books from the library to shake things up. Plus I’ve been reading a lot of your blogs and you mention all the books you’re reading and I got jealous. So yesterday I picked up Pretties by Scott Westerfield and Abandon by Meg Cabot. I’ll check in with a short review when I finish them. I’m thinking sometime next week or the week after (due to time, not my reading pace).

It’s odd, things feel like they’re on track even though as I look over my goals they aren’t as on track as I’d like. I have to admit, I recently took a strengths test that I think Gallup sponsors. What was my top strength? Can you guess? When I name it a few of you blogger buddies I know won’t be surprised in the least. Ready? POSITIVITY. Yeah, are you surprised?

Anyways, how are you guys doing with your goals, be they Row80, NaNo or otherwise? We have to keep each other motivated, so let me know in the comments below.