Happy St. Patrick's Day. I don't have a lot to write about, but there is some.
On the personal front, my wife has developed some kind of a nerve disorder. So far there's no specific diagnosis, and the folks at physical therapy did not want to try anything because they don't know what to treat or how.
If it's not one thing, it's two things.
On a better note, we discovered that our first great grandchild will be a girl, expected around the end of July. (We already knew the rough due date, but the gender was revealed yesterday.)
Last entry I mentioned that I had submitted a short story to Page and Spine. "The Limp" was accepted and published on March 8, which is not news to any of you that drop in on my FB page or FB author's page. If you don't know, go The Reading Lamp tab at Page and Spine and scroll down. They published a new entry yesterday.
But wait! There's more!
There's a brand shiny new online magazine called Trouble Among the Stars (https://troubleamongthestars.com/issue1/) They publish, as the title implies, science fiction. Like Page and Spine, and Daily Science Fiction, they pay their authors but the issues are free to read.
I submitted a story, "Guidelines," that really fits the theme. It has been declined (I like that word better than "rejected") many times. Sometimes the rejections were a personal note and sometimes it was a form letter.
I'm reminded of another story of mine—sort of a cross between science fiction and fantasy—that was rejected—I mean declined—many times. After each setback I reread the story and tweaked it here and there. The changes were never to the story, but how the story was told. Perhaps add a sentence of description, or an appropriate simile; or take out an unnecessary phrase.
I'd always admitted that the story was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story, "Chrysalis." In 2013 Whortleberry Press set out to publish an anthology of Bradbury-inspired short stories to mark the first anniversary of Bradbury's death. My story, "Transition," was a good fit and they accepted it. It is still available in the paperback anthology, Dandelions of Mars, for sale through Goodreads or Amazon.
It is also available in Quickfic Anthology Two by Digital Fiction Publishing. The Quickfic anthologies present only reprints. I got paid more for the reprint than the original.
This story, "Guidelines," has benefitted from a similar situation. The story fit the theme and the editor. "Guidelines" has been accepted for publication in Trouble Among the Stars' second anthology. I'll let everyone know, here and on Face Book when it is actually published.
This story has undergone a lot of changes, including the title, the opening two paragraphs, and various rewordings throughout. That's what a writer does. It isn't necessary to change the whole story, and certainly not to abandon it after one or two rejections. Instead, just keep working on it, trying to improve it, and keep submitting. There are a few other stories of mine that I should be submitting more often. They, too, have undergone plenty of rewrites.
How about you? Do you write? Do you get the urge now and then to put something out there that's a little more complicated than a tweet or an Instagram message or a Face Book comment? Maybe something someone might pay you for? If so, please let me know if you think I can be of any help or offer any advice. Plus, I can offer suggestions about where else you can get even better help.
Thanks again for your attention. Stay well, and stay well-read.
On the personal front, my wife has developed some kind of a nerve disorder. So far there's no specific diagnosis, and the folks at physical therapy did not want to try anything because they don't know what to treat or how.
If it's not one thing, it's two things.
On a better note, we discovered that our first great grandchild will be a girl, expected around the end of July. (We already knew the rough due date, but the gender was revealed yesterday.)
Last entry I mentioned that I had submitted a short story to Page and Spine. "The Limp" was accepted and published on March 8, which is not news to any of you that drop in on my FB page or FB author's page. If you don't know, go The Reading Lamp tab at Page and Spine and scroll down. They published a new entry yesterday.
But wait! There's more!
There's a brand shiny new online magazine called Trouble Among the Stars (https://troubleamongthestars.com/issue1/) They publish, as the title implies, science fiction. Like Page and Spine, and Daily Science Fiction, they pay their authors but the issues are free to read.
I submitted a story, "Guidelines," that really fits the theme. It has been declined (I like that word better than "rejected") many times. Sometimes the rejections were a personal note and sometimes it was a form letter.
I'm reminded of another story of mine—sort of a cross between science fiction and fantasy—that was rejected—I mean declined—many times. After each setback I reread the story and tweaked it here and there. The changes were never to the story, but how the story was told. Perhaps add a sentence of description, or an appropriate simile; or take out an unnecessary phrase.
I'd always admitted that the story was inspired by Ray Bradbury's short story, "Chrysalis." In 2013 Whortleberry Press set out to publish an anthology of Bradbury-inspired short stories to mark the first anniversary of Bradbury's death. My story, "Transition," was a good fit and they accepted it. It is still available in the paperback anthology, Dandelions of Mars, for sale through Goodreads or Amazon.
It is also available in Quickfic Anthology Two by Digital Fiction Publishing. The Quickfic anthologies present only reprints. I got paid more for the reprint than the original.
This story, "Guidelines," has benefitted from a similar situation. The story fit the theme and the editor. "Guidelines" has been accepted for publication in Trouble Among the Stars' second anthology. I'll let everyone know, here and on Face Book when it is actually published.
This story has undergone a lot of changes, including the title, the opening two paragraphs, and various rewordings throughout. That's what a writer does. It isn't necessary to change the whole story, and certainly not to abandon it after one or two rejections. Instead, just keep working on it, trying to improve it, and keep submitting. There are a few other stories of mine that I should be submitting more often. They, too, have undergone plenty of rewrites.
How about you? Do you write? Do you get the urge now and then to put something out there that's a little more complicated than a tweet or an Instagram message or a Face Book comment? Maybe something someone might pay you for? If so, please let me know if you think I can be of any help or offer any advice. Plus, I can offer suggestions about where else you can get even better help.
Thanks again for your attention. Stay well, and stay well-read.
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