Life is Pretty Exciting These Days

Getting ready to head home after running some errands at work.

Life is pretty exciting around here these days. I left TCK to sit for a few weeks, and now I am plunging back into edits. I found that a couple of my themes were nebulous, and nebulous is never good. Subtle is good. Nebulous? Not so much. With my material, I could take the theme one of two ways. So I am trying to decide where to go with it.
I sent TCK to one of my beloved beta-readers on April 1st (along with a plea, begging her not to pull any April Fool's stunts on my story -- I can take criticism like a champ but jokes are too much when my baby/story is involved). And I sent it to a couple other readers later in the week. Can't wait to get all their feedback and work on my story again.
Pouring over the list of "what I should have done" (aka, an editing checklist) always sparks my imagination for stories yet to come. Which led me back to Broken Clouds and ToP. I am dusting them off and figuratively building the scaffolding for them. This is exciting, as we always have the highest hopes for stories yet unfinished.
The writers of Rooglewood Press' upcoming anthology (to be released this summer) are on my mind. They are likely in the midst of editing their works. I think they have until the middle of this month to get their corrected manuscripts back to their editor. That is very exciting and I hope that is going smoothly for them.
In my own humble life, I am nearly finished the training for my non-writing career. And, on a smaller scale, I am caring for some pets (my own and others) and house-sitting for a friend with a houseful of delightful little animals.
I hope your life is every bit as delightful.

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More Snippets from Snow White Rose Red

One of the shadows moved. “Were you just going to chuck it in there with no thought for the poor folks on the other side?” Flip’s voice drawled out. It was a deep voice and it made my heart skip a beat. He moved away from the trees and came to stand in front of me. “Some hard-working fellow is plowing his field and then – whop! Out of nowhere, a poisoned apple flies out and hits him upside the head.” He clucked his tongue reproachfully.

A Short Story Break

via Pinterest It has been a while since I penned a short story. Usually it takes something like a "short story contest" to inspire me. But I have noticed my writing skills improve with each contest so there is something to be said for writing short stories. I say all this to lead into the fact that I am going to try another short story. There is no contest looming on the horizon, but it has been so long that I think I am due to write a short piece. Life cannot be entirely devoted to novel-length plots... I am rolling around different ideas in my head. There is no one to give me the first three words or a picture to base my story on. There are no restrictions, no props, and no judges. Methinks I will try something that is both epic and ordinary...something I have seen before. After all, personal experience, great things, and the expression of the ordinary are part of what makes a story.

The Countdown: Eight Days

Eight days. Do you know what that means? Barely over a week. Tomorrow will be one week from the announcement date. Are you excited? I am. So, today, I want to talk to those who wrote something for the contest, whether or not you entered it in the end. What made you start writing your story? What was the first inkling of an idea that tickled your brain? What was it that you liked about your premise? As you wrote, did you have a favorite character or a favorite scene? And are you glad you wrote it down? Do you feel like you learned and grew in your ability as a writer as you tried out things for this contest? And, if your story isn't included in this year's Rooglewood anthology (either because you didn't submit it or because it didn't fit with the other four stories selected), what will you do with it? Will you market it elsewhere? Or will you lock it away in a drawer?

The Pen of a Ready Writer

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