My mid-week report to you that covers the three major commitments I’ve made: to write, to edit, and to read.
Writing
The above image isn’t quite what I had in mind when I wrote the final scene of my novella, but it’s not bad. I’m submitting this one to the Cannon Publishing High Caliber contest. It introduces two characters I rather like - Kellan, the King’s Highwayman, a traveling judge of sorts; and Prospero, the magus of the Empire Kellan gets saddled with during one of his patrols.
I wrote this one over a year ago, for a different contest. Coming back to it now, after a year of being serious about my writing, I can see some real differences. Not so much in the story - that’s going to stay intact. I realized that I need a few extra scenes here and there, and — more importantly — why I need them. So I’m writing a bit more, re-writing some, and polishing a lot. I have hope for this one, and like it enough that if Cannon doesn’t pick it up, I may publish it myself as a stand-alone story on Amazon.
Meanwhile, Cedar Sanderson sent me the proofs for One October Night yesterday. This is a collection of the flash fiction that I wrote based on her N’Inktober drawings. The cover is absolutely amazing, and depicts on of my favorite stories. Each story is paired with the artwork that inspired it. I really enjoyed creating it with her, and seeing it come out in print is a fantastic feeling.
Editing
Working on the novella, as I mentioned. While I’m mostly writing scenes to expand the story, I’m also editing as I go, because the deadline for this thing is the December 20th.
Reading
Still making my way through Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
Other
I was incredibly happy to get a root canal last week.
That statement alone should tell you how much pain I was in. Happy. To get a root canal. I was fortunate enough to get in for a same-day appointment; the whole thing took about an hour and a half, and the actual “drilling holes in my tooth” bit only took about 45 minutes. Best of all, aside from a few bits of mild discomfort, it was painless.
Did I want to do it? No. Am I happy I did it? Yes. How do I feel now that it’s done?
Wonderful!
The focused development at the Day Job is chugging along. Pointed questions have been heard and answered, and a critical problem has been fixed. We’re now well into the weeds of standing up a new service. Best part of that is that everything else we’ve run into so far has been procedural issues (get an allocation for this, get permission for that, yadda yadda yadda). I’m honestly really, really impressed that it’s gone as easy as it has. That’s a testament to the dedication and skill of the engineering team that designed and implemented this product in the first place. I may even be able to declare success soon, at which point any remaining issues become Somebody Else’s Problem.
On the 501c(3) side, I’ve got some technical work to get done before Christmas for one org, and a bunch of thank-you calls to make and letters to write for another. I’ve managed to put it off for 50+ years, but I finally had a reason to order personalized thank-you cards for that reason. It feels odd and strangely adult-y. Yes, I know. I’m a writer, a software developer, and I ran for political office once. It still feels like “having my own thank-you cards” is an entirely New Level of Responsibility.
Anyway, that’s it for this week! Next update I should have the story off to Cannon; links for where you can buy One October Night; updates on the Day Job issues; and an update on what it’s like to write thank-you notes to non-profit donors. A mixed bag, to be sure, but such is my life.
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I'm excited to get this project published and see what happens with it. Your stories are fantastic.