Had a day off today, so I've posted Exoticism off to Riptide. I've been waiting for anotehr submission period to open since I missed the last one, since I really think Exoticism matches their guidelines well.
Katey pointed me towards Three Crows Press's call for Erotica a couple of days ago. I've been feeling very inspired, but completely directionless on it until last night. I decided to do something a bit Angela Carter-ish, using a Little Red Riding Hood as a starting point, but with a spider instead of a wolf. Well, a wolf spider, to be exact! I was in bed when I decided that would be a good title, and thought perhaps I ought to write it down (I wasn't likely to forget the idea, but I might have the title). No pen and paper to hand, but my laptop was right here, and since I didn't have work... Bashed out the first draft by 1 AM. I've made some substantial changes now, and I've already put it up elsewhere for crit. I've gone for f/f mainly because the selkie story is m/m and Bliss if f/m; it felt like time for a bit of lesbianism!
Monday, December 8
Saturday, December 6
submission updates and the end of MiniNaNo
What news? I've had Ruin and Exoticism back from Clockwork Phoenix and have dispatched Ruin to All Hallows. Absolute Write pointed me in the direction of the latter, being one of the very few ghost story specific publications.
I've also found another couple of thousand words for the selkie story to make it eligble for the Samhain anthology.
I'm eyeing up Supernatural Tales, but there's no real submission guidelines on the site. I'm wondering if they're in the magazine itself, so I'm having a read through of the few PDFs to decide if it's worth subscribing.
I'm also reading through Oubliette for KVTaylor, and I'm very excited. Partly by the word 'Oubliette', to be fair, but that's what happens when you don't see Labyrinth until your twenties!
I watched Ghostwatch last week, and struggled to sleep after. Easily one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. TV and films have an advantage over text in that apparations can occur without any of the characters drawing attention to it. In fact, if there hadn't been three of us watching (and if one of us hadn't seen it before) we'd have missed a few appearances of Pipes. It's not until near the end that the cameraman spots him too.
It's also incredibly well written, with the slow build, and the smooth shifts between learning from the characters and noticing things before they do. Knowing its fiction doesn't seem to do it any detriment, though you are aware that the kids aren't quite a good actors as could be hoped. By the end you've forgotten that as the presents prove themselves more than equal to the challenge - Parkinson the sceptic, Sarah Greene the believer, Craig Charles the joker. That they're all recognisable names and faces helps the verisimiltude, especially since Parky was considered a fairly serious presenter. The real life relationship between Sarah Green (presente in the house) and Mike Smith (presenter in charge of the phones) gives it a good emotional wrench, too.
Of course, when it was originally broadcast if you didn't tune in for the very beginning, and if you hadn't bought the Radio Times, you'd wouldn't know it was fiction until near the end (though many viewers didn't work it out then, some even accusing of the BBC of lying to cover up one presenter's supernatural demise). The use of the format is perfect. Interviews are naturally exposition heavy, telephone lines are a great way to get the 'everyman' involved, satellite links allow for multiple experts and everyone knows how well ghosts and electricity get on!
There are so many elements to it that intertwine. It's not obvious that they're all significant until the end. The video interviews (and Sarah Greene's own ghost story) are all true, and it's a shame you don't get to hear the end of the last one, but the ominous feeling the comes from it cutting out is worth it.
I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but no one whose heard of it doesn't know it's fiction, and, well, if the ghost wasn't reall, what would be the point? Despite this, and despite hving seen multiple clips, I certainly wasn't happy wandering around my own house in the dark afterwards!
It's worth multiple viewings, and I'm going to fork out for the BFI DVD; the BFI is always expensive, but they do make some unusual stuff available. The fact that on DVD you can rewind it to catch all of Pipes's appearances doesn't make it any less scary.
Okay, so I didn't manage every day, but I more than tripled the expected word count for the month, and compared with 'proper' NaNoWriMo I'm actually confident I will succeed next year.
(actual stats: 87% of days and 311% of pledged word count)
I completed two more ghost stories, and a lot of random little snippets. The days I didn't make it were pure bad memory - even on those days when I put writing off if I remembered at the end of the day I wrote (albiet a single page sat on the living room floor just before heading up to bed).
I've also found another couple of thousand words for the selkie story to make it eligble for the Samhain anthology.
I'm eyeing up Supernatural Tales, but there's no real submission guidelines on the site. I'm wondering if they're in the magazine itself, so I'm having a read through of the few PDFs to decide if it's worth subscribing.
I'm also reading through Oubliette for KVTaylor, and I'm very excited. Partly by the word 'Oubliette', to be fair, but that's what happens when you don't see Labyrinth until your twenties!
I watched Ghostwatch last week, and struggled to sleep after. Easily one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. TV and films have an advantage over text in that apparations can occur without any of the characters drawing attention to it. In fact, if there hadn't been three of us watching (and if one of us hadn't seen it before) we'd have missed a few appearances of Pipes. It's not until near the end that the cameraman spots him too.
It's also incredibly well written, with the slow build, and the smooth shifts between learning from the characters and noticing things before they do. Knowing its fiction doesn't seem to do it any detriment, though you are aware that the kids aren't quite a good actors as could be hoped. By the end you've forgotten that as the presents prove themselves more than equal to the challenge - Parkinson the sceptic, Sarah Greene the believer, Craig Charles the joker. That they're all recognisable names and faces helps the verisimiltude, especially since Parky was considered a fairly serious presenter. The real life relationship between Sarah Green (presente in the house) and Mike Smith (presenter in charge of the phones) gives it a good emotional wrench, too.
Of course, when it was originally broadcast if you didn't tune in for the very beginning, and if you hadn't bought the Radio Times, you'd wouldn't know it was fiction until near the end (though many viewers didn't work it out then, some even accusing of the BBC of lying to cover up one presenter's supernatural demise). The use of the format is perfect. Interviews are naturally exposition heavy, telephone lines are a great way to get the 'everyman' involved, satellite links allow for multiple experts and everyone knows how well ghosts and electricity get on!
There are so many elements to it that intertwine. It's not obvious that they're all significant until the end. The video interviews (and Sarah Greene's own ghost story) are all true, and it's a shame you don't get to hear the end of the last one, but the ominous feeling the comes from it cutting out is worth it.
I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but no one whose heard of it doesn't know it's fiction, and, well, if the ghost wasn't reall, what would be the point? Despite this, and despite hving seen multiple clips, I certainly wasn't happy wandering around my own house in the dark afterwards!
It's worth multiple viewings, and I'm going to fork out for the BFI DVD; the BFI is always expensive, but they do make some unusual stuff available. The fact that on DVD you can rewind it to catch all of Pipes's appearances doesn't make it any less scary.
Okay, so I didn't manage every day, but I more than tripled the expected word count for the month, and compared with 'proper' NaNoWriMo I'm actually confident I will succeed next year.
(actual stats: 87% of days and 311% of pledged word count)
I completed two more ghost stories, and a lot of random little snippets. The days I didn't make it were pure bad memory - even on those days when I put writing off if I remembered at the end of the day I wrote (albiet a single page sat on the living room floor just before heading up to bed).
Monday, November 24
Quick roundup: Rejections from both Flashquake and Ellora's Cave. I think I might dig out or write a few more flashfic for Flashquake (just scribbled a vampire scene for mininano), and I'm going to find another 2000 words for the selkie story to submit it to a Samhain collection. I don't know where I'm going to find 2000 words, but I have until March to find them, so it's not a big panic, anyway.
I wasn't surprised to get it back from EC, considering the belated spotting of errors in the cover letter, but their response does suggest they read the partial. I think. Either that, or it's a really placatory form letter.
We have reviewed your submission and while we found the writing good and story line very well done, we feel that this story is not right for us.
Ellora's Cave wishes you the best of luck with your future writing and in placing your manuscript elsewhere.
Yes, the constant rejections are a little wearing, a constant little chipping that gets slower closer to hurting (but I'm not letting it hurt yet), but I've not even been doing this for a year yet. If I still haven't had a success in five years time, then I'll let it get to me. Flashquake seems to have got to me more than most, because I was quite confident there, but they gave feedback (albiet brief), and I can have another shot with something else next time their submissions open. I expected to get the Selkie story back, and it was a very nice rejection, so I'm not so bothered; besides, I'm feeling pretty keen on Samhain (enough that I was beginning to wonder if I'd done the right thing by submitting to EC). We'll see how I feel if they reject.
The 'I <3 your blog' meme has left me with a general desire to rec some blogs, especially because since then I've added several more to my rss feed.
Useful Writing Blogs
The Swivet - Colleen Lindsay's blog, usually focussed on her experiences as an agent and news from within the industry.
BBC Writers Room - The BBC writing blog. It focuses mainly on scripts, but it's full of interesting links.
A Guide to Literary Agents - Does what it says on the tin. Good at answering questions.
Redline and Deadlines - the editors' blog for Ellora's Cave. Focus on the ePub industry, and personal experiences of their editors.
Writer Beware - An eye on all the scams and unprofessional activity in publishing.
Other Writer's Blogs
By which I mean my friends, since I'm sure everyone has Neil Gaiman and William Gibson bookmarked already. All of these people are in the process of getting published, though, so maybe in a couple of years time they'll fall into that 'obvious' category of Gaiman and Gibson.
A World of Writing - Jessica Meats
Spec Fic and Nonsense - K V Taylor
Into That World Inverted... - Sarah Rees Brennan (okay, so I'm more an fan than a friend, but her blog is so much fun to read).
Useful Prevarication Blogs
Photoshop Disasters - for all those photos with three fingers, or an extra hand, or a shadow that reveals the model's real figure.
Cake Wrecks - When professionally made cakes go bad!
Inkling Science Magazine - having finally updated for the first time in months. I was worried it was dead.
I wasn't surprised to get it back from EC, considering the belated spotting of errors in the cover letter, but their response does suggest they read the partial. I think. Either that, or it's a really placatory form letter.
We have reviewed your submission and while we found the writing good and story line very well done, we feel that this story is not right for us.
Ellora's Cave wishes you the best of luck with your future writing and in placing your manuscript elsewhere.
Yes, the constant rejections are a little wearing, a constant little chipping that gets slower closer to hurting (but I'm not letting it hurt yet), but I've not even been doing this for a year yet. If I still haven't had a success in five years time, then I'll let it get to me. Flashquake seems to have got to me more than most, because I was quite confident there, but they gave feedback (albiet brief), and I can have another shot with something else next time their submissions open. I expected to get the Selkie story back, and it was a very nice rejection, so I'm not so bothered; besides, I'm feeling pretty keen on Samhain (enough that I was beginning to wonder if I'd done the right thing by submitting to EC). We'll see how I feel if they reject.
The 'I <3 your blog' meme has left me with a general desire to rec some blogs, especially because since then I've added several more to my rss feed.
Useful Writing Blogs
The Swivet - Colleen Lindsay's blog, usually focussed on her experiences as an agent and news from within the industry.
BBC Writers Room - The BBC writing blog. It focuses mainly on scripts, but it's full of interesting links.
A Guide to Literary Agents - Does what it says on the tin. Good at answering questions.
Redline and Deadlines - the editors' blog for Ellora's Cave. Focus on the ePub industry, and personal experiences of their editors.
Writer Beware - An eye on all the scams and unprofessional activity in publishing.
Other Writer's Blogs
By which I mean my friends, since I'm sure everyone has Neil Gaiman and William Gibson bookmarked already. All of these people are in the process of getting published, though, so maybe in a couple of years time they'll fall into that 'obvious' category of Gaiman and Gibson.
A World of Writing - Jessica Meats
Spec Fic and Nonsense - K V Taylor
Into That World Inverted... - Sarah Rees Brennan (okay, so I'm more an fan than a friend, but her blog is so much fun to read).
Useful Prevarication Blogs
Photoshop Disasters - for all those photos with three fingers, or an extra hand, or a shadow that reveals the model's real figure.
Cake Wrecks - When professionally made cakes go bad!
Inkling Science Magazine - having finally updated for the first time in months. I was worried it was dead.
Monday, November 10
Competition and Submissions
No luck with the Aesthetica competition (who only just scraped the email through one their own much altered deadline). Shame, I was batting my eyes at that £500 prize! I have less work this month, which really means I ought to have more time to write, but I've got so used to writing in my notebook that I find myself avoiding typing things up. Luckily, days at home are quite boring, so I've got some done today, and I'm mini-nano-ing away on another short story.
I'm submitting Ruin and Exoticism to Clockwork Phoenix now. I'm alsogoing to look for somewhere for 'Another Summer's Day' and 'Unsent Letters', both of which went to Aesthetica, because it'd be good to start reaching outside of the ghost story genre again. I scribbled a little two page thing in the notebook the other day, on the basis that the kind of magazines that are always lying around at work usually have a single page story (and not always a very good one). It's something else to try, anyway.
I wonder if typing up old stories counts towards mini-nanowrimo?
I'm submitting Ruin and Exoticism to Clockwork Phoenix now. I'm alsogoing to look for somewhere for 'Another Summer's Day' and 'Unsent Letters', both of which went to Aesthetica, because it'd be good to start reaching outside of the ghost story genre again. I scribbled a little two page thing in the notebook the other day, on the basis that the kind of magazines that are always lying around at work usually have a single page story (and not always a very good one). It's something else to try, anyway.
I wonder if typing up old stories counts towards mini-nanowrimo?
Saturday, November 1
Site Redesign
New site update is live, since I promised it for yesterday (what was that I was saying about deadlines...). Aesthetica have sent an email out saying that they're taking another week to finish judging, which is my excuse for the day's delay ^_^
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