I hate winter
And I do not use the word hate, lightly. Ice, snow, wind chill factors, and all the trouble they bring have been one of the greatest struggles of my life. When I was a child, I lived in the more temperate Southern climate of North Carolina. Winters were cold, but seldom deadly. Now I live in Iowa, where winter hurts my face.
I choose to endure this torment for my familyās sake. They love theā¦
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Happy Holidays!
Itās still the most wonderful time of the year for me. The days between Christmas and New Yearās Day have always been a time of reflection in my life. Iām not big on New Yearās resolutions, but I do try to take a look back at the year gone by and plan for the year ahead. My writing this year has suffered from a lot of bad timing with a move to a new and bigger house (with a private office!),ā¦
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Kindle Vella Update
Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com
Introducing ā The Winnowing
The first episodes of my new Kindle Vella seris have made it through my writerās group and Iām revising them now. The story is good (IMHO), and I have plenty of twists and turns planned to keep readers turning pages. Iām still not convinced Vella is a perfect fit for me, but I wonāt know for sure until I try, right?
Anyway, Iām wadingā¦
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Kindle Vella - My First Attempt
So, Iāve spent a lot of time working on short stories over the past couple of years. Some are arguably better than others, but this spring I found Kindle Vella. It is a tiny new platform on Amazon that is designed especially for short stories. I thought, āWhat a perfect fit.ā
So I have concocted a short story series to try my hand at their episodic short story format. I have my reservationsā¦
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Break the chains of your imagination.
Kids at play
I had a revelation of sorts while I was waiting to find out Iād been rejected again. Not like some broken record of imposter syndrome or anything negative. Instead, I realized Iād been limiting myself with my writing. The insight is simple, but if I forged chains to hold back the breadth of my imagination, maybe others would benefit from reading about my epiphany.
Iāve alwaysā¦
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Resilience in the face of rejection.
Ouch.
Rejection Hurts
No matter if its a personal rejection or a professional interaction, not being accepted can feel like a punch to the gut. It takes the wind out of my sails more than Iād prefer to admit, but a rejection (or a hundred rejections) doesnāt define a creative. What I do after the punch is what really matters.
Will I shut down the creative process Iāve built up? Should I listenā¦
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Let me dust this thing off...
Believe it or not, Iām still writing. Iām still seeking out places to send my work to. And Iām still waiting for an answer back from this yearās Veteranās Writing Program. Honestly, the waiting has put a bit of a slowdown on my other projects. Not because of writerās block or anything like that, but because Iāve been studying a lot the past three months. I have been studying screenwriting, moreā¦
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Syd Fields, Dan Harmon, and Blake Snyder
I havenāt posted anything here in a while, and most of the posts I have made were short updates. This was going to be another of those posts, but I changed my mind as soon as I started typing the header. Iām still going to give you an update, but Iām going to dive a bit deeper with the content than I have been lately. I hope you enjoy.
What have I been up to?
What a great question, Iām glad Iā¦
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Tom Petty was right...
The waiting is the hardest part.
I havenāt posted here in a while, but I have been busy! Iāve written a new Jack story and started a new short story series. But Iāve done all that to keep my mind occupied while I wait for word back from a writing program and retreat I signed up for in January. Its only been two weeks, and I wonāt get an answer back until April. Not knowing is driving me a bitā¦
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Yes, it's still winter...
Midwinter update.
But spring fever has struck me earlier than normal this year!
I have so many projects in motion right now. Iāve finished a fourth jack story, and Iām so pumped with how the series is coming along. I have the manuscript for Fantastic America out again (fingers crossed). And Iām applying to the Veterans Writers project, which is for screenwriting (something Iāve been studying since last Summer).ā¦
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New Year, new... post.
New Year, newā¦Ā post.
Iām still here. Still writing. Still querying. Tenacity pays off, right?
Well, if so, I should be getting a serious payback this year.
I hope all is well with you and yours. Happy belated new Year!
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Merry Christmas!!!
Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, Chanukah, or nothing at all, may you at least be safe, happy, and warm.
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Am I living through a winter slowdown?
Am I living through a winterĀ slowdown?
Iāve spent the last few years learning how to tell (I mean SHOW) the stories I want to share. Along the way, I took lots of courses, read books on craft, tried lots of writing software, hired coaches, and joined writersā groups. Altogether Iāve spent thousands of dollars and many hours relentlessly pecking at my keyboard. Iāve made goal lists, checked off boxes, and patted myself on the back forā¦
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Wednesday's Child: Trying to find Jack a home.
Wednesdayās Child: Trying to find Jack aĀ home.
This summer, I started writing a new series of short stories about a character named Jack. Iāve been trying to find a home for these stories in print or online, but that hasnāt stopped my muse from giving more to write. So far, Iām on Jackās fourth installment. I have about twenty more stories outlined, but there is little or no limit to how this series can develop.
Case in point, I wasā¦
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Confronting Mortality
I nearly died Saturday night. That wouldāve sounded like the setup for a joke to me, until I woke up in the emergency room. There was nothing quippy or funny about my condition, or the surety that Iād put myself there.
My health has been less than optimal since 2005, but Iāve changed my habits very little in response. I became more sedentary, and missed the more active lifestyle Iād had before.ā¦
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Rome Fires My Imagination...
Rome Fires My Imaginationā¦
Years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Rome. By then Iād already read some Roman history and had a detached appreciation for the Eternal City. Walking through the ruins was a different experience altogether. My writing often reflects the two extremes of my imagination and our modern reality.
The glory of Rome faded well over fifteen hundred years ago. The city today is still impressive, but aā¦
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The perfect elements of writing exist.
The perfect elements of writingĀ exist.
The problem for me is getting those elements on the page to remain acceptable outside my head. There is so much subjective and connective tissue lost between my imagination and how those ideas translate into words, that I have trouble not feeling like they have become the two dimensional T-rex from the meme above. Other writers may have this problem too, and my only advice for combatting theā¦
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