Flip Sides of the Coin

From the Speakers: WASTING AWAY by Tonight Alive
Just Read: HOCUS POCUS by Kurt Vonnegut--Fantastic! Loved the voice, and it was really hilarious the whole time. A few times I cracked up alone in my living room, haha! Shout out to Blaise for the recommendation.
Reading Now: THE MANY ASPECTS OF MOBILE HOME LIVING by Martin Clark

Spent the past two weeks or so poring over a novelette I wrote almost a year ago. I mentioned it in a previous blog post--I had a few friends give me their opinion on it, then set to work editing it, mainly to cut it down. It was 18,600 words when they read it, and I wanted to get it below 17,000 for submission to a contest.

Talk about hard work! I think Michael Crichton said that stories aren't written--they're rewritten. How true!

After a once over, it was pretty straightforward to cut out about 800-1000 words. That left 600 to go before it met the submission requirements. Those 600 words took me SIX HOURS to find early one morning last week!

It's a stronger story for it, though.

But as far as my W1S1 requirements, it didn't count because all I did was edit it. So I had to hurry and put together a flash that I thought I would submit to DSF . . . but then I got a note from them saying the story they were already reviewing had passed the first round of slush piles! So that was a big lift after so much work, feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. Just going to have to find another venue for this new one, I guess.

And, FINALLY, that novelette is submitted. Keep your fingers crossed for me--I'll need every bit of luck I can get.