Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Really Great Times

Now Playing: SE MEG by Kate Havnevik
Just Read: WRITERS OF THE FUTURE vol. 28--Another good one. I'm a big fan of these anthologies and think they're making me a better writer.
Reading Now: OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon

Well it's been a heck of a July. I got married! I went on a honeymoon to the Caribbean! I got a story published in Perihelion Magazine (see new link to the left of the page)! I won an honorable mention in the Writers of the Future Contest!

So yeah, I've been a pretty happy camper lately. I'm proud to see my story "Junkyard Dog" in print over at Perihelion--it went through several iterations, including a much longer, clunkier version in which I tried to change up the voice. I scrapped it and started over, eventually landing on the version that was accepted. Maybe one day I will be, but I'm just not very good at deviating from standard language. It's hard!

I basically sat on a beach for a week and read, and it was glorious. I finished the WOTF volume I was on and started OUTLANDER, which I'd been meaning to get to for a while. I first learned of it after catching the first two episodes of the Starz show, and what's nice is that (unlike Game of Thrones) the series is finished! I love discovering great new adventure series that have been completed by the time I start book one. Waiting is the worst!

And I'm very happy about winning an honorable mention in the WotF contest. It's a bit like having warning track power in baseball--solid contact, ultimately an out, but still an at bat to be proud of. It means I'm getting better, which is great, and hopefully that's a trend that will continue in the upcoming quarters.

One thing I haven't done this July is write much new stuff. I started a story but it puttered out, and I'm about to start it over. I meant it to be a kind of dark fantasy but when I got going it became more of a steampunk story. You never know! But the plan is to finish it this week for July's requirement, write another one next week for August's requirement, and then grad school begins!

Lots and lots of changes. Lots and lots of really great times.