Favorite Season

Now Playing: SLEEPWALKING by Bring Me The Horizon
Just Read: A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS by George R.R. Martin--Great fun! Exactly what I was hoping for. This is the kind of fiction I would love to write, and think I can.
Reading Now: PACKING FOR MARS by Mary Roach

Summer is definitely my favorite season. The others have lots of attractive aspects, but the whole package of summer is unbeatable to me. Unlike others (ie, my wife), I love the heat. I could go to the pool every day. I love that it's sunny early--give me energy right away. And I love how long the days are, because it makes me feel like I can work forever.

And, I write my best stuff in the summer. Autumn and winter put me in a particular mood, where I tend to write specific kinds of stories full of descriptions and details, but summer is the season where I'm able to sit down and actually DO the most.

That has definitely been the case this summer. Sure, I'm not in class every day like the other seasons, so I have more time off to spend writing. But I also have energy that I don't always have: I can drink a cup of coffee, write, go to the gym, write, sit by the pool, write, read on the back porch, write, watch baseball, write, and not feel burnt out by the end of the day. Just the opposite--I feel energized, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

This summer I've finished two longer pieces--one 10,000 words and one 6300 words--and submitted them both. I've also finished a flash piece that I'm planning on reviewing one last time and submitting tomorrow. Also, I've begun plotting for two more longer pieces that I think will be good Writers of the Future submissions.

Oh! That reminds me, big news--I won my fourth honorable mention in the Writers of the Future Contest with a story that I honestly didn't think would place. I didn't think it was as good as stories I've submitted previously. So I was very humbled and happy to hear that I had earned an honorable mention. After four, I feel like I might be getting the hang of this whole writing thing, that maybe I'm knocking on the door of actually winning!

Only one way to do that--keep writing! I'm off!