At the start of the year I set myself the challenge of writing one story a week. Here are the results:
Stories written : 54
Words written : about 132,000
Stories submitted to a short story market : 59
Sales : 1
Which I'm quite happy with. Most of the stories are still in first draft, only 10 have made it into submission so far. So what have I learnt?
- I can write a first draft a week. That means I can not only put the writing hours in, but also come up with plots/ideas
- Having a deadline makes me write
- I find it easier to write longhand than on a computer. It's more portable and more relaxing, especially after a working day staring at a computer screen
- I can't write and edit a story in one week, it would probably take two to get it really polished
- I can start writing a story without the slightest clue where it is going, and only the slightest clue where I'm starting. Which is nice
So next year? I think I could sustain a two month writing, one month editing schedule. However first up I have 43 stories to get into submission. Hmmm.
What is one of your addictions?
Submitted by Paperheart.
None, I can give up anything if I want to, even tea and cheese. It just takes willpower.
Stories written this year = 54
Target for end of December = 52
Words written = about 132,000
Stories written this year in submission = 10
Submissions in December = 2
Rejections in December = 3
Sales in December= 0
Total Submissions to Date = 141
Total Rejections to Date = 131
Total Sales to Date = 1
Not much first draft writing this month, I wrote half a new story. However I have typed up (and therefore edited) 3 stories written this year, and worked hard on editing a couple of stories that I've had feedback on. One more of the new stories made it into submission status. I'm not too worried, having hit my yearly target I was happy to take it easy this month. Now I have to decide what to do in 2007 as I have 33 stories that still need to be typed up, let alone edited.
Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year, from the Bloomer family.
You say to someone playing on your old Playstation...
"Destruction Derby? That was one of the first Playstation games, it must have come out in 1997."
...and they say...
"That was the year I was born."
Oh. My videogames are older than you.
From Writers Of The Future newsletter
1. Not Everyone Is Going to Like Your Work
"Your job as a writer isn’t to be blandly acceptable to everyone..."
2. Your Fiction Should Be About Something
Theme
3. Your Job Is to Tell Your Stories
No fan fiction
4. First Novels Are Hard to Sell
So make your first one categorisable
5. With Your First Book, Knock Their Socks Off
Make it good
6. If You Want to Write It, You’ve Got to Read It
Read all the awards shortlists
7. Your Best Market Guide is a Bookstore
Know what's being published, by who.
8. Ultimately, It’s All Up to You
"...take what advice encourages you, smile politely and ignore advice that discourages you, and, most of all, don’t give up"
It seems that as usual the UK can't cope with any variation in weather. It's been cold and foggy all week, and loads of planes have been grounded at airports. Fortunately we didn't have the fog for a few days, because we were above it, enjoying blue skies and lots of frost, but anywhere lower it was thick. Today, on the shortest day of the year, we didn't see the sun at all, it was white all day and didn't get above freezing. And dark at 4pm. Still, it feels like winter and Christmas now, and the days are getting longer. Hurrah!
Oh yeah, I got all the Christmas lights up and working too, although I had to (un)screw every bulb to discover the loose one. But it was worth it as it all looks pretty.
How do you take your tea or coffee?
Submitted by Vasquez.
Tea with milk and no sugar. And strong tea, preferably PG Pyramid tea bags.
Congrats - TIME Magazine voted you "Person of the Year"! What's your acceptance speech?
<elvis>Thank you very much</elvis>
Tobias S. Buckell has conducted a fascinating survey, asking writers if the first novel they wrote was the first they sold, how many novels did you write before selling one?
Which is quite high, I'm suprised. Also worth reading the advice collected in that post. "I received 150 responses from a variety of authors, most of them SF/F, but thanks to Diana Peterfreund and others, a large number of Romance writers. Of these published novelists, 65% did not break in with their first novel. 35% did."
