Keeping Motivated

At times when it starts seeming too hard to break into publishing, I declare a break for myself. And that's what I'm doing this week. It's a writing break, something we all need from time to time to remind us that writing isn't everything and that everything isn't about writing. So this weekend:

• I finished reading a very funny novel that didn't necessarily have an upcoming release date (something I consider for Debuts & Reviews).
• Took a walk in the park. And not just any park, it was Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park. A big huge sinkhole festooned with greenery. Will post pictures later.
• Had long and productive talks with my husband.
• Went shopping with my daughter. Had hot chocolate in a Border's cafe and people-watched.
• Danced with my daughter with the help of Just Dance for Wii. Not a pretty sight.
• And now I need to call my brother.

 What fun, non-writing thing did you do this weekend?

The Sevenfold Spell Submitted!

Got some stuff done this weekend. I submitted The Sevenfold Spell to my first epub market today. Here's hoping! I also wrote out a complete outline for A Hollywood Miracle, which I didn't really intend to do when I sat at the computer, but now that I have it, I'm going to use it. I bought some colored post-its so I can use different colors for each storyline. That way I can merge all the storylines on some sort of board, and easily be able to pick out each storyline.

Plans for this evening include sitting down with my Neo and writing another scene in East of Yesterday. Right now, my efforts are floating between AHM and EOY, but I think after tonight I'll know which one I'll want to focus on.

I also had another short story idea, but it's still on simmer.

Wish me luck for The Sevenfold Spell!

Back From Vacation, Back to Writing

I ended March with a vacation, and when I came back, the vacation from writing was over. I dove right into East of Yesterday, and blew past my 25,000 word hurdle. I'm now at 27,000 words, and I'm hopefully gathering momentum again.

I decided to drop an interracial romance storyline for two reasons: the romance wasn't working in my mind and the story screeched to a halt when I started it. I'm just going to continue to write my original concept and see where it takes me. This is a lot the way I wrote Starcaster/A Spy and a Lady -- I just came up with a concept and hung on while it took me on a wild ride.

I temporarily trunked my short story, "Under Observation" while I purchased some of the better online semipro zines in order to get an idea of what they like. And lo and behold, I found another potential market for "Under Observation". I also failed to mention that an online pro zine recently rejected it while saying they "enjoyed reading it but after careful consideration have decided that we cannot use it at this time." It looked like a form rejection, but would they say they enjoyed reading every story? So maybe someone will want it.

I'm sorry this blog has been so boring lately!