My new schedule is awesome. I have a new schedule at work, by the way. For well over a year I had been trudging through an early shift, 6am to 3pm. I loved having a full afternoon of daylight ahead of me when I got home, and I even enjoyed being in the office a solid three hours before most everyone else — 3 hours of peace and quiet before the fluorescent lights blazed and the coffee machines were overrun with empty mugs waiting to be filled.
Tag: short story
Short Story Update – The Deadline is Coming!
So I’m pretty sure I mentioned last week that I’m working on a short story to submit to an online litmag contest this month. Right? Yes, here!
Five on the Fifth‘s submission deadline for their short fiction contest is looming rather large on August 31. I currently have about 1,500 words of a first draft, with a pretty clear idea of how I will set up the final act and conclude the story. I think my submission will end up finishing around 2,500 words, but I’ve been known to miscalculate projected word counts in the past. Continue reading “Short Story Update – The Deadline is Coming!”
July’s Theme – A Whole New World
Oh, July, the perfect month for beach reading, you practically handed me your own theme. I just finished Philip K. Dick’s The Man In The High Castle, and without giving spoilers, I will say its plot revolves around alternative presents (of the 1960s). The what if scenarios that could possibly have occurred, if only that one important thing was different. I had seen this type of idea in other media, for instance in Fringe, where they have not only an alternative present but an alternative universe, but for some reason hadn’t read anything with this device. Thus – Continue reading “July’s Theme – A Whole New World”
Finding a Stopping Point… and holding on for dear life
I’m one of those people who never feels totally satisfied with a written work. There is always a different idea, or a new line, or a twist to the rhyme scheme that I could have/should have made. That’s why I re-read my own writing as little as possible once it has been “finished” — or posted here. Continue reading “Finding a Stopping Point… and holding on for dear life”
Walt’s Garden
Walt’s Garden
Walt’s Garden stood in an old shop on East Main Street. It fell in line with a collection of other such buildings along the north side of the road; brick, one- or two-story shops with broad window fronts and colorful signs decorating the sidewalk, enticing passers-by to step inside. A broad promenade allowed patrons to walk with ease, or relax on the benches that faced the road. Young maples and dogwoods spread their branches along the curb, shielding the strollers and the shoppers from sun and traffic alike. Continue reading “Walt’s Garden”
Short Story Challenge – “First Day of Work” – Marcy Erb
I meant to post this about a week ago, since NaNoWriMo is already 8 days expired. But the results for my personal version of it with short stories – NaShoStoWriMo – were good: I wound up writing 15 short stories and over 22,000 words. My goal had been 20 stories, so I fell short of that, but considering I started the month with a whooping zero short stories ever written, I’m very pleased with the challenge. It accomplished its goal, which was to inspire me to write short stories.
Holiday travel for Thanksgiving really put a monkey wrench into my writing schedule and I marveled at folks in the U.S. doing NaNoWriMo who were able to power through that crazy last week of November when so many of us are traveling or shopping or prepping or hosting or cooking.
Continue reading “Short Story Challenge – “First Day of Work” – Marcy Erb”
NaShoStoWriMo Story – and Galumphing submission – The Soldiers’ Return
I promised to post one of the stories from my NaShoStoWriMo challenge and I’m only a few days late doing that…this one was inspired by our Galumphing poetry challenge for November. The words were: glass, lake, soldier. This one came in at 713 words – so only a few minutes of your time. Comments and suggestions welcome – I thank everyone for their encouragement regarding my personal short story challenge.
The Soldiers’ Return
By Marcy Erb
When Carl saw the soldiers coming across the pasture in formation, he wasn’t that surprised. He’d seen this before as a child in Germany and so he knew he needed to remain calm. That way, if he was called upon to take any action or speak to the soldiers, he would be able to do so in a dignified manner. Plus, he remembered; nobody else in his family spoke German.
Continue reading “NaShoStoWriMo Story – and Galumphing submission – The Soldiers’ Return”
NaShoStoWriMo Week 2 Complete – with unexpected word count!
Well, week two of NaShoStoWriMo (my version of NaNoWriMo, but with short stories) is complete and I met my goal. I have 10 short stories written so far. Because a lot of NaNoWriMo revolves around word count, I felt compelled to tally up my word count so far for the 10 stories and…wait for it…16,438 words! Holy Toledo! I really didn’t expect it to be that high already. Some of my stories are under 1000 words, but most are in the 1000 – 2500 word range. One behemoth is 3200 words.
Continue reading “NaShoStoWriMo Week 2 Complete – with unexpected word count!”
NaShoStoWriMo! My Version of NaNoWriMo
It’s been inspirational to see so many people participating in NaNoWriMo – and I was thrilled to see our own RSPC founder Steven D’Adamo roaring through it with over 10,000 words written so far. Go Steven!
I decided to challenge myself to a version of NaNoWriMo – with short stories. It’s NaShoStoWriMo (because one good abbreviation deserves another) and anyone is welcome to join me. I have challenged myself to write 5 short stories a week for November. That will be 20 stories by the end of the month. I have not set a particular word count for the stories, allowing it to range from 500 – 3000 per story. I have also not placed any restrictions on topic or style. I have hit my mark for the first week and am only a little behind for week two. We will see where this goes – but I am definitely not expecting 20 O. Henry masterpieces! Maybe one or two gems will result, maybe not.
Evening Satellite Publishing 