Living the Fictional Dream

So, I have this story that I would really like to see published somewhere (of course, I’d like to see all my stories published, but I think this one is a particularly good one). The big strike against it is it’s length. I’ve cut thousands of words since my first draft and it’s where I think it needs to be to tell the story, but it’s still around 8K.

Yesterday, I actually had some time to look through open anthology markets, and I found one that seems perfect, except for one thing. The theme of my story and the theme of the anthology match. And they will look at stories up to 10K. However, the problem is the genre. They want something with a horror slant, and my story is really more urban fantasy.

Should I send it to them?

Part of me says, “Go ahead and send it. The worst they can say is no, and who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky, and they’ll love it despite the slight difference from what they wanted.” However, the other part of me says, “Don’t even bother. It’s not what they want, so they’ll reject it right away. What’s the point in sending something out for a sure rejections and tying it up so that you can’t send it elsewhere except as a simultaneous submission?”

Eh… I guess I’ll have to think on this a little longer…

It’s been a good few weeks for print publications and reprints.

First there were my four flash pieces that were accepted for the annual Every Day Fiction anthology.

Then, earlier this week, I got notice that a short story I wrote a while back was accepted into an anthology about dragons that will come out next year.

And today I had an email that an e-zine that published a short story of which I am particularly fond is launching a print version, and they want to reprint my story in it. I won’t give too many details away, as I don’t think the new version has officially been launched yet, but I’m excited to see this story in print.

Fun things in store for next year. It’s neat when a story you like makes a second appearance (and possibly garners a tad more money), and, while I love e-zines, there is something extra special about seeing your stories in print. I’m looking forward to it!

For your post-Thanksgiving reading pleasure, check out the new issue of A Thousand Faces, which includes my story, “Dinner for Three.” This can loosely be considered a sequel of my story “Bridge Club,” which was published in ATF issue 6.

The idea behind “Bridge Club” was to explore what super heroes’ spouses do while their loved ones are out saving the world. “Dinner for Three” goes back to the hero’s point of view and explores the options when things don’t work out with the spouse.

I love stories about the intrapersonal relationships of superheroes. Sure, action-adventure and crime-fighting are great, but what happens when the masks and capes come off? Can a super hero go on a blind date like any other person, or will the secret identity always get in the way?

If you read “Bridge Club,” you might be interested to note that Greg from “Dinner for Three” is the same character as Craig in “Bridge Club.” The bridge club members all use pseudonyms — Greg just wasn’t very creative!

If you check out “Dinner for Three,” leave me a comment here and let me know what you thought of it. I hope you enjoy reading the newest jaunt into my super hero ‘verse as much as I enjoyed writing it!

And, once you’re over there, you should check out the rest of the new issue. There is some great fiction in there, including “A Son of the Night” by K.C. Ball. And, as with all issues of ATF, if you want to have it after the issue is taken offline, go here to buy your very own print copy.

My goodness — November has been such a busy month. It is lucky I didn’t attempt NaNo, because I surely would have failed. What with the last of busy season at work, I’ve been doing well the past few weeks to take care of the baby and myself and get all that work done. Things are finally slowing down a bit, though, and I’m definitely looking forward to the long weekend.

Some people on FaceBook have been putting what they are thankful for in their status updates all month. There are so many things that I’m thankful for — the health of my little girl who was born so early and is now doing great, supportive family and friends, an understanding job, my sister’s wedding that’s coming up… I could go on and on.

But, in addition to all that real life stuff, I’m also thankful for my characters. Characters are the most important things in a story (in my opinion, anyway). A story can have a great plot, but if I don’t identify with or at least like/respect/enjoy spending time with some of the characters, I won’t enjoy either reading or writing a story.

Here are some of my favorite characters from my own stories and why I’m thankful for them:

• Caryn — She is the main character in my Y/A fantasy novel-in-progress. As far as characters go, she is the one who takes the most from me. Writing Caryn taught me that you can’t be too nice to your characters — if you don’t force your characters to go through hardships, you’ll have a very boring story.
• Sean — He is the male lead in the same novel discussed above. He was the first really flawed character I created, and I’ve learned lots about writing trying to balance his flaws with the hero he is destined to be.
• Sarah — She is the main character in my short story, “The Widow and the Stranger.” She is the first character whose first person voice came to me fully formed, which helped me better utilize that point of view (most of my stories are in third person). She also helped me realize that a plot does not have to be grand or action-packed to make a good story.
• Luke — He is a werewolf and the hero of my urban fantasy universe, the pack leader who doesn’t want to be in a pack. He featured in my story “Alpha,” and he’s the main character in another story set in that ‘verse that is making the rounds.
• Super Sonic — My very first superhero, the main character in “Zero to Clean in 10 Minutes or Less.” That little piece of flash started a whole universe, and I’m glad he finally got his happy ending.
• Daniel — He is the male lead in a Y/A novel that I wrote for NaNo a few years ago (I stalled on the revisions, so it is also still classified as “in progress”). Daniel is deaf, and trying to write him was a good way for me to stretch my writing chops by writing about someone who is not like me. I researched into deaf culture and tried to make him as real as possible.
• Viola — She is the antagonist in my short story, “The Sorcerer’s Wife.” When I wrote that story, Viola was the villain, but as I wrote, her character came to life and leapt off the page. She is the embodiment of something one of my graduate school professors said: “Everyone is the hero of his/her own life story.” Once I thought about the story from Viola’s perspective, it was a whole new ballgame.

So, those characters are some of the writing-related things that I’m thankful for this year.

What about you guys? Have you ever written a character who changed you as a writer or whom you could not live without? What writing-related things are you thankful for this year?

I just saw the full list of stories chosen for Every Day Fiction Two (the new anthology) over at EDF’s forums. Looks like an awesome line-up. In addition to the stories from writing group mates Alex, Jens, and Stephanie, there are a lot of other favorites: K.C., Gay, Kevin, Sylvia, and more… I can’t wait to get a copy.

I was trying to figure out the reasoning behind the story order in the antho. I guess it is chronological? Since I have more than one this year, I was able to note that mine are in chronological order (and, thus, fairly evenly spread throughout the volume), so I guess that is the overall method? I could figure it out if I looked up the publication dates of other people’s stories, I suppose, but I’m not that anal (nor do I have that much free time).

While we’re all waiting for the EDF anthology to be released, I was pleased to discover that Alex has today’s EDF story of the day. It’s called “With the Band,” it’s a fun piece of rock-n-roll science fiction. Go read it!

And now, I’m off to get as much work done as possible before lunch and my first official NaNo write-in! Maybe I will finally get that freaking zombie story revised that the group critted for me while I was on maternity leave!

I’ve recently been reading the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. I purchased the first book, Green Rider, several years ago, and I remember, at the time, being completely hooked by the novel and devouring it. I was seduced by the cover art, which I found particularly good on this novel as cover art is not ususally a compelling motive for me to buy a book, but I loved the story, too.

Karrigan, the main character, comes across one of the king’s messangers in the forrest (a green rider) who is dying, and he makes her swear to deliver the message in his stead. Then adventures ensued in a well-thought-out fantasy universe full of magic, magical creatures, stoic good guys, and creepily evil villains.

It was much later that I discovered there was a sequel to the novel, and longer still before I was able to start reading the sequel (First Rider’s Call). I picked up FRC last month and realized it had been so long since I read the original novel that I should read it again before picking up FRC.

My second read of GR was a lot different than my first. I still really like Karrigan. She’s plucky and fiesty and she takes initiative — some of my favorite traits in a heroine. I also still liked the story.

However, I have gotten pickier over the years about the types of writing I enjoy. Little foiables and quirks in the writing do a lot more to throw me out of the story than they used to. It can be a little annoying, actually, because I remember really enjoying GR the first time around, and this time… well, if I hadn’t already purchased the sequel, I don’t think I would have finished it.

One of Britain’s writing quirks that bugs me is a tendency to over narrate. We’ll be going along through Karrigan’s point of view, and then suddenly she will start thinking of something totally random. Like she’s walking to the palace to see the thing and then her mind wanders off for half a page about a garden or some other big of scenery. Or, sometimes, it’s acutally important information, like how the government works or why the riders came into existance, but it’s still off topic from what the character was doing when they randomly started thinking about this. The information doesn’t flow with the pace of the narrative. It feels like the author wanted to get this information out there for the reader, so she shoe-horned it in.

I know I’ve been guilty of that in my own writing from time to time. When you know your world so intimately, you want the reader to know it that way, as well. You get carried away with the behind-the-scenes workings and want to get everything in there that you’ve put thought into during the world creation.

Part of being a good writer, I think, is realizing when you’ve gone too far and edit yourself down. The workings of the government are only important if they impact the plot. Why tell us about a budget meeting of the council if it has no bearing on the bad guy or the war at hand? It might be interesting (might), but it doesn’t move the plot along.

And, if the information is necessary to the plot, you still have to find the right time to bring it in. Narration is good, but maybe it would be better to just talk about it instead of having the POV character think about it. It can feel odd for a character to randomly start thinking about a bit of information, but a skilled writer can insert a bit of narration into the mix without the cumbersome “she thought,” etc., and keep the flow moving. Or, if the character has to actually think about it, then make her have to act on it in some way, as well.

If you enjoy fantasy, I would still recommend the Green Rider series. It’s not bad, and parts of it are quite good. But it wouldn’t be at the very top of my recommendation list.

It’s already 11/4, and I have yet to even go to a write-in. Crazy! I’m not used to this. Not that my hours aren’t totally accounted for — the busy season at work and taking care of the little one have been fully consuming.

However, I must admit, I do miss the hustle and bustle of NaNoWriMo. There is something energizing about jumping into a novel feet first and taking off running toward the finish line. It’s hard, but it’s satisfying at the same time.

My only real complaint about NaNo is that the finished product requires a lot of revision. Since novel revision is something I am particularly bad at (illustrated by the fact that even though I’ve completed several novel first drafts, I have yet to finish something that is finished enough to think about sending off to agents), NaNo isn’t quite as helpful to me as it could be. But it sure does give you a rush. And that creative rush is awesome. So is the companionship of knowing so many people are out there pulling on the universal muse at the same time.

I’m looking forward to my writing group’s NaNo write-ins. Several are coming up. We’ve got some Friday lunch write-ins scheduled, as well as a couple on Tuesday nights and Saturday brunches. We’ll see how many I can make. I do hope to get some writing done during November. Any progress would be a victory compared to my snail’s pace this year.

I hope all you Wrimos out there are doing well and that you’re still in that high of the first 10K. I wish you all plentiful word counts, and that you are spared from any carpal tunnel or eye strain issues. Keep it up!

Oh, and in other news, writing group mate Stephanie had a story up at Every Day Fiction recently. Check it out here, if you have time. It’s a short read — light and fun.

I’ve mentioned before how my writing output has severly diminished since my little girl was born last July. I don’t get down on myself about it because it’s really only to be expected. Juggling a newborn and a full-time job is CRAZY! I’m finding it difficult enough to carve two nights of the month out to attend writing group functions, much less write on my own. (Not that I’m complaining… Summerlyn is the light of my life and what she needs comes first.)

What I’m finding interesting is that, as if to compensate for this lack of writing time, my subconscious keeps hammering away at little plot bunnies. I had one pop into my head a month or two ago for a horror story (horror like scary; not horror like blood and guts gruesome). The idea started as just a single line and an image in my head. Previously, that would have been enough for me to start writing, but now I just don’t have the time to do it.

So, as if in response to this lack, my subconscious keeps turning the idea over and over, and every time it comes to my mind again, it’s a little more formed. Now I actually have two characters, a partial plot, and the ending of the story in mind (it will probably be flash or a very short story). I can actually see this story fairly vividly in my mind. Whenever I do have time to sit down and write (hopefully, during one of the November NaNo write-ins my writing group will host), the first draft of this story should come out pretty quickly!

What this has taught me is that I will always be a writer. I knew that before, but I’d never really tested it. There’s never been a time like this in my life before when I wanted to write but actually couldn’t do it for weeks and months at a time. Previously, if I wanted to write, I either sat down and did it right then or maybe only had to wait a day or two to find some time. If I wasn’t writing before, it was because I had no ideas, not because I had them but didn’t have the time.

This proves that I will always create stories, whether I get the chance to write them down or not. It’s part of my make-up… pretty much part of my very DNA. The stories are there — all I have to do is hear them out. And if the muse is strong enough and if I devote them enough thought time (even if I don’t have enough keyboard time), they will still be formed — a little more slowly, but they will eventually be there just the same.

The fact that creating stories is so natural to me that I do it even when I am not able to pursue it, is why I will always pursue this writing thing. I may never have a novel published or be able to give up my day job in favor of staying home to write (I hope that’s not the case, but one has to face up to the possibility), but I will always be a writer at heart.

I think that’s the mark of a true writer — the ones who do it because they love it; the ones who do it because they have to, because the stories will be there either way. If you go into this business to try to find fame or fortune… well, the odds are significantly stacked against you. I can’t imagine sticking with it for those reasons, because there is no guarantee. But sticking with it because the stories have to be told — that’s a writer’s heart!

I received word over the weekend that I’ve had four flash pieces accepted for the 2009 Every Day Fiction anthology. I had one story (“Remember?”) accepted into last year’s anthology, which was exciting enough, but to have four accepted is amazing!

Not to toot my own horn, but I felt that the odds were pretty good that “The Care and Feeding of Your Sleeping Knight” would get in. It was on the top 10 stories of all time list for several months running.

“A Million Faces” seemed to have a good shot, as well. It was on the top 10 stories of all time list for a while, as well — though not nearly as long as tCaFoYSK. Personally, I think aMF is the best story I’ve ever had appear on EDF, so I was really rooting for this one and am thrilled it got into the anthology.

The other two stories to be selected surprised me — “Fortune Cookies” and “Frigid.”

“Fortune Cookies” is a fun little short — a little humor and a little surreal. I didn’t realize it was a favorite, and was surprised to look back at it today and see it had such a high star rating.

With “Frigid,” I’d actually thought it was published after the anthology deadline, but I looked back and it just squeaked into the running by being published at the end of August. That poor story actually had a bad start out at EDF due to technical issues in which every other paragraph was missing when it was originally posted. The EDF crew fixed it right after I emailed them about it, and it’s fine now. I hadn’t realized until I went back to look at it today that it actually recovered more than I’d thought on the star rating. It’s not ranked as high as the others mentioned above, but it had barely been holding at 3 stars when it first went live. I’m glad it got in, though, because I’m partial to my superhero universe. This is the first story set in that ‘verse to be published somewhere other than the wonderful A Thousand Faces.

All in all, I am surprised and excited by this multiple acceptance, and I cannot wait until the new anthology is available. Last year, I gave several copies as Christmas gifts. I wonder if the new one will be out in time for that. If so, that is several gifts taken care of already. If not, then I’ll save the copies for next year’s birthday gifts instead.

I can’t wait to find out who else I know has stories in the anthology. I’ve heard that Alex had a story accepted, but quite a few of my writing group mates, blog friends, and even a college friend had at least one story published over there this year. There were so many good stories, I don’t know how Camille and Jordan can narrow it down! If you’ve had a story accepted, comment and let me know!

Oh, and in case you’re interested, in addition to the five stories linked above, I have had two other stories published over at EDF in the past year – “A Castle in the Clouds” and “Honor Bound.” If you’ve never read them, check them out.

The search terms that result in hits on this blog are interesting — at least to me.

For example, I wrote one post this year comparing my new favorite vampire paramour, Sookie Stackhouse, to former powerhouse Anita Blake, and, I swear, that post has garnered more search hits than any other. When I go through the list, 44 of the 108 tearch terms used in the past month were related to Sookie, Anita, or both.

My posts mentioning the Twilight series and the TV show Castle garnered quite a few search terms of their own, though not as many as Anita and Sookie did. Strangely enough, many searches people ran trying to find out the names of the writers in the poker game in the first episode of Castle hit my blog quite a few times. I guess I am a writer (and my blog is a writing blog) and I wrote an entry about Castle, so it makes sense.

The lesson I’ve learned from the above is that if you want search engines to direct people to your blog, blog about big names in pop culture. Of course, the caveat is that most of the people who visited my blog due to one of these searches spent little to no time on the site. For the one or two who spent a few minutes, most of the others spent 00:00:00.

My post on vampires versus werewolves came up with several search topics that were actually on the same topic (search terms like “what’s the rivalry between vampires and werewolves”).

My recent post about wacky eye colors in L.J. Smith’s novels made my blog hit on a search for “characters with unique eyes” — so, I guess, that one person’s crazy eyes is another person’s unique.

The biggest laugh I got reading the search results was the search term “clavicle sexy.” The blog hit on that one because of the post I wrote a while back about the latest novel in the Luxe series and how the auther way overused the term clavicle when describing her characters.

And then there is the strangeness of searches like “erin selkie” and “erin’s story blog.” Of course it makes perfect sense that those searches would turn up hits for this blog. The oddness comes from the fact that of those two searches, one recorded zero time spent on the site and the other recorded only 3 seconds spent. Is there another Erin out there who has a story blog and/or who has written about selkies? If so, I would like to meet this doppleganger.

The person who searched for “erin ‘the wall’ hypersonic tales” only spent 14 seconds on the site, and I know good and well that person was searching for me. But maybe they didn’t want the blog, but wanted to look at the actual story on hypersonic tales?

Last, but not least, someone came to my blog as a result of the search “summerlyn’s dream.” I really wonder what they meant by that. I assume they were not referring to my baby girl. It’s amazing how many Summerlyn’s I’ve heard about since we chose that name for our daughter. We thought it was so unique — the person we heard about it from spelled it Summerlan, and we used a different spelling. But, since July, I’ve had at least two other people tell me they know someone named Summerlyn (one a little girl born two weeks after ours). I would be interested to know what Summerlyn this searcher was looking for when they wound up on this blog.

Well, there’s not really a conclusion to this rambling post. I’m about out of blogging time for today, so I’d better end this. Maybe some day I will think of a way to use these search results to the benefit of my blog, but, with the exception of blogging about big pop culture items, I can’t see how at the moment (and I don’t want to blog about pop culture as an angle… I only want to do it if I’m moved to).

I guess the biggest moral of the search results story is that, 9 times out of 10 (or even more often than that), they don’t really matter. The searchers don’t spend any time here anyway, because, no matter how relevant the term, it wasn’t what they actually wanted to read about anyway.

Happy searching and blogging everyone!