Rough Month Ahead

For July, I hit a large quantity of my goals. The writing was a little slow, so hopefully I’ll be able to pick up the pace.

August, however, is gonna hurt.

Note the critique load:

  • 7 (seven!) critiques for UGWP…and they are of a longish variety (my submission makes 8)
  • 3 for CWC…and those are long, long, long

But, this is not all I have to do this month. Nope. Because I only submitted a partial partiality of a short story, I will have to submit the next installment at the end of the month to UGWP. And it’s my turn to submit to the CWC…so I hafta crank out at least 50 pages for them. What the (^^&(*#%R& was I thinking?

One can only laugh. Ha. Ha. Ha.

jenny maloney4 Comments

Got a submission ready

Okay, so it’s not the full story, but even partially done, the beginning is running at 6 pages. This is gonna be a long one, so I don’t feel bad anymore about splitting it into–probably 3–different submissions for the Sunday group.

Of course, in my excitement I forgot page numbers…off to do that by hand!

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At least I don’t have to have a page count

Here’s the decision with the short story: I will submit it in two parts.

As soon as I came to that conclusion, the words came just a little easier but I do need just a little more freakin time. I was busy with the novel and thought I could do it…but such was not the case. Then, reading Fred’s submission, I realized I didn’t need to finish it all at once! So I get to submit twice. Once this month and once next month. While I’ll only get one piece out of it, at least I’ll feel productive.

At least I don’t have a page count necessary this month like some other people.

Who I love.

jenny maloney4 Comments

Use it or lose it

It’s been a while since I’ve flexed my short story muscles. They seem very out of shape. Flabby even. I seem to keep wanting to add arcs and characters and whatnot. Admittedly, I’m planning a rather longer short story but I still feel that itch to add “Chapter One” to the top of the page.

However, I know it’s a short story. There is not enough material for a novel and it’s a short story that I intend to use for my future collection.

Originally, I chose to do this because I need to do something besides the novel. I’ve been looking at the same characters and rearranging the same situations. I just needed something new, ya know? Is that so wrong? So difficult to understand!?

Okay, I’m fine now.

So, I should have it done by Sunday. Hopefully before. Hopefully it won’t suck.

jenny maloney3 Comments

Argh, Ergh, and other various things I can’t say out loud

What. Did the whole of the magazine world get together and say “It’s rejection season! Form letters to all writers!”

At least that’s what it feels like. Just got two smackers in the mail and am having a hard time not feeling the world is against me. Bastards just don’t recognize my genius.

That’s all.

jenny maloney5 Comments

Now I know some bar things

Last night was interesting.

Met Ali at the bar and rushed through the back of the service area. Apparently I had everything turned around. There are a lot more coolers than I’d figured on. To say the least. The back of a bar looks far more industrial than the nineteenth century saloons would have you think. I know, seems obvious, right?

That being said, I pictured my fictional bar just a tad more old-school than what was there last night. No touch screens for registers. But that might be the only thing. Less classy menus…

Those are my brief initial thoughts. Now I need to bone up on what actual liquors would be there…the more generic ‘house’ brands and whatnot.

jenny maloney2 Comments

Bar Research

I suppose if you’re going to write a novel it should be about something you’re interested in. After all, at some point, you will have to research various aspects of your piece–so that you don’t sound like a total schlub to the people who read your work.

So Ali has graciously offered to let me follow her around one night this week so that I can get an inside look at how a bar is run. You know all those little bitty details of things, like layout and procedure and whatnot? Apparently I have that all wrong. She has been hounding me to fix the ‘bar stuff’.

The closest I’ve ever been to mixing drinks is as a barista. According to Ali, mixing coffee and mixing alcohol are two totally different beasts…though I notice a remarkable similarity in the layout of the sinks (she sent me pictures, which I have diligently saved to my computer). I look forward to snooping around.

Here’s a question for you: What novel would you write, just so that you could do the research part of it all? Would you set it during a specific time period–like the Salem witch trials, just so you could go to Salem around Halloween? Or about a specific subject–like rock climbing?

jenny maloney3 Comments