Has it really been since Halloween since I did a post??? Yikes!
Head on over to my writing contests page to get the link for the Okanagan Short Story contest. It must be postmarked by or before today so hurry to your post office and get your short story in for this wonderful opportunity.
You will find the contest rules there as well.
Good luck!!! 🙂
This morning I received an email from http://OneFortyFiction.com saying that my 140 character story has been selected as Today’s Story on their website.
Please head on over and check it out. It’s called “Chloe”.
Thanks everyone.
I love lists, they keep me organized. Without them I would be lost. My current list involves my writing. As mentioned earlier, my writing group is catching up to where I have left off which is wonderful incentive to get my butt in gear and start writing. My characters are never far from my mind and I am always thinking of what predicament to put them in next. I also have to get my short story ready for the Surrey Writers Conference, and for my next newspaper/magazine effort.
A good spring cleaning of my writing desk and I’m off to the races.
It must be spring because I am really excited about this! 🙂
Ok, so now my short story has gone through two revisions. Something new each time – how does that work? Hmmm… Anyway, I am going to polish it in the next couple of days and then send it off for the agonizing wait to see if it will be accepted.
I have much to keep me busy in the meantime as I start working on chapter three of my current novel – but that’s another story.
Wish me luck. 🙂
Well, my short story has been edited and now it’s time to start the corrections. Of course I still have the word count to think about. I can’t go over 800 words.
I find it amazing how a fresh pair of eyes can catch the stuff you thought obvious. Why is she here? Was she carrying this book or did it just appear out of know where? Well, no…
As I am feeling a bit under the weather, revisions will have to wait until the weekend.
Happy writing!
Now that my short story is done, I must face the task of editing. Does each sentence move the story along? Is my character changing or growing from her experience? Do I have all my senses?
How close am I to my word count? I have met all the requirements included in the writer’s guidelines? Most definitely!
Now I check for spelling, grammar, passive tense – words ending in “ly” – make sure I don’t have too many of those – and punctuation.
When I feel it is as good as it can get, it’s time to have someone else read it. Not family – they’ll love it no matter what – but someone who will be honest and let you know how to improve it.
A writing group/critique group is excellent for this. I will be taking my story to my critique group next week.
Past and present tense – my least favorite things to deal with when writing. Why I have so much trouble with them, I don’t know. I’m glad that I am learning how to spot it when I go through a chapter as I’m editing it. I am working on a romance short story now. The challenge is the 800 word count. What works well is to write the story and then cut it down to fit, leaving all the important events that move the story forward. I’ll let you know how it goes. 🙂
I need a realistic, romantic situation – a little out of the ordinary. Any ideas, anyone?
I spent three hours at one of my favorite coffee shops and finally finished my short story. It’s amazing how much I got done when I removed myself from all the distractions of home. I am now throwing some ideas around for a romance short story for a magazine. I’ll keep you posted.
I’m working on a short story now. My friend took a look at it and broke it into pieces. But, that’s okay. I’ve learned that you can’t take things so personally and you need to let your work go to improve it. What I need to work on is my senses – taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing. I need to bring my story to life. I have a deadline of next Friday, so I’ll let you know how it goes.
T 🙂
