Oct 18 update-WotF, ethnics, short stories.

 Okay, time for another writing update. This one has a very short Indie update:

I’m still stuck on my video for Kickstarter. I experimented and found I will have problems focusing with just me doing it. Plus finding a good level for the camera to be set at. I asked three different places for suggestions but so far no responses.

Now to writing. My last WotF story failed, completely. I really thought this one had better writing and could get a HM but nothing. It’s out at Fantasy and Science Fiction. They seem to be taking longer these days...that’s not saying much though. At one to three days longer they are still have about the fastest response around. Lightspeed is faster by far as in it takes JJA one to three days, there’s another one--I forget who at the moment--that is also quick but F&SF is faster than even most cyber magazines. Anyway, I even more think of this story as my best so far--especially in writing but the story is good too--I hope for a personal comment at least but...

I have problems trying to remember to send out stories, I usually send a bunch out on a Saturday and/or Sunday. Most of them being over the internet these days. I think I will try one a day and see if that works better. 

I am working on three stories at the moment: a steampunk Special Ops team form the POV of the Lieutenant in charge-it’s the second in a series, a UF story--the latest in a series abut a male mage--most of mine lately have been female mages, and the latest in my Urban Alchemist series. This last one has six or seven stories in it. Most are short and what I call simple stories. No world saving, not even any person saving. One story my hero Samuel has to find the clothes of a group of people. The clothes, including purses etc, just vanished. And the people are locked out of their homes. It does take Samuel three tries to get the clothes back but is in danger, he learns something in the precess. Another story deals with a Gnome plague someone has.  This last one is a combo. I seem to be doing a bunch of Gnome stories. That was the third one. I may do another one soon. 

I did a hard SF flash. It’s at least close to hard SF anyway. I sent that one to F&SF today. I originally wrote it as 460 or so word story but I expanded on it, delated some stuff, changed some details, added details etc, and now it’s around 720 words. I may try to add enough to send it to Futures, which wants hard SF stories from 750 to 850. 

The story I have now at WotF is still good writing--for me and a good story--I think. It may also have the novelty that David Farland wants. I use characters that aren’t so novel but I put a twist to the plot. I hope. 

Trying to decide on which story to do for the next quarter at WOTF. I have one story there now but it won’t be judged for at least another month. I think I will do one story I have hand written out. I didn’t do it on purpose but it came out the type of story they like. So with a little modifying here and there I think it will fit better. The writing is another problem though. But I still have another type of story I thought of two quarters ago. I know pretty much the whole plot. Never wrote it out though, very recently I came up with the opening. Maybe I do it the next quarter but start it sooner. The one I hand wrote might be different enough too plus it does have try and fail cycles like David wants, plus using the five human senses for setting and other things. We shall see how he likes this one. Finally got back the rejection before I could post this....He doesn’t-of course. So as I have said before only one pro editor likes  my writing and he’s not taking any stories at the moment.

I am tempted to work on NaNoWriMo this year, more on that here. But they want you to do a 50,000 word novel during the month of Nov. Fifty thousand is rather short for a novel but it’s a good range for a month. I have done it four times. This time I want to do the version where you can do short stories as long as they relate and are a total of 50,000. I have a couple of ideas on that but I have also thought about rewriting-as from scratch-a couple of novels I started but never finished. That was years ago and I’ve learned so much about writing since I would have to change so much it would be easier to just start over. One is Space Opera, one is UF actually set in the same world as the one I am trying to get Indie published, and a third is epic fantasy-I think. But I am also tempted not to do it. A whole lot of rushing around doing just that story plus a tiny bit on other stuff. I need to start my next WotF story and revise a couple of short stories plus work on getting that novel ready to go. 

And speaking of ethnic MCs--not that anyone was at the moment--but I have decided that one of my next MCs in UF will be half Arabic and half Mexican. I mean as in from Mexico. Or I may make the UF guy I am doing now that fusion. I have a story with a black MC and one with a half fairy and half Armenian. The number two book for Two Struggles will have a black mage and hispanic plus one in a wheelchair. Actually I have already introduced the hispanic one but he will be around more in the second. Even though I dislike Political Correctness very much--too demanding and dictatorial no matter how it started--using different ethnics, females, and even people with disabilities goes beyond PCness in my viewpoint. Nothing wrong with it--of course being forced, one way or another to do it is Totally and Way wrong. 

That’s it for this time unless I remember something I forgot, I haven’t had a PS for a while but it’s still possible.