First Draft
“The Fruit of the Summer Tree.” Done.
“This is the Church, and This is the Steeple.” A partly true story. 3000 words so far.
Editing
“Don’t Choose Astronaut”. One of the reasons I started editing short stories was that it seemed like it might be faster, a good way to get good at some skills that I could then use on the novels, once I had honed them. This has not turned out to be true. Now I'm thinking, is it really any faster to finish a short story than a novel? Does it scale? If it takes me a month to edit a 3000-word short story, would it then take me a year and a half to edit a 60,000-word novel? I don't think it would.
Take “astronaut” as an example. It's a 3000-word short story. Writing the first draft, I did tons of world-building, creating characters, researching their "situation", inventing the science that goes around it. I think it's the part that doesn't scale. The actual writing and editing of the words scales, which is why I can (I hope) keep the energy up for a short story, where it kind of dries up on a novel.
Something I tried here when I was stuck with a section was I abandoned the computer. I wrote those bits on paper, copying the bad text that I knew was bad, using a pen, scribbling, etc. This helped.
“Lucky Kate”. Started reading, then the middle got me down. The start and end are good, but the middle… Maybe this one should just have no middle, I don’t know.
“Selkie Girls are Easy.” Typed. Made notes about missing scenes. This story is better in my mind than on paper, so far, but there are some things I can fix.
Connecting
Ad Astra… I was considering bailing completely on this, and then just going on Sunday, but I wound up going Fri and Sun, which was good. I start to have some recognition of people at these things. I don’t know what that’s good for. The cool thing was, when people were talking about books in panels (like they do, at least at the panels I go to) I didn’t feel as enormously poorly-read as I usually do. I’ve read some of those books! A lot of them! And I’ve heard of the others, most of them! So win.
Circulating
1 out there.
6 rejects for 2013 so far.
One great thing about a rejection that says “the ending seemed weak to me” is that I know they got all the way to the end! It’s almost like a win.
Knitting
“Biohazard”. (pullover) Still working on that second sleeve, really I am.
“Ceremonial Armour”. KF cardigan. Finished the second pattern repeat. Two to go, then it can be my mindless project! Well, after I figure out the sleeve top, that is.
“Simone”. So I finished the front, then did the first lace panel, then the neck and armhole edges so I would know how much yarn I had left for the back, then finished the damn thing. Wearing it now, even though it’s more a fall sweater and today is the second day of real spring.
“Sunberry socklets”. Started.