Happy New Year! May 2011 be the banner year you publish a novel, an essay, a short story, win a contest!
My goals for this year include outlining a new book of composite short stories. AFDOC was born of short stories I wrote. I didn't use all of them by any stretch of the imagination, and I've wanted to do this composite compilation for quite a while, so I'm studying and reading and preparing to move forward with the idea.
A second goal is to write 200 short stories - yep I said 200. Got the idea from another writer who wrote 400, sent out 200 to magazines, and got 27 published. Small return? No way! In the writing world that's a huge return in one year. I've chosen a select few magazines to study back issues along with their current issues and am writing every day. Too often, right now, no huge and wonderful ideas have come to mind, so I'm pulling old files and ideas and moving forward, albeit slowly Will I make 200? Won't if I don't try.
Here's looking at you - Mahala
AFDOC and I did not spend much time together this week. However, I did write quite a lot - short stories and editing for several contests, including a non-fiction piece on the WAVES during WWII. My mother was in the WAVES, and I've had a short piece on hold about the fabulous women that defend our country for some time now. I'm expanding it to enter a contest and hopefully pay homage to them. Finished a ms I'm reviewing for another hopeful writer, whose work looks promising, so it isn't that I wasn't busy, but..... You know the story. And in my defense, I had one at home with a GI bug and one with another problem that required a doctor's visit, and then there was homework to catch up on and the beginnings of her first book report, etc. etc. etc.AFDOC and I have a date every morning next week and I hope to be back in the groove. Oh, did I tell you that I've started the underpinnings of another novel? Yes, I spent time on that as well. What could I do? My writing angel woke me up in the middle of every night last week with ideas popping. The characters were lined up and ready to introduce themselves and the opening chapter was champing at the bit to get typed onto the page, so I now have six pages of new story info {one I have notes on as far back as the 70s} and it's clambering to get inside my head and push AFDOC aside, so it's obvious I've got to get back on my regular writing schedule or I'll have multiple personality disorder in no time.I subscribe to what John Irving said with one caveat - STAY ON TASK! The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything. ~John Irving (1942 - ) Mahala
