The weather is lazily warming, the days are growing longer, and the view out my window is becoming greener and more alive. This is one of my favorite times of year; it is warm but temperate, it is busy but (usually) not hectic, and it always makes me feel invigorated. So it is no surprise that I had a productive month, and I hope to continue that trend as May deepens and Spring ebbs into Summer.
I sent off Blade of Glass for consideration with a new anthology. The publisher is one I have always been interested in, and they produce a fantasy anthology every autumn so it felt like a good place to try. I actually wrote a short story for them a couple of years ago (the theme was ‘Hearth, Table, Song’) but I found the information too late, and I could not get it done. I have since finished it and recently picked it back up to edit and maybe submit to them (or some other publisher).
Last month, I mentioned that I cranked out a five-thousand-word story in a single weekend for the anthology Book of Choices. I am pleased to say that it came out very well. My faithful readers enjoyed it, gave some suggestions, and I have done a series of edits and fixes to get it to a place I am happy with. The submission deadline is May 30th, so I have a little time, but I still plan on submitting it sometime in the next few days. Here is my brief, spoiler-free synopsis:
Hannah thinks the old leather book she found at a thrift store is a treasure. But when the book begins to communicate with her, she quickly realizes it is a curse. Soon Hannah will face impossible choices, decisions of life and death that will determine the fate of people she has never met.
The one hangup for this piece is that I cannot settle on a title; it has two and my readers were split on which one they liked. Once I make a choice (and give the story one last look), I will send that off for consideration.
At long last, I can now say that I have cracked the portion of book 2 in my YA series that has been giving me headaches and nightmares for months. I had to take a different approach from my previous attempts to get it sorted out. I stripped away a lot of what I had, leaving only the key points that had to be included. Then I gave myself a mandate that I had one day to figure it out. I sat down with my headphones on and nothing else to work on except that one piece of outlining, but instead of my usual bare-bones approach, I took a slightly more narrative tack and told it like a long synopsis of the entire section. What I came away with was a nearly four-thousand-word outline of the section; I added some very specific details as I got some ideas I liked, I fleshed out some of the new characters more, and I found some places to add some tension and a little action, along with some fun. It’s not perfect, and I can promise that I will be making some changes as I get to writing this portion of the story, but it is such a relief to have something that I think works well in the overall story and moves the characters along in their personal journeys.
So now that I have made progress on that, it moves the needle slightly when I think about my goals for 2024:
1 – I want finish editing book one of my YA series to the point that I consider it good enough for publication (it probably won’t be, but I want to get it as far as I can take it). I am continuing my second pass through book one, focusing on dialogue and continuity. Once I work through that, I will let it sit for a while as my wife goes over my changes.
2 – I want to begin querying agents to see if I can publish that book, and its sequels, traditionally. I’m not there yet but accomplishing goal #1 must happen first. I have drafted a query letter, but it needs substantial revision.
3 – I want to finish the first draft of book 2 in that series and begin outlining book 3 with an aim at starting the writing process this year as well. I’ve been chipping away at this. Other projects took up some time, and my frustration with the back end of act II kept stealing my focus. Now that I have (finally!) gotten over that hurdle, I expect more progress on this goal.
4 – I want to have at least 2 short stories accepted for publication (not ones I submitted in 2023). I submitted Blade of Glass to a different publisher, and I have another short story basically ready to go, so hopefully I will be able to check this goal off soon.
5 – I want to extend my visibility as far as social interactions and publicity goes. I have noticed an uptick on my Facebook reach, so that it nice to see. If you are reading this on social media, please leave me like (or any reaction) so I can get a better idea of whom I am reaching.
Some of my favorite days are in May, but two hold great significance for me. The first is May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day. Those films, especially the original, were important to me as a kid and as an adult; they helped shaped not only my writing, but the way I look at the world. The other is May 6th.That is my son’s birthday. He’s an incredible, intelligent, and funny young man. He inspires me every day to be a better person so he has someone in his life he can look up to. I hope I am doing a good job.
Keep writing, and May the Fourth Be With You!