Life has been crazy (as usual) and I figured an update was in order. I’ve been trying to write more, which means I have been blogging less. Sadly, there are only so many hours in the day. (If you have figured out how to get around this, please share with me!)
Honorable Mention
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First, the super awesome news: my short story Under the Hallowed Tree received an Honorable Mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest. It is a science fiction and fantasy writing contest held quarterly, free to enter, and the first place prize is $1000. There is also a grand prize annually of $5000. Each quarter there are approximately 1000 and 1500 applicants. David Farland is the first reader, a very well respected author and writing teacher. (He taught Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and Stephanie Meyer, to name drop a few students.) I don’t think I have ever been more excited for almost winning a prize. ;)
About Under the Hallowed Tree: I tried out a new genre and managed to write a short story that fits in 3500 words. A teenage girl is abandoned by her date when a dime-sized owl shows up in her eye. She is picked up by a tattooed man on a motorcycle and starts having strange visions involving the murder of a woman she resembles. Under the Hallowed Tree an interwoven story of love and revenge is revealed.
Current Projects
I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire as the saying goes. Here’s what I’ve been spending my free moments (mostly at lunchtime) working on.
1. Steampunk short story for the next quarter of Writers of the Future is undergoing edits. Currently taking it to my local critique group and getting feedback from some beta readers too. Has to be submitted by the end of December.
2. Life of a Foundry Moth is getting an outline rewrite. I love the story, but the way that it was created doesn’t make for the most cohesive whole. I am also considering beginning the story earlier to give Merrick some screen time as a good guy.
3. The Dreamless City was put on the back burner so I could focus on the deadline for these short stories. I will be picking it back up in January to finish. I was able to add 30,000 during NaNoWriMo, but I couldn’t quite win.
4. Nonfiction project is also in the works. You’ve already seen some of the educational hints of it here in earlier posts. This is a totally new idea for me, so we’ll just see where it takes us. xD
Random Geekery
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About the new Star Wars trailer… I have mixed feeling. Yes, the vibe looks right, and I’m not going to get hung up on the broadsword lightsaber thing. (Although, we all know that katanas are cool and that lightsabers are just energy katanas, so why do we need to gum them up with gadgetry?) I did read many of the Star Wars novels growing up, but those stories are way down on the levels of canon list. I guess I was just hoping to see Admiral Thrawn, but would have settled for an update to Jedi Academy in a pinch.
If you haven’t bought your little girl the new My Little Pony: Equestria Girls movie about the battle of the bands, you really should. The storyline is good and lacking in horrible plotholes, and the songs are pretty good. They are actually real songs, certainly no worse than what you hear on Top 40 radio.
Last part of The Hobbit movies will be here soon. I totally want to go see it. Anyone know a cheap babysitter?
Tagged: Dreamless City, editing, My Little Pony, NaNoWriMo, nonfiction, rough draft, short story, Star Wars, The Hobbit, writers, writing Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
