October 2023 in Review
Hello Funny People,
Art by Devora Johnson
The beginning of the end of the year has indeed been a strange one. A few things have happened that impacted my writing progress, but those were nothing but positive in all the right ways.
Well, maybe with one exception (but I'll save that for it's own blogpost).
First, Some Personal News
For five days this month, my writing to
Routine went to absolute crap. However, it wasn't because of something bad; it was because I was traveling.
My family and I went to Southern California for a short vacation, spending time mostly in the Orange County and LA County areas. We saw whales, did a classic Hollywood bus tour, toured the Nixon Presidential Library, and did lots of beach walking. However, the real reason we were there was to celebrate with my Aunt Elvi.
Those of you who follow this blog might recall the post I made last year in November, marking the passing of my Uncle James. My Aunt Elvi, his widow, decided to mark the one-year anniversary of his passing by holding a celebration of life. It was that celebration we were there to take part in, as the celebration also included a Catholic Mass to mark the occasion.
Southern California was as lovely as ever, although its sprawling, suburban patchwork structure still makes it a place I'd never want to live. What kind of "city," like Anaheim or Los Angeles, doesn't have apartment buildings...or even duplexes? So stupid.
Anyway, since returning I've been trying to readjust to the old routine, with some success.
Report on the Short Fiction Front
Sadly, my submission got rejected from the MYRIAD DUEL submission call, but that didn't surprise me. On the positive side, I finally finished my story revisions for Nature Fights Back, so that piece will see the light of day in the near future.
Most of my energies for short fiction have mainly been focused in revising my Sword & Sorcery/Dark Fantasy story for the Insurgent Anthology call from Lost Boys Press, which I finally submitted October 26th. After I rewrote it from memory (a process I went into in a different post), I decided to give it a new title. Hopefully, you'll get a chance to read "Hard Lessons Once Learned," in the near future. Should this call not result in an acceptance, I know several other venues that could be open to it, including Hexagon Magazine, set to reopen this November. There's also always Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Savage Realms Monthly, and Old Moon Quarterly for me to consider.
I've also been taking time to go over "Bendiciones de la Isla Tortuga," for the coming We Are All Thieves of Somebody's Future call from Air and Nothingness Press this November. That story, I believe, is as good as I can make it, consider the calls limitations and focus. This might well be the longest I've ever spent working on a short story, as I drafted this thing back in...February? I took a week to do it while still drafting my previous novel, and after one major rewrite, plus some editing nips and tucks, I think it's ready.
I've also decided to give "Too Much of a Good Thing," my hard SF story for the Familiars call from Zombies Need Brains, another look. I've given it a preliminary polish but I'm not sure if that'll be enough to increase my chances at an acceptance. I do love the story though. That open call doesn't end until the end of January, but I plan to send it sooner than that.
Finally, I may soon return to the adventures of my character Boltstone. My friend, Diane Callahan, the Quotidian Writer, got in touch with me recently to say she's having a look at the short story "Boltstone and the Missing Magus," the last of the Boltstone shorts I wrote last year. Presently it's the only one that I haven't submitted anywhere of note, mainly because I dislike the ending. However, with Diane's keen editorial eye, I might soon have the insight I need to veer it closer to something worth submitting.
#AmDrafting & #AmEditing
After getting back from California, I found it hard to get back into drafting mode with my Space Opera novel. So, instead, I changed course and started editing something: my first novel, A Sword Named Sylph. This followed after I came across a post on the Threads app from a fellow writer who said they'd cut several chapters from the front of their present book, so the novel now started closer the inciting incident.
Recently, I've become more ruthless when it came to cutting words from my projects. However, ASNS predated this new willingness. So, I gave it a try. I cut the first two chapters from the book, appropriating two scenes from it into a new three-part prologue. Adding one brief extra scene to what was already there, the book now begins with what was chapter three. Chapter Three in ASNS was where the inciting incident occurred, so I figured putting it upfront would do better to hook potential agents when I start querying this book again.
Since making that drastic cut and revision (which shortened the book by about 2000 words), I decided to read my way through it again, doing a line-edit as I went. At present, I'm up to Part Four (of Five) in the book, and to my joy, I find myself reminded of how much I loved this story. Three years of #AmDrafting, one year of #AmEditing, all worth it. I truly believe if the right agent and editor get this book, it will be a perfect introduction to The Tegucia Cycle.
I still intend to complete a first draft of the Space Opera novel. I'm nearing the end, and with only two months left in the year—one of them being NaNoWriMo—its the best time to complete the project.
Miscellaneous
My reading has been rather scattered recently, much to my chagrin. Not sure why my brain meat hasn't been gripped by longer narratives at the moment, but despite having six different novels on the go, I can't seem to bring myself to finish any of them. Stupid.
That said, I have been able to dip into short fiction more, specifically the short fiction published in the Weird Tales 100 Years of Weird Anthology.
Of course, there are plenty of stories in this book I have read before, multiple times, like Ray Bradbury's "The Scythe," there are a number of things, particularly the older stories, that I haven't. "Worms of the Earth," one of Robert E. Howard's Bran Mak Morn stories, and the only one told from Mak Morn's viewpoint, left me thoroughly creeped out. "Dead Jack and the Case of the Bloody Fairy," by James Aquilone left me laughing and eager to try my hand at occult detective fiction of my own. I've actually got a story start in my files right now that runs along these lines, so I might give it a go.
However, the story I found myself most intrigued by was "Black God's Kiss," the first of the Jirel of Joiry stories by C.L. Moore. The dark poetry of the prose, Jirel's single-minded goal to seek revenge, and Moore's willingness to use esoteric, uncanny description to characterize the dimension she ventures into to make it as eerie and truly alien as possible has given me new respect for Moore's craftsmanship. She might well be my favorite of the old Sword and Sorcery writers now. I have a fix-up edition of five of the six stories (one of them featured a character crossover with another of Moore's protagonists and isn't included), and plan to read them through.
Finally, as a special acknowledgement to my own efforts, I'm proud to say that, with "Hard Lessons Once Learned," submitted on October 26th, I've made 200 short story submissions in the last two years. Not bad, if I say so myself. I plan to make it three hundred next year, if possible.
— IMC 🙃
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