Working on the fly...

On my plane flight over to the States, I got a lot done on my "Firewater" story. Overall, I wrote over 2,500 words and got within one scene or two of the end. Of course, this is just the zeroth draft, but it is encouraging. At least I'll have a ball of clay on the table to work with now. 

Slow going

I got a little bit of work done last night on "Firewater," but it was slogging work. Between packing and other housework, and a healthy bout of procrastination, I didn't get much done. I got one short scene written and some details worked out, but that's about it. Oh well. Maybe I can get more done when I'm at the car wash today.

On the Shortlist at ASIM

Just got an email from ASIM that my story "Woman is Cipher is Woman" has now made it to the third round, also known as the shortlist. At this point, it's in the hands of editors, who are trying to find a place for it in one of their upcoming issues. According to the email, about 1 in 3 submissions make it from this point to full publication, so it's not a sure thing, but it is encouraging. Also, they said that they'll contact me within two to three months, so it may be a while before I hear again on this. I'll post an update as soon as I know more. 

Sold!

Just got an email from RayGunRevival. They decided to buy my story "Elbow Room" for inclusion in an upcoming issue. Hooray!

I'm pretty pumped about this naturally. I don't know too many details, as they just sent the email, but I imagine I'll find out soon enough when it'll be published. At that point, I'll post with a link pointing to it online.

Working on a new story

I've now started work on a new story, tentatively entitled "Firewater." It's sort of a new way of doing things for me, because a close friend of mine requested it and gave me some parameters, since he wants to film it for a short film project. Since he doesn't have much of a budget, I'm suddenly restricted in what I can depict or have happen. It's still going to be a sci-fi piece, but I'm really going to need to work hard to keep it interesting and stay within the limits of what can be filmed.

Also, this is the first time I've written anything "on request." Usually, I generate an idea that excites me and go with it, or I run with something that popped into my head. The common denominator here is having an idea that excites me from the beginning. This kind of feels like I'm putting the cart before the horse in some ways, having to write fiction on demand. We'll see how it works out.

Flash Fiction Contest

In about two hours' time, I brainstormed a story (based on space monkeys no less), wrote my first draft, typed it, edited it and then sent it via the internet off to hopefully be published. It was for a flash fiction contest that RayGunRevival is running right now through the end of July. The contest winners will be published in their August 15th issue. I like the little story I wrote and was pleasantly surprised how quickly it fell together. Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Spruced Up and Out the Door

I spent the last few days dusting off "Elbow Room," a likeable (at least in my view) little story that I originally submitted way back when to ASIM. It made it to the third round before being fired back to me. Anyway, I recently re-read it, saw a lot of good stuff there (again, IMO), and decided to give it a fresh go-over of editing and then send it on to a magazine I've discovered more recently: Ray Gun Revival,a golden-era sci-fi magazine that specializes in space opera and similar stories within that science fiction sub-genre. They also published my first published short story, so perhaps they'll be more amenable than many towards this effort. We'll see.

Anyway, it's on its way, and sometime soon, I'll hear what they think.

I'll keep you posted!

Edited "Sinking NeoVenice"

Before bed, I worked for around an hour or two on "Sinking NeoVenice," and got it to first draft stage. Now I just need to enter the changes into Scrivener and then I'll export the finished draft and send it around to my readers to get some feedback. 

Made it to Round Two

Just heard from ASIM. "Woman is Cipher is Woman" has now made it to Round Two of the three-round process. According to the email I received, I should expect to hear more from them in about 2-3 more weeks. 

Round One

Checked the slush pile tracking page on ASIM today, and my submission (#8240) is in round one. I expect it'll be there around a week or so, and then if it's not rejected, will go on to round two.

They got it

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (hereafter to be referred as ASIM) emailed me this morning to let me know that they got my submission ("Woman is Cipher is Woman"). I've been assigned a tracking number, so I'll see if and/or when it advances in the selection process. I'll keep updating here whenever I know more, which should be every week or so (depending on how far the story gets in their slush pile process)