I know everyone has been reviewing 2010 since it is the beginning of a new year and I’ve decided to do the same. Why? Because I believe in celebrating successes and identifying problems so I don’t repeat them. So let’s begin with problems. I came into 2010 working a contract. That contract ended in April. I actually started looking for work in January but didn’t find anything until August. I came very close a couple times, but nothing happened until August. I was very lucky to have a good friend recommend me for the job I’m currently doing. It isn’t what I was doing before or even what I’m trained to do, but I’m enjoying it. I just wish it […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
I’ve been doing a bit of introspection the past while. Maybe it’s natural, being a new year and all, and it is something I do from time to time. I do it as a self-improvement exercise. I look at what I haven’t liked in the past while and try to see what my role was in it. Perhaps I was too laid back or maybe I was too intense. Did I make the most of opportunities or did I let self-doubt intrude. I won’t say that it always works but I do believe the process keeps me moving in the right general direction. It’s one of those things that is never a single iteration either. I try to do it […]
Read more2010, A Mixed Bag, Really
On this, the end of 2010, I find myself reflecting on the past year as so many of us do on New Year’s Eve. As much as I would love to say the past year was the best ever, I’m forced to concede that it’s probably more of a draw than a win. On the plus side (might as well start positive, right?): Sold first, then second, then third short stories EVER. For someone (namely me) who was desperate to get his work published, I count this as a major achievement. Sold first novel, a YA story called “Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero”. I count this an even BIGGER achievement than the previous one since I’ve been trying to do exactly […]
Read moreKeep an Eye Open for Opportunities
If you are like me, some of you stories are motivated by various calls for submissions, be it for magazines, anthologies or other. But what if your story doesn’t make the cut? What should you do with it? There are several things you could do with the story. One would be throw it away because it was written specifically for a given project or perhaps you could podcast it because it wasn’t picked up. There is another option. Send it out again. Have a different market lined up before you even send the story out the first time. You may think a story only fits a single market but you are probably wrong. Check it out on one of the […]
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