i just finished arranging my 25 flash pieces in the order i want them to be in my collection. they are all in Part 2. i think i like the order, they are sort of in pairs, each second flash somewhat related to the first.
i have 4 stories left to revise for the first part of the collection. then i will let them all sit for a bit, and read them again, and probably revise again. at one point i will need to stop revising.
i'm pleased that the collection is about 55000 words, maybe even closer to 60000. i started my writing course with 30K, and was hoping to end up with 40K.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
another rejection unearthed
yesterday i put on my husband's windbreaker and found a rejection from a canadian lit mag that i really want to be in. it was a handwritten note, dated april. the editor explained what didn't work for him in the story--too disjointed and asked me to submit again. for a beginner writer such notes are gold. it was supposed to be disjointed, as the protagonist is a mental patient, but i've been told more than once already that i need to somehow make it more coherent without necessarily sacrificing the disjointed quality.
other than that and a bunch of other rejections i have nothing of substance to share. i've been making heroic efforts of getting up and writing after my kids wind down for the day. this isn't as easy as it seems, as the youngest goes to bed 2 hours later than the oldest, and then one of them invariably wakes me up in the middle of the night screaming / dreaming, and then the same youngest invariably wakes up 1 hour before the oldest. i think i am getting about 6 hours of sleep, and maybe that's why most of my stories have a disjointed, delirious quality to them. just kidding. this is how i see the world. but i do need more sleep and more time to write, and this is not happening lately.
i've had thoughts of taking a break from this blog. i will think some more, and post an update.
other than that and a bunch of other rejections i have nothing of substance to share. i've been making heroic efforts of getting up and writing after my kids wind down for the day. this isn't as easy as it seems, as the youngest goes to bed 2 hours later than the oldest, and then one of them invariably wakes me up in the middle of the night screaming / dreaming, and then the same youngest invariably wakes up 1 hour before the oldest. i think i am getting about 6 hours of sleep, and maybe that's why most of my stories have a disjointed, delirious quality to them. just kidding. this is how i see the world. but i do need more sleep and more time to write, and this is not happening lately.
i've had thoughts of taking a break from this blog. i will think some more, and post an update.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
first drafts
i have no patience for details when the entire story is still untold. i rush through the first 1500 words. i prepare the foundation. it is my least favorite part, no matter how much i want to write a particular story. writing first drafts literally makes my head hurt.
i just finished a first draft. i've been living with this story in my head for a week. the draft is so bad, i can't even read it. and as it is almost 1AM, i am sure i won't be able to focus on it either. yet i know that tomorrow and in the next days i will settle with it, read it slowly, fiddle with each sentence, start adding details, and the story will grow, and i will be enjoying it. the story will probably change, morph into something slightly different. this will also be fun, invigorating, all-consuming.
night night.
i just finished a first draft. i've been living with this story in my head for a week. the draft is so bad, i can't even read it. and as it is almost 1AM, i am sure i won't be able to focus on it either. yet i know that tomorrow and in the next days i will settle with it, read it slowly, fiddle with each sentence, start adding details, and the story will grow, and i will be enjoying it. the story will probably change, morph into something slightly different. this will also be fun, invigorating, all-consuming.
night night.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
my most amusing rejection so far
i got an email rejection from a lit mag today.
Sorry to say no to both - nice, but not really for us. I would urge you, though, to enter our contest with them.
the entry fee is $30. is he asking (urging) for a bribe, or a donation?
Sorry to say no to both - nice, but not really for us. I would urge you, though, to enter our contest with them.
the entry fee is $30. is he asking (urging) for a bribe, or a donation?
i've been interviewed!
read it on Kelly Spitzer's site!
i talk about growing up in the USSR, life on Baffin island, my short story collection, my plans for my novel, and there is a photo of me too.
i talk about growing up in the USSR, life on Baffin island, my short story collection, my plans for my novel, and there is a photo of me too.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
forcing myself
last night, as i was putting my kids to bed, my eyes were heavy, my head throbbing. they had been sick with a stomach bug, waking up several times at night, demanding things in half delirious whining self pity. i don't blame them, but i was exhausted. yet i told myself to get up and write. and i did.
at first i stared at the screen. i had an idea for a long story, but i had no stamina to even think about it. i told myself to write something short, even if a paragraph. nothing came to mind. i forced myself to think of an image. i searched my blank mind.
an image came. then sentence by sentence i wrote a flash. i loved how a coherent piece came to life, from a single, fuzzy image. i will need to work on it, but I'm glad i gave myself that chance.
Tonight I wrote another flash.
I think it is important to write everyday, even if my mind seems to be blank at first, even if i'm tired. i seem to be doing better at making myself write first drafts, which are the hardest for me. some of it is just practice.
good night.
at first i stared at the screen. i had an idea for a long story, but i had no stamina to even think about it. i told myself to write something short, even if a paragraph. nothing came to mind. i forced myself to think of an image. i searched my blank mind.
an image came. then sentence by sentence i wrote a flash. i loved how a coherent piece came to life, from a single, fuzzy image. i will need to work on it, but I'm glad i gave myself that chance.
Tonight I wrote another flash.
I think it is important to write everyday, even if my mind seems to be blank at first, even if i'm tired. i seem to be doing better at making myself write first drafts, which are the hardest for me. some of it is just practice.
good night.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
average monthly temperatures and hours of daylight for Iqaluit
Average Monthly Temperatures
January -25.8C (-14.4F)
February -26.8C (-16.24F)
March -23.5C (-10.3F)
April -14.7C (5.54F)
May -4.2C (24.43F)
June 3.4C (38.12F)
July 7.7C (45.86F)
August 6.8C (44.24F)
September 2.3C (36.14F)
October -4.9C (23.18F)
November -12.7C (9.4F)
December -22.1C (-7.78F)
Hours of Sunlight Per Day
January, 6.12
February, 8.8
March, 11.78
April, 14.4
May, 17.86
June, 19.2
July, 18.83
August, 16.01
September, 12.97
October, 9.92
November, 6.99
December, 5.13
January -25.8C (-14.4F)
February -26.8C (-16.24F)
March -23.5C (-10.3F)
April -14.7C (5.54F)
May -4.2C (24.43F)
June 3.4C (38.12F)
July 7.7C (45.86F)
August 6.8C (44.24F)
September 2.3C (36.14F)
October -4.9C (23.18F)
November -12.7C (9.4F)
December -22.1C (-7.78F)
Hours of Sunlight Per Day
January, 6.12
February, 8.8
March, 11.78
April, 14.4
May, 17.86
June, 19.2
July, 18.83
August, 16.01
September, 12.97
October, 9.92
November, 6.99
December, 5.13
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