So I went on holiday. Thanks to all those of you who wished me well - and to Hal, in particular: some very sound advice you offered up there, much appreciated!
Anyway, I went on holiday. I had le fun. I saw le sights, of which mayhap I'll share a few snaps with you all a little later, when we're though with Halloween and what not. I even read le books - more on those later. Finally, I retournez-voused my way home again.
(Why after a fortnight of Polish my go-to nonsense language is French, search me...)
So. Holiday. Then, fun, sights, books, and home again, jiggedy-jig, not necessarily in that order. And then I started writing.
Not a review or a news tidbit for the blog, I hasten to add. Not to belabour the point of this post, I began a story that had knocking around my head while I was away, from before I left, even. And it's done that thing the best stories do: grown a life of its own.
Long story short, I'm going to be absent a little while longer. No more than a week, during which I'll leave TSS in Audrey the automaton's capable clutching mechanisms - she's done alright thus far, hasn't she?
Anyway, Halloween's a-coming, and I've been reading and stockpiling reviews of creepy books for an impromptu bit of Trick or Treating here on the blog, so there's that to look forward to when I finally do touch down.
In the meantime, idly browsing the submission guidelines for Strange Horizons, an online speculative fiction magazine (perhaps you've heard of it) - idly because this... thing is already too long for publication there, were I to chance my luck - I came across this list of stories the editors there feel they've been done to death, and aren't, thus, in the least interested in.
Anyway, I went on holiday. I had le fun. I saw le sights, of which mayhap I'll share a few snaps with you all a little later, when we're though with Halloween and what not. I even read le books - more on those later. Finally, I retournez-voused my way home again.
(Why after a fortnight of Polish my go-to nonsense language is French, search me...)
So. Holiday. Then, fun, sights, books, and home again, jiggedy-jig, not necessarily in that order. And then I started writing.
Not a review or a news tidbit for the blog, I hasten to add. Not to belabour the point of this post, I began a story that had knocking around my head while I was away, from before I left, even. And it's done that thing the best stories do: grown a life of its own.
Long story short, I'm going to be absent a little while longer. No more than a week, during which I'll leave TSS in Audrey the automaton's capable clutching mechanisms - she's done alright thus far, hasn't she?
Anyway, Halloween's a-coming, and I've been reading and stockpiling reviews of creepy books for an impromptu bit of Trick or Treating here on the blog, so there's that to look forward to when I finally do touch down.
In the meantime, idly browsing the submission guidelines for Strange Horizons, an online speculative fiction magazine (perhaps you've heard of it) - idly because this... thing is already too long for publication there, were I to chance my luck - I came across this list of stories the editors there feel they've been done to death, and aren't, thus, in the least interested in.
How many of these sins am I guilty of, I wonder?
At a glance, only the one.
9c: "The author conceals some essential piece of information from the reader that would be obvious if the reader were present at the scene, and then suddenly reveals that information at the end of the story. (This can be done well, but rarely is.)"
Ulp.
Anyway. I'm deep into it now, and I know from experience and a shameful array of half-finished shorts that the very thing I shouldn't do at this point is stop and admire the scenery. So. AFK for a couple more days, but we'll get this show back on the road in good time for a couple of weeks of ghost stories and some vampire-on-zombie slash action.
Wish me luck!
Anyway. I'm deep into it now, and I know from experience and a shameful array of half-finished shorts that the very thing I shouldn't do at this point is stop and admire the scenery. So. AFK for a couple more days, but we'll get this show back on the road in good time for a couple of weeks of ghost stories and some vampire-on-zombie slash action.
Wish me luck!
Hope it comes out well. And I'm selfishly pleased to see that someone else seems unable to fall within submission word counts. Heh.
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