 Whoops
So, a week or so ago I decided to stick my neck out and enter a writing “contest” on one of my favorite blogs about writing, Chuck Wendig’s “Terribleminds.” I put “contest” in quotations because the prize is pretty much just having your story being called Chuck’s favorite, plus some freebees related to the things he writes. Some time ago, I’d already written a drabble (that’s the word for a story that is precisely 100 words). This contest called for keeping it under 100 words. Awesome, I thought. Perfect. I’ve got just the thing. Thing is, blinded by my enthusiasm, I up and posted my story in the comments of his blog post (as instructed) – but failed to notice where in the instructions for the contest Mr. Wendig also specifically requests that the stories be no longer than three sentences. My story is more like, I don’t know, more like nine sentences. Whoops. So I got my story up there right away – it’s the second submission among some 159 as of right now as I’m writing this – and its failure to adhere to the contest’s rules is extra obvious to, I don’t know, other writers who actually know how to read instructions. Also, the TITLE of the blog post is Challenge: Scary Story In Three Sentences (emphasis mine). Here's some good news. You, dear reader, are the beneficiary of this DOUBLE FAIL of mine – I say DOUBLE because the story is a solid loser as far as the contest is concerned (I didn’t play by the rules) AND because I can no longer submit the story for publication anywhere which publishes only previously unpublished works (which, by the way, IS EVERYWHERE, as far as I can tell), since it is posted publicly on Wendig’s blog. The only good thing about this is, thankfully, that I am now free to publish the story, right here right now, on my blog for the enjoyment of all three of you who were lucky enough to find it. Here’s the story (The Soup Eaters).
2 Comments
Holy crap.
I can't believe it. More than one year and 102,170 words later, the rough draft of my novel is finished. At an average 250 words per printed page (which is what some folks say is typical), that's 408 pages of time-traveling, giant-invertebrate dodging, and cyborg-escaping. It is also a total mess. The perspective shifts from first person to third person and back again, multiple times. A couple different characters take turns playing the role of protagonist. I also had only the vaguest clue of where the story was headed once I started. Now that I know what it's actually about, there's a lot that needs to change. So I'm not kidding myself. I still have a ton of work ahead of me. But still. It's done. The story is there. Hooray! |
Rick's Blog
Most of the things I've written online are related to my day job. So here's where I'll post about books I read and music I listen to and thoughts I think and probably divulge some tidbits related to the novel I'm writing. Archives
March 2013
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