Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

I have been encouraged with my progress in the writing world over the last few months, and it has prompted me to try to break out in print once again.  I pulled out the novelette I wrote earlier this year for a writing contest (it unfortunately didn't win) and spent some time over the last few weeks trying to figure out how to get it published in another literary magazine.   Among all of the suggestions from other writers who are in much the same boat as I, one of the most interesting and easy to use resources I found was the Duotrope's Digest .  It is a listing of hundreds of publishing options and there is something for everyone including poetry, short shorts, short fiction, non-fiction, novelettes, novellas and full length novels.  By simply plugging in the type of writing you are trying to publish, the genre it falls in and some other specifics (like pay vs. no pay), Duotrope's Digest will create a list of print publishers that are looking for the type of writin...

Now that we're all out from under the pressure of National Novel Writing Month ( Nanowrimo ), it's time to take a look at the creations we've made.  In truth, I was not a winner this year but I am looking forward to giving it another shot next year.  The month wasn't all a wash though as Nanowrimo DID spur me on to write the first two chapters of my second novel, inspire me to move forward with finishing the manuscript of my first and give me the kick-in-the-pants I needed to apply for featured writing spots with Yahoo! and Examiner.com. Add to the mix a bout of flu, a head/chest cold, a somber death in the family and a busy Thanksgiving and it's easy to say that November was crammed as full as it possibly could have been.  Although life certainly didn't take a break through this Nanowrimo, it did show me that I can keep plunking along on my writing projects even when things are crazy.  My new goal?  To have novel #2 written and in editing by the time the next...

My newest adventure has presented itself over the last couple of weeks.  I have decided to enter a writing contest just to see what happens.  Surprisingly, there are quite a few local and national writing contests that are available to new authors and I'm not sure why I didn't think to enter one before.  Perhaps it's the ominous, "Here is your deadline and the reading fee... now write something amazing and we'll give you $500." I printed out one of the contests, a new-author contest based out of Portland with a grand prize of $1,200.  I could definitely use $1,200.  Mr. Kawaii and I just rehashed the ongoing conversation about needing a new garden shed, I have flower beds to fill and a patio to build, our comforter has seen many better days and I'd really like to have some funny money to spend on salt water taffy and a trip to the casino. Not that there are any guarantees that I will have the winning entry, especially since I haven't finished writi...