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...

Well, we've already reached day two of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and my word count is still stuck at a big, fat 0.  I'm not disheartened about it yet though as I've blocked out two full days this week to dive into my novel-to-be. In the meantime, I'm working on some more great projects with Associated Content and have submitted an article to a magazine.  Hopefully I will have a lot of really great updates later on this month.  For those of you who are also in the NaNoWriMo challenge with me, feel free to contact me at d.kawaii@gearheadzpaintball to share your victories, troubles and day-to-day writing achievements!  We can do it!

Back in August I entered a writing contest for Glimmer Train, a quarterly publication for short-fiction stories.  Immediately after submitting my entry, I went to work on other projects knowing that the results wouldn't be out until sometime in October.  I was so busy with other goings on that I all but forgot the short story I submitted and the excitement of knowing that somewhere a judge would be reading my words and comparing my story to other new writers. Surprisingly, that all changed October 1st.  Although I'm still as busy (busier, in fact), I suddenly find myself wondering when I will find out how I did.  I hope that I placed in the top 25 authors... honorable mention would be just fine by me as I could always use another pat on the back to solidify why I walked away from a steady job to begin with. I'm going to try to forget the contest, and let the results come as a surprise whenever it is that they are announced.  Whether or not I win, the truth i...

On September 1st I filled the whiteboard above my desk with a list of goals for the month.  So far, with the day still young and a couple more items to be completed, I have met 12 out of 20 goals and I know that I'll knock out at least two more before the stroke of midnight. Were we having a two sided conversation instead of this rambling monologue, you might ask me why I set so many goals for September.  The simple answer is: Because I want to succeed.  At this juncture in my life, I am blessed to have no boss and no one to answer to aside from my own conscience and as with many things in life this blessing comes with a double-edged sword. On the one hand, life is a breeze without the hassle of being micro-managed by someone who has little time for anything other than pestering me about projects past, present and future.  I don't use an alarm clock any more, can go run errands whenever the mood strikes and can spend as much of my day watching Judge Judy as I wan...

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...