I didn’t blog much in October it seems. Or at all. Well, that’s fine, no one actually reads these things. I write them because I want to, not because I have an audience or a platform. That means that until I have at least a small number of the former, these will remain irregular and come when I can be bothered to write something.
October was a fair month. The writing moved from short stories back to novels (more on that later). I got back into playing Skyrim as my relaxation time, although lately it’s been crashing too much due to all the mods I run, which means I’ll really need to uninstall/reinstall the whole thing once more to see if I can figure out what’s causing the frequent CTD’s. Which is a pain when you’re over 50 mods or more and need to test out each one as you re-add it. Maybe I’ll just start playing No Man’s Sky again since all the recent updates have apparently turned it into a much more enjoyable experience than when it launched.
Television wise, we’ve fallen into a Norwegian television hole that’s quite enjoyable. We’ve been watching Norsemen on Netflix, a fun half-hour comedy series made in Norway that playfully mocks the more recent drama series about vikings. I’ve also started Lillehammer, which casts some of the same actors, a one-hour drama/comedy about a mobster who goes into witness protection in Norway. The first episode showed real promise and I enjoyed it enough to continue.
Daredevil season three: oh so good and delicious. Not always thrilled with what they’ve done with one of the chief antagonists, but overall it’s a solid story line and arc. Worth the watch, and hope Netflix continues to own the rights now that they’ve dropped Ironfist and Luke Cage (honestly, Marvel was the one thing that really kept me hooked into the Netflix gestalt; if they lose Daredevil, I may be out and will consider getting the Disney streaming service to replace it).
WRITING CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS/CLASSES
I participated in a 2-hour class led by Ann Leckie, fabulous author and wonderful speaker, on how to write space operas. This was part of the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers that Cat Rambo runs. I’ll be looking into more courses from this series, it was a very useful and well-spent two hours with lots of solid information. And hey, Ann Leckie! She’s awesome!
FINISHED
No new stories finished this month. Instead, I continued working on the new novel idea, which has surpassed the 38,000 word mark. I’ve decided to push a little harder in November and participate in NaNoWriMo, with an eye towards trying to get the first draft done by the end of the month.
WIP
I’m into the first big heist section of the new novel, which I’m excited about. Then comes the inevitable fall of our heroes, followed by their regrouping, planning, a follow-up heist to get revenge, and the resulting conclusion. In broad, vague strokes of course.
OUTSTANDING
13 short stories out on submission, 1 novella, and 1 poem. Longest wait time is 176 days. Still haven’t heard back from that one magazine, which told me 30 days, and that passed two weeks ago. I’ll write them again soon and prompt once more for an update. Still one story on hold for possible publication.
SUBMISSIONS
8 submissions made this month. 3 of those were rejected and resubmitted in the same month.
REJECTIONS
7 total rejections in the month of October. 1 personal, positive rejection out of the 7.
GOALS FOR November
Continue work on the novel. Reach 90k words by the end of the month. Stretch goal: finish the first draft.