First: Goals
Second: News
Third: Fandom/Reviews (with ratings?)
Fourth: Links
Goals
1. Write Strong (Monthly goal - 25,000 words).
17,754
I struggled to land on the next, big, fiction project. I have a couple of non-fiction projects in various stages, and then I had three, then four, fiction projects that were jumping up and down and shouting for my attention. I struggled to decide, but kept finding myself working on one of them - the one that wasn't supposed to be a long project. Ironically, the working title is Patience.
So far this year with short works, I have subbed 8 works so far. One was long-listed at Brilliant Flash Fiction, but not published, so I've re-subbed it, and IWSG accepted a short article for the next newsletter! (For the newsletter sign-up, click on this text-link.)
So, the rate of subbed works is: 1 Acceptance, 1 Long-listed and re-subbed, with 6 (+1 re-sub) in the Wait-Zone.
2. Market with Strength
I asked a blogging buddy about creating a book trailer because I loved hers (see below in news), and then, after thinking of costs, I decided to make my own with images and pictures I already own, and with free music. So, this is The Champion Trilogy book trailer (less than one minute):
This project actually came out of another project for my short story, "Letting Go: A Siren Song" for The Thing That Turned Me Anthology:
It's crammed into ten seconds, so if you blink, you might miss it:
And, I re-booted a newsletter (more about this in IWSG April). If you sign up for it, you'll get a free smashwords coupon code for Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry in the next issue. You can sign up in the little box between "Let us encourage" and the Google+ button.
3. Publish with Strength:
Champion's Destiny is in paperback. (Whew. Finally.)
Flicker: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry is out in all formats. (This one's been brewing for two years in a semi-formatted version, so it was actually easy to finish and I felt excited about getting it off my desk so I just went for it.)
4. Live Strong
Um. I walked 25 miles, biked 15, and did some other exercises. I'm definitely not where I wanted to be at this point in the year.
5. Worship Strong
I loved Lent. I went to an awesome Story Revolution workshop by Global Seed Planter Diane Brask. Now, I'm loving Holy Week. My oldest daughter is speaking tonight at our Good Friday worship along with six other young adults. They are taking turns to speak about the last words of Jesus on the cross. My daughter's portion centers around "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23).
I didn't finish my "whole Bible" challenge for Lent, but I did read from Genesis through Jeremiah, with a bit from the book of Matthew (added out of order). I plan on finishing my seventh read of the Bible throughout the spring.
6. Gratitude = Grace (Thanksgiving and Invitational Attitude)
Well, I've invited a few people to Good Friday and Easter. Plus, I've invited a few people to Paddler's Cup in Gig Harbor (if you live nearby, come and watch or join the races!)
I'm thankful for my church family, my family, my friends, and the amazing love of God.
And, I've invited a few bloggers to take part in the Five Reasons to Write series of guest posts. If you would like to join in on this in August or the fall, please check out the 5 Reasons to Write tab above, and e-mail me at tyreantigger (at) gmail (dot) com.
7. Rest
Well . . . I took a few hours here and there to read fiction, but life has been moving like a freight train. Can I sleep after Easter or after Paddler's Cup (a paddling event the weekend after Easter)?
News
Lori MacLaughlin has a new book coming out in May, and there is a really awesome book trailer to go with it!
M. Pax and seven other sci-fi authors have a #FREE collection of books out - Galactic Empires
The Thing That Turned Me: An Anthology is coming May 31st from Stay Classy Publishing! My short story, "Letting Go: A Siren Song" is about a young siren who discovers that she can't avoid her gift forever. And yes, my title is an intended spoof of "that" song, and give a nod to another song. (Obviously, the reason I don't regularly write to music is that I would end up writing musical fiction.)
Fandom/Reviews
Movies I loved in March (DVD/Netflix and Theater) - Photos from IMDb:
The Intern - my whole family loved this sweet drama-dy about friendship that crosses the boundaries of age and gender. It's funny, sad, sweet, and fabulous! (PG-13)
Books I enjoyed in March:
I think this is a new favorite of mine, and it's hard for me to realize that I didn't know this book existed until a few weeks ago even though the original edition came out in 1999. This made me thankful once again for the longevity of e-book and pod publishing. (PG-13)
Okay - why the rating? Because I found that some kids in my writing classes actually read my blog/reviews. Whoa. So, I imagined the youngest, 10-12 year-old students reading the books mentioned.
Gulp.
I'm thinking . . . oh no, what have I recommended? If little Susie reads that, I'm going to be tarred, feathered, and pitch-forked. Many families with students in my classes have a stricter idea of reading lists than I do, and I know I'm not going to please anyone, but I decided to try a rating system based off of the one that's used for movies. At some point, I may need a pseudonym.
If it's PG-13, then I think it has either language, violence, scary images, or content that put it firmly in a category where 13 year-old kids should be the youngest readers. If I say something's "steamy," then there is a sex scene in it. If it's "sweet," then there isn't. If I say it's "gritty," then there is language, violence, or edgy content. If it has a "+" by it, then it means that my rating might be considered too low by some families.
However, if I haven't read the book and have no idea, it's a blank slate. (Most of the "NEWS" books are in this category.)
Market Links
Circuits and Slippers - Fairy Tale/Sci-fi mash-ups, 2,000-10,000 words. Needed by April 8th, 2016. See site for very specific details about the type of mash-up!
Anthologies for TDR Publishing - Due April 30th. Women POV heroines. See site for details.
Sword and Sorceress 31 - Reading period starts April 16th. See site for details. Paid Market.
22 comments:
Absolutely LOVED The Intern! I want to watch it again soon.
I was reading Stephen King's books waaaaay before I probably should've and look how I turned out...um, never mind. :)
Great goals, achievements, and plans.
Happy Easter!
Risen is good? You always wonder if it will either be cheesy or poorly done.
Video was good! Cool you did it for all three books.
Funny about that title. It sounds like you are plugging away at all your goals. That's great you are keeping up the exercise too!
Madeline - I love how you turned out! :)
Thanks, Yolanda! Happy Easter!
Yes, Risen was actually good. I know how you feel about Christian movies - sometimes they are terrible and it's sad. But, Risen is worthwhile to watch. My favorite scene is when the centurion sees Jesus for the first time after the crucifixion, and he goes into complete shock - it makes sense. It isn't just a happy, easy recognition of Jesus - it's awe and shock, and confusion, in a way that works.
And, thanks!
Well, I had planned on biking 60 miles and walking 40 this month, but I am still moving forward one pedal and one step at a time . . . so yes, kind of keeping up with it.
Thanks for stopping by, Natalie!
I'm impressed with how much you managed to get done this month. Very nicely done trailer too. :-)
Thanks, Misha! The trailer was something I meant to work on about three years ago, so I'm glad I finally did it. :)
Congratulations on working on your goals. It looks like you had some progress, even if you didn't manage each one. Keep up the hard work.
Hey Tyrean, I had to skip over some of this so I didn't get even more writer envy! Well done you!
Seriously. No need to envy. I think the 17,000 words I wrote this month is mainly gobbledy-messy stuff.
Thank you!
Great to see you moving along. It's all about the forward movement. 17K with everything else you have listed is an awesome feat.
Also I'm not surprised your family enjoyed The Intern. I love Anne Hathaway. She's so elegant (even in the Princess Diaries)!
Strength is a key word here, Tyrean. Here's to your continuing to set and reach those goals with the strength you've shown in the past.
LOL, I know what it's like to have several projects jumping up-and-down like that. Glad to hear you were finally able to settle on one of them! And book trailers never fail to be fun, so I think it's cool how you're making some now, too!
Sounds like you are making good progress! Hopefully you are getting some rest now that Easter is over. :) Cheering you on to reaching all your goals in the right timing.
I like your goals! What a nice variety and balance, and it sounds like you're getting some exercise and family/church events in there along with your writing goals. Rah! Good for you. :)
Luke 23 is my comfort scripture. When my brother and my father died, those words brought me instant comfort. Jesus promised same day Heaven, and He doesn't lie.
I liked the intern, but being the nasty little plot tweaker that I am- the plot point that came up in the end? I think that should have been highlighted early so there would have been more at stake. People must hate watching movies with me!
I must see Risen- I was holding out until I heard word on it. I am never overly trusting of Hollywood with Bible stories.
I wouldn't worry about your recommendations. I think adding the rating is enough. When my kids were little, and I worried about what they read, I read it first.
Thank you, Elizabeth! Love your comfort scripture.
And, my youngest wasn't happy with that plot point at the end either. I think it was there earlier, but not highlighted enough.
-I totally get what you mean with Christian movies . . . they can definitely go wrong.
-and, Thank you! That's what I did, too, so I guess I hope that people read their kids' books first if their kids are young enough to worry about.
fabulous trailer!! i love it! short, sweet and too the point - and riveting!
and i like your rating system. i do that with my own books =)
happy april!
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