Tuesday, also known as “the most acceptable day of the week to eat marshmallow fluff with a spoon.”
Mmm, delicious.
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Posts Tagged ‘Thoughts’
A.K.A.
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, back to work!, Thoughts on July 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Important Information for a Sunday
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cool stuff, creativity, fun, Thoughts on July 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Dear Readers,
Attached please find important information for your enjoyment and edification. It may be particularly appropriate for a quiet Sunday afternoon.
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Schrödinger’s Submission
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, genre fiction, submissions, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have a submission out right now. If you’re a writer, you know the type. Average turnaround time for this venue is 27 days and my story is currently rocking a cool 135 days right now.
One can’t help but hope.
The fun thing, however, is that as long as the submission is still out there, still under consideration, it hasn’t been rejected.
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A fellow writer was wondering how to interpret the rejections he was getting, many of which were personal. Here’s a version of what I wrote in reply:
You should absolutely feel good about personal feedback. That is rare and precious gold there, my friend. It means that what you are submitting is publishable, just not by that particular editor and outlet at that particular time. Maybe the fit isn’t perfect or maybe it is, but your story is about a magical stag with a drinking problem and the editor just bought a story about a magical stag with a drinking problem. Or it’s twice as long as the space they have left in the current issue, and they will remember the day they had to send your rejection with despair every time your name and list of awards comes up in future conversation.
It means that your stories are working, and that’s critical. A broken story isn’t ready for primetime, but a publishable story just needs to find the right home.
When I say “market research,” I mean that I’m working to send my material to someone who could reasonably be expected to publish it. Happy magic unicorn stories are not a great fit for a grimdark horror venue;) I try to narrow down the list of possibilities. Submissions tend to take a long time and most places are not cool with simultaneous subs, meaning that every month a story is out at the wrong place is a month that it’s not being evaluated by someone who might actually buy it. So I try to write the best story I can and then work to find a place likely to give it a home. And the Submission Grinder also lets you sort possible venues by turnaround time.I do try to follow the “write, edit, put it away and then come back to it when you can look at it as if someone else wrote it” advice, if possible. Too much editing can suck the life out of the story.
I may have mentioned that I had a hard time with rejections at the beginning. No longer! One day I realized that I was completely unfazed by my latest rejection. I just opened my submission template and filled in the next possible target.
So, you’re killing it. Keep going!
Because you never know.
Me, Facing Down My To Do List
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, doing my best, Fiction, genre fiction, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.”
— Sandra Day O’Connor
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Word of the Day: Noctilucent
Posted in Science!, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, fun with words and other things, science, sky, Thoughts, Writers on July 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today’s Word of the Day (in my world, at least) is “noctilucent.”
The term is typically applied to a specific type of cloud, “a luminous thin usually colored cloud seen especially at twilight at a height of about 50 miles (80 kilometers).” It’s the luminous aspect that makes these clouds particularly dramatic.
Noctilucent clouds: What are they and how can you see them? | Space
The name noctilucent is derived from the Latin words “nocto” and “lucent” which translates to “night” and “shining” respectively, according to Merriam Webster.
These clouds are seasonal, and in the Northern hemisphere that season is now.
Noctilucent clouds: The season starts now!
The season for noctilucent clouds at northerly latitudes is now. People at high latitudes report seeing noctilucent clouds. This happens every year, from about May through August in the Northern Hemisphere, and from November through February in the Southern Hemisphere.
I chose this word because its Latin origins are interesting to unpack, it refers to a beautiful and intriguing phenomenon, and it’s fun to say.
The world is a marvelous, mysterious and magical place. Science (and science fiction!) just makes it that much better.
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Typical View
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cat herding, sweet cat, Thoughts, Tuesdays on July 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A typical view from my desk (especially around lunchtime):
Don’t Be the Frog*
Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, climate change, cocktails, heat, irony, Thoughts, travel, weather on July 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »
This one’s for two of my parental units, currently on vacation in some of the hottest parts of the world right now, and everyone else facing down the record-busting summer heat.
8 mistakes to avoid if you’re going out in the heat
- Too much, too soon: You need to acclimatize
- Failing to pre-hydrate (and rehydrate!)
- Don’t be the frog in the boiling pot (i.e., your car)
- Heat + (certain) medications don’t mix
- Don’t ignore the early signs of heat-related illness
- Know when to seek medical attention
- Wear loose, light clothing
- Alcohol is a bad call
Stay hydrated, folks!**
* Note: The whole “boiling a frog” fable is, as the Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians at the US National Museum of Natural History said: “Well that’s, may I say, bullsh*t.” Frogs are way smarter than that.
** As mentioned in the article, alcohol isn’t a great idea when it’s hot. If you feel you must drink an adult beverage, however, irony suggests that you consider the Heat Wave.
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Begin Doing… Whatever You Like
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Thoughts, Writers on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
— Walt Disney
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Children of Summer
Posted in Likes, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, climate change, summer, Thoughts on July 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Mr Man and I went for a walk today, a hot, sticky endeavor that reminded me of childhood summers. Humidity, thunderstorms, and lightning bugs.
We have fireflies in the yard now, enjoying our long grass and pine litter and bird bath. They appeared outside a could of weeks ago, and now we turn off as many lights as we can to help them find love.
Turn Off Your Lights and Welcome Fireflies
Many of my best summer memories involve fireflies, so now I’m doing what I can to help future generations have such memories too.
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Un/Stuck
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts, Writers, writing on July 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I have spent a good chunk of the past two days a little stuck. It’s a day job thing so I can’t just roll a twenty-sided die or add vampires (sadly!) but it does, in the end, have something to do with writing.
The problem was that I wasn’t 100% clear on the problem. Usually, more research is supposed to clarify issues, but as I dove deeper the assignment made less sense, not more.
How to escape this quandary? In the end, I wrote myself a path out.
My approach? Examining the challenge from multiple angles, breaking it down into pieces as bite-sized as I could make them, and outlining whatever ideas came to mind until they stopped being terrible and started to be interesting.
Next thing I knew, I was on my way.
This happened to be a day job problem but I find the same strategy also applies to fiction. In case you, too, find yourself stuck.
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