Yesterday marked my five year anniversary at Gulliver’s. I can’t believe I’ve been in Alaska that long. Last week I decided I was going to bring brownies to celebrate, but then I clear forgot about it until Maria walked in with a box of goodies from her garden for me. Among other things, I’ve got a Gadzooks Zuchini, some peppers, tomatoes, and other delicious homegrowns along with a lovely boquet of nasturtiums, parsley, and mint. I just can’t believe I’ve been there for five years. I suppose my over-stocked bookshelves are proof enough!
Five Years at Gulliver’s
August 25th, 2010Saturday Morning at Gulliver’s
August 14th, 2010I thought life would have slowed down after the write-a-thon ended. Not a chance. The bookstore is down three people in the café, which by necessity is now being staffed by book clerks.
I worked the front counter for a few hours this morning. It was fun. It’s been a long time since I rang up customers and did used book trades. Maria and I went on a rampage around the counter, cleaning up and reorganizing. There is always so much to do in the front of the store. Four hours went by fast.
I saw people that I haven’t seen in months, or even years. Several expressesd surprise at seeing me. I think they thought I had left, since most of the time I’m chained back in the office, slaving away at the computer.
Dinah’s vet walked in the door with an armload of books from the cart outside. “I hate this place,” she said, set the books down on the counter, and went browsing for more.
“Try working here,” is always my response; working in a bookstore is dangerous. I didn’t ring up her sale, but I don’t think she made it out for less than $50.
It was a nice change of pace from the usual routine. That’s going to start up again Monday morning. But until then, I’m going to catch up on my reading and my writing.
Finally Over
August 3rd, 2010The Clarion West Write-a-thon ended three days ago and I can’t tell you how relieved I am to be done with it. I took Sunday and Monday off writing to recover.
For the last two weeks, it has felt like a chore to sit down and write 750 words everyday. I usually do write everyday because I want to. For me, there’s something about having to do something that makes me not want to do it.
Anyway, I raised a couple hundred bucks for the organization. Thanks to everyone who donated! I met and exceeded my goals. I submitted six short stories to markets and I’m still waiting to hear back from all of them.
I wrote over 750 words per day on the still un-titled novel for a total of 36,180 words. I had wanted to do 31,500 so that’s 4,680 more than planned. When you combine it with what I had already written on the story I’ve got 48,725 words. I’m at the halfway point for the first draft. It’s a very exciting place to be. I’m taking a break from it today to work on a short story and then I’ll be diving back into it.
Breathing an exhausted sigh of relief aaahhhh.
Write-a-thon Update
July 11th, 2010Halfway through the write-a-thon and I’ve stuck to my goals. 750 words every day on the novel and I’ve submitted one short story each week. I’ve written 19,791 words on that novel, which is about 4,000 words ahead of where I wanted to be. Not bad. Dinah’s still getting her daily walk, but the house is a mess and I feel like I’ve done nothing but write for the last three weeks. Oh well, there’ll be time for a life later.
Write-a-thon Update
July 4th, 2010Start of week three. So far I’ve written 14,151 words on that novel without a name. I’m ahead of where I wanted to be by almost 3,000 words. I’ve sent off two short stories to new markets and I’ve got a fresh one lined up for this week.
With all this writing, i haven’t cleaned house in a while and I’ve been eating fast, easy dinners with no leftovers. That means I’ve been buying my lunch at work, it’s not great for my pocketbook.
Still, I’m keeping my side of the bargain on this whole write-a-thon thing, so why not pledge a little bit of money? Just go to the Clarion West website to donate.
Write-a-thon Update #2
June 28th, 2010Just over a week in and here’s the breakdown since my last update:
Friday: 755
Saturday: 2027
Sunday: 1086
Monday: 792
So far I’ve written 8457 words on this novel.
Other aspects of my life are slipping. Haven’t cleaned house all week. My netflix movies have stacked up, unwatched. At least I’m still showering and eating regularly. Dinah’s even getting her daily walk. Oh, and I’m still going to work at the bookstore. I’m above the count I pledged I would do, so that’s good. Let’s see if I can keep up the work.
Write-a-thon Update
June 24th, 2010Here’s my word count on my still-nameless novel that I’m working on for the Clarion West Write-a-thon:
Sunday: 806
Monday: 1000
Tuesday: 836
Wednesday: 756
Thursday: 834
I’m feeling pretty good and ahead of things, though being ahead doesn’t give me permission to slack. After all, I pledged that I would write at least 750 words every day, not that I would average 750 words/day during the six weeks.
I sent off my first short story of the write-a-thon. It’s called Good Neighbors and it’s a rural fantasy about an old man whose curiosity puts him into icy water when he follows a mythical creature into its underground den. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
It’s not too late to make a donation to the write-a-thon. Visit the Clarion West website to donate via paypal. If you don’t have paypal, don’t worry, you can also send them a check. The address is on their website.
Thanks to everyone who has donated so far!
Clarion West Write-a-thon
June 20th, 2010It starts today.
I’ve taken a deep breath and decided to participate in the Clarion West Write-a-thon. I’ll be doing 750 words/day on my novel and submitting one short story or novel query every week to a new market. I’m really excited about it. At the end of six weeks, I’ll have added at least another 31,500 words to my space opera novel. That’ll put me past the halfway point and maybe I’ll even figure out a title for it. I’ll be posting updates and excerpts here on the blog throughout the write-a-thon.
The Clarion West Write-a-thon is to benefit the Clarion West program, a non-for-profit organization that runs a yearly writers workshop in Seattle for science fiction and fantasy writers. The workshop is intense, led by professional writers, the victims-I mean participants-write one short story every week for six weeks and critique one another’s work.
Your donation helps fund the Clarion West scholarship program. (By the way, donations are tax deductible. It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, isn’t that great?)This write-a-thon is a way for people who cannot be in Seattle to participate in the madness.
Please check out the website and consider making a donation. Just click on the paypal button on my donation page. Any amount you give is appreciated by aspiring writers. For more information, check out the Clarion West website.
Thanks!
Critters
June 16th, 2010Wow, it’s been a while. I guess I kinda fell off the face of the earth there. What’ve I been up to? Lots of writing, lots of querying, lots of working.
I joined Critters, an online critique group for SF/F/H writers last month and my story made its way to the top of the queue this last week. I received back several useful, constructive, and excellent critiques. A couple of people had some very helpful things to say about the pacing of the story and I am grateful for their input.
I do have one little beef with Critters as to what counts as a critique. I received several critiques that were mere summaries of the short story I had submitted followed by the words, “I liked it.” Great, I’m glad you liked it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but a summary is not a critique, nor are the vague words “I liked it.” What did you like about it? Everything? Really, please be a little more specific.
I think there should be a way to contest the summaries; they should not be counted towards critique points. I’m sure I’ve just pissed off the people who sent me summaries, but what are the chances that they’re reading my blog? Well, I’ve got their names, and the next time their stories are at the top of the queue, maybe I’ll disappoint them by sending them a mere summary and the words “I liked it” if I like their story or the words “I didn’t like it” if I don’t. Nah, that’s mean. If I happen to read their pieces, I will give them the critique that piece is worth. Maybe it’ll show them how critiques ought to be written. Please, ditch the summary and focus on specifics, thanks.
PacNW Reader
April 20th, 2010I got my contributor copies of the Pacific NorthWest Reader today. The UPS truck pulled up to the driveway just as Dinah and I were setting off on our walk. We were outside and I was zipping up my sweatshirt. Dinah didn’t want anything to do with the UPS man and was able to wriggle her head out of her collar as I was holding on to it to make sure she didn’t run off, or at him. Collarless, she retreated about five feet and sat down next to my car and gave him a single bark. Silly girl.
We should be getting our copies in at the store soon. It looks great. And guess what-there’s a quote from my essay on the back. How neat is that? Carl Lennertz, the editor, send along some bright red stickers that read ‘Contains an essay by someone in this store.’ I can’t wait to put them on the store copies and display the books up front and force everyone to buy at least one.
