It has been some time since I last posted my weekly Writer’s Desk post.  However, I should hardly chock this up to slacking off.  Rather, as first NaNoWriMo and later the final editing of Wide Horizon have fully occupied my efforts, I felt it pointless to put up a weekly post detailing my work on my one project at any given time.  Moreover, as I’ve been posting regular updates on my work, I figured any weekly post would prove redundant.  But now, with NaNoWriMo behind me and the editing of Wide Horizon complete, I’ll be returning to business as usual.  So, here we are.

Wide Horizon

While the editing may be complete, I’m far from finished with Wide Horizon.  After making a few minor tweaks today (mostly tying up loose ends and addressing a few lingering concerns I had), tomorrow afternoon I will begin my final read-through.  Make no mistake: principal writing is complete.  I don’t see myself making an serious changes (aside from potentially trimming down a few sections).  Mostly this is to proofread, properly revise several newer sections that I’ve only looked over once or twice, and make sure that everything flows as it should.

More than likely this process will take several days (it is, after all, a fairly long novel a point I’ve admittedly belabored).  Once it’s done, however, the real work begins: crafting a query letter, writing out synopses, and ultimately submitting said query letter to agents in hopes of publication.

Short Fiction

While my writing on Wide Horizon is finished and I’m eager to get back into things, I’m not sure that now, with the holiday season and the end of the year approaching, is the time to jump back into Pathfinder, which I can once again safely consider my work-in-progress.  Indeed, after the tiring work of jumping back into my first novel, I feel it would be best to ease myself back into things.  That means a return to my daily sketches, and spending the remainder of the year focused on my short fiction.

I tend to find short fiction writing more relaxing than writing a novel.  Indeed, I’d liken it to the difference between reading a novel and reading a magazine.  When I’m stressed or otherwise preoccupied, I tend to prefer reading magazines (National Geographic being my favorite).  Rather than committing to a long-running plot, I can just sit down, read a single article, and after twenty pages at most I’m done.  Short fiction writings works the same way: I don’t have to maintain continuity, focus on drawn-out character arcs and plot development.  Seven pages or so and I’m finished.

And indeed I have plenty to do.  My first order of business will be…well, editing.  I have several manuscripts I feel very good about, yet I’ve had little success in seeking publication, and as sci-fi is a niche genre I worry that I’m running out of potential publication targets.  Thus, there are several manuscripts of long standing I’ve decided to clean up and rework, in hopes of putting out a more enticing product.

Chief among these is I am 1.  Originally entitled The Impostor, my initial premise was an almost humorous commentary on the human condition from the perspective of an android attempting to pass as human in a corporate office, all leading to a hokey and anticlimactic confrontation with a coworker who’d discovered him.  The more I read over the manuscript, the more I came to feel the story started off well, but went downhill after that.  So, several months ago, I began reworking the plot, and I dare say the new direction is far more engaging.  I’m looking forward to resuming work.

My next major concern is Focus.  As my more dedicated readers will know, Focus was a psychological/paranormal thriller I wrote for Halloween last year.  It was the first story I wrote specifically for my webpage, and to date it remains the one story I’ve written that garnered the most interest and acclaim.  Indeed, the story proved so successful that roughly a year later I chose to post a more polished version of it, which proved even more successful.  The more I read Focus, the more solidly convinced I am that it represents my greatest work of short fiction to date.  Had I anticipated this, of course, I might have declined to post it on this page, as it is now considered published by most literary journals.

Most, it seems now, but not all: I’ve recently discovered a truly wondrous online publication called Longshot Island that focuses primarily on publishing previously unpublished writers.  They do not pay much, often not at all, but they do submit work they find noteworthy to various short story competitions.  And, most importantly, they specifically mention that they’re willing to publish previously [self-] published work.  It’s far from ideal, but at this point, with Wide Horizon complete, I am hungry to see my work in print.  This could be the best chance I have.

There is, of course, one sticking point: they stipulate that short fiction submissions must be 5,000 words or less in length.  As it now stands, Focus is over the limit by nearly 100 words.  Normally I might consider submitting anyway, assuming the quality of the work might persuade them to be lenient with the word count.  But really, with how many allowances these folks are already making, I don’t want to push my luck.  Ninety-five words is not a lot; I’m certain I can find a way to cut it down to fit without detracting from the story.

Another point of concern is Going Dark.  A psychological thriller revolving around a female astronaut stranded alone on a distant space station, Going Dark was my second attempt at sci-fi horror (after Focus).  And I’m starting to think I may have a knack for it, as it seems to have been my most well-received manuscript to date.  I’ve submitted Going Dark to two publications thus far: Shimmer and Pseudopod.  And while both ultimately passed, both editors gushed over the story, stressing that they only passed on it as they didn’t feel it was a good fit for their magazines (both pointed out that it tended too far toward the sci-fi end of things as opposed to straight horror).  While the editor of Shimmer, who could not have been more delightful, spent several days trying to help me find a suitable publisher, the editor of Pseudopod suggested that the story would be a great fit for their sister publication, Escape Pod, which publishes science fiction.

The editor did, however, have a few suggestions on how I might improve the story before submitting to Escape Pod.  Hopefully, some reworking and expansion will be enough to see this story make it into print.

If I can make it through all of that in the coming weeks, I have a veritable mountain of incomplete projects to work on, some of which have languished for far too long.  One I might want to focus on is The Harvestman, the story I’d originally intended to post for Halloween this year.  Though the story was sidelined as I focused on NaNoWriMo and Wide Horizon, I feel it has a lot of potential, and hopefully I’ll have it polished and ready to go by next Halloween.

Sometimes, the hardest thing to do when writing is shifting gears.  When really diving into a project, especially something as absorbing and all-encompassing as a novel, it’s hard to pry yourself away and learn to write something else again.  You get to know the characters, view every idea you have within the framework of the world you’ve created.  But, alas, all good things come to an end.  I like to think that happens so that other good things can begin.  Hopefully, this week I’ll have the chance to start a few more good things.