Hello, dreamers. Another week, another new story in the books. And I’m not slowing down. We have another week of bitter cold coming our way here, which means plenty of time stuck inside, with nothing to do but write. That said, here’s what I’ll be working on this week:

Querying Pioneers

As of this writing, my final editing pass of Pioneers is largely complete. Focusing on the newer passages has spend the process along, as anticipated. After all, most of this story has been heavily edited. At this point, it’s hard to believe there’s anything further I can do to make this story better. Not right now, at any rate.

That means this week it’s time to prepare for querying. Over the course of the week I’ll need to work on my query letter and write my synopses. I’ll likely be listening to a lot of “The Shit No One Tells You About Writing”, which has continued to be an excellent resource.

The synopses may take more time than I’d anticipated. I plan to do some research for pointers on writing a synopsis. I’ll also probably seek out a few sample queries for spec fic, just to make sure I have a clear idea of what I’m doing.

With any luck, by the end of the week, I’ll have a completed query letter and synopsis. From there I’ll just need to review my list of query targets, and start submitting.

Short Fiction

I’ve hit full-burn: as of this writing, I’ve written two complete short stories in two weeks. I’m very happy with both of them, though I’ve been surprised at their direction. I usually like to write uplifting science fiction. I feel frankly there’s more than enough dark, dystopian stuff out there. But when it comes to short fiction, first and foremost I follow the writing. I start going and see where it takes me. And lately, it’s been taking me to pretty dark places.

Ironically, just last month I was lamenting that it had been years since I’d written a psychological thriller. Well, now I have two. Two weeks ago, I began work on Casual Brutality: a story about a detective chasing space pirates, which became a grim tale of life in space stripping away our humanity, producing an environment where those seeking to profit at the expense of others think nothing of murdering hundreds of innocent people to steal their water and air.

Then, last week, I wrote In Living Color, which follows a man with unique mental abilities, whose work with his local police department puts him on the trail of a telepathic serial killer. That one, at least, lightened near the end, becoming a story about the value of the moments of pain and joy that make us human. Still, after I finished the story, I felt exhausted. Writing In Living Color felt like holding my breath. It was tense and grim, and I was both thrilled and terrified to be writing it. In the end, it was the first story I’ve written in a long time where I was glad when it was over.

Afterward, I gave myself part of a day off to recover. I really wanted to shift gears; to get out of the dark places and back to writing what I like to read. A good sci-fi adventure, I thought, with a classic space mystery. And last night, I began just such a story. The First Night of Eridani promises to be more squarely in my wheelhouse: a story following a human archeological expedition to a dead planet once inhabited by a highly-advanced alien civilization. I’ve written a few thousand words so far, and I’m eager to press on.

I am, however, still committed to my new “write-first” approach. At present, I’m hoping to have at least four or five stories completed before I take some time off for editing.

New Content

This week, I’ll be making a “Dear Sir or Madam” post about the formatting process for manuscripts, which I promise won’t be as dull as it sounds (hopefully). Also, on Thursday, watch for my latest “Sci-Fi Reviewed”, where I’ll be discussing Disney’s Skeleton Crew. As for Facula, I’ll be saying more in this week’s “Self-Pub Sunday”, but I’ve decided to delay the release.

Facula is still relatively short, but the biggest issue is the change to my writing recently. As I’ve been reading it, I can see a lot of areas I’d like to completely rewrite. It’s worth noting that I’d originally planned to release installments of When We Left Earth two months apart. I’d really thought most of the stories in the series would be ready to go. But a lot can change in a matter of months.

The expanded release schedule will allow me to make sure Facula is up to the standards my readers expect from me, and it will give me a chance to take a look at some of the other stories in the series. So keep an eye out for further updates. And until then, dare to dream. – MK