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November 28, 2006
DKA: "Golddigger" by D. M. Recktenwalt
Closing out November's issue is a charming story by D. M. Recktenwalt.
"Golddigger"
by D. M. Recktenwalt
Tease:
When Roger first brought him home, "Gordon" seemed like an ordinary enough aquarium fish. But he had a few surprises in store...
Posted by Selena at 07:36 AM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2006
Latest Column: "The Trinity is Not So Tough"
My latest column is up if you want to check it out:
"The Trinity Is Not That Tough"
It's about understanding the concept of the Trinity.
Posted by Selena at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)
"The Last Day of the Golden Place" by John Ryan
Next up is a poignant tale told from the point of view of a child.
"The Last Day of the Golden Place"
by John Ryan
Tease:
"From a child's eyes, the world is a simple and wonderful place. Yet today feels different for the eight year old boy, and he is about to find out how special the day really is. His parents are keeping a secret, and only their faith in God will get them through the last day of the golden place."
Posted by Selena at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2006
"Statuary" by John Kuhn – 1st place poem
Today we have the top poem from our recent poetry contest.
"Statuary"
First Place, 2006 Poetry Contest
by John Kuhn
Tease:
"The artist reveals himself in his art. In utter darkness, he carves monstrosities he hopes no one will ever see."
Posted by Selena at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2006
Today's Nano Cartoon
Today's Nano cartoon is particularly good:
LOL.
Posted by Selena at 08:30 AM | Comments (0)
DKA: "A Higher Goal" by Jenny Schwartz
Next up is a fantasy story by Jenny Schwartz.
"A Higher Goal"
by Jenny Schwartz
Tease:
"Have you ever wondered what nuns dream about? What they hope for? What worries them?
Come and meet Sister Rita, and have a look at the weird, and even scientific, path that grace may take when it is a gift between friends - a gift of hope."
You may remember Jenny's previous story in DKA: "Design for Freedom."
Posted by Selena at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2006
Nano Day 17
It was tough, but I managed to make my "2,000 words per day" goal. I just have no idea where to go with the story at this point.
Today's Tally = 2,199 words
Total So Far = 62,914 words
Posted by Selena at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2006
A Yes from Literary Bone!
Even though my internet was out most of the day, it was still a good day because I got a YES!
This one is from a print magazine called "The Literary Bone."
The story is called "Flowers for My Beloved." It's another Kedru* story. It tells the story of Isabeau who is mentioned in "The Choosing." Since this story takes place on a world that doesn't have space travel or know about other species, it is more of a fantasy tale than a scifi one. But I hope you'll like it anyway.
I don't know yet whether it will appear in Issue #1 (Spring/Summer 2007) or Issue #2 (Winter 2007-2008). Be assured that I will let you know when it is available though!
*The Kedru are a species that I have written several stories about:
"The Choosing" which was published in The Sword Review
"Verid" also published in The Sword Review
"Young Ones" which was published in Ray Gun Revival
Don't worry. They are all stand-alone stories. You don't have to read one to understand the others.
Posted by Selena at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)
Nano Day 16
Well, I woke up this morning to find my internet, phone and cable service all down. I don't really care about the cable, or even the phone – but no internet! That's crazy! I kept bumping up against all the work I couldn't do without internet access.
But that did leave Nano – at least the writing part, if not the posting about it part. I tried to make as good a use as possible of my web-free time.
Today's Tally = 3,643 words
Total So Far = 60,715 words
Posted by Selena at 07:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2006
Nano Day 15
I didn't get as much done today. No new scenes, just expanded existing scenes and tried to improve the very rough first parts of the book.
Today's Tally = 772 words
Total So Far = 57,072 words
Posted by Selena at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
A Fun Nano Cartoon
I especially like today's Nano cartoon.
Haha. I can relate. My muse won't work without chocolate.
You can see all of the cartoons here.
Posted by Selena at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 14, 2006
Nano Day 14
Huh. It appears that I forgot to blog about yesterday's Nano. Oh, I remember what happened. I worked in the morning, but then I got a decline and got discouraged about the whole writing thing. Uggh. I need to stop being so affected by that sort of thing.
Anyway, I did better today so here is the latest:
Yesterday's Tally = 2,760 words
Today's Tally = 2,427 words
Total So Far = 56,300 words
I love how on the progress graph in my author's profile, the bar is starting to bump into the words above the graph. Tee-hee. That makes me so happy.
Posted by Selena at 07:57 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: "Two Cathedrals" by Malcolm Deeley
Today's update contains the second place poem from our recent contest.
"Two Cathedrals"
Second Place, 2006 Poetry Contest
by Malcolm Deeley
Enjoy.
Posted by Selena at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2006
Nano Article
Check out this cool article about Nano from The Washington Post:
Posted by Selena at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2006
Today's Non-Nano Tally
I didn’t get back to Nano today, but I did manage to get a little writing done. I drafted a new column and jotted down ideas for another one. It seems like I have been putting those tasks off forever.
Speaking of putting tasks off forever, I finally unpacked the last two boxes that I had stashed in my closet. It's a good feeling to finally have everything unpacked from the move.
Posted by Selena at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)
DKA: "Dragon Stew" by R. L. Copple
Our first fiction for November is a fun dragon-knight-angel tale with lots of literary allusions. Can you find them all?
"Dragon Stew"
by R. L. Copple
Tease:
How do you make dragon stew? Take equal parts of one knight intent on killing a dragon, one dragon attempting to destroy said knight, and one unorthodox angel working to join them in holy wedlock. Simmer over an open fire, adding in a dash of love potion and deception for a week. Then spice it up with twenty-one hidden (to varying degrees) Shakespearian quotes for connoisseurs of literature to discover, wrap it in a Shakespearian style comedy and you have “Dragon Stew.”
WARNING: May result in gaseous fumes and flaming mouth.
Posted by Selena at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2006
Nano Day 10
After taking a couple days off, I am finally getting back to Nano. I went back to the beginning and am trying to expand and improve the novel. It's still very, very rough.
But I have posted an excerpt in my author profile. Just remember that it is part of a first draft that I wrote in one week so it is by no means my best work.
I didn't get much writing done today. I'm still feeling kind of sick and run down. But I got a little done, so that is something.
Today's Tally = 443 words
Total So Far = 50,539 words
Posted by Selena at 07:13 PM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2006
Nano Day 7 – Done in a week! Really.
I am exhausted but exhilarated. I have finished the Nano challenge in one week! Yes, that's 50,000 words in one week. Not one month, one week!
That's crazy, I know. I don't recommend it for everyone. But if you can manage to take a week off from all your responsibilities, and you like to write, and you're a little bit crazy – well, then sure, this is the Nano approach for you!
I hadn't intended to finish today. I had been aiming for 10 days. But something happens when you hit that 40,000 word mark. You just can't stop yourself. All I could think is, "Oh, man, I am SO close! I can't stop now."
Seriously I wrote over eight hours today. And that last writing session was three hours and nearly 6,000 words long. I just couldn't stop until I had rolled the word counter over the 50,000 mark.
Here is today's super wacky tally:
Today's Tally = 14,000 words
That, in and of itself, is insane. And how about that freakily round number? That was totally an accident or a coincidence or maybe fate.
Total So Far = 50,096 words
It's always good to have a few words to spare, just in case the Nano word counter doesn't count exactly the same way as your computer's word counter.
% done = 100%
Well, obviously. ;)
Happy writing everyone! You can do it. Just keep going.
And when you're done, you'll have this amazing accomplishment you can point to whenever you doubt yourself. You will forever be able to tell yourself, "Hey, I wrote 50,000 words in one month, I can do this!"
That in a nutshell is why I recommend Nano. You can't buy that sense of accomplishment, but it sure is a good thing to have.
Posted by Selena at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)
"Transport" by Chris Mikesell - Third Place, 2006 Poetry Contest
We are starting November with the first of our contest winners, a scifi poem by Chris Mikesell.
“Transport”
Third Place, 2006 Poetry Contest
by Chris Mikesell
Tease:
"Newlyweds experience teleportation for the first time--and get more than they expected."
Enjoy.
Posted by Selena at 07:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2006
Nano Day 6
I am still refusing to give up. (Although I have been tempted more than once.)
Today's Tally = 6,744 words
Total So Far = 36,096 words
% done = 72.2%
Wow! I am more than 70% done. That's amazing.
Posted by Selena at 06:42 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2006
Nano Day 5
It was a little bit of a struggle today. I had to get a writing prompt book out towards the end because I had no idea what to write next.
Still, I managed 5,000 words today. So at least I made my daily goal.
Today's Tally = 5,017 words
Total So Far = 29,352 words
% done = 58.7%
Here is something I posted in one of the Nano forums earlier today:
It's been good for me to throw myself into Nano full-throttle. (I have barely done anything else since it started.) I'd been feeling unproductive and lazy the last few months, so it's good to know that I can still put in a solid 8+ hours of hard work in a day.That's one of the things Nano does for you. It gives you proof that you can accomplish what seems impossible.
Since Nano started, I have been writing 4-6 hours everyday. I needed that. I needed to know I could still do that.
Posted by Selena at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2006
Nano Day 4
It was tough today, but at least I managed to keep to my 5,000 words a day goal.
Today's Tally = 5,104 words
Total So Far = 24,335 words
% done = 48.7%
Posted by Selena at 07:02 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2006
Nano Day 3
Another productive day. I even went to a Nano write-in and got 1669 words done there.
Today's Tally = 6,615 words
Total So Far = 19,231 words
% done = 38.5%
For anyone who is impressed by my word count, I just have this to say: "They may be many, but they're not good."
Posted by Selena at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2006
Nano Day 2
Wow! I had a really productive writing day.
I still think the quality is bad. (Truth is I've been a little worried I would never write anything good again.) But I think maybe there were some glimmers of possible good stuff in today's work. Just glimmers. Just maybe. But that's something. A little ray of hope for my writer self.
Today's Tally = 7,378 words
Seriously, that is NOT a typo. I made my 5,000 word goal before lunch. (The key is to not allow yourself to do anything else until you make your goal.)
Total So Far = 12,616 words
Again, really NOT a typo. Wow.
% done = 25.2%
Goodness, that's quarter of the way done! I'm so happy. :)
Posted by Selena at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2006
Nano Day 1: Evening Status
I logged 5,238 words today on my NaNo novel!
The quality is still bad. The ideas I had just haven't seemed to fit and the story keeps veering off in strange directions. Plus there is a whole lot of talk and not much action.
But to be fair, I am out of practice. I haven't been writing much at all lately. So I hope that all this NaNo writing will get me back into practice and that at some point I will start producing stuff that is at least kind of good. ;)
In the meantime, I have this wild idea that it would be cool to finish the 50K in 10 days. That's 5,000 words a day. I managed it today. But tomorrow…who knows?
It's complete madness. I don't know what I am thinking. Maybe it's a side effect of too much Halloween candy.
Today's Tally = 5,238 words
Total So Far = 5,238 words
% done = 10.5%
Posted by Selena at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
Nano Day 1: Morning Status
It was tough getting started, but I used the old "no breakfast until you've gotten some work done" bribe. It worked, even though I got so hungry I had to get some cereal right around word 1,500.
Current word count = 2010
I hope to add on more words later today. It's key to get as far ahead as possible right off the bat.
I thought briefly about posting an excerpt but I just can't. The work so far is truly bad. The opening is beyond dreadful. But I just made a note to fix the opening (and other things) later, and kept going.
All that fixing stuff is for later. I don't even have proper names for things yet. I've got placeholder names for both alien species so far. (Things like XYZ and ZIN.) Once I figure out what to call them, I'll do a search and replace. But that too is for another day.
Good luck to all my fellow NaNo-ers.
Now, get back to work. ;) I'm taking a short break, then I will be getting back to the word count generating myself.
Posted by Selena at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)
Nano Begins
Well, it's November. Time for Nano. So I guess I better get to work.
:insert panic icon here:
I am NOT READY!
Oh, well, sometimes you just gotta roll with it. ;)
Posted by Selena at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)