The Grass is Always Greener

New story published today!  Check out The Grass is Always Greener, available at Fiction365!

As this will probably be my last post before the holidays, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed and happy New Year!

Kickstart a New Anthology!

A few months ago, my husband began explaining to me a new trend in the video game world.  Kickstarter.  He said individuals who wanted to create a game would take to the internets and raise money for their project.  The movement seemed to be gaining steam even to the point that one of his favorite game creators was doing his own Kickstarter project.  I found the phenomenon to be fascinating.

I learned about a week ago that I am way behind the times and that this phenomenon was not new, nor just limited to video games.  I opened up my email and was pleased to find a much coveted acceptance in my inbox from Gothic City Press.  The acceptance is for an upcoming anthology titled, "Con(viction) -- Anthology of the Con."  "Con(viction) -- Anthology of the Con" is a Kickstarter project and I am very excited to be apart of it.

So click on the link below and check it out.  Give $1.  Give $100.  Or, just read what the anthology is all about and get really excited for its release.  My story, "Decisions, Decisions," will be included along with the stories of a number of talented authors.

 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gothiccitypress/conviction-anthology-of-the-con-0

Toasted Cake Podcast

Just wanted to provide the link to my next story.  It's my first podcast! Thank you to Tina Connolly at Toasted Cake for doing an awesome job.  It sounds just the same as it did in my head when I was writing it.

Anyway, click on over and check it out.  It's easy, it's short and, best of all it's free!

http://toastedcake.com/2012/11/toasted-cake-47-super-psych-by-j-m-vogel.html

Short Story Writing vs. Novel Editing -- The Eternal Battle

And the final consensus was(drum roll please)...not to NaNo.  A week long vacation and a large number of submission responses combined with a backlog of editing culminated in the final decision of skipping NaNoWriMo this year.  I'll miss doing it but with all that's going on, I'd never be able to maintain a healthy word count.  But good luck to all those who are NaNo'ing!

So now that my November has opened up, I have a decision to make -- write more short stories or edit?  My vacation to the the gulf has given me a ton of fodder for new short stories.  An interesting ride on a nighttime trolley with inebriated party goers, an airport with a futuristic tram that transports you from the terminal to the baggage claim and many, many interesting people are keeping my brain a-buzzing with story potential.  All of that combined with an unprecedented number of acceptances this week (4 in 1 week!  It's a record!) have left my short story bank a little anemic and in need of new tales to submit.  But what of the novels?

If I submerge myself in short story writing, the novels that need editing and the one in my head begging me to write it will be left in the dust -- again.  As I've discussed before, I again find myself in the throws of Writers' Attention Deficit Disorder.  If I were more organized, less of a procrastinator and didn't have other responsibilities, I could do it all.  But, I am not organized and I am a procrastinator and do have a plethora of other responsibilities, so a decision must be made.  Problem being, I still don't know what that decision should be.  Perhaps it's time to break out the old Excel and create a schedule/spreadsheet breaking it all down.  I do love a good spreadsheet.

***Want to see where to find my newly accepted stories?  Check out my Published Works tab.  More information (including publishing dates) to follow!

To NaNo or Not to NaNo...

November is just around the corner.  The mention of November generally conjures up images of Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas shopping, hot apple cider and pumpkin pie.  While writers of course love these things too, the mention of November means something a little different to us -- NaNoWriMo!

While the word sounds strange and imaginary, it actually stands for "National Novel Writers' Month."  The thirty days of November act as a ticker, each day causing you to race against the clock to churn out a 50,000 word story by the time the calendar strikes December 1st.  Stressful, masochistic, yet strangely exhilarating, NaNo gives writers a chance to put their inner editor to rest and write their hearts out.  It is all about the process, leaving the characters, plot and pacing to be addressed by the aforementioned inner-editor during the second draft.  It is such a rush to upload that story for the final word count on November 30th.  The sense of accomplishment you feel is second only to actually being published.  I've participated twice in the festivities and have thoroughly enjoyed (while of course hating it) each time.  NaNoWriMo causes you to confront your inner control freak who wants to re-start the story every time you read through and dislike what you've written.  With NaNo, there is no time to re-read and re-write.  It's the beauty of the whole process!

So, the question is, should I participate this year?

I keep going back and forth on that very question.  The fact is, I love the process.  I am never as productive as I am during those thirty days, staying up late, getting up early and stealing every spare second I have to meet my daily word count.  NaNoWriMo is the sole reason that I have two novels waiting to be edited (again, having edited each of them at least twice each already).  But there in lies the problem -- do I want a third novel to edit when I'm not even done with the first two?

Part of me says, "Sure!"  After all, I have an outline ready to go and a story I've been mulling over for the better part of three months.  I'm excited to write it, and without the deadline, I'm not sure when I'll finish.  A procrastinator from way back, I always find something else to that requires my attention.  This story could sit in my head indefinitely as I complete my daily mother-wife-self tasks.  And then there are the short stories that pop in my head which offer a much quicker satisfaction than the long, grueling novel process.  Why wouldn't I knock this novel out and then keep it on the shelf until I can get to editing it?

The sane part of me asks, "Are you crazy?"  NaNo takes a lot out of you.  It's almost like the rest of your life comes to a stop while you type and type and type, hoping to hit at least 1700 words each day.  While you're characters are running amok on the page, your children are doing the same in your house and your spouse is counting down the days until December.   

What's a girl to do?

Even as I'm writing this, I've changed my mind twice.  NaNoWriMo is not for the faint of heart, but can be a very fulfilling endeavor should you see your challenge through to the end.  I guess I'll know my answer on November 1st.  Good luck to all those participating!  Maybe I'll see you at the finish line?