Hello, darklings!
I finished up another short story to submit to a local contest. We’ll see if I win anything. It’s horror genre, and it’s super difficult for me to do a story under 500 words, so we’ll see! Right now I’m just letting it steep before I look it over with fresh eyes.
That’s important, by the way. Put the work aside after you drafted it and return with fresh eyes. That’s common author practice for a reason.
There are simply things that aren't obvious while drafting. This is where you catch pacing errors, notice character discrepancies, realize story issues that go unaddressed, or see that dramatic scenes aren’t set up with the proper tension. These are hard to catch when you’re in the sticks of the story. You have to put some time and distance between you and the draft. Then skim through, make your notes for editing, and start that process again.
Yes, that means you’ll probably end up reading your own story many, many times. However, if you enjoy reading it again, even though you know what happens, that’s a great sign you’re doing something right.
In other news, I got my upper body workout done this last week. One of the mini-storms
that blew through snapped off one of the trunks of our forked mulberry tree. Poor thing has been having issues for a while. I almost managed to escape removing it damage free--but it bounced and clipped me in the chest. Well, one bruise and scrape is better than the dern thing falling on us while we're walking dogs, so I'll still count it as a win.
Research History This Week: Large seashells, hermit crabs, Australian beaches, human skull sizes, melon sizes (like, actual melons, not boobies), the effect of salt water on bones, scents that go with juniper, types of warm hats.
Writing Whoops: I ran the above short story through Prowriting Aid, and I had an absolute shock-ton of adverbs. Nearly all of them were unnecessary, because the verb I had selected already connotated the visual I wanted to relay.
Beasties Update: My lovely big black lab Sirius is doing much better after the meds, and I’ve started him walking twice around the yard, bought fresh yak chews, and stop more often to make him roll for belly scratches so he’s not laying in the same spot for so long. Hopefully we can keep this old boy from repeating a UTI.
The two kittens continue to grow and be menacing and cute all in one. They still beg for their formula, but we’ve bought their last container. Pray we don’t get murdered in our sleep when they can’t get their fix.
Watching and Reading: I have finagled a way to watch Reticent Alien season 3 without paying for it, and watched the 1st episode of it yesterday. Harry is such a mess of an alien. It’s a lot of awkward delight.
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