No Use For A Name

The story is edited (after many delays), and I plan to send it off by Friday while I’m taking care of some other errands. Then, it’s time to get started on my next short story! I already have one in mind. ;)

Beautiful girl spun
In blue and blonde; she’s dancing.
Baby, you’re a star.

Drifting between two
Means, you can’t have it both ways.
Human paradox.

*

Had to get an early start. I’ll be busy all day tomorrow. Title from a Black Stone Cherry song of the same name, which inspired the Haiku.

...but it was for one of those poetry.com things some years back, which is pretty much a not-so-nice scam. I don’t write poetry as much as I do short stories, but it would be nice to see one of my stories published in something. I finished a poem last night that I’m fairly happy with. I’m going to let it sit for a couple of days; then, I’m going to revise it and get it out of here. Hopefully, it’ll find someone to love it.

This upcoming week, I am going to finish my first draft of my short story. Then, I’m going to print it out and self-edit it like a mofo. I’m going out of town again on the 22nd to visit my stepmother and my father, but I think I’ll still be able to self-edit my story and get it ready for submitting while away. I work best at night, so I know I’ll have time to do it. It’s just the point of doing it.

The graceful curve of
Lips as soft as hand-spun silk
Beckon me to kiss

This time I signed up for “Writing for Quick Cash” since I actually have that book and the other book recommended for the course. This time around I’ll update this regularly with how the course is going. It doesn’t start until August 7th.

I did a little calculating about how long the story will be roughly. The editor wants 14-16 pages written in manuscript style (10 point Courier New, double spaced).

I wrote 5 pages last night—well, nearly 5 pages. On 4 pages (not counting the 5th yet since it’s not filled yet), I’ve written roughly 1,200 words. Doing a little basic math, I get a rough idea of how long my story will be—around 4,800 words give or take.

That doesn’t seem intimidating at all. 14-16 pages seemed a little mind-boggling at first, but when I actually broke it all down, that’s not so bad. If I push myself a little harder, I could be done with that by tomorrow night.

The only reason it’s not done is because I’m starting to get nervous. When I get nervous, my mind goes numb. It’s a self-induced writer’s block. All these little “what ifs?” are eating at the edges of my brain, things that make me want to stay in my safe little corner.

I sent what I’ve written so far to my friend Steph to get a little feedback on it. She’ll be honest with me about it. I will continue to push myself toward this goal, though. I won’t let fear stop me.

It’s Friday again
Should be writing instead I
Watch Kung Fu Hustle.

I’m away from home right now (which is why I haven’t been commenting or updating my goals as much). I’m at my grandmother’s house taking some needed time off. The good thing about coming home is that it gives me a chance to act like I’m 17 again. :) My aunt is keeping the baby for a few days, so I’ve found myself with more time than I know what to do with.

Today, I finished up Edo Van Belkom’s Writing Erotica. It came with the book I read by Susie Bright a couple of weeks back. I found myself more intrigued by his “insider secrets” of the business. He has very good tips that are good for writers no matter what their genre—replete with examples.

After I finished reading his book, I actually completed a rough outline. That’s a great achievement for me. I’m horrible at writing outlines and have only ever finished a few for stories that I’ve written. I’m sort of a scatterbrained writer who finds more organization in notes and things I’ve written on scraps of paper rather than an organized process.

Later (after So You Think You Can Dance), I’m going to polish it up even more since the inspiration is there. :)

Arms wrapped around me
A cocoon of warmth and love
Love you forever
Promise me nothing, I say
I’ll give you it all, he says

Foggy and distanced
Muddled thoughts swirling, no end
NyQuil is evil

My husband is truly the most supportive man that I’ve ever been with. Just the fact that he’s willing to stick by me—no matter where it leads—is amazing. I sit at home with the baby and write while he’s working, and he doesn’t complain. This past week he bought me the deluxe version of the 2006 Writer’s Market and Novel & Short Story Writers Market 2006. And he’s always stroking the ego, telling me how wonderful he thinks I am. Even if I don’t publish the finished project, it’ll be my present to him for sticking by me.

It seems that I can only handle this book in doses. I enjoy many of the things that the author points out, but I don’t really like her style. She’s trying to be engaging, and I know many readers will see her as that. To me, she’s trying too hard while managing to be verbose enough to bore me to tears. Yet at the same time, she’ll follow up one of her passages that left me yawning with something wonderful that I find myself nodding my head to. I think this is why I’ve never gotten through this book even once. I’m going to get through it this time, though.

Friday passed me by
Spent all day huddled over
The flipping keyboard.