Yay, my third publishing credit of 2022! And this one is a bit longer - flash fiction, instead of micro fiction. If you've read my writing posts in the past, you know that most of what I write is inspired by events in my own life. This one is different in that (channeling my inner … Continue reading The Other Side
Tag: fiction
Still Love
I wrote this story originally about three years ago and back then, it was about one-third the length. I gave it to a critique group I belonged to at the time, which has since disbanded, and then to a professional editor. It wasn't well-received and everyone had a lot of suggestions for improvements, which I … Continue reading Still Love
The Road to Gold Ridge
I'm pleased to announce that I've published another short story, this time in the Metaworker. I submitted this story to five magazines back in January and didn't get any acceptances. But I did get one personalized bit of feedback (thank you, Novel Noctule editors!) that included the following: The writing was solid, but we felt … Continue reading The Road to Gold Ridge
Read Me!
Last week, I wrote about how this blog has helped me develop a writing practice and become better at the craft. I'm a late bloomer when it comes to writing. Although I've been writing for a long time, I've always been a dabbler, trying this and that style, starting projects I've never finished, getting easily … Continue reading Read Me!
Writing Out of My Genre
I don't enter a lot of writing contests because I want to explore my own creative ideas, not write to someone else's prompt. But when I'm feeling stuck, arbitrary prompts can get some ideas and motivation flowing. So when I found the NYC Midnight Microfiction Challenge, I signed up last fall. I liked that the … Continue reading Writing Out of My Genre
The Novel: Which Critiques (Don’t) Matter
I now have a complete manuscript of my debut novel, a contemporary young adult story. Complete, of course, means that I still have another full edit to do over the summer...and then probably another one after I start to query in the fall. My first task is to incorporate the remaining comments I have from … Continue reading The Novel: Which Critiques (Don’t) Matter
The Novel: To Query or Not to Query
As this entry posts to my blog, I am wrapping up my third year at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers retreat. This is a wonderful annual event held at a Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs. The center is in the perfect location, easily accessible from Boulder but far enough that I really do feel like … Continue reading The Novel: To Query or Not to Query
The Novel: Half A Novel And Proud of It
I'm back from an intense month of novel writing. How did I do on the distraction front? I only logged in to Facebook three times, and each time was for a specific purpose, such as updating my notification settings to stop getting text messages from Facebook about photos my friends were posting. They were trying … Continue reading The Novel: Half A Novel And Proud of It
NaNoWriMo
Today is November 1st and that means National Novel Writing Month. I signed up two years ago and didn't get very far, but this year, I'm all in. I went to two Boulder region kick off parties, I have eleven write-ins on my calendar, and for the past eight weeks, I've started attending the Friday 500 … Continue reading NaNoWriMo
Kill Your Illogical Darlings
Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings. - Arthur Quiller-Couch If you've taken a few writing classes, you've undoubtedly heard this piece of advice. I heard it many, many times, but didn't really grasp its application until … Continue reading Kill Your Illogical Darlings
Jennifer A Swallow 