Tag Archives: writing

Writing in Light

candles

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“You want me to write about Hanukah on Christmas Eve.” Mike pressed send in the chat.

“It’s an optional extra credit writing assignment,” Charlotte replied in chat. “Anyway, I thought you didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

“Not in the traditional sense. I don’t believe Jesus was born anywhere near December. Besides, nothing in the Bible says to celebrate his birth,” he sent.

“The assignment is Hanukah,” she replied.

“Okay, how about this? The Hanukah candles held a double meaning for him, both indicating miracles, the burning of the oil to rededicate the Temple for eight days, and the Light of the World.”

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Another Morning Alone

sitting room

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

Another morning alone sitting in front of the window. Another morning with my wee table absent of a decent game of checkers. Dim, gray light pours through the window while the desk lamp emits a warmer, golden glow.

I wish I’d gotten more sleep last night but the missus continues to refuse to admit she snores. The sofa was comfortable, but then she started banging around the kitchen fixing breakfast.

Finally, she and the grandchildren are off for the day. No use avoiding it.

I get up and transfer my lazy, tuchus to the computer chair. Time to start writing.

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So This Is Romantic?

beach

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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“Come on, Scott. What’s the point of renting a beach house for a week if we don’t walk along the beach?” Jeannie tugged at her husband’s arm, coaxing him along.

“What’s the point of freezing my ass off? It’s March, not July. What possesses those nuts to bundle up under some tent just to watch the waves?”

“Spoilsport. This is supposed to be romantic.”

“Watching the ocean through the window with a roaring blaze in the fireplace is romantic.”

“Some romance. You just want to be writing that story of yours. I should never have let you bring your laptop.”

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Water Me

green jug

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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Ken wasn’t getting any younger or thinner, so every morning took himself out for a walk. Fall had arrived, and he enjoyed strolling in brisk weather.

Then it turned weird.

“Hey, Buddy. Stop a second.”

He was walking past the tennis court. The green watering jug marked Ken’s halfway point. He stopped walking and looked around.

“Who said that?”

“Me, the plant. Gee, you’re dense. I’ve been hanging my jug out here every day but you don’t take the hint.”

“A talking plant?

“I need a little more water before the hibernation thing kicks in. Be a pal, will you?”

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The Last Goodnight

dale

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

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The rental was one of several identical row houses, one bedroom plus a loft, one-and-a-half baths, small kitchen and dining area. The neighborhood was quiet. It was a perfect place to finish his last novel. It would also be his first novel, but the publisher said it was a sure bestseller.

At seventy-one, his first and only bestseller after laboring for over forty years. It cost him his marriage, any connection to his family, and certainly his sobriety.

He could have it done and submitted in a few months. Once published, then the long, drunken descent into his last goodnight.

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New Beginnings

solar flare

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun’s atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth’s magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3.
Picuted here is a lighten blended version of the 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Cropped
Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO
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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Tor.com ran a small article called What’s the First Line of the First Book You’re Reading in 2023?. It reminded me of all of the lessons about creative writing that emphasize how the first sentence or the first paragraph is a story is so important in hooking the reader.

Fine.

I like first lines so I decided to have a look at a few of my own.

Here’s the first sentence from my most recently published short story:

Sheriff Bobby Bill Thornton ran the fingers of both hands through his abundance of silvery locks across his head, unmindful of the blood covering them.

Here’s the first sentence from a short story that’s been accepted for publication but hasn’t yet been published.

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69415

69415
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I suppose the number seems mysterious, but it’s born out of curiosity. I’ve written and submitted eleven short stories between December 2021 and today (February 11, 2022). One was already rejected, so I didn’t count it, but ten stories are still “in play,” still submitted and being considered.

Of those ten stories, the word count total is 69,415 words. A small novel basically.

So I thought I’d share a little bit of each of them. There’s no guarantee that any of them will be accepted for publication. But it’ll still be fun to share the first paragraph of each one in no particular order.

Story 9390

The Mahli war cruiser attacked the starship Raeb from below the system’s ecliptic plane, accelerating from behind a ring of asteroids where it was hiding to mask its waste heat. It took less than three seconds for their weapon to form a transitory miniature singularity. It distorted and then shredded major portions of the Raeb’s hull, exposing over half of the ship’s interior to space. But that would be the only shot they’d get.

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Rejection and Feedback

typing

Found at typinglounge.com – No image credit given

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Random stuff.

I haven’t been writing much lately. Okay, I haven’t been writing anything new at all. I do technical writing for my day job of course, and I just finished yet another freelance job updating/refreshing test questions at the back a technology book (it’s actually more interesting than it sounds, pays pretty well, and has a quick turnaround).

What I have  been doing is submitting previously rejected short stories to different publishers, actually trying for more “mainstream” periodicals.

This is where the rejection part comes in. One story is basically urban fantasy/crime story (I’ve just submitted it yet again, so we’ll see) and the other is a sort of “pirates in space” tale, complete with oppressive colonizers, revenge, and swashbuckling. I even included a fictionalized version of a famous author.

The vast, vast majority of time when you get those rejection emails, they’re pretty standard fare and offer no feedback good, bad, or indifferent. This last one did:

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Crushing

crushing

Screenshot from LinkedIn

“Being unafraid of making mistakes makes everything easy for me. Not worrying about what people think frees you to do things, and doing things allows you to win or learn from your loss — which means you win either way. Hear me now: you are better off being wrong ten times and being right three than you are if you try only three times and always get it right.” -Gary Vaynerchuk from his 2018 book “How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too”

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Coming Soon: Superversive Sunday Spotlight

Screenshot from the Superversive Scribe blog

Every Sunday, author and editor Richard Paolinelli spotlights a different writer in a one-on-one interview. Last week he even turned the focus on himself.

This coming Sunday, November 22nd, the interview will be with me.

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