An Interesting Weekend

So far this weekend, this is the first bit of writing I've managed.

Doing my best impersonation of Jamie, I've been doing bits and pieces around the house - well, the bathroom mainly.

I've done some tiling, I've done some plumbing, I've put together a new vanity unit, installed a new shower head - after the plumbers fixed my leaky pipe issue, and got my general weekend chores done to boot. The back has been outstanding!

I've had no pain in the hip or legs all weekend. Any discomfort in the back has been very mild to normal and quickly overcome. I was bent over installing braces to bring the vanity into square for quite a few minutes and stood up straight without a massive groan. So far so good.

On the writing front - thank you to everyone who threw up a suggestion for the six page script. I've only glanced at them so far but will be knuckling down shortly to get something out.

It seems I jumped the gun in regards to 'Dreaming' and the 'Blackness Within Anthology' from Apex. My story was only placed on hold for further consideration. Yesterday, I received an email from Gill, the editor, who informed me it had now progressed to the short list. Little woot! It would be a good feather in the old cap if I got in there so I'm allowing a little woot just for the short list.

Had an email from Dan Byron notifying everyone that a couple of his publications are closing due to ill health. He states NVFinprint will no longer exist. Here's the email as I got it:

AS OF APRIL 30TH, 2009, AT 9:30 PM, DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES, {BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS} I CAN NO LONGER OPERATE NVH MAGAZINE BY MYSELF, OR PUBLISH IT IN PRINT FORM. THIS MAY ONLY BE TEMPORARY, BUT IT DOESNT LOOK AS THOUGH IT WILL BE.

WWW.FREEWEBS.COM/NVFINPRINT NO LONGER EXISTS.

THE DEADLY DOLLS AND NEW VOICES IN HORROR BOOKS ARE OUT OF PRINT.

NVH ISSUES 4, 5, AND 6, AND FEMME FATALES OF FRIGHT ISSUES 1 AND 2 WILL BE SOLD AS E-BOOKS HERE www.freewebs.com/nvhstories . AT A REASONABLE PRICE. BACK ISSUES OF THE PRINT FORM WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY AS BULK ORDER ISSUES OF 5 OR MORE, AVAILABLE ONLY UNTIL THE END OF MAY. HOWEVER, THE FOLLOWING BOOKS WILL BE PUBLISHED WITH www,bearmanormedia.com WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME:
FILM PRODIGIES & LEGENDS
QUEENS OF SCREAM
THE INDIE FILMMAKERS HANDBOOK
CINEMASSACRES
BEST WISHES, IRON DAVE

-- Iron Dave NVF Magazine www.freewebs.com/nvfinprint
On Line hours:
Monday to Friday 8 am to 2 pm
Saturday 12 noon to 4 pm.

It doesn't actually say anything about Issue 5 of NVF. My story Idolatry is supposed to appear there so now I don't know if it's being published or not. I've not received a contributors copy either although I believe other contributors have. I'd be interested to know if others know more about what's going on. But, whether it's published or not, I wish Iron Dave all the best in getting his health back to a good state and I hope this is but a minor hiccup in his publishing career.

You'll notice I've changed my currently reading picture to Necrotic Tissue. I've finished reading the excellent Issue 41 of Aurealis, and I'm now planning to read all the NT back issues before my print subscription begins arriving. I don't think I'll be submitting to exposure markets anymore - time to move up and NT would be a good start - along with a bunch of Aussie based semi-pro's I'm targeting.

Enough from me - time to write a six page script.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

End Of Week Post

Today I managed to do some assignment work. I got back gradings for both assignments already submitted (including the resubmitted first one) - a B and a B+. Not a bad start to the year.

I have also managed to finish off assignment 2 for both modules. I'll post Module 2, assignment 2 over the weekend. I can't submit Module 1, assignment 2 as there is an issue with the website we do that through - got to love technology.

So I'm up-to-date on the diploma front and moving forward.

A Google Alert notified me of this little interesting bit of information: NVF In Print preorders. It's another first for me. I've never seen my name listed like that for a short story in a print magazine. Cool.

I've managed no reading or writing yet today. I need to go do some food shopping shortly, but I'm hoping to update when I get back. If I can knock off chapter 19 and get one or two more chapters of RealmShift read, I'll be a happy man for the weekend - which just happens to be a long weekend here so I'll be doubly happy.

Update:

I've managed a little over 1000 words in chapter 19. RealmShift will have to wait.

So my total for this week is: 6941!

Here's hoping everything is going well with your writing endeavours.

BT

Hump Day

As in Wednesday, the middle of the week - sorry to disappoint.

Today I've managed to knock off another 3 chapters of RealmShift and added 1050 words to Newland. That's 4353 words so far this week--a bit better than last weeks paltry effort and still a couple of days to go! A good start to the month, me thinks.

I also got my first assignment back from Module 2. My lecturer likes my idea for Newland which is cool. My lecturer by the way is Kirsty Brooks. I'm so glad I didn't sign up for the internal class. Once my wife gets a look at my lecturer in a nurses uniform I'd have been banned from going anyway.

Anyhoo, she liked my idea, liked my assignment, but didn't grade it?? She also sent me some very interesting articles and a printed copy of an interview she did as way of introduction.

Another cool bit of information is her business Driftwood Manuscripts. This is somewhere I could see myself sending a manuscript for that final polish before submission - although it's not cheap. Still, I if I'm a good boy and show my work to be outstanding, who knows, maybe I'll get mates rates...student rates...a free coffee while I wait...

I noticed Aaron's name on the January Issue of NVF with the excellent 'The Eyes Have It' and I was informed my issue, April, containing Idolatry, is to be advertised at The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors. That can only be a possibly good thing - right?

So that's it for today - see I told you I was going to try and cut down on lengthy rambles and incoherent bullshit which whizzed off on barely connected tangents about lots of different stuff nobody rea...sorry.

And now for the Bean Update:

Idolatry And An Acceptance

So it seems this year may have finally got started for me.

I've come to the conclusion much of my earlier work contains either cliched characters or a cliched plot, or worse - both.

In particular:

Too Late the Rain - has cliche characters
Dark Rose - Plot and characters
System Failure - characters
Wamphyri - tropes
Mobile - Not so much
Idolatry - characters

My more recent work (Swirls in Obsidian, Dreaming, Digging Up the Past, Newland) not so much.

Now cliched characters aren't such a big deal, I think, if they're placed in a unique situation - a different way of using them, and it seems that may be the case because:

NVF Magazine has accepted Idolatry for the April Issue!

I sent it out last night and then went to bed. I woke up this morning with an acceptance email in my inbox - very cool.

Idolatry started out as an assignment during my first semester in the Advanced Diploma of Arts for Professional Writing. My lecturer at the time said he found the piece interesting, but not sure if I could make it work. I took up the challenge and turned it into a one act play for a later assignment. He again thought it interesting, but didn't think I carried it off enough to be a salable piece. So I worked on it some more and turned it back into a story.

It didn't place in the Salisbury Writing Competition for 2008. It has been rejected four other times from pro and semi-pro markets. I was just about ready to send it to TLODS when I figured I'd give it a once over and then send to a non-paying market as a last resort. I now have another credit for the bio. Perseverance pays off once more.

Today, life is good once more.