1st prize at eclatfiction.com for 'Knees'

a story i wrote this month called 'Knees' has won £100 first prize at eclatfiction.com, and will be published in their bi-monthly on-line anthology from tomorrow.

really pleased to have success like this less than a month after starting writing again

i'm trying very hard just to enjoy this and not start thinking that everything else that i've subbed this month is going to meet with similar success...

i know from experience that you can't start thinking like that, cos that's not the way it works.

so, i'm celebrating this success, and just hoping to keep writing more stories.

i'll put the link to the story in the panel on the right as soon as it goes up.

sixth submission for april

'Make Me Hard' subbed to Litro magazine.

six subs for april.

sixth story for april

wrote a story tonight

1,600 words-ish

first one i've done start to finish in one sitting i think since i came back

got somewhere to sub it to, as well, once i've tidied it upon a little.

if i can do that tomorrow, i'll be up to six written and subbed for the month, which is two ahead of schedule.

it's nice to have targets, especially as i'm doing this without the support of a writing group this time

and it's nice to meet, and even exceed, those targets.

of course, perhaps none of these stories will meet with any success in the comps they've been subbed for, but that's not the point,

the point is words written.

the point is stories written

the point is putting in the hours, to get better.

five stories written and subbed in april

another two stories subbed tonight, bringing the total to five.

'Heat (or, The Aesthetic Expression of Truth in Thirteen Short Chapters) subbed to the momaya press competition.

'We Are Here, And This Thing, It's Happening' subbed to Writers' Forum

i've been published  in both of these previously (feels like a long time ago now), but i'm trying not to let that increase my sense of anticipation this time around.

on a slightly less positive note, nothing new written in three days...

fifth story since coming back

finished the story i've been working on for the last few days

2200 words, more or less, and probably a good eight hours or more.

pleased with it, but more importantly, enjoyed it

needs a title, but think i've got somewhere to sub it.

that's five stories written in april, and three subbed (with the other two to sort out tomorrow)

early days, of course...

finished story (almost) and targets

the story mentioned last night grew tonight.

nearly finished.

2000 words, or thereabouts.

again, enjoyed it.

if i keep enjoying it, i'll keep doing it.

it's good to have a week back at work out of the way, with a story almost completed.

makes me realise i can do it, balance the two things, plus family, plus everything else...

so, targets:

 - one story a week (minimum)

 - four subs a month

if i can stick to that, i'll be more than happy.

four days later...

four days at work, and nothing written.

then tonight, 700 ish words, a story, of sorts.

needs a bit of flesh, but it felt good to write.

if i can write one a week, it's not enough, but it's something,.

going back to go on

i'm subbing the story i mentioned yesterday to the momaya press competition

i had stories in their anthology (not prize winners, but top ten) in 2004 and 2006.

that was pretty early on for me, certainly the first one was one of the first comps i had any success in, and it was a bit of a thrill.

so, it's 2012 and here i am, entering the same competition.

well, i stopped writing in 2008, and now it feels - in some ways - that i'm starting again from scratch, so i'm not too worried about still entering the same comps as years ago, but in my mind, back in 2004, i would have had about three novels published by now...

the thing is, i know i'm a better writer now.

i'm better for the four years i stuck at it, and i'm sure i'm better for the four years' break (i was finished in 2008, totally disillusioned.)

i'm not saying this story is gonna win hands down (to be honest, it's a 'risk' story - challenging, not exactly straightforward, one of those that could seem like utter bollocks in about a week's time...if it gets nowhere i won't be at all surprised) but i know i'm a better writer than the person who wrote the stories which got in 2004 and 2006.

also...

after a short break from work, i'm back tomorrow.

i need to keep the writing momentum up at the same time as working.

let's see...

new story, just finished

family break for a few days, so nothing written.

i was a little concerned that it'd be hard to get back into it.

but no - one thousand six hundred-ish words tonight, a completed story, along with somewhere to submit it.

it needs pruning and editing, but i enjoyed it.

three submissions

the purpose of this blog, really, is just to record what i've written, and what i've subbed.

maybe a little of how i feel about it, too.

so,

three subs so far in the six days since i jumped back into this:

just sent 'Cities, Books and Girls' to fluster magazine, a mainly photography-based creative site. you had to write a story based on one of their pool of images. one of them really got to me. enjoyed writing the thing, but as i finished it last night i'm far too close to it to know if it's any good. but at the mo, the whole point of this is just to write the stuff, send it out, get back into the swing of things. quality control is of secondary importance (but not for long...)

sent 'Knees' to eclat, a fiction-based site. again, no idea if it's any good. again, enjoyed writing it.

and finally, i sent 'A Time and Place Unknown' to liar's league. i've had success there before, twice. but this was my first thing written since deciding, on a whim, to come back, so ...who knows?

that's six thousand-ish words, and three stories, written and subbed in six days.

not a bad start.

back...i think

hmmm...

i gave up writing just after my last post.

a long story; a snap decision.

didn't write a word until christmas last year - almost three years down the line -  when i got involved in a bootcamp thing with alex keegan for a month.

i wrote six stories, i think, a couple of which felt good.

then i stopped again.

but here i am, dipping a toe back in the waters.

here's why...

got an email from a company who want to publish truth, lies and nikkisexkitten

four years down the line

i couldn't even remember what the story was about, so i dug out an old memory stick, read it, thought, well, it's not that bad.

that story was performed as part of liars league, so i clicked on their site.

they're still going.

their next theme is time and space.

so, i wrote a story.

it's not great, but i subbed it.

enjoyed writing it, too.

that was four days ago.

since then i've written another one-and-a-half, stories, and subbed the finished one to eclat .

 the other, i've got somewhere in mind for.

i've got a list of seventeen sites running competitions or asking for submissions with deadlines in the next three months.

i'm giving it a go.

weird, though, checking out my links at the side...

can't remember writing half of those stories, and i'm shamed to admit some of them are mine.

 the odd one i'm still quite proud of.

many of the sites are dead, now.

the side bar might need some pruning.

anyway...

 here i am, writing again.

if it lasts a week, fine.

let's see.