I missed the Sunday Circle again this week (why on earth is Sunday such a tricky day to post, I wonder?), but I figured a little status update was in order, since I have not been lazy! (Unexpected, I know!) I still need to do an updated Poly-Reader Notes sometime soon, since I have been trying to pick up my reading, and you wouldn’t know it by looking on here, but I do have some overarching goals for 2019. But those are for another post.
Although a couple days behind schedule, I did manage to finish the outline for Draft 3 of my dark fantasy novel, The Mistress of Frosthaven (working title). I’m looking forward to starting the actual drafting process in April. This month, it’s all about short fiction. I finally went through all of my unfinished work from the past couple of years, made some nifty folders (Ready to Edit/Rest 3 Months/Rest 6 Months/Rest 9 Months/Rest 12 Months/Retired), and sorted them. Turns out I also need a “Submitted” folder, so I’ll steal an extra manila folder from my folks next time I’m there.
Most of the stories (probably close to half a dozen) are in the “Ready to Edit” folder, as most of them have rested long enough that I’m ready to tackle getting them out into the world. A few of them are in the “Rest 3 Months” folder, as I haven’t yet spent a lot of time figuring out how to fix them up yet, or I know I just don’t have the time to get them worked out in the short term, but there’s vastly fewer of those than in the “Yeah, I can fix this,” pile. So that’s encouraging!
I’ve also managed to get every available and well-edited story back out into the markets, so I currently have five stories hunting for homes. I’ve had a few back with rejections, but they’re all back out again, so gold star for me!
Getting unedited work rewritten, edited, and submitted is a huge goal for me this year. This month, I’m focusing on getting two out. I have a couple I think are pretty close to being ready, and that have already had some good feedback on, so I don’t need to get many Beta Reader thoughts on them. A little focused TLC and I think these can be making the rounds by the end of the month.
Other than that, we’ve been enjoying the snow and I managed to twinge my neck sleeping last night, so I’ve been taking it easy with a hot pack on it today. It’s feeling a bit better, so I’m hoping it’s short lived!
Currently Submitted:
“Grieving Trees & Prophecies”
“Rhapsody in Flesh Minor”
“The First Ghost of Old Shore”
“Moments of Clarity”
“The Mirrorwalker”
Maggie Slater 