What I worked on this week
This last week has been all about getting back into a regular routine. The week after Mo*Con, we had car trouble, tummy trouble, and a field trip, so I didn’t get into the office even once. It felt so good to get back into my happy, quiet, creative space! My focus this week has been twofold: 1) push forward on the novel WIP reread so that I can make some edit notes and get started on that ASAP, and 2) organize my submission system better.
Rereading the novel has actually been a lot of fun. While there are certainly areas that need love and attention, it has a more generous feel to it than I’ve had on novel attempts in the past. I find myself using phrases like “weed,” “fertilize,” and “give a bit more light.” That’s what this pass feels like: gentle gardening. Attempting to make the good things grow and give them space and attention to bloom. It feels much kinder than the typical “cut”/”fix”/”slash”/”battle” terminology I sometimes fall into with editing.
Submissions organization-wise, I found my online methodologies of finding and tracking submission itineraries (lists of markets I typically make prior to submission) was becoming a challenge. Trello has been GREAT for color-coding market genres and tracking project status and what’s out on submission, as well as a great place to put notes for when I get a personal rejection. I can also see at a glance how many places a piece has been submitted to, which is lovely. I also use Duotrope for the actual real-time tracking process, because otherwise, my head would spin off into oblivion trying to remember all the details. (You can read more about my thoughts on Duotrope here!) But I needed someplace to pre-list all the markets I intend to send a piece to. I always do this in advance, organizing the list by priority (usually payscale, sometimes dream markets), so that when I start submitting a work and get a rejection, I can shoot it right back out to the next market on the list without having to wallow for too long. I find this absolutely vital to my own submission process, and it’s much more stressful to have to find a market in the moment than to already know where it goes next. So I got myself a five-column logbook off Amazon (this one), and this is where I list out every market I intend to send a story to before I’ve even submitted it once. I number each market and submit in that order. If one is closed when the story comes back, I just find the next available market in my list and send it there, and send it to the skipped market at the first opportunity. That way there’s no lag between a rejection and a submission. Once it’s run the gauntlet, I can either retire the story or keep it on the back-burner for that perfect anthology call that fits it to a T. But at least I’ll have done my part, and I can easily keep track of sub date and query/rejection date. It’s kind of like batch cooking your week’s lunches–it’s already done and waiting, so you can just grab and go.
What’s inspiring me this week?
Oh my goodness, so much stuff. Of course, anyone who’s talked to me in person recently knows I’m obsessed with Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, and I’ll probably end up writing a treatise on the joys of soothingly slow novels in a world where everything is pushed towards peak optimization. I’ve also been absolutely obsessed with GLOW on Netflix. Brigerton 3 just came out, but I haven’t started it yet. I’ve been watching SO MANY HORROR MOVIES lately, some of which have been delightful (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, His House, Fall of the House of Usher (TV)), and some, not so much (I still can’t get over Smile losing itself at midpoint…the music alone-! OMG. So scary. And then, PFFFFT, crapped the bed.). I’ve been playing Stardew Valley as my most cynical persona, seducer of all, lover of none (except her cat, Minx and her bestie, Linus), mostly so I can find out all the backstories.
I also just picked up A Year in Practice by Jacqueline Suskin, all about how the earth and the seasons influence creative practice. I’ve also started Horror in the Highlands by the inimitable Richard Beauchamp, which I’m delighting in (I’ve been meaning to read it so, so, so much earlier than this, but finally just sprung for a paper copy, because I hate reading on screens). And I picked up a few books on grammar and diagraming sentences, because that stuff’s fascinating and I never feel like I know enough. Also watched The Mitchells Vs. the Machines with the boys yesterday, and can I just say, it was a LOVELY time? I laughed out loud, I cried (I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying!)–it was super fun. Thing 1 has been trying to get me to watch it for months now, and I’m so glad I finally caved.
What are my goals for the coming week?
This week, it’s all about finishing the novel WIP readthrough. I think it’s a good sign that I’ve been voluntarily sneaking extra scenes in at home, actually wanting to read it–I’m taking it that way, anyway. If I can finish the read through and review edit notes and start making a concerted plan for how to move forward into the third draft, that’ll be a good place to land. I’d really like to be able to start editing properly in June, so I’ve got to wrap this up soon.