Congratulations on all NaNoWriMo achievements!

I suddenly had a revision breakthrough this week while reading "Outgoing" by Alex Wilson in February Asimov's. An incredible story, I see award nominations in its future. The blurb says it's his first professional fiction sale.

I realized that the way the story unfolds as you're composing it may not be the same as how you want it to unfold for the reader. When I was writing "A Singular Being" a lot of free association went on as the story emerged. I see now that not every step along the way needs to be included in the final story. Putting this insight together with the many excellent critiques I received from Critters, I began revising. It's a start. I now have a manuscript I can take to lunch with me at the deli with the wonderful library tables. I've missed doing that since "The Daily Grind" bogged down.

I guess my insight is about process vs. product. I hope I can apply it to "Grind". I got an image of being violently flung around by big machines and having no control, & started writing. For some reason the descriptions were sounds rather than sights. The story as it stands emerged from there. So far I've been trying to rethink the machines & kitchen equipment so I can describe them more visually & I'm not sure how well it's going.

Do you have any thoughts on process vs. product? How does your process of creating a story work?

Jingle, jingle to all!

HAVE A MERRY ONE!

Just offering a little news on what's going on with me, writing-wise (although I posted in Cyn's entry about where my book is at the moment): The first issue of GUD Magazine is out, with my story "One in Ten Thousand". It's available in PDF as well. The editors nicely nominated it for a Pushcart Prize, so that was a nice surprise (I think I found out on vacation)!

I'm going to be in an e-collection with Jason Sizemore (editor of Apex Digest) and Bryn Sparks entitled, "The Horror of it All". All our stories are reprints, with my offering numbering five. It'll be coming out on Fictionwise, and I'll post the link when it's up. I'm not sure if you can purchase individual stories or you have to get the whole book.

Lastly, I sold my story "Atomic Runner" to a new zine, Fusion Fragment. Here's a little backstory on that: I sold this story months ago to another online zine. But the edits made to the story completely changed one of the messages I was trying to convey (yes, I try to slip in a little social consciousness from time to time ;)), so I felt no other choice but to withdraw it. Nice that it's found a new home.

That was definitely a weird experience-- I've never had to deal with that kind of editing before, but in the end, I never felt bad about it, or felt regret, so in the end it's all worked out fine.

Any of you ladies ever dealt with something like that?

Other than all that, I've got about a handful of stories out that I hope will find homes and readers. Merry Christmas!

My book cover:

What's everybody up to? I'm trying to put the finishing touches on my Nanowrimo book "American Goth." so I can give it as a Christmas gift to some friends. My co-worker is even making a book cover for me. I will post when I get the art.

"A Singular Being" is up in the Critters queue this week! (That went fast!)

I went to check what's up because I was looking for something to read/crit, & what's up was me! No crits yet, though. I might not get as many as for "Grind" because it's longer, which discourages some critters. (5000 words as opposed to 3000.)

Me & Eugie Foster in the same week!

Linda, how goes the revising? I shudder at the thought :)