Tuesday, February 28, 2012

*Headdesk*


Dear Prestigious Literary Market,

I want to sincerely apologize for sending you the same story twice. Does it help that this version has been revised and polished? I highly doubt it. Do I need to explain the details of how my supposedly-meticulous submissions-tracking system failed me? Surely not.

All I can do to improve matters at this point is NOT email with an apology, thereby adding to your already overflowing inbox.

Thank you for understanding,

Embarrassed Author

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Note to self...


Next time you make a commitment to read at least a book a week for a year, maybe you shouldn't read so many books at the same time. And maybe also read shorter books.

Shown:
  • The Very Picture of You, by Isabel Wolff (fiction, for my library book club)
  • Under the Dome, by Stephen King (fiction, on sale for A DOLLAR, that's like 0.1 cents per page)
  • If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This, by Robin Black (short stories, on loan from the Grub Street library)
  • Sex at Dawn, by Christopher Ryan & Cacilda Jethá (non-fiction)
  • Negotiating With the Dead: A Writer On Writing, by Margaret Atwood (non-fiction)
  • John Dies at the End, by David Wong (fiction)
  • My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, edited by Kate Bernheimer (short stories)
  • Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, by Susan Jeffers (self-help, and I'm only a little embarrassed to be reading it)
Not shown (reading on Kindle):
  • Zone One, by Colson Whitehead (fiction)
  • The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson (fiction)
  • Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart (fiction)

So, what are you reading? I need more suggestions because obviously this just isn't enough.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Now I obsessively count the words.

These six-word memoirs found at Unmotherly Insights

I've talked about the six-word form before, focusing in particular on six-word plot summaries for novelists. (How's that for a quick elevator pitch?)

Then there's six-word blog post titles. Heh.

I've thought on previous occasions that my six-word memoir should be:

Married high-school boyfriend. Happily ever after.

(I'm thrilled to say that it still is.)

Now, I have two six-word stories on my fiction blog. And I'd be absolutely delighted if you shared a six-word memoir or fiction piece of your own (or a favorite of someone else's) in the comments of EITHER blog...