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Great Challenges
Behind On My Reading… But hope to be caught up this next week. Both novels and short stories. Looking forward to the reading, actually. Just had a few weeks of silly amount of things to do. The Great Challenge for a story-per-week lost two writers this week. They both wrote me and said they would miss. One managed ten stories, the other twelve. Fantastic! Now each of them has $600 in workshop credits as well as the short stories. So now both the novel Great Challenge and the Short Story Great Challenge have openings if you want to jump in. You sign up on Teachable and then let me know…
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If I Can Make It
I Have A Blog Anniversay… In August, 2011, I lost one of my best friends, book dealer Bill Trojan. I was the executor on his massive estate and I lost almost a year of my writing and one of my eyes to that experience. So to get back writing, I came up with Smith’s Monthly for my fiction and started blogging daily on August 1st, 2012. Smith’s Monthly lasted 44 issues before going on hiatus for another emergency, but somehow, through it all this last year plus, my blog has continued. Not a clue how. (And Smith’s Monthly is about to return. Go figure.) So on August 1st, if I…
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Couch Surfing…
Took On A Whole New Meaning Tonight… When that earthquake hit tonight, the second one in two days, it was again a roller, so sitting on the couch felt like sitting on a surfboard in gentle waves. Up and down and up and down and lamps moving back and forth as the couch rolled up and down. To be honest, I felt a little motion sick after a bit. We are on the top floor of our tall building, so it was a little worse because of that, but everyone around town tonight on the news said it felt the same way. We are 130 or so miles from the…
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I’m Really Enjoying Reading
All the Great Challenge Stories… Got a slow start on reading this week, so still have a few to do from Week #6, but every week I am so pleased at how much fun I have reading short stories. I knew that would be part of the fun I would have with the Great Challenge. Turns out it is more fun than even I expected. Do I like every story? Nope. Some are not to my tastes. Nothing wrong with them, just not to my personal liking. Others are short on Depth so I end up scanning. I tell the author when that happens. Another editor might not notice the…
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Reading and Going to Get Some Sleep
Running Tomorrow Morning… We will be up and out very early tomorrow morning so Kris can run a 5k and I can run some and walk some the same distance. Still not down enough pounds to run the entire way. Too afraid of hurting my knees, to be honest. But the pounds are dropping, so maybe soon. Otherwise I am reading challenge stories. Not going to finish them all tonight, so don’t panic if I haven’t gotten back to you on week #3 just yet. You folks are making me read all the way through and my one eye only has so much computer time. Besides, it’s Friday night. Pictures…
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Week Three Great Challenge
Happy To Say Everyone Hit It… Everyone who is writing a weekly short story got a story in. And a new person started and a couple others have not yet started, which is fine. In fact, perfectly fine to sign up at any point still. The Great Challenge is not filled and I am enjoying reading the stories. (Remember, you get workshop credit when you miss.) I won’t talk much about this challenge going forward, since life will cause writers to miss from this point onward. That will just happen. My hope is that a number of them make it all the way. That would be so cool! But that…
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Saturday Night Post
Fun Day Today… I worked on my website stuff and some workshop recording while Kris worked this morning on writing and a video, then we headed out for a great lunch at a brand new place. Then I shopped while Kris did some running, then deserts and home to watch a fun movie, have pizza for dinner, and I did a bunch of walking to get my steps while Kris read. In other words, a pretty normal day for most people, totally relaxing anniversary for us. Felt weird to just relax and go slow for a day. Just not used to that. (grin) And this blog keeps the blogging streak…
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Week Two Great Challenge Update
Sometimes I Will Give Updates… Mostly I will give these updates because I think it’s fun and good information and I will never, ever use any names in these updates. Just general stuff. I am impressed that every person who started on the first week got in a second story. And a couple people started on Week #2 and there is still a couple people who haven’t started yet. But no misses so far. Better than I had expected since I know how hard challenges are. Some people sign up for a challenge like this only to discover that challenges are just not their thing. That’s why even if you…
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Great Challenge Revisited
Reposting This… Because there are still spots open in both this short story challenge and the novel challenge. You can sign up for either on Teachable. —— For the last few years I have done quarterly challenges that many people have enjoyed. And a lot of novels or stories have come out of those challenges that I enjoyed reading. So a new challenge, with a brand new form. One a little saner and a little crazier in the same breath. And again, the fee goes toward two workshop fees. Kris and I have been talking about this one for a while. Here are the basics… Every week, on Teachable, a…
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Challenges Both Started
And Both Still Have Some Room… You can start any time with either the novel challenge or the short story challenge. On the novel challenge, you have to tell me when to start the clock ticking for the two months. (No writing ahead, finish your current project and when you are ready to start the next book, let me know if you are in the novel challenge.) For the short story challenge, the streak starts when you turn in the first story. There are prompts on the short story challenge each week and some stuff about novel writing on the novel challenge each week. And yes, you can move from…