Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at 6:53AM in Week 28 
I have absolutely no idea what this means. Was this advice given specifically to me, or was it more of a general imperative?
What would subjective dialogue even look like?
So, this should be interesting! Any ideas?
Monday, September 16, 2013 at 9:20AM in Week 27 Between this and last week's story (or excerpt, I guess), I seem to be 1,290 words into a fantasy novel I had outlined about a month ago but then sat on. The great surprise is how much I enjoy writing a scene here and another scene there, rather than starting at the start and working my way through. I'm someone who has to watch movies and their sequels in the order they were intended. I'll never read the end of a book before I begin it (not to name names, Breda).
But for some reason none of that applies here. Maybe it's because I have so much reverence for story that I'm terrified of writing a bad one, but if I can just sit down and tell myself Today, the merchant talks to Garith about parenting and taking responsibility... and also he's kinda drunk, it feels more like playing than work. I know some (or many) of the details will change later, but for now I'm just exploring character. And building something, scene by scene.
So the time has come, ladies and gents. I'm gonna try to write a book. I'm setting myself a deadline of October 31st for the rough draft (~90,000 words). Too ambitious? I defy your caution.
Please wish me luck (and lots and lots of impulse control).
Meanwhile, did this week's prompt do anything for your own writing?
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at 8:36PM in Week 27 
"Write about parenthood"?!
What about it, Freshman Me? Be more specific. Twelve years from now when you are (thank jeebus) still not a parent, you will be perplexed by this one. You will find it difficult to make a story out of it for your blog. Others will, too.
So some consideration, please, Freshman Me. If it's not too much.
Anyway, you have your assignment. No minimum word count this time. Write however much your unshaven muse compels you to.
See you Sunday!
I surprised myself with this one and ended up writing a scene from late in Book One of my epic fantasy series that I had outlined but not yet started. I guess now I officially have!
Kyra from Week Eight's story was a rough sketch of Kaira, one of the main characters in this planned series. There are some obvious similarities, but I don't think I'm going to follow that story exactly. Or maybe. Kind of. We shall see!
Anyway, here's my Week Twenty Six.
Leave yours/links to yours in the comments!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 7:41AM in Week 26 
Heyyyy welcome back! Hope your Labor Day weekend (if you celebrate it) was relaxing and such.
For those following along at home, I cranked out five short plays in just over two hours for my 31 Plays in 31 Days challenge, bringing the total to (YES) thirty one on Friday afternoon, just moments before leaving for Vacationland.
Wooooo me! Read 'em here if you dare. I was surprised by how much fun I was able to have with them, and I think there's at least a few keepers in there worthy of revision and then... production? WE SHALL SEE.
So anyway, back to the task at hand. Quit showin' yer objects, wouldja? Use 'em—that's what they're for! The gun is not sleek and cool in your palm—the gun goes off.
It's more of an imperative than a writing prompt, but I think some interesting stuff could come of it.
300 words by Sunday (September 8th) at midnight.
Thursday, August 29, 2013 at 10:55AM in Inspiration, Process Okay, time to fess up: I'm blowing this week off to crank out the last of my 31 Plays in 31 Days effort. I'm off to Vacationland as of Friday afternoon, so I need to post and upload six more of these suckers between now and then. CAN HE DO IT?
Check 'em out if you haven't! My favorites are probably Bad Day, Eh and How to Eat a Fresh Maine Blobster. Going Viral is also pretty funny.
In the meanwhile, here's a beautiful and eloquently stated piece about art and life and work and passion and also dinosaurs.
What are you working on?
Monday, August 26, 2013 at 4:10PM in Process In response to my post about Monica Byrne's tracking process, Independent Clause says:
I love the anti resume! I do not have anything near the math skills to figure out what my personal rejection rate is, but I'll try some awkward poet math and see what I come up with. I'll post mine if you post yours.
Heh, you're definitely going to win this one. Prior to this year, I submitted pitifully little: Agni and maybe Ploughshares right out of grad school. Some random online things: something called My Geek in the House that paid me $10 minus PayPal fees and then went bust. The Boston Theater Marathon off and on for several years.
But as of this year...
Boston Theater Marathon XV:
Accepted!
Hovey Summer Shorts Festival 2013:
Accepted!
Moments of Play Ten-Minute Play Festival:
Rejected
VisionFest 2013:
Rejected
Blue Slipper 10-Minute Play Festival:
They cancelled the festival indefinitely...? Not sure how to classify this.
Hit & Run VII:
Rejected
New Works Festival 2014:
Rejected
So that's two of out seven: ~28% acceptance? Or 33% if we're not counting ten-minute play festivals that died before their time through no (apparent) fault of my own. However, it does seem that I'm driving my average down by continuing to submit...
I actually had to look up several of these to find out whether or not I had been rejected. Turns out I've been so busy writing that I haven't had the time to compulsively hit "refresh" on all those festival websites.
That's a good thing!
Alright, Indy Clause. Your turn. Be gentle.
Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 4:00AM in Week 25 It's another cross post with my 31 Plays in 31 Days effort. You can see that I am a little behind. Excited by what I've come up with, though.
Now that I have showed you mine, I entreat you to show me yours.
Friday, August 23, 2013 at 10:07AM in Inspiration Happy Friday!
Writer and playwright Monica Byrne (who I discovered through the blog of playwright and actress Emily Kaye Lazzaro) posted an amazing piece about success and rejection:
- Of all the things I’ve ever submitted to or applied for, I’ve gotten 3% of them.
- I’ve been rejected before being accepted. See: FringeNYC, Millay Colony for the Arts, Shimmer, Impact Theatre, North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship.
- I’ve been rejected after being accepted. See: Durham Emerging Artist Grant, and God knows more to come.
- A work’s rejection rate has no clear relationship to its eventual success. In various guises, The Girl in the Road and What Every Girl Should Know have each been rejected 67 times.
- Of all submissions I made to theaters that accepted unsolicited submissions, 68% never replied at all.
- My personal rejection rate is 17%, which is great and kept me afloat a number of times. (Thank you, anyone who ever took the time to write me.)
- Yes, I’ve written exactly one erotica story. It’s about a trip to the ophthalmologist. It’s great.
- The same week my huge publishing deal went down, I was rejected from the third of three MFA programs I’d applied to. C’est la vie!
Read the rest here!
In particular, be sure to look at the spreadsheet she uses to keep track of what she's submitted and where. Wow.
If that doesn't inspire you to up your game, I'm uncertain anything will.
See you Sunday with Week 25's story!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 1:02PM in Inspiration I'm hard at work this week—actual work, writing work, planning away the last busy weekends of this summer—and don't have much to tell ya.
So tell me: What are you working on? What are you excited about?
Linkage is both allowed and encouraged.