So, you can probably tell by the lateness of this post that things have been a bit crazy. I don't have much time, so I'll just talk about one of the tips I picked up at Penguicon this year that has become immediately helpful.

The tip: Don't skimp on your secondary characters.

Remember that these are real people too, not just cardboard cut-out fillers. Right now I'm writing two secondary characters that don't even have names! Not good. They should not only have names, but hopes and dreams, and most importantly, a reason for being in your story.

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!
Writing is Magic.
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.
If You Aren't Writing, You Aren't a Write

Finally, some happy news. Though it is not official on the website yet, Writers of the Future just informed me that my short story Ferris Wheel has received an honorable mention for the contest's 2nd Quarter 2018. I am super excited about this because I've experienced a bit of a WotF drought since my short story Alchemical Reminiscence of Death won an honorable mention back in 2015.

For those of you not familiar, the contest is actually the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest presented by L. Ron Hubbard. Politics aside, it is a wonderful free contest open to science fiction and fantasy short stories under 17,000 words. There are 4 quarters each year and you can enter each only once, but that's still 4 free entries a year! (Personally, I'm lucky to write 4 short stories a year). Also, not only do the first, second, and third prize winners receive cashy money, they are also invited to attend a complementary writing workshop in California taught by some huge name authors as well as a gala awards ceremony. Please note that this contest is only open to non-professional writers and you can only win once. Visit the website Rules Page for further clarification.

Anyways, just wanted to share. Woohoo!

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!
Writing is Magic.
The First Rule of Write Club is You Talk About Write Club.

So, welcome to 2018. The new year finds me breaking new ground with my writing. I have sent my first query letter to an agent (2 actually, woohoo!) and am putting together my first author resume for the Isle Royale Artist-in-Residence Program. These experiences remind me that as a writer, I should always be expanding my writing in some way. Joining panels at conventions and talking about new and exciting topics is one way of doing this. Also, making new networking connections. Trying a writing contest or a new writers group can also keep you on your writerly toes. Even if you don't have anything to pitch right now to an agent, work on an elevator pitch for your half-finished novel. It will be great practice for later. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: there are lots of experiences of being a writer other than writing. Try some! :)

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just keep writing...just keep writing...writing, writing, writing!

That moment when you realize that someone else has written a blog post just like the one you were going to write.

Below are links to articles on 2 topics that are, more or less, just what I was going to say. ;)

Free Writing Contests 2017: https://thewritelife.com/writing-contests/
Character Description: http://www.nownovel.com/blog/character-description-examples-famous-authors/

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.

So this week we were out of town and I had a little bit of a tough time focusing on all of the writing and editing I need to do, hence the tardiness of this post. But one thing that I did get done was writing the sample chapter for James Patterson's second Co-author Contest, first in limited third person past tense and then in first person present tense.

Why did I write the same thing in 2 different tenses? Well, I am testing a theory I have that first person present adds a feeling of urgency to a story. Since this novel would be a thriller, I want as much urgency as I can get.

To really complete the experiment fully, I should probably rewrite the chapter twice more, once as third person present and once as first person past, just to see which combination has the most tension and pace. Also, it would help me narrow down whether it is the first person aspect or the present tense which is creating the sense of urgency.

I'll let you know how the experiment goes.

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing, Just Keep Writing; Writing, Writing, Writing...

Today I am deep in the belly of the Holiday beast, so I offer up to you only a quick reminder that the fourth quarter of the Writers of the Future Contest will end at midnight on December 31st. So dust off or crank out one last 2016 short story and send it in. Since there is no entry fee, you have nothing to lose! That's all for now. Season's Greetings.

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing, Just Keep Writing; Writing, Writing, Writing...

So once again my blog post is a day late, but I have a really good reason this time. Namely, I was busy finishing a short story until around 1:30 in the morning. Why was I up to 1:30am writing a short story on a Friday night? Several reasons: 1. Last night at midnight was the deadline for the last Writers of the Future Contest quarter for 2016 (thankfully calculated in PST, so we Midwesterners had a few more hours), 2. Some stories need to be finished all in one big push or they will never get finished, and 3. Occasionally as a writer you just have a desperate desire to finish something!

So I won't go over the Writers of the Future Contest too much here. I've already expressed my feelings about it on this blog. It's a writing contest that has 4 open submission periods every year, large cash prizes plus an opportunity for winners to attend an amazing writing seminar/workshop and awards show, and has no entry fee. It accepts most speculative fiction. I think it's awesome, some people don't for various reasons. I've submitted to it now 4...I'm sorry, 5 times (just verified), and came in as an honorable mention once (or 20% of the time, woohoo!). I often use it as a good jumping off point for short story submissions since they accept almost all year round (no waiting for submission periods) and are open to a wide range of stories (no searching for the perfect market). Also, this is a hopefully limited time offer since they do not accept stories from past winners or from professional writers, and, with luck (probably also hard work), I'll get to one of those points in the next few years.

I also mentioned some stories needing to be finished all at once. I find this to be particularly true for me and my short stories. I have little patience for lingering stories. I'm not the type to write half a story, take a month or two to consider it, then finish it up in another 3 months. When I have a stimulating idea for a short story (this story happened to be another one from a dream I recently had), I need to sit down and burn that idea out of my mind and onto the page as quickly as possible before the excitement and idea fades away. Now, I do have several shorts languishing in half-done land right now, but sadly, they may stay there forever. The story I submitted last...well, earlier this morning really, had sat half-finished for about a month, and I knew that this was my only chance to finish it. If I hadn't gotten it done last night, it never would have found an ending, so yeah, it was worth burning a little midnight oil.

Then we come to me just wanted to have finished something, gosh darnit! Like I said, lately I've had a run of half-finished short stories and I've also been going back to a novel that I'd finished, but now realize needs some more work. Right now I have very few finished, polished, unpublished works, and frankly that is not how I want to roll as an author. I want to be constantly churning and building up my backlog of finished unpublished works to have ready to send out when the right publisher comes along. So yeah, I was geeked to have one more completed story in the hopper. It was a small victory, but one I hadn't felt in a while.

So I hope you'll accept my excuse for not writing my blog yesterday. This is totally not an apology. ;)

Keep Writing and Edit On.
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!
We're Making Better Words, All of Them, Better Words.
I Write to Burn Off the Crazy.
A Good Day Writing is a Day Writing.
It Puts the Words on the Page or it Gets the Hose Again.
Just Keep Writing, Just Keep Writing; Writing, Writing, Writing...

I'm not exactly dancing on the walls ecstatic, but I am pleased to announce that my short story Alchemical Reminiscence of Death received an honorable mention in the second quarter 2015 judging of the Writers of the Future Contest [received an e-mail yesterday, but not officially official on their website yet]. It is a fantasy tale in which the protagonist's best friend delves too deeply into the wells of alchemy and she must take him to an ancient shrine of power if she hopes to save his soul. I hope to soon be able to announce that someone has published my story based on this prestigious almost award.

Keep Writing and Edit On
I Write, I Edit, I Write Again. Witness!