Writing and Getting Paid For It.

I’ve gotten very little done on any of my personal projects in recent weeks.  Really, since the AWP Conference in February, I don’t think I’ve gotten any further in the Manuscript Slog through Meet the Larssons.  I did outline more in Project Hometown — I now have a spreadsheet with the first 25 scenes laid out, which covers all of Act One, for those of you who believe in the three act novel structure — but haven’t touched it in a couple of weeks.

The primary reason for all this is that I’m working my ass off at the day job, which, as I’ve said before, is often a night and weekend job, too.  Ordinarily when I’m this busy, it’s because of one big project; this time, it’s because a number of projects have heated up at once.  I’m doing fine, but it has required a little more proactive time-management than I’ve needed the last couple of months.

So I’m doing plenty of writing.  I knocked out six pages of scintillating prose in less than two hours this morning, and I am 100% certain that my payment will be made by direct deposit on schedule.  I also talked through edits on a 40-page piece with a co-author, and made significant headway on the first draft of a more substantial work.  On the downside, it was all non-fiction (yes, I’m sure), and all of it is client work.  All of it will be paid for, it will all have my name on it (albeit at the end instead of the beginning), and at least some of it has the potential to end up with a slightly larger audience than the typical readership of this blog, so I don’t mean to complain.  I’m just offering it as an excuse, even though I suspect I’m the only one who thinks I need one. In any case, if I haven’t been commenting on your blog lately or you’ve been wondering where I’ve been or why my page and word-count meters in the sidebar haven’t budged in weeks, that’s why.

I’ve got a meeting of my novelists’ support discussion group on Sunday.  They already think I’m the least serious writer in the room (there’s a reason for that; but since I’m the only male in the group, I think they keep me around just to add a different perspective).  I hope I can spend enough time this weekend reviewing what I have done so that I sound like I at least have a WIP when we meet.

What else since the last time?  I think the only other writing-related news is that “Jimmies” got rejected again.  This time, though, the rejection was personal, with significant, easy-to-understand comments about the story and why the editor didn’t buy it (including that the editor thought it read like a YA story, which the ezine doesn’t publish).  Once I get through this patch at work, I’m going to reread the story with the rejection letter in mind.  I’ll try to edit with the comments in mind, and then I’m going to look for a YA short story market.  It’s worth a shot.

There’s still time to send me cookies (homemade chocolate chip or oatmeal scotchies are the best) or single malt scotch (I’m partial to The Macallan 12 y.o.) before I give out my allotted eight Proximidade Awards, although you should remember that the award is for those who do not seek self-aggrandizement, so be tactful.