A Treasure Trove of Procrastination

One of the things I love most about Twitter and Facebook are the links people post to various articles and news items. They spark debates, make me laugh and fill countless hours I would have otherwise spent writing or cleaning my house. That's right. I particularly love them for procrastination. Which is what I'm doing right now.

I'm behind on my submissions, so naturally I decided to peruse the internet before getting started. You know, just to get my brain going. And what delightful, tantalizing items have I found? Well, first of all, it appears the publishing world just got a little sexier. It seems that Johnny Depp is starting a book imprint. Yes, the Captain of Quirky is dipping his toe into the world of publishing. I know I wouldn't mind if he was my publisher. Personally, I'd love the chance to pick his brain. If you'd like to read the article, just click here.

And what else did I find? Well, a visit to the internet just isn't complete without a visit to Writer's Digest. With Halloween coming up fast, you might be interested in reading their article, Top 5 Books for Halloween, And What They Can Teach You About Writing. I kind of wish I'd done my own reading list for Halloween this year. It would have been nice to burrow into some horror and get in the spirit. But time is not yet up, so if you'd like to find a creepy read, just check out the article.

I know what you're thinking. Do I realize I'm just instigating more procrastination from all of you? Yes. Yes I do. Misery loves company and so does procrastination. If I'm not going to get anything done, than neither are you! Enjoy!

(Evil laughter)

Must Submit... Must Submit...

Due to last week's abundance of flash fiction, I'm going to try and keep things a little more real this week. Although as soon as I wrote that, a quote by Ray Bradbury shot into my head. "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." I love that quote. It's on the wall in my office. Nevertheless, I feel it's important to change things up, keep it fresh.

It's been a rather tiring month so far. I've been keeping up with my challenge for Submit-O-Rama, although I'm a little behind. I'll have to submit twice today to be where I should be, and it'd be nice to submit more to be ahead for the week. Between housework, taking care of the dog, a full time job and trying to commit ample time to writing, editing and submitting, it's been a bit much. Not that I'm complaining. This is what I want. This is what I have to do if there's ever going to be a hope in hell of writing being my full time job. (Ah! How glorious that would be!)

And to be honest, I've really enjoyed the Submit-O-Rama challenge thus far. It's really forced me out of my shell. I've had to scour the depths of my writing for good material, had to bend, twist and cut it into presentable pieces and send it out into the world. I've had to research markets, read past issues of possible publications, write queries and pitches. All things I'm out of practice with. After all, the writing is the easy part. It's fun, imaginative and a great source of entertainment and soul searching. The editing, research, pitching and inevitable rejection, those are the hard parts. The parts we all want to avoid. The more I do them, the more practice I get, the easier it'll become. I'll get better at it and (hopefully) increase my chances of success.

I particularly like these challenges in the winter. The weather is already cold and it's just October. These challenges make the months fly by, give me a source of ambition and determination when I'd otherwise just stay curled up in bed, miserable and waiting for spring. I've even been thinking about competing in NaNoWriMo again in November, although in a different way. I've been slowly editing my book since the middle of August, but I was thinking I might use NaNoWriMo as an editing marathon rather than a writing one. I respond really well to deadlines and word counts, especially when they're online for all to see. It might just give me the kick in the pants I need to really give my book the attention it deserves.

But in the mean time, I'm all about submitting. And I plan to finish the month triumphant.

Behind the Curtain Flash Fiction Contest Entry

Welcome one and all to my continued efforts with Submit-O-Rama and my contest entry for the Behind The Curtain Flash Fiction Contest. So far, I'm on track with submitting once a day and today's no different. So, without further ado, I give you today's submission: my entry to the contest. Enjoy!

Behind the Curtain

 

The theater is filled with fog. It spills out across the stage, falls down into the orchestra and reaches out across the seats until every thing is cloaked in mist. The dancers pirouette in perfect unison, graceful limbs eerily white against glittering costumes.

They are too far away to get a good look at their faces, painted like porcelain dolls. But I watch them move, bending and twisting to the music. It seems impossible, such graceful dancers, their movements so in sync.

The music is as ephemeral as the fog, creeping through the dark theater, filling my ears. It circles the dancers like a nest of serpents.

At the end of the show, applause erupts from the audience as though they just woke up and found themselves standing and clapping. I stay behind when they leave, flattening myself against the ground and crawling beneath the seats as the janitors start cleaning up.

I climb down into the orchestra pit, pushing against the big black door that leads backstage.

The musicians are gathered on the other side, clutching their instruments in skeletal hands, blank featureless faces staring at one another despite their lack of eyes, as though chatting after the big show.

I creep past, staring back at them in fear, but they don't seem to notice me. I should leave now, but I have to see the dancers. I want to know how they can move so beautifully, in such perfect unison.

I find them behind the curtain, just off stage. They stand motionless, as still as the furniture around them. I approach, despite the hairs raising on my arms, and gently tap a dancer's alabaster arm.

She doesn't move, doesn't flinch, her flesh icy cold. I come around to peer at her face, but there isn't one. Her make up wasn't done up to look like a doll. She is one. They all are. And on their limbs are thousands of delicate strings, disappearing up into the rafters.

I turn and leave as quickly as I can, anxious to avoid meeting their puppet master. I don't breathe until I'm safely outside in the fresh air, striding away. I don't look back and I never return.

It's never a good idea to peek behind the curtain.

Contest entry details and other entries can be found below. And as always, your feedback is always appreciated in the comments section below. 

Submit-O-Rama

One of the hardest parts of being a writer (at least for myself, but I assume I'm not alone in this), is submitting your work. I never feel like it's good enough and I get insecure the second I start scouting for publications. My queries and cover letters feel contrived and poorly written and despite my research I never feel totally certain that my writing really belongs anywhere. To make a long story short, I find myself avoiding it at all costs. But not anymore.

Three days ago I saw a link posted on twitter for Submit-O-Rama. Intrigued, I followed it and decided to give it a try. Basically, there are a few different options, letting you choose your level of participation. I'm going for the Uber Challenge, where you must submit at least 30 times in the month of October. So, pretty much once a day right up until Halloween. But you can knock out a couple a day and give yourself a head start.

Why am I being so ambitious? Because last week was one of the worst weeks I've ever had at my job. And don't get me wrong, my job is a good one. I work with great people and the work itself is fine. But it's not the goal. It's not how I want to spend my time for the rest of my working life. The goal has always been to live off my writing full time. And that's never going to happen if I don't start submitting my work. I'm not saying it'll be easy. I think I have quite the blizzard of rejections waiting for me this month. But it's an important first step. Hopefully, I'll get some helpful criticism and learn a few things along the way.

As of today, I'm on track. We'll have to see how the rest of the month plays out. I encourage you all to give your own form of the challenge a try as well. I'll keep you posted on my status and hopefully we can all cheer each other on. Good luck, my friends!