For whatever reason, pirates are hot right now.  I guess there may be some tie-in to the popularity of those films…what are they…the ones with Johnny Depp.

Anyway, I know that some of you have written pirates stories for publication to various journals, as there have been many pirates-themed publications this year.  If you have one of these stories, and it hasn’t been published, go here: http://emg-zine.com/

emg-zine is calling for submissions, and they are looking for pirates-themed stories.  Deadline is September.

Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum!  (Ok, I know…really dorky, but I couldn’t resist.)

A poem of mine, titled Guidelines for Success, has been published by The Verse Marauder. The poem speaks to the absurdity of writing within workshop limits and about the advice we as writers get about “good” writing rules.
Here it is:

http://www.theversemarauder.com/current.html 

This last week was less than productive. Somehow, I lost my momentum for my novel. It’s strange–I’m simultaneously excited by it and able to keep my distance from it at the same time.

I’ve been concentrating on short stories for a while, and there’s a real sense of do-ability in shorts–the end is quickly in sight, and I can finish them within a matter of days. For a novel however, the end isn’t just far away, somewhere out there in the foggy distance–the weight of it also looms over me. Makes my shoulders ache.
So yeah, it’s a struggle with this book.

But I intend to win.

Here’s a piece I recently wrote, published at Tiny Lights Online. Those of you who write and feel the disdain of your inner critic will relate:

http://www.tiny-lights.com/searchlights.html?id=212#222

So I’m trying to write at least 700 words a day in my novel, but even that feels like a lot on some days.

I’ve heard various writers talk about their output: 1,000 or 2,000 words a day (sometimes more) or sometimes it’s in incriments of time, e.g., one or two or six hours a day.

The discipline appeals to me, but a word count goal hangs over my head every morning…gotta reach 700 words, gotta reach 700 words, and so on.

And now to it.  I’ve got 655 words to go to meet today’s goal.

I recently had a piece of poetry accepted by The Verse Marauder, at http://www.theversemarauder.com/

I’m especially delighted by this because this has been one of my favorite online poetry journals of late and the application process is simple, and based on the work itself–not on your bio.

Check this site out–it’s great.

I need to have at least twenty submissions out at any given time in order to feel that I am producing, I’ve realized.  This does not mean 20 stories, this may mean 5 stories submitted to 4 places, etc.

Because when the rejections (and the acceptances, Thank God) come in, I need to feel that there is still something to wait for…to hope for.

My own personal submission guideline, you see.

Several days since my last post, but indeed I am still here.  I just finished (finally) the letters of John Steinbeck…which he wrote during his authorship of East of Eden.  I am so inspired by him!

Writers, get this: he actually had to hold his word count down.  He was afraid of going too fast, of not being thoughtful and thorough.  I love that he had to slow himself down.  It makes my 250 words a day seem a-ok.