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April 15th (Stonetable) by Adam
Writing:
We mailed our submissions to the PARSEC Science Fiction and Fantasy
Short Story Contest last night. The theme for this years contest was "metallic feathers." It's the first contest either of us has submitted to. We should hear back by mid-June or so.
Two more submissions out the door last weekend and one rejection in. I don't feel too bad about the rejections, though. The last few have been personal ones, including an invitation to submit again. Progress.
Sword and Sorceress 23 opens to submissions this Saturday and will accept submissions until May 16th. A little known fact about me is that, as a teenager, I wrote to MZB to ask for guidelines to her magazine. I'm sure I botched the request but she still sent me them along with some little flyers and a bookmark (which still sits on my desk). Andrea has been reading the Sword and Sorceress for as long as she can remember. We're both working on stories to submit for this issue.
Last, there are two other upcoming contests I have my sights set on: the Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest and Return to Luna, due June 1st and 15th respectively.
Taxes:
Taxes are almost done. I just need to fax the signatures over to the account for eFiling and it's done. Finally a year that I don't owe money! Of course, almost all of my refund is going to a second retainer to the divorce lawyer. Easy come, easy go.
Penguicon 6.0:
We're heading to Detroit this weekend for my 6th Penguicon (and Andrea's first). This will be my second year following the writing track rather than the tech stuff. I won't be doing the writing workshop this time, so hopefully I'll have a chance to meet some new people with writerly interests. I'm still working out how to do that, being the geeky wallflower I am, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow.
Posted in:
life
,
penguicon
,
writing
*
April 15th (Stonetable) by Adam
Writing:
We mailed our submissions to the
PARSEC Science Fiction and Fantasy
Short Story Contest last night. The theme for this years contest was "metallic feathers." It's the first contest either of us has submitted to. We should hear back by mid-June or so.
Two more submissions out the door last weekend and one rejection in. I don't feel too bad about the rejections, though. The last few have been personal ones, including an invitation to submit again. Progress.
Sword and Sorceress 23
opens to submissions this Saturday and will accept submissions until May 16th. A little known fact about me is that, as a teenager, I wrote to MZB to ask for guidelines to her magazine. I'm sure I botched the request but she still sent me them along with some little flyers and a bookmark (which still sits on my desk). Andrea has been reading the Sword and Sorceress for as long as she can remember. We're both working on stories to submit for this issue.
Last, there are two other upcoming contests I have my sights set on: the
Heinlein Centennial Short Story Contest and
Return to Luna, due June 1st and 15th respectively.
Taxes:
Taxes are almost done. I just need to fax the signatures over to the account for eFiling and it's done. Finally a year that I don't owe money! Of course, almost all of my refund is going to a second retainer to the divorce lawyer. Easy come, easy go.
Penguicon 6.0:
We're heading to Detroit this weekend for my 6th Penguicon (and Andrea's first). This will be my second year following the writing track rather than the tech stuff. I won't be doing the writing workshop this time, so hopefully I'll have a chance to meet some new people with writerly interests. I'm still working out how to do that, being the geeky wallflower I am, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow.
Posted in:
life
,
penguicon
,
writing
*
I’m home from Penguicon, weary and sleep-deprived but feeling positive. It was a great weekend. I met many new, interesting people and forged what I hope will be long-lasting friendships.
I got to hang out with all of my friends from Ars Technica, too. We cooked out on the grill and played poker Thursday night. I doubled my money. I ate way too much (which was probably a good thing considering how poorly I ate through the weekend).
Writers Workshop
The first workshop event was a meet-and-greet. We were given a bound copy of our submitted stories, formatted and printed through Lulu. The idea is to give us a taste of what seeing our name in print is like.
We were given access to the green room, a smaller room for staff and guests of the con. It gave us a quieter place to congregate, discuss writing and get critiques of our stories.
I received some good feedback on the story I workshopped, “Recycled Dreams”. After the next round of edits it will go out as my first submission in more years than I care to admit.
Posted in:
penguicon
,
travel
,
writing
*
I’m leaving bright and early Thursday morning (6am-ish), to meet Jorge and crew prior to Penguicon. It’s a six hour drive so I expect to roll in to Troy mid-afternoon to hang out, bbq, play poker and xbox. Everyone else, I’ll see you friday at Penguicon
Posted in:
friends
,
penguicon
,
travel
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I applied to the Sanctuary Press Writer’s Workshop today. It will be held at at Penguicon, just two weeks away in Troy, Michigan. This is my fifth year at Penguicon but my first participating in the Sci-Fi portion of the convention.
I was a little apprehensive about applying to the workshop. I have never participated in a workshop at a convention. I’m familiar with the workshop setting but this is a group of people I’ve never met before and there is a mention that readings may follow the weekend rewrites.
It may come as a surprise to people that know me but I have a fear of public speaking. I had a speech impediment as a child, which may be a contributing factor. I’ve taken classes on public speaking and was once a member of a Toastmasters group. I am not unfamiliar with standing up in front of a group of people and speaking.
I find it easier to speak to a subject in which I am confident of my skills. I can talk your ear off when it comes to hacking, programming, or anything related to computers and technology. Reading a story that I have written in front of a group of strangers is something completely different. A proper reading would, I imagine, require some dramatic oration. I’m afraid I will flounder in that kind of situation. It won’t stop me from trying, however.
Posted in:
penguicon
,
writing