Referring to the chart in the previous post, you might notice some flat spots around 2000, 4000, etc. I don't think this is any kind of rhythm as we discussed on Codex. I believe those flat spots are an artifact of word count restrictions from markets.
For example, if I write a 4100-word story and I want to sell it to a market that accepts only to 4000 words, I may surgically remove 100 words to qualify for that market.
It has been suggested (by Gray Rinehart I believe) that I look at this as a time sequence and pareto. I think most people can do the pareto in their head. The time sequence would be interesting but difficult due to the way I document my inventory. The unsold material is stored in roughly the order written, but anything that sold is stored in the order sold on a separate page in the spreadsheet. I'm just not certain it's worth the trouble. My work is tending longer with experience, but my most recent story is also the shortest.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Story Lengths
In Codex writers group, we are having a discussion on rhythm, in other words, looking for a typical word count on short fiction. I didn't really remember noticing any trends, so I opened up my spreadsheet and made a plot. Seems I don't have any preferred length, other than novelettes are rare.
Monday, March 17, 2008
"Cats" review
I'm not quite sure what to make of this review of my story "Cats" that appeared in the February issue of The Written Word.
Rick Novy’s very short tale of feline plans for insurrection and world domination exhibits the complexity of flash fiction. I had to read “Cats” three times to figure it out, since the detail was so sparse.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Discovery and Rediscovery
One of the benefits of getting older is that you have plenty of interests that wax and wane, only to emerge again after many years. That's rediscovery. I often experience rediscovery with music.
Back in the mid 1980s, I had a college roommate who was into New Age jazz. In those days, New Age was a fairly new category. Some of the music wasn't all that new, but those older works fit nicely into the category. In that category, which I haven't thought about in ages, my old roommate introduced me to artists like Kitaro (who we mispronounced at the time to rhyme with guitaro), Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Hiroshima, Philip Glass, and Mike Oldfield. Purists might disagree with placing some of these into New Age, but that's really not significant.
Recently, I rediscovered Mike Oldfield's classic album, Tubular Bells. For those unfamiliar with this classic, most likely you have heard the first part, only you think of it as being from the soundtrack of "The Exorsist."
I love the piece, which fills the entire album, split into two parts only because we still pressed music onto vinyl in 1972. Oldfield played more than 20 instruments on this piece pioneering the technique of mixing so common today. On side two, he debuts what he calls Piltdown Man, where he imitates a caveman voice.
It isn't lost on me that the full 47-odd minutes of Tubular Bells isn't for everyone, though chances are pretty good that everyone will find a portion they like. Still, it's fairly eclectic and either you get it or you don't. If you get it, you can listen to it over and over. If you don't get it, you probably won't listen a second time.
So I bought a copy of Tubular Bells on CD last friday, and finally I get to hear the entire piece without stopping to turn over the tape or album.
In addition to that, this weekend I discovered a new Pink Floyd concert DVD called Pulse. This is probably my new favorite in my collection, overtaking the Eagles Farewell I Tour. Both are excellent concerts, both spill over onto a second CD. The Eagles concert is a relaxing experience that can be enjoyed when you're tired and simply want to listen to something catchy. The Pink Floyd concert is more of an immersion experience. The first disk has a plenty of material I haven't heard because I stopped paying attention to Pink Floyd after Roger Waters left the group. While I like Waters work, frankly, he isn't missed in the concert.
The second disk is Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, with a few songs from other albums tacked on at the end. I never get tired of that album, but this version includes just enough live music nuances to keep it interesting. Unless you have seen a concert DVD already, buying one is basically a crapshoot. It's nice to roll a 7 from time to time.
Back in the mid 1980s, I had a college roommate who was into New Age jazz. In those days, New Age was a fairly new category. Some of the music wasn't all that new, but those older works fit nicely into the category. In that category, which I haven't thought about in ages, my old roommate introduced me to artists like Kitaro (who we mispronounced at the time to rhyme with guitaro), Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Hiroshima, Philip Glass, and Mike Oldfield. Purists might disagree with placing some of these into New Age, but that's really not significant.
Recently, I rediscovered Mike Oldfield's classic album, Tubular Bells. For those unfamiliar with this classic, most likely you have heard the first part, only you think of it as being from the soundtrack of "The Exorsist."
I love the piece, which fills the entire album, split into two parts only because we still pressed music onto vinyl in 1972. Oldfield played more than 20 instruments on this piece pioneering the technique of mixing so common today. On side two, he debuts what he calls Piltdown Man, where he imitates a caveman voice.
It isn't lost on me that the full 47-odd minutes of Tubular Bells isn't for everyone, though chances are pretty good that everyone will find a portion they like. Still, it's fairly eclectic and either you get it or you don't. If you get it, you can listen to it over and over. If you don't get it, you probably won't listen a second time.
So I bought a copy of Tubular Bells on CD last friday, and finally I get to hear the entire piece without stopping to turn over the tape or album.
In addition to that, this weekend I discovered a new Pink Floyd concert DVD called Pulse. This is probably my new favorite in my collection, overtaking the Eagles Farewell I Tour. Both are excellent concerts, both spill over onto a second CD. The Eagles concert is a relaxing experience that can be enjoyed when you're tired and simply want to listen to something catchy. The Pink Floyd concert is more of an immersion experience. The first disk has a plenty of material I haven't heard because I stopped paying attention to Pink Floyd after Roger Waters left the group. While I like Waters work, frankly, he isn't missed in the concert.
The second disk is Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, with a few songs from other albums tacked on at the end. I never get tired of that album, but this version includes just enough live music nuances to keep it interesting. Unless you have seen a concert DVD already, buying one is basically a crapshoot. It's nice to roll a 7 from time to time.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
All-State Band
The Arizona elementary and junior high all-state band festival finished up a couple of hours ago. My daughter, Audrey, qualified for the second year in a row. Once again, they held it in Gilbert at Higley High School. It has to be a good 40 miles from the house. Last year, they bussed the elementary kids in the morning. This year, I had to drive--twice. With construction on Loop 101, they reduced the southbound side to one lane. That added some time to the commute.
This is the first year they held an all-state event for the seventh-graders, but they had the sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders all on the same day with a joint concert.
Obviously, the all-state bands sound better than the average single-school band. the sixth-graders had a bit of trouble keeping together (they got as much a 4 measures apart at one point). Last year's sixth-grade band sounded a little better.
Both the seventh and eighth grade bands sounded great. The venue is nice, even if very far for most of the state's population. We ordered the CD of the performance, in part because we don't know of we'll go to another all-state band festival. Practice waxes and wanes with the kids' whims. Flute is rarely practiced. Trumpet not at all. Drums are practiced, but we are still too new at that instrument to be good enough yet.
This is the first year they held an all-state event for the seventh-graders, but they had the sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders all on the same day with a joint concert.
Obviously, the all-state bands sound better than the average single-school band. the sixth-graders had a bit of trouble keeping together (they got as much a 4 measures apart at one point). Last year's sixth-grade band sounded a little better.
Both the seventh and eighth grade bands sounded great. The venue is nice, even if very far for most of the state's population. We ordered the CD of the performance, in part because we don't know of we'll go to another all-state band festival. Practice waxes and wanes with the kids' whims. Flute is rarely practiced. Trumpet not at all. Drums are practiced, but we are still too new at that instrument to be good enough yet.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
D.G.K. Goldberg Award
I received this email today:
It comes as something of a surprise because I don't really consider this a horror story, but maybe it is.
The 2007 results haven't been posted yet, but you can see past winners here. There is a link on that page that leads to a little discussion of D.G.K. Goldberg.
I guess I'm now offically an award-winning writer.
Allow me to congratulate you on your earning the D.G.K. GOLDBERG AWARD for your story "Cosmology," at http://Anotherealm.com. Your story was chosen by readers' vote as the best horror story of 2007. The choice was a well-deserved one in my opinion, as your story is indeed outstanding.
As an emblem of this honor conferred upon you. you are hereby awarded the GOLDBERG medal, to display on your website if you choose to do so, as evidence of the honor you have earned for your wonderful story, "Cosmology."
Again, congratulations, Mr. Novy, and best wishes for your continued success.
-- Jean Goldstrom
Anotherealm Editor Emeritus
It comes as something of a surprise because I don't really consider this a horror story, but maybe it is.
The 2007 results haven't been posted yet, but you can see past winners here. There is a link on that page that leads to a little discussion of D.G.K. Goldberg.
I guess I'm now offically an award-winning writer.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Favre and Gygax
Today, Brett Favre finally announced his retirement. This time, I think it's real. He has nothing left to prove. 13-3 at his age is a great accomplishment. Say what you want about his play against New York in the NFC championship game, New York had the Green Bay screen pass play figured out. That screen pass play had been working all season, and the Giants figured out how to stop it. It takes nothing away from what Favre has accomplished over the course of his career. Aaron Rogers will do just fine for the Pack.
The other loss today is of a bit more esoteric nature. Gary Gygax, the inventor of Dungeons and Dragons, passed away today at age 69. I met Gary on a couple of occasions. Nice guy. He was not necessarily the wisest of men. He let TSR get away from him. He also smoked a lot. Said so right in one of the hard covered AD&D manuals.
It seems a bit strange to post write Favre and Gygax in the same post, but what the heck.
The other loss today is of a bit more esoteric nature. Gary Gygax, the inventor of Dungeons and Dragons, passed away today at age 69. I met Gary on a couple of occasions. Nice guy. He was not necessarily the wisest of men. He let TSR get away from him. He also smoked a lot. Said so right in one of the hard covered AD&D manuals.
It seems a bit strange to post write Favre and Gygax in the same post, but what the heck.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Surprise in the Mail
I came home to a surprise today. Writers of the Future sent me a certificate for one of my Honorable Mention finishes. Not sure which quarter it was for. The last HM finish I know about is from Q307. I inquired, so I'll let you know when I find out.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Support
I posted the information about Alien Skin (see below) to Codex Writers Group, and got a surprising number of sympathetic responses. Several people said they would no longer consider submitting there. Quite honestly, had I known about this public shame board, I probably wouldn't have submitted there in the first place.
There is another webzine that I come across from time to time while looking for a market for my older stories. This market, the name of which escapes me at the moment, actually publically rips their rejected stories apart on a public board. That they keep the author anonymous doesn't make it okay. I've never submitted to this market.
In any case, the Codex disucssion drifted to the controversial Nick Mamatas at Clarkesworld Magazine. He has a reputation for, er, swinging a knife with people inside what the boy scouts call the blood circle (within arms length). Now, I have had work rejected by Mamatas, and occasionally he will express an uninformed opinion. Case in point, I used the phrase 'engineering school' in a story and he ridiculed the phrase. From his response, I know without a doubt that Mamatas is not an engineer. If he were, he would know that some engineers do refer to their university experience as 'engineering school.' I know because I R 1.
To be fair, I have found that most of his comments are insightful and Mamatas is a very good critic. Orson Scott Card is better, though.
There is another webzine that I come across from time to time while looking for a market for my older stories. This market, the name of which escapes me at the moment, actually publically rips their rejected stories apart on a public board. That they keep the author anonymous doesn't make it okay. I've never submitted to this market.
In any case, the Codex disucssion drifted to the controversial Nick Mamatas at Clarkesworld Magazine. He has a reputation for, er, swinging a knife with people inside what the boy scouts call the blood circle (within arms length). Now, I have had work rejected by Mamatas, and occasionally he will express an uninformed opinion. Case in point, I used the phrase 'engineering school' in a story and he ridiculed the phrase. From his response, I know without a doubt that Mamatas is not an engineer. If he were, he would know that some engineers do refer to their university experience as 'engineering school.' I know because I R 1.
To be fair, I have found that most of his comments are insightful and Mamatas is a very good critic. Orson Scott Card is better, though.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Lost Respect
When you only get to the computer after a 10-12 hour work day, and help with kids' homework and caring for a geriatric person, you make mistakes. a couple of months ago I submitted a story to Alien Skin Magazine, where my work has already appeared twice. One of those appearances was an editors choice story. On this particuar occasion, I was tired and misread the guidelines, transposing the first and second digit of the word count limit from 3500 to 5300 words.
For a simple error, I get listed, without warning, here. To be perfectly frank, it pisses me off. I have a list of publications to which I refuse to submit, but I don't advertise that list to the world. I find the page at the other end of the above link to be unprofessional, in poor taste, and just plain petty.
Despite very little new material produced in the past six months, I still have 42 unpublished stories in the marketplace. I track them in a spreadsheet by story and by market when I submit. I update the spreadsheet on the fly, but guess what? Mistakes do happen when you try to keep that much inventory in the market.
Petty can go both ways. You won't again see anything of mine appear in Alien Skin.
For a simple error, I get listed, without warning, here. To be perfectly frank, it pisses me off. I have a list of publications to which I refuse to submit, but I don't advertise that list to the world. I find the page at the other end of the above link to be unprofessional, in poor taste, and just plain petty.
Despite very little new material produced in the past six months, I still have 42 unpublished stories in the marketplace. I track them in a spreadsheet by story and by market when I submit. I update the spreadsheet on the fly, but guess what? Mistakes do happen when you try to keep that much inventory in the market.
Petty can go both ways. You won't again see anything of mine appear in Alien Skin.
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