I Write Too (and Some Resolutions)

As I traipse about, looking at other authors' and publishers' sites and
following dozens of folks on Twitter, I've noticed the plugs springing up for
2012 Nebula and Hugo nominations. I've yet to get a professional-level
acceptance, but I aspire to that, so I can join SFWA and participate
in the voting. And beyond the voting, I'd like to be a nominee,
because I write too.

This year has been quite productive for me. I had several stories and
a novella accepted by semi-pro markets: Sorcery and the Far Frontier, Fresh Blood (May-December Publications), and Hogglepot Journal. My YA novella
has been accepted by World Castle Publishing. I got a definite nibble from
Song Stories as well.

While waiting to see if any of my new stories get a nod, I
participated for the first time in National Novel Writing Month
(NaNoWriMo). It was a lot of fun meeting fellow scribblers in the
Boulder area. NaNoWriMo's emphasis on word count (the goal was to
write 50,000 words in one month, i.e., the first draft of novel) was a
bit of a buzzkill for me, since I consistently underperformed. I
suppose logorrhea is a skill, but it's not necessarily creative.

At any rate, I've now got 15 stories and another YA novella to shop around,
and I plan to continue writing as the inspiration strikes. I discovered a
wonderful resource for writers, James Alan Gardner's Skill List Project, and
have found his insights to be quite helpful.

The resolutions: I plan to apply to the Clarion West Writers' Workshop. I've long dreamed of attending a fiction writing workshop; I still remember reading Kurt Vonnegut's descriptions of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. If I don't get in, I resolve to keep trying.

I like reporting on science (it gives me ideas). I'm currently attending the
American Meteorological Society's annual meeting  (#AMS2013 on Twitter) in Austin,
and I resolve to keep science and science fiction on my radar.

I started a personal author website, julianarew.com, and I resolve to
put more of my stories over there, as well as to log my activities in
a little more detail than I do here in my blog.

Oh, yeah, I should lose weight, drink less, and eat better, too.

My Heart (Third Flatiron) Will Go On

I started a small SF e-publishing venture, Third Flatiron Anthologies,
and edited three books by authors from all over. I'm looking forward
to producing four more books in 2013, and maybe, fingers crossed,
being able to pay a little more for stories, starting this summer. It
is a genuine pleasure reading all the stories from beginning and
established SF writers, and I love being able to contribute in some
small way to their successes by publishing their work. So far I've
been able to provide at least minimal critiques of every submission I
receive and have been declared by Duotrope to be "among the 25 most
approachable fiction markets" in their database. I follow a basic review
checklist written by Maureen McHugh on onlinewritingworkshop.com.