This Human Condition: A Collection of Flash and Micro Fiction

Happy New Year! I’m very excited to be kicking off 2010 with a wonderful announcement:

We are now accepting submissions to This Human Condition: A Collection of Flash and Micro Fiction!

This unique anthology will feature a collection of stories ranging from 250-1000 words.  The book will be divided into two sections, each with corresponding emotional themes.

Section One

Love
Joy
Pride
Inspiration
Awe

Section Two

Sorrow
Fear
Grief
Guilt
Disappointment

Petal Pusher Press, the publisher of Saponifier Magazine and my current employer, is sponsoring the anthology.  This means that it will be edited, proofed and then generated by a talented layout designer that who will make this e-Book pop!

As originally planned, the completed eBook will be distributed at no cost to readers through the participating author websites, as well as via download on Amazon.com. Authors who contribute to this project will have to grant Petal Pusher Press limited use of their work, but will retain copyright. 

Because this anthology is designed to assist new authors with marketplace recognition, no payment will be made to any participating author.

PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED SUBMISSIONS ONLY

Submission will be accepted by email until January 30, 2010

Email subject must read: This Human Condition Submission

Email body must include:

• Your Full Name
• Your Email Address
• A 200 Word Biography of the Author
• Your website URL
• The Section and Emotion that you are submitting to

You may also include a a 200×200 pixel headshot for marketing purposes.

All submissions should be sent as an .RTF email attachment. RTF files need to named in the following format: human_condition-AUTHORNAME.  RTF files should be formatted to have 12 point Times New Roman font.

All questions and submissions should be directed to Tamara Dourney via email to Tamara@petalpusherpress.com

10 Things I Learned About Writing in 2009

I wrote this for SheWrites, posting it over there first, so some of you may have already read this.

Its been a long year, and frankly I’m glad to see it leaving us in peace. Despite the challenges I’ve faced, I can rejoice in many learning experiences, as well as the formation of many new friendships. Having said all that, I’ll get to the good stuff and share with you the top ten things I learned about writing over the past year.

1. If you tell someone you’re a writer, they will ask you what you’ve written that they might have read or heard of. I find this interesting on several levels. First, because many people assume that your writing is either meaningful or worthless based on your response. Second, because the odds that the average person has come in contact with any one book or magazine article are fairly slim. Consider Amazon.com- according to Wikipedia, there are currently about 250,000 books on the site. The Washington Post has reported that about 1/4 of the population actually doesn’t pick up a single book in an entire year; the rest read about 9 novels per year. Even if they read 9 books per year for 65 years, that means they’d only read 0.234% of the books available on Amazon.com. This tends to give an overwhelming portion of the population the impression that writing, on the whole, is worthless.

2. I don’t care. I don’t write to get the approval of others; I do it because I just can’t help myself. I find fulfillment in providing reading material that others enjoy, pride in knowing that I might have given someone a new perspective on a topic. So, if no one ever reads anything I write, that is okay- I’m still going to write it anyway.

3. Writing can pay the bills, but it requires an overwhelming amount of work. There are no easy, eight hour days and, when a deadline is looming, the words you need are most likely to fail you.

4. No amount of notebooks or computer programs can organize my notes.

5. Outlines are great I particularly like the sound they make as I move them to the recycling bin.

6. Editing and Revisions never end. Never. Its very much like the Henry the 8th song. Second verse, same as the first.

7. Proofing is best done 1 to 2 years after a story is completed. Five to ten years might work even better, as the content is sure to be long forgotten by then, but that wouldn’t allow for the next five rounds of proofing you’ll be going through. Ah, the dangling particle of it all!

8. It’s way too easy to slip into a rhythm, formatting all your sentences exactly the same. You, of course, will never notice you’ve done this, but will be appalled when someone points it out to you in a very public manner.

9. I enjoy writing things I hadn’t expected to enjoy. Like flash and micro fiction and even children’s stories.

10. I love the Kindle and I’m thrilled to be learning how to format writing for it.

And that, my friends, is what I learned about writing over the past 12 months.

Learning Curve

Many people don’t know this, but I’ve been designing for the ‘net for many years.  I’m one of those computer geeks who took their wobbly first steps with a few html brackets and a Hello World! post.  Over the years, web design has undergone impressive changes- the advent of the WYSIWYG editor, CSS, PHP…the list goes on. 

Knowing this now, I’m sure you can probably understand my surprise when, after extensive research, I discovered that the new e-book format I was hoping to learn to work with was taking it back to those old-school days when pure html was king.

I’m currently working on a test run of Saponifier Magazine– our latest issue in Kindle format through Mobipocket Creator.  I was lucky enough to receive a Kindle as a gift over the holidays (I have the best boss ever!) and am completely addicted.

Having said that, I’m curious. Has anyone else been using Mobipocket? Are there any tips or tricks that you could share? I also wondered if any authors out there were using either Amazon’s DTP or Payloadz to self-publish/distribute e-books.  Have you had any experiences you think other authors should know about?

The Proofing Problem

Have you ever run into the proofing problem?  Its plaguing me  a lot lately.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the people who are kind enough to proofread my pieces, but sadly, they aren’t catching the errors.  Its one thing when its an article going to print, but another when its a creative piece.  In my recent experience, the problem is simple: when someone is reading a work of fiction, they get caught up in the story and overlook simple errors.

As far as complaints go, its not a bad one to have.  I’d much rather know that they feel my work is enjoyable, but it leaves me wondering how everyone else manages to find the errors in their work- without paying for a professional to proof it, that is.

In the grand scheme of things, I’m a starving artist with a matching budget, so paying for something like proofing isn’t in the cards.  So, do you have tips on proofing works of fiction?  I’m interested to see how other people handle this problem.

How do you define a story?

sto⋅ry: noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.

1. a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader; tale.
2. a fictitious tale, shorter and less elaborate than a novel.
3. such narratives or tales as a branch of literature: song and story.
4. the plot or succession of incidents of a novel, poem, drama, etc.: The characterizations were good, but the story was weak.
5. a narration of an incident or a series of events or an example of these that is or may be narrated, as an anecdote, joke, etc.
6. a narration of the events in the life of a person or the existence of a thing, or such events as a subject for narration: the story of medicine; the story of his life.
7. a report or account of a matter; statement or allegation: The story goes that he rejected the offer.
8. news story.
9. a lie or fabrication: What he said about himself turned out to be a story.

Recently, there has been some discussion on one of the lists to which I belong surrounding the controversial topic of stories.  I hadn’t thought this to be a topic open to debate, but much like the art -vs- craft issue facing those who produce creative handmade goods, it seems that there are battle lines demarcated and ammunition being stockpiled by those on each side of this literary battle.

One fervent believer argued that poetry is glimpses, not a story; that without a well defined plot, there is no story.  Another replied that as long as you met with progress throughout the piece, such as the development of a character’s personality, then it would indeed be a story. They fired a volley of frantic messages between them, many of us merely observing from the sideline.  Others joined in, tossing their own choice grenades into the fray, comments like, “if it doesn’t have a clear beginning, middle and end, it isn’t a story,” and, “you can’t define a story unless you know the context you’ll be defining it in.”

As the messages continued to roll in, first five, then twelve, thirty now, I tried my best to ignore them.  I sent most to the trash without reading them, but couldn’t help seeing words in the mail preview as I hit delete.  And it left me wondering.

Why all the fuss?  Why not just write?

There are things in life that we’ll never be able to explain, never be able to quantify or pigeonhole.  Things that are subjective, like beauty, pleasant scents, and apparently what the definition of a story is.  So, as they continued their debate, I continued to write, adding another 5,000 words to the work in progress.

Out and About

I went to the beach today, taking along my camera and my new journal.  Its pages are getting filled with rather messy lines of black writing, and I’m proud to say I’ve collected all those random thoughts and vague ideas that tend to get lost when we’re in the throws of life.

I snapped a picture to share with you…

I’ve been writing a lot lately.  In the past week I finished one 8,000 word piece and am already 10,000 words into another.  I’m not sure if its just a phase, or if I will be able to keep it up- and I’m certainly not sure of the quality. We’ll see…

Anyway, here’s a poem to make your Sunday better.

Somewhere

by Linda Harnett

Oh, to be lying,
On a beach,
Somewhere,
With sand in my toes,
And the wind,
In my hair.

And only the sound,
Of the seagulls,
On high,
On a beach,
Somewhere,
Under sunny blue sky.

The gentle caress,
Of the waves,
On the shore,
And you close,
Beside me,
Could I ask for more?

A soft sandy beach,
That goes on,
Forever,
You, me,
And a beach,
So happy together.

Summer in Florida

I really am blessed to live where I do.  Its a fantastic location filled with everything that you can dream of when you dream of tropical paradises.  The sandy beaches, gulf breezes, exotic flora and fauna- it all abounds here.  Days like yesterday remind me of that and help me learn to let go of the things about the area that bother me.

After working on Saponifier in the morning and early afternoon, I headed out on the water with my husband.  Here are a few photos from the trip.

It was an amazing trip.  We caught a couple small fish, but mostly just enjoyed the sunset.  Have you ever watched the sun set on the water?  In Florida, the sunsets are obviously well known, but many don’t know that they are at their most showy after a storm.  The sky will light with colors, purple and pink, orange so bright it seems as if its on fire.    If you are lucky enough to see it in person and the sight doesn’t inspire you, I’m not sure anything can!

Inspired, I wrote this:

Sunset

The water, slick calm;
an infinite mirror
with gentle swells
carrying the liquid colors
to the horizon.
Brilliant hues melting,
simmering in summer heat,
burning in reflection
of the storm tossed sky.

Today I’m working on two articles, putting the finishing touches on a short story and have been dabbling in the outline of another short.  I also have to work on my ‘Breaking Up Is Hard To Do‘ flash fiction piece for SheWrites. What are you up to?

A Bit of Praise

Was pleased to see that Saponifier was given a good review over on About.com.  Always nice to see that someone appreciates the hard work we put into the magazine!

Clip: “Whether you’re a beginner or an old timer, you’ll find the Saponifier relevant, interesting and inspiring. I love seeing it in my email inbox.”

Alone in a Crowd

I’m suffering from a painful form of writers block today: waiting for a review.  Every so often, I reach a point in the piece I am working on (no matter if its my novel or an article) where I can’t seem to move forward without getting the opinion of someone I trust. I’m not really sure why this happens. The majority of the time I’m given the green light with the piece the way its written, yet until that feedback comes in I seem frozen inside a random fold in the space-time vortex- one that prevents any further work.

Worse yet are days like today, when I have two separate pieces waiting for feedback. Sure, I’m pleased to have finished them, yet none of the people I trust are around to read. I feel abandoned, isolated and lonely.

This situation doesn’t happen often, but when it does its quite painful.  I go through an inner struggle that could only be described as the cliche angle and demon fighting over how to proceed. The good girl says to be smart and patient, while the little devil child cries out that we aren’t alone- we’re ONLINE!  She then sends powerful urges to take a risk and simply post my piece online at one of the forums I visit.

When faced with this dilemma, I have always mustered up my willpower and resisted. The fear attached to allowing other people online to read something that isn’t publication ready is strong in me. I’m also very leery of posting something only to find it in a bazillion other locations by the end of the day- with the name of someone else in the author spot.

I can’t help but wonder, though, if I’m alone in this.  Do other writers go through this need for a feedback process? Are they as afraid of posting online as I am?

So, today I’m doing research on a new project rather than finalizing the edits on the two completed pieces.  Maybe I’ll even spend some time dreaming up some crazy characters to include in NaNoWriMo, which I’ve committed to this year.

Take Note Part Two

Late last night (early this morning?) I promised a snapshot of my notebook.  Now that I’ve had a bit of coffee and gotten a little energy kicking, I’m ready to deliver.

My Notebook

If you’re interested in finding out what all the assorted pages are, click away- it’ll take you to the Flickr page with all the notes.

I’ve shown you mine, now how about you show us yours?