Tag: new short stories

From the Word Mines

I haven’t updated the blog much lately, which can usually signal one of two things:

1. I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like and am too ashamed to fess up publicly, or

2. I’ve been very busy writing and don’t have a lot of time for updatery

Happily, we can mark option two this week here on Comedy and Tragedy. I’ve got several writing projects going at once right now and, coupled with my day job, I’ve had little time for internet tomfoolery.

In addition to hammering out those final chapters of Project Awesome, I’ve also been working on a new short story. I’m determined to finish the first draft by the end of the day. It’s a sort of fantastical historical fiction set in 15th century Spain with airships and elemental magic and an adventure into the unknown west. I’m having fun writing it.

Here are the opening lines: “Word went out from the Castilian court that renowned elementalist and adventurer Christoforo Colombo had vanished on his journey beyond the edge of the ocean. Any man of birth and breeding able to recover him would be rewarded with the Crown’s greatest jewel, the hand of Her Royal Highness princess Lupita Mendoza of Aragon and Castile.”

Rest assured that Lupita is not the kind of princess to sit in her high tower and wait for some stupid prince to do all the heroic rescuing and have all the fun without her.

I can’t spend all my time on this, though. I have a deadline for a critique submission this weekend and am working on edits of a story I sold to Fictionvale that will appear later this year. Those are due next week. Busy, busy.

In other news:

It’s midterms!

Not sure this is actually deserving of an exclamation point. Midterms always make me nervous. I want all my students to do well, and I hope I’ve done everything I can to teach them and prepare them, but ultimately this is the moment where it’s up to them to put in the work and sink or swim. So, that’s always a little stressful for everyone involved. Plus, I loathe grading. That probably goes without saying, but still.

Winter is starting to show signs that it might clear out soonish. Like fish and house guests, we’ve long been desiring its absence. We had some beautiful days in the 50s and even 60s earlier this week but now it’s back down to 20 with a windchill of 4. So, that’s insulting and horrific.

Well, that’s about all the news. Time to go layer on 800lbs of clothes and head out into the cold!

 

This, that, and the other thing

Things have been busy around here of late.

We’re well into the semester (midterms are this week!) and it’s beginning to get cool and crispy and fall-like around Brooklyn, which I love. This is, hands down, my favorite season in New York. Spring is too short and gets hot and humid fast, but fall lingers with all its lovely, orange-y light. Halloween is coming (which we celebrate with a big party) and then it will get cold and I’ll drink lots of foamy hot cocoa and start thinking about Christmas with my nieces, and eggnog, and cross-country skiing in the mountains.

First, though, gotta get through grading those midterms! 😉

Lest you think it’s all been school and fantasizing about the holidays, I’ve also been keeping the flame burning on the writing front. I recently finished, polished, and subbed a new short story and have reached the 60K mark on the first draft of PROJECT AWESOME. I’m projecting this draft will clock in at around 90K, so now it all feels like running downhill (or so I’m telling myself).

Perhaps most exciting is that this week is MileHiCon and I’ll be flying out to Denver on Thursday to see a whole big bunch of my favorite writer-folk! Yay!

So, yeah – happiness on a sunny, cool Monday.

What’s new with you all?

Writer’s Workspace: 8/8

Welcome to this writer’s workspace. Here’s what’s happening liiiiiiiiiiive at Miranda’s desk.

What I’m working on: I’m carrying on with the first draft of Project Awesome, as well as starting a few new short stories. So, lots going on in terms of new projects, and I must say it’s nice to take a break from all the heavy revising and rewriting I was doing a few months ago. Here’s a peak at a new short I’m working on:

Snippet from the screen: “Lou is old. He’s wearing a stained Grateful Dead T-shirt and faded blue jeans, two sizes too big. Goodwill, I’d guess. Everything about him sags. Everything but his smile. I frown, suspicious. Only fools and five year olds smile like that.”

Keeping me company: Mr. Ramses, of course–though, he’s not much company since he’s recovering from yet another gum surgery. Poor buddy. I actually have company other than Ramses today, though. My friend Jeff is here, working across the table. A few months back he, my friend Sarah, and I formed a work from home group in our neighborhood. We get together once or twice and week and keep each other on task. It’s cool. So, say ‘hi’ to Jeff, everybody.

In my mug: boring old water. Teatime is over for the day, alas.

On the iTunes: Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”

Out the window: it’s a rare cloudy day in the midst of an otherwise glorious Brooklyn summer (I’m only being about 50% snarky on that last one…)

A little procrastination never hurt anyone: well, that’s true if you’re not interested in the link I’m going to share today, or if you’ve already seen it. But if you are interested…let me just apologize in advance for the massive amounts of time you’re about to waste. I discovered this over the weekend and have been binge-watching ever since. So…if you’re a fan of Jane Austen, click on through to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern vlog & twitter adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Enjoy!