And Then There Were Three

[xakara]

Adaptation.

Due to very practical reasons, some of the bloggers I read have disabled anonymous comments. With a new gmail account, I figured it was time to finally give in and create a Blogger id so I could keep up.

The original premise had been to create the profile, put in the link to either MySpace or LJ and then live it be when I didn't have to a comment to post. Well, best laid plans, right? It had that "new blog smell" on it and I couldn't resist. I transfered my old entries from MySpace and started yet a third incarnation of StoryWeaver's Web on Blogger.

I read agents, editors, and writers who chronicle their lives in publishing in all three blog formats and although it's just one more thing to do, being available on all three formats to be read in turn seems fair. 

(Yes, I'm rationalizing my OCD, but it's my blog and I'm allowed.) 

*Sigh* 

Creating the Blogger profile and transfering the files was also a stalling/distration tactic from the heart of today's issue. 

The March 2nd open call deadline was plagued with issue. 

I didn't find out about it until Feb.11th and already had something due Feb. 21st. I got that one done only to have some comp issue leave me writing longhand with only four or five days before the deadline. Still determined to try, I transcribed everything the moment I could get back into ms word. The ticking clock lead to a marathon session of twenty-two hours trying to finish before the deadline closed today.

It's a good story. It's also five thousand words short. I could expand it, and incorporate an entire subplot worth at least another 10k wds. I just couldn't do it on three hours of sleep over two days with only four hours to go before the deadline. No doubt I could have padded it with gibberish and sex, but it wouldn't have been my best effort and I couldn't turn that in.

Downside: I won't make the deadline and in doing so have likely given up the opportunity to see my work published this year.

Upside: It's a good story. One that could grow to become an even better story. If I hadn't reached for the deadline, it's a story that wouldn't have been told and a part of the larger world it's set in wouldn't have been explored.

I also have a "Stock Story" now. One I can place in the literary larder and rework if another last minute deadline finds me or someone somewhere is looking for a good shifter piece.

Uber Upside: Having already sold a short story in the same world, once I've reworked and polished the novella, I can still submit it for a future anthology. It was also a good exercise to prepare me for another March deadline I'll start on Monday after some good sleep.

For my four readers out there, I'll keep you updated on how it all turns out. Time to go and count my blessings and try for more sleep.

Ramble Done,

X

Comments

[sroit.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you see the upsides, because they are upsides for sure. Now resssssssssssst.