Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Abandoned Manuscripts. And A Writing Opportunity For Gay Romance Stories.

Mood Tunes: 20 Y.O. by Janet Jackson, streaming at BET. Loving Enjoy!

Anyway, I'm at that point again. I'm way into writing my third book, but I'm feeling like abandoning it.

I know I shouldn't, and I won't. They tell us writers to just get through the darn thing, then obsess over the details and what you missed while revising.

My thing -- when I get an idea, I am gung-ho over it and write... until I start to not feel so gung-ho about it.

My laptop is filled with abandoned manuscripts. Started them. Never finished them. Maybe I could combine them and make one very disjointed novel/novella/short story collection. Advice to writers aspiring to be published: JUST PLOW THROUGH THE FIRST DRAFT -- you can always fill in details, add characters, tweak your ideas during the revision process. Maybe I should follow my own advice.

Anyhoo... got this email about an anthology of Gay Romantic Stories. They're looking for short stories immediately. Check it out, there's contact information... maybe this will be your lucky break!
fs

Hi, everyone. I'm in dire need of replacement stories for BEST GAY ROMANCE 2007, which will be published by Cleis Press. Do any of you boys (and possibly girls) have anything already written that you could send me? Material can be previously published. And you can send me more than one story.

The publisher says that many of the stories I'd originally included were too much of a downer, so if you have anything upbeat, that would be great. Maximum word count: 6,500. Payment: $100 upon publication. I need stories ASAP!!!! Please e-mail me at angelafaithbrown@aol.com.

Best wishes,
Angela Brown

Later.
fs

2 comments:

Joseph said...

Hey Fred!

Thanks for the head's up. I will definitely try to submit something. When is the deadline?

Also, perhaps you can write about you writing process, i.e. do you write out an outline or do you just see where it leads you?

Thanks, again
Joseph

Frederick Smith said...

Hey Joseph,
Great questions. I'd definitely email Angela to find out about deadlines for this anthology. My take -- it's an immediate need. So get cracking on that story! :-)

Regarding my writing techniques, I will write more about that soon. I tend to go with the flow. Outlines feel confining. And like life, we never know what twists and turns we face until we're at that moment. Now... this might be why I have so many manuscripts in the abandoned pile... Food for thought.
fs