Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

I can’t seem to help myself. I’ve been writing and submitting work. It is funny but stories I wrote a while ago and gave up on have found a home. One story that I submitted and was rejected once has finally found a home. I remember getting it critiqued and I must have revised it because when I dug it out the story wasn’t bad. I recall being ashamed that I submitted it because I really respected the editor and felt embarrassed that she hated the story.

I revised it, of course, changed a few things, however, there was nothing really wrong with it. A few years distance and I have no idea why I never submitted it again. I had this idea that it sucked. I guess that must be part of the ‘I really suck crisis thing’  that writers can go through.I know I went through that, really went deep into a dark place wondering if I should give up. Somewhere along the line I didn’t give up because I am still here, still writing and well maybe I should make 2010 my year. Doing okay so far with 4 short stories coming out.

Also, the other thing to realise is that this story, Warning Buoy, really fit what the editor was looking for. SF space horror. So a lesson to remember is find the right place to send your work.

Another story that has had a lot of positive feedback but no home was The Clean Streets of Oberest. The main problem I had with this story was that people liked the story but there was something about the ending that wasn’t quite doing it. I submitted it on Friday to an anthology, after revising it of course. During the night I had an idea about how to elaborate on the ending. I did not change it but I did take time to explain a crucial point in dialogue. Today I heard back that the story is in. The editor liked the original but said that my revision closed the deal. I am very happy to have that story in print. Again, this story has a creature in it, not a werewolf or anything commonplace, and the editor was looking for new creatures.

Now I have to work a bit harder and submit to paying markets and aim for semi pro magazines  (and Pro?) etc. I like writing short stories but my passion is really novel length. I have been known to write longer shorts, Green, green grass of homeworld is nearly 10,000 words, which is to appear in Belong by Ticonderoga Publications, is quite a long story for me. The only other short that was that long became a novela of 29,000 words (that is currently being looked at somewhere). I really got into that story and feel that I could write some longer SF stories and maybe a novela.

Life is pretty difficult right now. My mum went into a nursing home suddenly and there is so much to do and then there’s the emotional side of things. She’s close by and I can visit. The logistics of moving her stuff and dealing with all the other things, like change of address, terminating leases and cleaning up has knocked me one. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep when I finsihed work.

However, tonight I am going to work on polishing a short story and maybe something else. Reading helps too. Currently reading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R. L. Stevenson. I so like 19C writers.

Back from retreat, back from Aurealis Awards and Brisbane and back to work!

Part of my job is writing an audit report. Well mine is getting ready to publish and will soon be tabled. Now that the months of drafting is over I should have the mental space to write.

Tonight I promised myself to do some writing. I have a young adult novella that I have pulled out of an old drive. I think I first wrote it in 2003. I haven’t looked at it for years. You know I was quite surprised as it was very readable and doesn’t need much polishing. It does need some tweaking.

Instead I have started a new blog confessionsofaserialdieter.wordpress.com
In this blog, I talk about dieting, food and getting old.
I have written three posts already but that doesn’t count towards the word count.

Now to be serious.

Yesterday we hoofed it up to Bowral to have lunch with Trudi Canavan. On the way, Russell Kirkpatrick took us on a carefully planned excursion to waterfalls and views of and to the escarpment. I like these little excursions because I feel slightly more intelligent and it often fuels my ideas for writing. Not so much novel ideas but bits of detail that make the worlds I traverse slightly more real and interesting.

After the trip to Bowral though my neck hurt a bit and I felt a bit off colour. Dreams of writing a whopping big 5,000 word splurge were easily forgotten and despite the Kung Fu movie with very little Kung Fu and lots of black magic, I finished my knitting and went to bed. The thunderstorm was very impressive with rumbling thunder that went on and on and light displays that made Russell gasp with excitement.

Today however I am writing fit and I cooked chocolate dream muffins that have kicked started my engine.

Now I’m off to blog on the fantasywritersonretreat.wordpress.com blog

I am such a sport.

All the gang are blogging at fantasywritersonretreat.wordpress.com

I have reworked a short story and sent it off.  Also managed a few hundred words on my new project. Have one more short story to revise before I am free to get into it. Both of these have been accepted into anthologies. Yay me. It feels good to be productive after a period of not writing shorts at all.

Took the opportunity this morning to finish ‘A Small Favour’ by Jim Butcher, one of the Dresden books. That’s my second book finished this year. I thought the world building was very good and involved.  I hadn’t read one of these before and yet I had no problem missing out on stuff because Butcher does a good job making the story self-sufficient. Yes there are references to previous adventures but I didn’t think that detracted at all. I can see why the series is so popular.

I hear laughing behind me. We shared Nicole’s Moet to celebrate her finishing her copy edit on her first novel. It goes into the post tomorrow. That’s it from me. I have to work now and post on the other blog.

About to start the climb to my day’s goal word count. Yesterday I sailed over it, even though I doubted I would. Not only am I trying for word count, I am trying for quality drafting. However, I find the target squeezes a few extra words out of me. Usually I don’t worry too much about what I am writing while drafting because I let it all out and let the story flow. Yet I am surrounded by writers who can do pretty much a final draft on the first run through. I usually need quite a few drafts before I get things right. I have to think things through, assess them from different angles. Sometimes it is a scene with talking heads and then I have to go back and put the scene together, the action, add the senses in.

Retreat total is 8,000 odd so far. I have 52,000 to go and only 9 full days to do it in. Wednesday we are out while the house is being cleaned and on the last day we have to tidy, pack the car and head home. Better go!

Currently reading The Crysalids by John Wyndam

PS sorry posts are out of order. I found the first one in the draft folder.

Just putting the final touches on the packing. Most important stuff is copying the latest files to my memory stick so that I have the correct version of things. Mind you I am starting a new file and a new project. But I have some short fiction to tweak and I need to bring that with me.

The thing that has been forgotten on two retreats (not by me) is the laptop power cords. It’s happened twice so far on two different retreats. Last year I brought the wrong version of the manuscript but luckily my daughter could find the correct one and email it. So drama over.

We were meant to leave at 11.00am but we have late arrivals. Haha. But as we can’t check in till this afternoon and as it is only 2.5 hours away it is no great drama. We don’t normally get serious work done on the first day, with settling in etc.

I always pack way too many books to read on retreat. Usually I write too much to mentally engage with fiction and we socialise too much to find the time. It’s just fall into bed and roll out the next morning to write.

I love writers retreats with these great friends of mine. It’s cool they like the same thing. Writing. And I guess it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either, holidaying and writing etc.

Cheers for now.

As a writer, an aspiring author, I have gone through up and downs in life and in my writing. Rejections, set backs, personal stuff all impact on how productive I have been as well as on the quality of my work. Trying to do things too fast, wanting to be pubished now, can affect objectivity of ones writing and often lead to embarrassing early submission of work not yet ready.

When I first started to write it was like a disease. I couldn’t stop. Ideas consumed me. Yet I could barely write a grammatically correct sentence. So I wrote and studied and revised, trying to catch up with the rest of the world. Then I did other things all writing related. Ran a convention or two, helped other writers, edited, published and beta read for published authors. And now after a big dry spell I feel all productive again. In December 2009 I wrote and submitted three short stories. That is almost like my old days. Well except now I am a much better writer than I was back then. Some of the rawness has sloughed off. My ideas I hope are more complex, more original and maybe better finessed. We will see. So far one has been accepted for publication. I am hoping for more productivity in 2010 and maybe some more short story subs and sending the novels out again, but improved versions. I want to kick them up a level. I know I can do it.
I will start the year off with a bang. Off on a two week writing retreat in Berry NSW with fellow retreatees, Matthew Farrer, Trudi Canavan, Russell Kirkpatrik, Kylie Seluka, Cat Sparks and Nicole R Murphy. You can hear about all our antics on fantasywritersonretreat.wordpress.com

Beware there is usually a lot of sillyness, drunkeness and teasing going on. Yet we do usually achieve our goals. Mine is 60,000 words on the novel and maybe some other stuff too. I am so excited. It is not often you can hang with people who get the need for writing, the addition to our pcs and the lack of interest in housework.