Hope You're Sailing

I've only seen this anthology listed on LJ's Specific Markets, so I thought I'd post it here too...

Music For Another World: An anthology of Strange Fiction, is looking for speculative fiction stories between 2,000 and 6,000 words. Payment is £80.00 (that's about $130 - $140 depending on r.o.e. and one copy of the paperback), and the submission period is now until 30th April 2010. Click the above link for full details and good luck.

(Click on the picture and see all the little people gawping

out at me - seriously, they came to Liverpool just

to behold my wonderfulness)

NaNoWriMo Prompts:

CCTV

Evacuation

Alcohol Free

Hatched

Free Concert

Killing Things

Broken Boys

Undershirt

Prehistoric

Tin Castles & Cheap Cigars, aka The Degeneration of an Idea

Now that's a long blog title, I'm expecting Blogger to object (or LJ if you're reading my ramblings there) to it and if you're reading it now, I'm guessing they didn't. Anyhow...

I'm currently in the first flush of an idea for a short story (that my mind is trying to convince me could be novella length, but which we both know will end up scraping 2,000 words at most) and as per usual, I'm convinced this one is going to be great. That's nothing new. Here is how stories usually pan out for me.

Spark of an idea
Me: Ooh, interesting.

Idea begins to build
Me: This is going to be fan'frickin'tastic. Fantasy & Science Fiction here we come.

Open up blank page in Word
Me: I'm in love with you first paragraph

Several hours later
Me: First paragraph you suck

Some more hours later
Me: Idea you are plain old ordinary and why is there a garden gnomerunning around the plot.

Everything rewritten, rewritten and rewritten some more
Me: I'd send it to F&SF but my ink is low and I'd have to go to the Post Office and well, you know that idea was not as great as the one I just thought of.Now that story, I will send.
At this point I should add that I have submitted to Fantasy & Science Fiction once (story now retired) and sometimes the glow doesn't wear off until several editors have shooed me away.




King of my castle.. by ~Rowiel on deviantART

NaNoWriMo Prompt Words:

Tin Castle
Cheap Cigars
Chorus of Devils
Rooftops
Pathology
Playing Poker
Deja-Vu
Knee Caps
Scrap Metal

Butt Face

Going against my reserved Britishness, I did something that has left me glowing like a baboon's bum. I joined the SFWA a couple of months ago as an associate member (by current calculations I should hit active status about 2058 - yay 90 year old me) and today I discovered I can nominate short stories, novelettes etc for the Nebula Awards. I can't vote of course, but I can scream semi-loudly and hope someone agrees with me. Of course, I haven't a clue what to choose. Except of course Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars which blew me away.

Anyhow, why am I glowing like a baboons ass, or any ass in general, I put up a link to Trench Foot and downloaded The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon in the 'Please consider this...'** section, alongside people who are like way-way-way (add several hundred more ways) better than me, but I figured what the heck, they can only laugh and point at me and with a face like a... Well, I'm used to it. :D

**I should add that the Please Consider this section is just someplace to put your work and not an actual nomination, I would never actually nominate myself... Just in case anyone is confused... Eek!

Baboons IX by *Deathface-999 on deviantART

NaNoWriMo Prompts:

Fabricated Future

Store Front

The Untouched Day

Margins

Other Information

Echo

Tunnels

Spirit Level

Leeches

Empty Frames

-you still remember me- by ~nailass on deviantART

NaNoWriMo Prompt Words:

Fractures
Psych Ward
Private Parking
Enough Rope
The Old Woman
Wonky
Sanctuary
Downward Spiral
Last Call

Fish Eyes

On the only day in a fortnight when it didn't rain (well at least until I was snug and warm at home), I had a day's holiday from work. Bliss. As they say, The sun shines on the righteous... So someone really good must have had today off work as well.

I finished Fairy Tale Reality, scrubbed out its title and called it 'The Meaning of Yellow', and sent it spinning along to Clockwork Phoenix with only a few days to spare (closing date is November 15th - gasp) and I have spent most of today procrasticating in the most delicious way and planning on building a literary fort to keep me writing, writing, writing during 2010 - I can convince my lazy brain of anything.

Oh, and today, I feel a little like this...

f f by `gnato on deviantART

Scars
Smeared Lipstick
Demon's Brain
Locomotion
Mop Head
Tightrope
Alias
Squeamish
Fish Eyes

Something Fishy Going on Here

Ah, the wonders of procrastination. Aptly, the below image reminds me of Aaron Polson (not in a 'he looks or smells like a fish' way, but probably because of his fish stories). Struggling with my WIP Short story Fairy Tale Reality, and having no idea how to end it, the image on his NaNoWriMo blog post today provided me with much needed inspiration on how to end the thing. Ah, the power of a single weed... Again, that is not a reference to Mr. Polson.

NaNoWriMo Prompt Words:

Skipping

Dodgems

Frogs

Blue Collar

Splitsville

Pasting Letters

Walking Main Street

Earthquake

Rearview Mirror

Delete

Spooky...

On Saturday, I set myself the goal of writing the rough drafts of two short stories over the weekend and I did. Standing ovation please...

Okay, Pretty Little Ghouls is actually a flash length story but as I wrote the first, second and third draft over the weekend I'm couting it. And erm, Fairy Tale Reality (title subject to change), may well have a first draft but at the moment it is all pretty images and little substance, but we're getting there. I hope.

NaNoWriMo Prompts:

Stone Balls

White Gloves

Bell

Belonging

Solo Song

White Jacket

Chain Letter

Nursery Rhyme

Open Window

Rustling Paper

Flying Through

wings by ~iholdyoutonite on deviantART

NaNoWriMo Prompt Words:

Blown by the Wind
Fading Things
Chimes
Step Daughter
Peculiar Taste
Slugs
Hermit
When She was Bad
Secretive Sister
Without Walls

Have a fantastic weekend NaNoers.

Weavers of Dark Tales

R Scott McCoy, editor of Necrotic Tissue (no doubt you already know that), has posted an excellent blog post on changes he thinks the HWA should make to its membership rules. Among other things, I discovered the 90% rule means my pro-pay sale to NT doesn't count towards Active Membership, and with my only other pro-pay sale being a dark fantasy tale to Fantasy Magazine, I guess I'm back at the beginning.

Anyway, don't listen to me whitter, either go check his post or get back to your NaNoWriMo novel... Here's today's bits and pieces.

Dark Tales by `x-horizon on deviantART

NaNoWriMo Prompt Words:

Styrofoam Cup
Cloudy Mornings
Parachute Man
Sweat Trail
Motion Sickness
Rusting Skin
Psychadelics
Fencing Pipe Cleaners

In Stitches

The Scenic Path of Human Artefacts, the short story inspired by the NaNoWriMo Prompts I listed on November 1st, has been accepted for 52 Stitches. And so ends the two month dry spell... Or for the pessimist, so begins the next. Whatever the truth of it, I be happy.

Zombie Hunter Coat of Arms by =The-Prophet-Of-Chaos on deviantART

Being a little bit concerned that my prompts are too odd here are some less odd ones.

Fireguard
Skeleton
Monkey
Bananas
Pizza
Diamond

Bored now... Let's jazz it up a bit.

Cracked Pots
Swallowing Words
Stripy Snake Socks
Disposable Friends
Vile Goblins
Drenched Beard