Writer’s Life: Funkalicious February

Posted by Nicky Drayden on Feb 27, 2011 in Writer's Life |

Photo by Keo 101, Creative Commons

February is drawing to a close, another productive month. I got four new short stories written including a 7000-word monster, a couple of flash fiction pieces, and a 3000-word short story I plan to workshop at the Paradise Lost meetup. I have high hopes for the two longer stories. I think I’m starting to see a marked improvement in my short story construction. (About time!)

Submissions weren’t as abundant this month, only 8, which means magazines are holding onto my stuff for a long time, which I guess is a good thing. I got a couple hold requests, and had one acceptance earlier in the month.

Still haven’t missed a day of bike riding this year! I’m not sure how long it will last though, only because if I don’t ride in the morning I have a hard time remembering to do it in the evening, so eventually one sad morning I’ll wake up and realize I’ve ruined my streak. I will admit that four of my “rides” in February took place inside my garage–two because it was 18 degrees outside and I’m really not that crazy, one the day I had my wisdom tooth out, and a recent one where I didn’t get home until after dark and I was already too overwhelmed. March 1st I’ll be upping my goal to three miles a day, and plan to increase a mile each month–a little more aggressive than I set out, but still doable.

My Japanese really lagged this month. I need to get back on it. Still haven’t finished reading my first random book, but I’m slowly plugging away. And I’m getting pretty used to becoming a vegetarian. Our annual chicken and waffle party is fast approaching though. I do plan to have a vegetarian option, but I have a feeling that I will have to sneak a bit of chicken, or it just won’t be the same.

The rest of my resolutions I haven’t touched yet, except I might have a super sappy idea for a screenplay. I plan on starting my search for a sitar in March, maybe try to get to yoga class in May.

 

10 Comments

Samuel Mae
Feb 27, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Good going, Nicole. Keep up that bike riding!


 
Sylvia
Feb 28, 2011 at 3:51 am

Go go go!


 
Rebecca Schwarz
Feb 28, 2011 at 8:20 am

Holy cow! What a bunch of stuff. I’m still trying to figure out how to write fiction and a blog!


 
Miranda
Feb 28, 2011 at 8:23 am

I’m in awe of your writing productivity! What’s your secret for cranking it out? Do you do a daily word count, or just fit it in when you can?


 
Nicky Drayden
Feb 28, 2011 at 10:48 am

Thanks everybody!

@Rebecca, I stopped by your blog the other day. It did look kind of lonely. Maybe you need some inspiration? Just think about all the people that are in need of being entertained by cute pictures of chickens! LolChicks?

@Miranda, W1S1 can take credit for that. I need a good challenge and the threat of being humiliated on the interwebs to keep me going. I can usually crank short stories out in a day or two, so it’s not a complete time suck. (Plus it helps a lot that I don’t work full time!)


 
Shelley
Mar 2, 2011 at 11:34 am

Congratulations on meeting your goals! I’m really impressed by the number of submissions, and wish I could get mine up there. You say “only” 8, but I say, wow, 8! I’m doing good to get my one a week, but I’m hoping to change that. I have plenty of old stuff I should dust off and send out, and 4 of my W1S1 stories that still need to go.

My daughter and I aren’t vegetarians (though she has gone 30 days at a pop on principle), but we don’t eat much meat. We have more fish than anything. Sometimes we buy the Morningstar Farms “chicken” nuggets (which are pretty close to frozen real chicken nuggets) or their burgers, just because they’re fast and easy, and they do taste pretty good.

The wider blog layout looks great, by the way!


 
Nicky Drayden
Mar 2, 2011 at 11:33 pm

Thanks Shelly!

I’ve been eating the fake spicy chicken patties, and they’re pretty good. I’ve tried an assortment of products, and so far I’ve enjoyed everything except the hot dogs.

Good luck with your stories!


 
John Murphy
Mar 8, 2011 at 9:26 am

Sounds like a great month! I think I’ve averaged a few hundred measly words a day in the last month.
How are you studying Japanese? I’m looking to brush up on mine, but I find that self-study is a lot harder than classes were.


 
Nicky Drayden
Mar 8, 2011 at 7:39 pm

Hey John,

A few hundred words a day adds up in time, so don’t knock it!

I’m using Live Mocha, which is free and online at the beginner’s level. They have paid advanced courses for some languages, but sadly Japanese is not one of them. If you’re just looking to quiz yourself over the basics, though, you might take a look at it.


 
John Murphy
Mar 9, 2011 at 7:24 am

Oh, that looks like a nice site. Thanks!


 

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