Well, okay, wrote a second short story and chapter one of a new novel. So, it is nice to feel productive and get projects “finished” (both are just drafts), but what I am REALLY looking forward to is getting back to my novel–which I can do today!
Wrote a new short story
Funny how that goes: I’d written a couple of scenes of a short story, and this week, I re-wrote the entire thing in one day–with different characters, plot and setting. Edited it yesterday. Now it needs to sit for a week or two, and have one more pass before submission.
Short story jumping hoops
Was so pleased today to get a notice from OnSPEC, saying a story of mine has cleared its first hurdle. Yay! But making the final cut is always tough: there are so many good stories in the slush pile, and sometimes a perfectly good one has to be cut because it is similar to something else, or just not quite right for the mix. Fingers crossed!
Had tons of fun presenting for SCBWI!
Was invited to the local chapter of SCBWI this week to present on writing SF/F/H for YA and MG writers. Tons of fun-we had a great discussion. Thanks, so much, Pamela, for inviting me!
Exciting news: Alberta Foundation for the Arts Grant!
Here’s some great news! I got a grant from Alberta Foundation for the Arts to do the second revision of my novel, “Alexandre and the Pirates!” I have applied about 4-5 times for this grant and last fall I got one of those wonderful rejection letters: The project is approved, but it was below the cutoff for funding–but if there is funding left at the end of the year, it might still be funded. Of course, I couldn’t get my hopes up, but it was lovely to get the compliment.
Then about a month ago, I got a phone call asking: if I got the funding, is the project still viable? (It is: I took two months off to paint, then worked on another novel, so I haven’t come back to the second revision of Alexandre yet.) And, could I do the project for less funding than I requested? (Of course! I love that novel, and intend to pursue it in any case.)
So…this week, I got the final phone call. I got about half of the requested funding, but I’m still over the moon! So, I guess I know what I am working on, once the cheque arrives (they don’t like you to start the project before you get the funding–it’s a rule).