What’s in Progress

I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to post about what I’ve been working on.

I’m finishing my second session of The Writers Studio’s level two class. We’ve focused on improving our use of first- and third-person narrators in our work, modeling writers who have used interesting narrators in their short stories.

This term really challenged me. I thought that I struggled with several of the assignments, and I didn’t feel I was ready to move into level three. But I discussed my concerns with my instructor, and he encouraged me to move ahead.

Thanks to these classes, I have the start of several stories. I have two or three that I want to craft into longer stories. It feels terrific to have some material that I’m excited to work on. And a lot of what I wrote is more literary than my usual work, which I’m thrilled about.

I have two short stories that I’ve revised, and I may submit them to a couple of genre magazines. I used one as the basis for an application to a sci-fi/fantasy summer writing intensive. I may use the other to apply to a second program.

None of these stories, sadly, are ready to share in this space. Even if I had a story ready to share, I probably wouldn’t post it here. Many magazines, journals, and writing contests only want contestants to submit unpublished work. And many consider sharing the piece on a personal blog to be publication.

Aside from applying to the summer program and enrolling in WS level three for April, I’m reading a writing guide by Donald Maass. I’m also reading Colson Whitehead’s “Zone One,” which sets a viral zombie apocalypse in New York City.

I’ll switch back to non-fiction when I finish the Whitehead novel, in keeping with my goal of reading more non-fiction in 2019. I have several options on my to-read list, and I’ll see what mood strikes me.

Here’s hoping that your own creative endeavors are going well, whatever they may be. And if you’re struggling with your creative work, please remember this: A bad day of creating art is better than a good day of anything else.

(Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash)