This month I’ve felt surprisingly productive. My brain is clearer, thanks to a change in medication, and I feel I have more stamina. I hope this lasts. It feels good to be firing on more cylinders. The Autobiography of M Mannequins (via Wikimedia Commons) I sent off the manuscript of my horror novel The Autobiography … Continue reading Good Legs (Writing Update)
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Announcement: New Acceptance!
My story “The Last Earth Day” was accepted last week! It’s part of the Happy Hellidays anthology put out by Hellbound Books. This will be my fourth story to be published. The anthology called for holiday-themed horror. While it was tempting to write about a big holiday, or conversely, a very obscure one, I chose … Continue reading Announcement: New Acceptance!
Writing What I Want to Write (Update)
I recently saw a quote from author Autumn Christian: At the end of the day, writing should be fun. It's a silly little dance with God and the abyss. If it doesn't feel fun, you might need to reevaluate why you're doing it. This month I can say I’ve had oodles of fun working on … Continue reading Writing What I Want to Write (Update)
The Year of Short Stories (Writing Update)
When it comes to writing, I much prefer harsh criticism to compliments. As good as it makes me feel, praise of my work doesn’t help me that much. I need something to light a fire under me, make me put in the hours and effort to correct the problems. Submission rejections do this more than … Continue reading The Year of Short Stories (Writing Update)
When Everything Clicks (Writing Update)
I love it when my writing clicks. I’ll spend an hour forcing myself to press one key after another and then suddenly the whole story opens before me. These are the moments that make me love writing. Fortunately, this month was full of those. Short Stories Last month, I mentioned that I was working on … Continue reading When Everything Clicks (Writing Update)
Evolving as a Writer (Update)
For me, there is no greater feeling than seeing my name in print. I received that honor a few days ago when my copy of It Calls From Below arrived in the mail, containing my story “The Installation”. I’m eager to see what my fellow contributors wrote. Now that I have three stories published, I've … Continue reading Evolving as a Writer (Update)
The Fickle Finger of Fiction
Creativity is fickle, coming and going without rhyme or reason. This month, try as I might, I had a deficit of inspiration, as if my muse took a vacation without telling me. Still, I found ways around this. Short Stories Between now and September, I hope to submit at least one story a month. I’ve … Continue reading The Fickle Finger of Fiction
My Shelf Tour
One of my first posts on this blog was entitled Books as a Drug, in which I talked about bibliomania and my impulsive purchase of 81 Dragonlance novels. Well, four years later, I’ve doubled (or maybe even tripled) the number of books I own. For me, buying books is intoxicating, and once they’re on my … Continue reading My Shelf Tour
Finding My Rhythm (Writing Update)
This was one of those months that reminded me why I’m a writer. I’ve found the right rhythms, balanced multiple projects, and felt part of the community. At the moment, I’m hurrying to get a story finished that has a deadline in a few days (more about that below), but I thought I'd take a … Continue reading Finding My Rhythm (Writing Update)
I Finished My Rough Draft! (Kinda)
The title says it all. After 2 months of planning and 3 months of writing, my linked collection, Stories From the Infinite City, is finally complete—half a month later than I had originally planned. It is made up of a novella and 12 short stories, coming to a total of 48,000 words. This past month … Continue reading I Finished My Rough Draft! (Kinda)
Zé Burns | Blog 