A Look Back and a Look Ahead

It's been awhile. I've shifted from a writing focus to an editing focus over the last couple of years, which is why it's been pretty quiet here.

I recently set up a website for my editing endeavors, though, so that frees up this space for a focus on my writing pursuits. If you are interested in following me on my editing journey, look me up at selundberg.com.

As I mention in my "about me" section, I do have goals to have a novel published eventually. It's not as high of a priority these days as it used to be, but since I've made a great deal of progress on the editing front, it's time to start thinking about my writing again.

To look back at 2014, here are some noteworthy writing accomplishments:
-I won the Story-in-a-Bag short story writing contest for the amateur horror category at ConQuest
-I won third place (and $200) for the Writers Weekly 24-hour story contest in the fall
-I completed my tenth year doing Nanowrimo, sixth year as Municipal Liaison
-I started writing passages at the new job

To look ahead at 2015, here are some goals:
-Write a short story a month for the Confabulator Cafe
-Participate at the professional level for Story-in-a-Bag at ConQuest this year
-Participate in panels at ConQuest this year
-Start to submit short stories again
-Edit and send out Monsters of Lawrence to beta readers
-Haunted Mansion writing retreat in California in September this year
-Talk to Jack's sister's young adult book club to encourage young writers

I haven't decided if I'm going to participate in Nanowrimo again this year or not. Having done it every year for the last decade, I'm feeling a little run down and burnt out. My fellow writing group members encourage me to still participate even if I don't ML. We'll see how I feel when November rolls around. I'm ok with the idea of retiring. I know I can write a novel, with or without the help of the month-long competition.

It is kind of a relief to switch this blog back to Prospective Writer. I need a place to keep track of my writing progress separate from my editing. They are two different sides of my brain. It's nice to have to completely different spaces to play.

Besides, here I get to brag about the books I'm reading, share any awesome quotes I've heard, and talk about what I'm writing.

Time to get back to basics. I'm shabby and out of practice being a writer. I'm relying on this blog to help me get back on track.

News and Updates

I'd like to be better about posting regularly to let you all know what I'm up to. Things finally seem to be moving on both the writer and editor fronts. So here are the details of my latest breaking news.

-I got a new job! I am finally breaking free from the administrative support world and transitioning into editing as my day job. I have accepted a position at an institute that develops all assessment tests for the state of Kansas. I'll be editing said tests at each phase, from developmental to and line edits - as well as potentially doing some writing for websites or other brochure type content as needed. This is a huge breakthrough. I am going to be a professional editor.

-My boyfriend Jack Campbell, Jr. and I attended our annual sci-fi and fantasy convention, ConQuesT, over Memorial Day weekend this year. It is always filled with frenetic energy of so many writers, editors, artists, and fans that it always charges my creative batteries. Jack and I participated in the Story in a Bag contest again, and we both brought home winner certificates. He won the professional horror category, and I won the amateur horror category. Luckily I still fall into the amateur category, because I'd hate to go up against him. This was our last con for fun. Next year, we work. We're both going to volunteer to moderate panels, and we'll have to do some networking.

-I ended up editing two short stories for my author friend Jason Arnett. He published one called  Prospects on Amazon (which you can find here) and Smashwords (which you can find here). He does a fantastic job writing within the dying genre of hard sci-fi, so if you like the old genre, check him out. I'm hoping his second short will go up for sale soon.

-Speaking of short stories, if you haven't checked them out yet, I've edited two short stories for my author friend R.L. Naquin. They are part of her Monster Haven world, and they are delicious little snippets that will either tide you over between books or suck you into the world. You can find the holiday-themed Hidden Holidays here (Amazon or Smashwords) and her more recent ode to the closet monster Maurice What Zoey Doesn't Know here (Amazon or Smashwords). She and I are working on putting together a collection of several of her short stories, and hopefully that will come out later this year. I'll let you know more about details once we nail things down.

-In other writing news, Jack and I have officially registered for a writing retreat for September 2015. Four days in lovely Northern California at the Haunted Mansion Writing Retreat. All of our food and drinks (including unlimited alcohol) will be provided, and our only responsibilities will be to write and also blog about any paranormal activity we experience. Jack talks a bit more about the trip, so head on over to his blog post Sound the Retreat! for details.

-Last, but certainly not least, story ideas are putting pressure on my brain, begging to be written again. I thought the voices had dried up, but now I feel like I'm riding the crest of a wave about to break. I am preparing to participate in the July run of Camp Nanowrimo with my amazing writing group. I haven't settled on which story yet, but I have settled on at least attempting something in the range of 30,000 words in a month. Right now I just want to tell ALL THE STORIES. I know I can't work on all of them at once, but eventually I'll decide on one. The win of Story in a Bag bolstered my waning confidence in my ability to write, so here's hoping I get into the swing of things again

NaNoWriMo

November is here, which means it's National Novel Writing Month.

This is my ninth consecutive year participating and my fifth year as municipal liaison for the Lawrence region.

Ehem. Now that I have all of that boring information out of the way.

I can always count on NaNo to get me back into writing, no matter how long I've been away from it. Although I haven't taken a break for nearly as long as it's been since my last blog post here. I have continued to contribute - albeit sporadically - to the Confabulator Cafe, which was equal parts writing a random flash fiction and rehashing old stories.

I also participated in a 24-hour writing contest put on by Writer's Weekly and won an honorable mention for it. Which just goes to show...why is it that I am always just like, mediocre?

I tied three different ways for first for the Story in a Bag contest, I tied with 25 other people for 4th, I made it through the first round of Penumbra's process but not the second, I was accepted for a publication that then got bought out so now it looks like I won't even get that publishing credit. I'm not saying I'm giving up, I'm just realizing where my writing stands next to others.

I will never be as good as the best writers. I'm not saying I'm a bad writer. I'm just realizing I am a mediocre writer and that I am going to have to fight for every inch I get. I just have to decide if that's what I want. Some days, it's not. Some days I'm content just to drabble here and there, and get the small recognition I've gotten.

But of course, there's that self-absorbed part of myself that will always wish for part of the big spotlight. Rich and famous from something I've written.

Anyway. I digress. I was planning on talking about NaNo. But I won't. I will be posting every Friday at the Confabulator Cafe to talk about my NaNo experience. Let's just say I wrote this blog because it's been six months and I felt it was time for an update.

The biggest updates I've already mentioned: winning honorable mention for the 24-hour story contest and despairing that my short story won't actually be published next month.

 A couple of other updates as far as the editing side of my projected career:

I am almost finished my editing certificate. I have two more assignments and the final exam, and then come December, as long as I pass, I will have all the classes to earn the certificate. No idea what I will do with it after that, but I'll have it and I know I'm taking a damn break from school for at least a semester. Maybe I'll write. Maybe I'll edit one or two of my novels.

I applied for a writing internship back in September, and got the position. I wrote a total of three articles for them, and then they switched me from writer to editor. When all is said and done, I will have three months worth of editing health articles for online publication under my belt.

Again, I will not talk about NaNo. I'm writing. That's enough.