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Saturday, March 10, 2012

Songs of a Wanderer

For the past few days I've been working on a short story, one featuring my wandering "Man of the River People". The first one I wrote in which this character, Thon, appeared can be read at Short-Story.me. It's "A Song of Aine".

I have a thought about a follow on to that one, but it needs to marinate a bit more.

But, he's a wanderer, so there is ample scope for tales to be told. Someday I must find out what set his foot on the road away from the River in the first place.

I wrote a story of his wanderings with the intention of submitting it to Short-Story.me. They have a maximum limit of 2,000 words for the short stories they publish. My tale came out a couple of hundred too long.

So, on to the craft of tale telling. And it's an aspect I enjoy. The paring away, the tightening of the language, of the action. All the while hoping there's still a story left at the end of the day.

It took a few passes and I was able to rid the tale of the clumsiness that sometimes creeps in when you're not looking. Taut as a bow string.

The text editor I was using informed me I had 2,000 words to the story. There's a rightness to that - something about being just on the edge.

Of course, Microsoft Word informed me I had 1,999 words. Sigh.

So, given I believe Short-Story.me use Word (that's their preferred format in which to receive submissions), I added a single word.

Off into the world has gone my "A Song of Danard" - I'm hoping they'll like it and publish it.

We'll see.

In other news, my Year of the Dragon, Special Edition Cross fountain pen arrived today. More on that another day.

13 comments:

  1. Good luck with the submission!

    I love cutting words out, going through a piece and finding the fat that needs to be carved. Makes me feel like a ruthless personal trainer.

    Jai

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    1. Thank you for the good luck wishes, Jai.

      Yes, the trimming of the unneeded in writing is a really good workout. And the results can be a joy to behold. Probably not dissimilar to really good workouts...but I'm not nearly as familiar with those. :D

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  2. Good luck with it!

    I've never understood how different programs come up with different word counts. A word is a word, isn't it? :)

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    1. Thank you, Laura. Here's hoping.

      As to differing words counts...no idea. But, somehow, not surprising. Computers, y'know. Meh. (And this from someone who's made a good living off them!)

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  3. I went to your link and read A Song of Aine - very good - now I can't wait for A Song of Danard!!

    Look forward to hearing about your new pen. :-)

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the story, Julie. Here's hoping for A Song of Danard.

      I'll be writing about the new pen in the not too distant.

      Hope all is well with you and yours.

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  4. I really enjoyed Song of Aine so I am sure your Song of Danard will be accepted. Good luck and will look forward to reading it when it's published. ^__^

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    1. Glad you enjoyed Son of Aine, Helen. I remain hopeful about Song of Danard.

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  5. Good luck, K! I like the Short-Story.me market. They're courteous. Hope you land.

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    1. Hi John,

      Thanks for the good wishes. Yes, they're always courteous. Even their rejections. I've been accepted twice, rejected 3 times. Here's hoping to even the score. :)

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  6. Just got the notification from Short-Story.me - they like "A Song of Danard" and will publish it. It'll be on the site within 7 to 10 days of receipt of a signed copy of their Author's Contract.

    I am rather pleased right about now. :-)

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  7. A big WOOT! Congrats, Kevin! :D

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    1. Thanks, Laura. I'll send out a note, tweet, etc. when the story hits the site.

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