D. M. BONANNO

I love short story writing, I love May Story-A-Day, so what I’ve been doing has been downright torturous.

I’m on a deadline, trying to write some novel chapters and revise them so I can use them as part of my workshop application. Time is running short on me (speaking of Merry Go Round Topic, “Deadlines”). It’s an interesting challenge. I’m loving the novel; the outline and worldbuilding complete enough to write, and the first chapter is mostly done. (One more scene to go). Based on its length, I’ll write one more long chapter and then revise them plus the outline.

This in the midst of family, travel, and health (not mine) issues. And SAD.

Rather than be upset, I’ve improvised. The first ten days of May, I pulled a story prompt and created characters and an outline. I have 10 SADs plus one other short story I’d been working on ready to be written. At this point, they’ll take me about 3 – 4 hours each, about 2 days of writing time. Once I’m done with the workshop application, I’ll be diving into these stories. They may not all be done in May. I’m a little dissapointed with that, but I’m very happy that I pulled the prompts and prepped the stories. If I hadn’t done that, I think looking at today’s date and knowing I haven’t even started a short story… I don’t want to go there, thinking about the level of that dissapointment.

So, novel chapter, revision, then stories. I’ll have them. I will. The characters are rising up out of my notebook to haunt me.

 It’s more important to be writing than reporting on the writing, isn’t it? That’s why this post is so late. I make goals and promises to myself, and try my best to be honest about what happened in achieving or failing to achieve my goals. These past few months, it’s been a combination of work, family, and the inability to balance multiple projects. I’ve been focused primarily on the novel, and my short story writing suffered. It’s a necessary sacrifice; even if I start indie-publishing my shorts, my path to writing success requires novels to be written and revised.

Writing Results (March + April)

• Short Story Revisions 2 (1 in March, 1 in April)
• Reading 2 (1 in March, 1 in April)
• Rejections 16 (10 in March, 6 in April)
• Submissions 18 (12 in March, 6 in April)
• Novel Research and Outlining (March + April)
• Short Story Workshop on FM (March – writing; April – hosting)

May Goals

• Short Story Writing – FM SAD Challenge (goal of 15 stories)
• Winter Warrior – write first 3 chapters
• Prep VP application
• Continue the short story workshop on FM

Did I mention I love short story writing? May is usually the month I get to be self indulgent in my writing and my family lets me get away with it. It’s probably why I haven’t done Nano comfortably. I already have May.  I’m also continuing the workshop. I have one more  post to put up for the members, and I want to follow them all through to completing one story.

I hope your May is going well.

I’ve been too busy to post regularly, but I’m still around and writing, in addition to handling some unusual family matters and travel issues. My Merry Go Round post was delayed by the travel and family matters, but I will post soon on it. Oddly, the subect is deadlines. Blew that one, didn’t I?

Those of you following me for a while know how I excited I get over the May Story A Day challenge. I usually get 4 – 10 brand new short stories for the month. This time, because of the time issues, I’ve been pulling prompts every day and working on character and outlines. So far, I have 7 outlines ready to be written into short stories in a decent smattering of fantasy and science fiction.  I’m eager to type them up and get them posted on www.fmwriters.com.

I’m still working on my short story workshop. I’ve had six writers sign up for it, and so far at least 3 of them have completed short stories. We’ll keep going through the month of them and see what progress gets made.

Winter Warrior was put on hold for a few days; novel notes were too bulky (and precious) to travel with me. But I’m starting up with it tomorow morning. I need to hurry and get the next few chapters written so I can revise them before the workshop deadline. I need to also get my letter/application in shape. I’m also eager to get this novel written. It’s by far the most interesting one I’ve planned in a long time and I want to fit the pieces together and see what it looks like.

More updates to come. Hope you’re happy, reading or writing away…

Dawn

I see a dinstinctive difference in productivity between my short story writing vs my novel writing. Novels are scarier to screw up, so I’m much more careful with the world building and outlining. Which means it takes me as long to outline and research the novel as it does to write it. Part of it is in short stories, I have to measure my worldbuilding carefully, and in a novel, I can go crazy.

Except that I shouldn’t. The writing phase needs to start soon. I can’t worldbuild forever. I could, but that wouldn’t get the novel finished.

So this week I’m going to focus on the environmental details and get this book started. I just need to confirm how they live, the food chain, shelter, etc, all within an acceptable level of make-believe. That’s the fun of fantasy, but it still has to be grounded in a reality that makes sense for the book.

In addition to this, I’m trying to revise one short story for a contest deadline at the end of the month. I just started a new short story (2 days in, I think I might come close to finishing it tonight), and I’ve been making time to read.

In between all this, I’m putting the finishing touches on a short story workshop I’ve written and am going to teach on  FMwriters at the end of the month. It’s designed to help people who want to write a short story and for whatever reason (I have some theories), just can’t. I’ve had so much fun with my short stories, that it just kills me to hear someone say they can’t write one or they don’t know how. I’m constantly writing, editing, revising, studying, trying to write better. I’m happy to take a few days away from it to help other writers type “the end”.

Tick-tock, my friends, I’ve got to get to that story.

Happy Writings!

Dawn

FMWriters is traveling the web via the Merry Go Round Blog Tour. Site members have grouped together to write monthly on themed topics and turn the blog tour concept on its head: we’re not the ones touring: you are, as you read one writer’s perspective after another. This is my contribution to the Merry Go Round Tour. Enjoy your ride. ~ Dawn

What would it be like to be compared to a great writer? I’m not sure I’d ever believe the words if I heard them, nor have I even thought about this before the topic was raised.  That’s slightly off the mark. I’ve been told by two people that my writing reminds them of Robin Hobb (who I haven’t the privilege of reading yet, though my husband has enjoyed her stories) and Raymond Feist. I’ve read and enjoyed some of Mr. Feist’s work, and can see a connection between the character and world development.

Playing along, because that’s what writers do, I’ll have to go after my early influences. Mercedes Lackey introduced me to the fantasy genre with her Heralds of Valdemar series. Honorable heroes wielding magic riding fantastic horses. Her weaving of the different kinds of magic and how they affect so many people so vastly amazed me. It’s a concept I’ve taken in my own writing, treating magic almost like a character itself. In my current novel, I’ve gone one step further and actually made it a character. It doesn’t get any lines, but it simultaneously amazes and conflicts with anyone who has ever encountered it.

Jennifer Roberson has influenced me with two of her series. Tiger and Del, the Sword Dancer series has shown me how important a weapon is, magic or otherwise, and the weight it holds upon its wielder. Weapon choice matters. What it does to those who either have it or want it, matters. Her Cheysuli serious plays with animal bonds and transformation, two elements that fascinate me to no end. As children, we’ve pretended to be animals, to have animal abilities, and in her series, we get to experience it. As much as that magic can bring us wonderful experiences, it can hurt too, and there are dire consequences to denying it, to hiding it, or taking it too far.

Reflecting back on this post, it’s clear to me that despite my love for science fiction, the fantasy I’ve read has influenced me more. My short stories are varied in genre, but my novels are predominantly fantasy. I did write science fiction first, then started reading fantasy, and since then I’ve been lost to it. I do try reading new things — I’m finally reading Tanya Huff, some of the most delightful military science fiction I’ve encountered — but reading it doesn’t make me want to write it. I’m just enjoying the ride.

Has your taste in reading influenced your writing or art? Or have your creations influenced what you like to read? It’s a delicate balance isn’t it?

Happy Writing and Reading,

~ Dawn

Today’s post was inspired by Forward Motion’s Merry-Go-Round topic ‘Influences”.  If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers and read about their ideas, then check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour.   The next Merry Go Round writer is Bonnie. She’ll be posting her take on this same topic on the 5^th for your reading pleasure. 

My schedule is beyond full, between the day job, kids, writing, and keeping the house on a semi-decent cleaning schedule. Yet, today, I spent a good portion of my afternoon working with my five year old on her science project. I admit I probably helped more than I should have, but first, we were enjoying ourselves, and second, isn’t the best way to teach someone how to do something by sharing in the fun of it yourself?

I remember my dad helping me with projects, but my independent streak had me only asking for help where I truly needed it, and not always asking for help when I should have. It earned me a few B’s where my classmates got their parents’ help and their A’s. I can’t change the past, but I can teach my daughter.

What did I teach my daughter today? Science can be fun. Mommy can be fun. Getting help is good.

I’ll probably scale back on the next project and let her take the lead, but it made me think of something else, which prompted this post. Despite all I need to be doing, I took the extra time to be with her. To experience the fun of a science experiment. It wasn’t about the grades, and it wasn’t about simply completing a project. It was time together.

And that is why I work so hard.

I have the tools and skills to work this hard because I watched it my entire life. My moother a stay-at-home-mom with five kids; my dad frequently working two jobs to send the five of us to private school. Yet he always had time to play with us, watch TV with us (I always forgave him for falling asleep), and even if he didn’t always understand me, he spent time with me.

How you spend your time matters. It keeps you happy and healthy, it keeps the kids better grounded.

My daughter knows I work hard. She’s said it  herself and frequently offers to help me with simple housework. I take her up on it when it’s something we can do together. Not because I need her to do the task for me, but because it’s building our relationship stronger. I remember feeling bad my dad was so tired, but there wasn’t anything I can do. Perhaps I’m empowering my daughter by giving her something to do.

And on a lighter note… the daughter made a comment regarding my writing. She seemed to believe my day job was writing stories, and I had to explain to her that I work my day job helping a company, and that my writing is done while she’s sleeping or watching TV, that I do it because I love it. She took it in without comment. I’m not sure if she was disappointed or confused, or just digesting the information.

I hope she understands one day what it is to love something so much, love someone so much, that you participate in their lives and complete the activity to the point of exhaustion. To me, that’s evidence of love. I hope she never has to work as hard as I am, or if she does, that she does so willingly.

We each have our own path to walk. Mine might be working hard to achieve everything I want, but I’m enjoying my path and the hills and valleys it brings into my life. 

~ Dawn

February Results

I skipped out early on February in general, to prepare for our first family vacation. We’ve gone away for weekends before, driving up to Wisoncsin or visiting relatives, but this was The First Family Vacation. I don’t begrudge myself the writing time lost. Time with my family is precious. It’s because of them that I’m happy and confident and driven.

So what did I to in February?

• Winter Warrior – novel pre-work
• Short Stories Revised – 1, but this was a big step as it was a resubmission to an anthology that offered to look at it again if I chose to rewrite it.
• Rejections:  7
• Submissions: 5 (all resubmissions)
• Crits: 3
• Read:  Nothing complete, but 2 in progress, and of course, various short stories

March Goals

March is strategy month, so the focus will not be on short stories as I’d like, but it’s a choice I had to make. I’m starting a new novel, I’m writing a short story workshop to teach on FMWriters, I’m preparing a workshop application that I’d like to get in ASAP, and I’m dealing with complications from vacation and work that result in deplenished writing time. Nevertheless, it will not stop me.

• Winter Warrior – finish the outline and start the first three chapters
• Class: Holly Lisle’s How To Write A Series
• Short Story Drafts: 1 (partially written; just needs completion)
• Short Story Revisions:  2 (for a 4/15 contest deadline)
• Crits: 4
• Read: 1 – 2 (2 already in progress; would like to finish them both)
• Short Story Workshop – draft/revise

I’ve set myself up for a busy month and it’s already halfway through. If you’ve kept up with me before, you know I’m not afraid of a challenge. Good luck to you this March.

Happy Writing,

Dawn