Weekend Writing Warriors – Crossed Wires 1

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

Okay, I’m going to switch to another of the new stories I wrote this summer. This was also inspired by one of my A-Z challenge ideas: Neural Rewiring.

The communicator panel in Nathan’s cockpit crackled a little when he cleared his throat. “Red leader to red team, ready to dance?”

There was another crackle. “Do you have to do that every time, red leader? Yes, we’re ready or we’d have said something. Just count us in.”

Nathan nodded to himself, and after a moment more voices came over the line.

“Ready.”

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/

What’s Up Wednesday? Thriller, baby!

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions… Join us!

What I’m reading:

“Esrever Doom” from the Xanth series, Dune on Audible, Crossed Genres stories, and podcasts like Toasted Cake! Oh, and some graphic novels like “Illyria Haunted” and “Lost at Sea.”

What I’m writing:

Well, I finished the Gotta Have That Look ‘Hot Mess draft’, and it should be going out to critters sometime tonight. Now I’m hoping to get a revision outline for “Children” finished this week. I’ve been going over my TNEO feedback and a lot of things have been starting to fit together, especially the idea of writing it as a sci-fi thriller, bringing in the notion of a conspiracy on board the starship to cover up a lot of stupid decisions that have been made in the past…

What works for me:

The idea of writing a revision outline, whether it be through the Monastery/Shrine or some other way. Since I’ve been through the Monastery once with “Children”, I’m wondering about trying to do the thriller revision outline a different way, possibly a modified snowflake technique or something like that.

What else I’ve been up to:

Enjoying the fall weather, watching Doctor Who and the new Big Bang Theory episodes, playing around with photo editors on the android tablet. My new laptop has passed its two-week trial period and been adorned with the requisite Nanowrimo stickers!

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

A few more drawings

I picked up the sketchbook and drawing textbook again this weekend, so here’s what I managed to draw:

First off, an attempt to draw Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who, based on a still frame from near the beginning of “Robot of Sherwood.” I tried to do this a week earlier with a full-face portrait of Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara, and gave up in the middle because I couldn’t get her to look anything like right. It’s possible my standards were too high for Jenna. This doesn’t really look like Capaldi, but at least I got myself to finish and it’s recognizably a man:

Follow Fest – around we go again!

Thanks to Natasha for posting her Follow Fest entry so soon and reminding me that it was time again.

What is your name?
Chris Kelworth.

Do you write fiction or non-fiction?
Generally fiction, or at least, that’s what I’m concentrating on writing and publishing here.

What genres?
Umm, science fiction and fantasy of many flavours and varieties, with some mystery and romance thrown in. For readers young and old, not always all at once.

Are you published?
Not yet.

What else do you do besides write?
Hmm. I program computers, both as a day job and a hobby. Listen to country music, walk up city streets, cook a fair bit, collect small electronic gadgets, watch lots of TV and some movies, read and listen to audiobooks and podcasts.

Tell us a little about yourself.
Umm, what else do you want to know? I’m the baby of the family, with a big sister and older brother–also a brother-in-law, two nieces and a nephew who are getting bigger every time I get a chance to visit. I live by myself in Hamilton, Ontario, and love travelling and going to writing workshops. I’m an Odyssey class of 2013 survivor.

What are you reading right now?
Well, I just started ‘Esrever Doom’ in the Xanth series, from the library. On the audiobook front, I’m reading Dune and Lani Diane Rich’s “Time off for good behaviour”. I’m also reading some Crossed Genres stories on my Kindle, and just discovered the Toasted Cake podcast. (Thanks for that go to Elizabeth Twist!)

Which authors influenced you the most?
Jim Butcher, Diane Duane, and Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Where can people find and follow you?
Right here on the wordpress blog–wordpress.com still doesn’t have a Google ‘army of followers’ widget, but the top three widgets down the right side of the blog are all followy: WordPress.com follow, RSS feed, and NetworkedBlogs.

Twitter: @ChrisKelworth, http://twitter.com/ChrisKelworth

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chris.kelworth

Do you have a newsletter?
I don’t think I generate enough news for a letter. 😉

Is there anything else you’d like us to know?
For his coronation, Napoleon summoned the Pope to Paris, then took the crown out of the Pope’s hands and put it on his own head.

Go here to see the Follow Fest list!

Weekend Writing Warriors – Magic Milkshakes 5

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’m continuing on with another snippet from a short story draft I wrote back in June, mostly after I got back from the Young Gunns workshop in Kansas. It was based on a story idea I shared back in the A-Z April challenge: Magic Milkshakes. This is still Danielle talking with her friend Irene.

Snippet 1 Snippet 2 Snippet 3 Snippet 4

“I can’t seem to concentrate on the homework,” Danielle admitted.

“Me neither, which is why I think I’ll drop by the party after all. Don’t stress about the milkshake thing–It’s not that big a deal, I was just curious.”

“Aren’t you going to even ask me to come along?”

“You want me to ask you–to blow off a night of studying and come to a party with me? A party that you already refused an invite on from a pretty cute boy?”

“Well, I’m allowed to change my mind, aren’t I? I just said I wasn’t able to concentrate on studying.”

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/

What’s Up Wednesday? Call me a Shriner

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions… Join us! Looks like there’s a header tweak in WUW-land this week. Inspiration is out and perspiration is in! 😉

What I’m reading:

The second Richard Kadrey Sandman Slim book, “Kill the Dead.” I’ve also started reading some new short stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies and an old Crossed Genres collection. And on Audible, I’m nearly at the end of “Annals of the Heechee”

What I’m writing:

Gotta Have That Look! I did my Short Story Shrine for the new revision on Saturday, and I’ve nearly finished writing my ‘hot mess draft.’ 🙂 The Shrine outline was different enough that it’s pretty much a page one rewrite (again,) but I’ve got a good sense of the characters that is helping me hit the ground running, even if their circumstances have changed.

What works for me:

Still working on the bus; I’ve brought the Alphasmart to work yesterday and today, and got quite a lot of words done on it. Also, the Shine process is something that really works well for trying to plan a big revision; setting aside all of the critiques and just finding the true story in my heart, writing that down.

What else I’ve been up to:

Not that much, it’s been a pretty quiet week. Dropped by my Mom’s place to help her out with her new iPad. Made it out to a write-in on the Pier Sunday afternoon. Played around with my music rating stuff and put the new refurb laptop through its paces. It’s looking pretty reliable so far. Oh, and I’ve been watching “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finally!

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

Weekend Writing Warriors – Magic Milkshakes 4

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’m continuing on with another snippet from a short story draft I wrote back in June, mostly after I got back from the Young Gunns workshop in Kansas. It was based on a story idea I shared back in the A-Z April challenge: Magic Milkshakes.

Snippet 1 Snippet 2 Snippet 3

“I don’t see why you’re so upset about these milkshakes.” Danielle’s best friend Irene pushed her geography textbook away across the library table. “If anybody’s got a legitimate beef about them, it’s me. I mean, I only wanted a taste, and she practically wrestled me away from the table. Speaking of which, I thought we said next time you were going to bring some away ‘to go.'”

“Um, yeah. Once I had a taste, I guess I forgot. I’m really sorry.”

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/

What’s Up Wednesday? Changing Things Up…

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blogfest to share the answers to a few simple questions… Join us! Looks like there’s a header tweak in WUW-land this week. Inspiration is out and perspiration is in! 😉

What I’m reading:

Mostly “Victory Conditions” which I just finished today. I also finally got to the end of Richard Kadrey’s “Sandman Slim”, which I first picked up from Audible in January. Hmm, I thought that was longer. Possibly that’s because it was on my ‘to read’ list for longer than that.

What I’m writing:

Still not that much. I did a little work on revising “TimeBubble Blues” over the weekend.

What works for me:

Well, in general, finding time to work on public transit is still a good one, though exactly what I spend that time on is a little scattered lately. But I’ve got some good critique work done on the bus lately, and even some preparation for a Nanowrimo ML prep meeting. (It’s only seven and a half weeks to November!)

What else I’ve been up to:

Earned myself another ‘Most Productive Critiquer’ award with the critters.org workshop, and walked the charity 5k in around 52 minutes, which I’m pretty proud of. Ordered yet another refurb Dell laptop, and this one is doing pretty well so far, no defective drives or really any problems that I’ve noticed. Tried doing another sketch exercise over the weekend, from a still TV frame, and got frustrated with myself and gave it up. I think I may try again this Saturday and pick a different video ‘model’ 🙂

Keeping up with Doctor Who (yay!) and still watching the Harry Potter movies. This afternoon I finished the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Oh, and I signed up for a new Storywonk class, Sufficiently Advanced Magic. I’m really excited to be part of Alastair’s first live course, and it sounds like a great way to help flesh out two book ideas for Nanowrimo this year. I’ve got one idea so far–Tricia Colt, touched by Nox and Lethe–but I want to have two partial manuscripts so that I can pick whichever one is working better to submit to Kij Johnson’s workshop next February.

What about you? Click here to join the hop or check in with some other great writers.

Weekend Writing Warriors – Magic Milkshakes 3

Welcome friends, followers, and Weekend Writing Warriors!

I’m continuing on with another snippet from a short story draft I wrote back in June, mostly after I got back from the Young Gunns workshop in Kansas. It was based on a story idea I shared back in the A-Z April challenge: Magic Milkshakes.

Snippet 1 Snippet 2

“I told him that I had a lot of studying to get through, and counter-offered with a study date at the library. Mister Matthew Brown declined that offer, Big surprise.”

“Are you still going to the library?”

“Yeah, I guess, if that’s okay.”

“Certainly.”

“I’ll be back by eleven.”

“I can always trust on you to do the responsible thing.” Mom shook her head slightly as she left the room.

Visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors at http://www.wewriwa.com/

IWSG: My Race Score Sucks

Well, it’s time for Insecure Writers’ Support Group again!

I said, a little earlier this year, that I would submit lots of writing and my ‘race score’ would soar to incredible heights. If you haven’t heard of it, the race score is basically just one for each story you have out at a market, and it’s one of a few different ways to ‘gamify’ the submissions grind. There are a few other rules; I think simultaneous subs, if you do them, don’t count for extra race points, and longer things like novel partials and full novel manuscripts (out at an agent or directly to a publisher) count for multiple points.

Just at the moment, my race score is 1, thanks to ‘Return to Civilization’, which has been in the Analog slushpile since January now. The other two stories I’ve submitted over the past year, (including “Love is a Masterpiece” that got an Honorable Mention with Writers of the Future) are in this weird limbo hold where I don’t know where to submit them now.

I even had a two-step plan for how to bring my race score back up, but both steps are lagging. I was going to fast-track revisions on “TimeBubble Blues” and “Gotta Have That Look” so I could start sending them out–and I’m still not feeling confident in the revisions. And I was going to start scouting out new markets that I could submit to.

I’m not even sure why the scouting part is something I’m hitting so much resistance on. I love reading genre short stories. I really like finding out new places to read shorts and figuring out what kind of stuff they want most.

At least I think I like it, so why haven’t I been doing any of it lately? 😦