Rachel Udin
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Keeping Honest

I'm working on finishing up the third run of Magic Solutions, Inc. I'm glad that the book will be to target on word count, though it will need a lot of basic editing to get it to connect properly. I should finish before the end of the year just like I said I would.

I still need to restructure the squirrel chapter, but I've figured that out.

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posted by Rachel Udin | 10:34 AM | 0 Comments

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Update on Status

I finished No Strings Attached now I need a kind person to read through it and check for basic mistakes and grammar. Is there a grammarian on the premises?

I also split some of the chapters on Magic Solutions Inc because the size of the book was too small and it was straining against itself with chapters that were too long.

I got through the Zombie chapter, which is by count chapter eleven, after the Squirrel chapter, which leaves me on chapter twelve. I'm pleased with this chapter, but sad to see my characters grow up faster than I'd bargained for. Perhaps it is temporary.

I'm gathering research for chapter twelve so I can make a plot and trying to feel out the chapter. The Zombie chapter turned out in three days. This chapter, however, seems to be a slow one. The idea I had was Rent-a-Soul is kidnapping senior citizens for their life force. The verse they live in is like what Florida is to the United States-- Worlds filled with retirement homes.

Because my books have made me a slave, I haven't had time to edit and submit short stories at all. I plan to finish Magic Solutions, Inc by the end of the year.

Five chapters to edit, Six (added) chapters to write. Despite the objections to my formatting, I'm sticking to TV season format with an episode count similar to the first run of Babylon 5, Buffy and Heroes.

Last update, No Strings Attached spawned itself a sequel despite my best efforts to keep it out of my head, the story just started to write itself anyhow. I find the story too fluffy and against my original intention for the story. Because of this, I'll let it write itself, but I definitely won't publish it. I have enough to worry about.

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posted by Rachel Udin | 6:34 PM | 0 Comments

Friday, March 6, 2009

Magic Solutions Inc. Update

I've been working on Magic Solutions Inc. I got to Chapter 7. This one is on Giant God Squirrels. After a class in Cultural Anthropology I figured out that I should use Totemism to explain the existence of the squirrels and the worship of them. So everyone on the planet thinks they are descended from these squirrels. I think it will make it fun. I am going to be careful, with the blessing of my characters to not step on any religions. Most religions don't think squirrels are that important anyhow.

This means that the planet has clans, most likely. So that mens most likely Matrilineal or Patrilineal rather than bilineal.

I knew taking cultural Anthro classes would pay off in my fiction writing!

Anyway, I need to crystallize how it's going to shape up, but this chapter is writing scattered unlike the previous chapters. It's a bit odd to have the book write differently each chapter, but I let it do whatever it likes.

No Strings Attached is mostly edited. I just need to rewrite the Ghost in the Graveyard chapter which is proving to be harder to write than I previously thought. How to make the reader conscious where the character is not in first person narration is difficult, but I'm working through it.

I also have to kick myself and submit more stories. I think that my witch story is going to have to be retired.

I wish there was better submission management software too... I'm starting to lose track of what I submitted where, but I can't find a good submission software anywhere.

posted by Rachel Udin | 11:58 AM | 1 Comments

Friday, December 26, 2008

I learned...

... that sending out submissions after November 25 to January 1 is like putting your submissions into a black hole. I remember why I didn't do it in previous years. This is the rumored black hole of the publishing industry... I never believed it before now.

... that the more you get rejections in a year, the more your writing improves.

... I hate rewriting, though for some reason I keep coming back to do it. Just takes 2 times longer than editing or writing the first draft.

... People don't really change, just our perceptions of them change as they become more like themselves.

... When I don't write for long periods of time, I start narrating other people's actions and then projecting them like they are part of my stories. (But I'm informed that's a writer sickness all writers have).

... When I'm stuck on a story, but not beholden to the loss of its internal glory, I tend to write other things like novels or poetry which help me get unstuck, even if I know they do suck.

And I did update the website and give it a nice little face lift.

posted by Rachel Udin | 11:42 PM | 0 Comments

Friday, August 8, 2008

I'll get those last three rejections!

Alright, it's August. I don't have an excuse anymore. I need those last three rejections. Collecting rejections isn't a bad thing.

I hear from people. Isn't collecting rejections a bad thing? Isn't it bad to talk about wanting rejections. but the thing is, the more I send the stories out, the more I expect a rejection, the harder I will work to get that much better. I'll work harder each and every time. Getting a rejection is a validation for me that I've been sending out my stories and doing the right thing. How is that bad?

Given that, I have three more rejections to fill my quota for the year. I have to say that as I get more rejections in a year my writing seems to be far better than anything I've written in the previous year. I can see a lot more differences. Maybe I should increase my quota of rejections.

I also found the more people who share in your passion of getting a rejection, the less daunting it is to send things out. The less fear you have and the easier it is to just get that manuscript out there.

I have a story up to par enough to get rejected three times by the end of the year. It's not a crappy story, but to hope that I can get the rejections I need to reach my quota make it appealing. I do wonder if I sound nuts though and this post is going to come back to haunt me later.

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posted by Rachel Udin | 5:30 PM | 0 Comments

Friday, March 21, 2008

New Section

I put up a Writing Samples section. I'm afraid though that it doesn't really represent the range of work I write. Mostly it's in the weird and fringe category for now. I'll think about it more and add as necessary.

posted by Rachel Udin | 7:07 PM | 1 Comments

Saturday, March 15, 2008

I celebrate rejections

I heard that if you aren't getting rejections, you aren't submitting. Maybe its guilt, but I've sent out three stories within two weeks. I've been working on two novels at the same time--polar opposites of each other. I may as well do something productive before my trip to Asia.

I really have an urge to podcast one, but I need to finish it first.

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posted by Rachel Udin | 9:36 AM | 0 Comments