(no subject)
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I really could be published. I look around and often I try to look for reasons why I couldn't be, but there will always be more of those if I go looking for them. I need to stop looking for them, because by trying to find them I make them exist for me.
So I'm going to make a list here of all of the short stories that I've started, finished, or even just thought about and catalog my progress with them. I'm going to try to update the list and post it at least once a month, to remind myself what I've done and what I have yet to do. Posting it in a public forum makes it even more likely that I'll take action on it.
The Arena
Summary: In a future world, wars have become so destructive that nations have agreed to decide all military disputes through combat in a giant arena, complete with set rules and regulations to govern the battle.
Status: Incomplete/On Hiatus
Words written: 597
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: science fiction magazines (I don't know any specific ones)
Comments: This probably won't get tackled unless I get a major brainwave. I've had this sitting around for years and it's going nowhere...I just sat down and wrote the beginning and then stopped.
Cold War, Cold World
Summary: A discovery of militarily valuable material in Antarctica results in several scientists being held hostage. A crack military inteligence team is developed in order to retrieve the hostages, using the newfound material to aid them.
Status: Complete but in need of editing
Words written: 4,895
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: any science fiction magazines...I'd like to try Analog and Asimov's but I don't know how likely it is that I'd get it published there because I don't think its the kind of sf they're looking for.
Comments: written for Julie E. Czerneda's Polaris anthology...I don't like it all that much, and I'll probably only do surface-level editing -- I'm not about to mess with the plot, even though it could probably benefit from that
The Damsel and the Dictator
Summary: When a PR stunt gone wrong gives a dictator a bad name, he must apologize to the woman he wronged.
Status: In progress
Words written: 3,086
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: no idea...it's humorous fiction, but it's not fantasy or sci-fi
Comments: I started it as a joke but I really like the idea. I'll probably continue it even if only to say that I finished it.
The Dragon's Tale
Summary: An old dragon looks back on his life and the knights and ladies that have stood out as being somehow different from the others.
Status: Complete but might require editing
Words written: 2,450
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: fantasy magazines
Comments: It's short and I find it interesting, but it's also rather ordinary, I'm afraid. If I could somehow make it different, it might be worth getting published.
Fire and Ice
Summary: (This is really hard to summarize.) A young woman in an isolated Arctic society must come to terms with the settlement's religious authority and decide for herself if she feels that the exile of her older brother for his disbelief was justified.
Status: Complete and ready to send off
Words written: 8,059
Words planned: a lot (I might extend it into a novel)
Potential markets: This is where I run into a problem. It's not sci-fi or fantasy in the conventional sense -- if anything it's plain old fiction, or possibly dystopia. I'll try to sell it to the usual suspects, but I'm afraid no one will want it.
Comments: I love this story. It is absolutely amazing. And I've put so much time and effort into it that it had better go places.
The Free Way
Summary: Steph just wanted to be free of her PE class, but when her wish is granted, she gets more than she bargained for.
Status: Complete, possibly in need of editing but not much
Words written: 9,306
Words planned: 502/NA
Potential markets: anything that'll accept fantasy or magical realism
Comments: I really like this and I think I have a good chance of someone wanting this. After I finish fixing up "Fire and Ice," this is next on my list.
The Key
Summary: When Chris's grandfather dies and leaves his grandson with a mysterious key, Chris searches his old family home for the answer to what it unlocks.
Status: Incomplete/On Hiatus
Words written: 2,224
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: I have no idea. I don't even know what the key opens yet.
Comments: I don't think I'm ever going to complete this. But I put it on this list on the off chance that I do.
Paradisio
Summary: When an old love attempts to reenter her life, a dissillusioned bartender thinks back on the choices she's made and whether or not she likes the person she has become since he left her.
Status: Complete, but in need of editing
Words written: 2,482
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: no idea...it's very different from what I usually write
Comments: I like this story, but I have no idea where it belongs. I list it because I like the idea of it more than I know it's worth.
Potential Energy
Summary: In an ancient Alexandria stewing in intolerance, a librarian works to teach a young man to control his powers over electricity before he is discovered and killed for his differences.
Status: Complete but in need of editing...though unlikely to be edited any time soon because looking at it still makes me nauseous.
Words written: 4,982
Words planned: Too many to count
Potential markets: fantasy magazines
Comments: written for Julie E. Czerneda's anthology entitled Ages of Wonder; made the top five but didn't get published
Purgatorio
Summary: A college student studying abroad deals with the repercussions this has had on his relationship with a girl back home.
Status: Complete, probably needs editing
Words written: 2,142
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: No idea
Comments: a quasi companion piece to "Paradisio" that makes sense only in my head. Probably not all that publishable.
Staring Into Space
Summary: A young girl who makes first contact with an alien race learns that they have much more in common than she initially expected -- including the literature of science fiction.
Status: Complete, but probably in need of some severe revision
Words written: 4,966
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: sci-fi magazines...hopefully Asimov's and Analog, but it's not very hard sf so it might not be welcomed there
Comments: I really like it but I need to work on it so it's not cliche. It's basically the first short story I ever wrote.
Untitled Dragon Story
Summary: A dragon with little to live for befriends a young girl when her home is destroyed and her parents are killed in a fire the dragon caused.
Status: In Progress
Words written: 2,127
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: Fantasy mags
Comments: I just realized as I was writing the summary that it would be so much more poignant if the dragon was the cause of the fire. Up until two seconds ago, that wasn't a part of the plot at all.
So I'm going to make a list here of all of the short stories that I've started, finished, or even just thought about and catalog my progress with them. I'm going to try to update the list and post it at least once a month, to remind myself what I've done and what I have yet to do. Posting it in a public forum makes it even more likely that I'll take action on it.
The Arena
Summary: In a future world, wars have become so destructive that nations have agreed to decide all military disputes through combat in a giant arena, complete with set rules and regulations to govern the battle.
Status: Incomplete/On Hiatus
Words written: 597
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: science fiction magazines (I don't know any specific ones)
Comments: This probably won't get tackled unless I get a major brainwave. I've had this sitting around for years and it's going nowhere...I just sat down and wrote the beginning and then stopped.
Cold War, Cold World
Summary: A discovery of militarily valuable material in Antarctica results in several scientists being held hostage. A crack military inteligence team is developed in order to retrieve the hostages, using the newfound material to aid them.
Status: Complete but in need of editing
Words written: 4,895
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: any science fiction magazines...I'd like to try Analog and Asimov's but I don't know how likely it is that I'd get it published there because I don't think its the kind of sf they're looking for.
Comments: written for Julie E. Czerneda's Polaris anthology...I don't like it all that much, and I'll probably only do surface-level editing -- I'm not about to mess with the plot, even though it could probably benefit from that
The Damsel and the Dictator
Summary: When a PR stunt gone wrong gives a dictator a bad name, he must apologize to the woman he wronged.
Status: In progress
Words written: 3,086
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: no idea...it's humorous fiction, but it's not fantasy or sci-fi
Comments: I started it as a joke but I really like the idea. I'll probably continue it even if only to say that I finished it.
The Dragon's Tale
Summary: An old dragon looks back on his life and the knights and ladies that have stood out as being somehow different from the others.
Status: Complete but might require editing
Words written: 2,450
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: fantasy magazines
Comments: It's short and I find it interesting, but it's also rather ordinary, I'm afraid. If I could somehow make it different, it might be worth getting published.
Fire and Ice
Summary: (This is really hard to summarize.) A young woman in an isolated Arctic society must come to terms with the settlement's religious authority and decide for herself if she feels that the exile of her older brother for his disbelief was justified.
Status: Complete and ready to send off
Words written: 8,059
Words planned: a lot (I might extend it into a novel)
Potential markets: This is where I run into a problem. It's not sci-fi or fantasy in the conventional sense -- if anything it's plain old fiction, or possibly dystopia. I'll try to sell it to the usual suspects, but I'm afraid no one will want it.
Comments: I love this story. It is absolutely amazing. And I've put so much time and effort into it that it had better go places.
The Free Way
Summary: Steph just wanted to be free of her PE class, but when her wish is granted, she gets more than she bargained for.
Status: Complete, possibly in need of editing but not much
Words written: 9,306
Words planned: 502/NA
Potential markets: anything that'll accept fantasy or magical realism
Comments: I really like this and I think I have a good chance of someone wanting this. After I finish fixing up "Fire and Ice," this is next on my list.
The Key
Summary: When Chris's grandfather dies and leaves his grandson with a mysterious key, Chris searches his old family home for the answer to what it unlocks.
Status: Incomplete/On Hiatus
Words written: 2,224
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: I have no idea. I don't even know what the key opens yet.
Comments: I don't think I'm ever going to complete this. But I put it on this list on the off chance that I do.
Paradisio
Summary: When an old love attempts to reenter her life, a dissillusioned bartender thinks back on the choices she's made and whether or not she likes the person she has become since he left her.
Status: Complete, but in need of editing
Words written: 2,482
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: no idea...it's very different from what I usually write
Comments: I like this story, but I have no idea where it belongs. I list it because I like the idea of it more than I know it's worth.
Potential Energy
Summary: In an ancient Alexandria stewing in intolerance, a librarian works to teach a young man to control his powers over electricity before he is discovered and killed for his differences.
Status: Complete but in need of editing...though unlikely to be edited any time soon because looking at it still makes me nauseous.
Words written: 4,982
Words planned: Too many to count
Potential markets: fantasy magazines
Comments: written for Julie E. Czerneda's anthology entitled Ages of Wonder; made the top five but didn't get published
Purgatorio
Summary: A college student studying abroad deals with the repercussions this has had on his relationship with a girl back home.
Status: Complete, probably needs editing
Words written: 2,142
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: No idea
Comments: a quasi companion piece to "Paradisio" that makes sense only in my head. Probably not all that publishable.
Staring Into Space
Summary: A young girl who makes first contact with an alien race learns that they have much more in common than she initially expected -- including the literature of science fiction.
Status: Complete, but probably in need of some severe revision
Words written: 4,966
Words planned: 0/NA
Potential markets: sci-fi magazines...hopefully Asimov's and Analog, but it's not very hard sf so it might not be welcomed there
Comments: I really like it but I need to work on it so it's not cliche. It's basically the first short story I ever wrote.
Untitled Dragon Story
Summary: A dragon with little to live for befriends a young girl when her home is destroyed and her parents are killed in a fire the dragon caused.
Status: In Progress
Words written: 2,127
Words planned: 0
Potential markets: Fantasy mags
Comments: I just realized as I was writing the summary that it would be so much more poignant if the dragon was the cause of the fire. Up until two seconds ago, that wasn't a part of the plot at all.