1 July 2012: The Month in Review

Well, I gotta say that my hat is off to all the other working stiffs out there who actually pump out several stories (or chapters) a month while holding down a fulltime job. I just can’t do it. It’s with great pleasure that I contemplate the next two weeks of holidays in which I can hammer away at my writing goals including getting half a novel redrafted and a submission to AHWA’s Mentoring Program in on time.

But I digress. This is meant to be a post about the past, about the month of June and not July.

In June, I:

• ‘critiqued’ about 80,000 words of a friend’s novel and another 6000 of another’s short story, with particular attention to each of their Australian characters. (see Writing Australian Characters…Correctly.)
• Edited a mere chapter and a half of my current novel project (about 7000 words). Way under the three chapter goal I’d set myself.
• Largely felt sorry for myself that all my writing buddies were kicking goals and subbing stories by the boatload while I barely got anywhere with my novel…

But then when I look at my Sent Items and my diary, I note I also:

• earned enough money to keep my family in groceries
• helped a few kids remain stable at high school (my day job as a student support coach)
• submitted two short stories of my own, (plus another one today which was rejected in a record 3 hours!! — I’m still waiting on the other two)
• attended a fantastic sff convention in Melbourne where I met a few wonderful authors and fans in the field, and where I also…
• signed my first ever autograph (for one of the editors of ASIM), and
• was handed my ‘contributor copy’ of ASIM #56 with Kevin’s and my story “Illegal” – this is the first print magazine I’ve been published in and I can’t tell you how amazing it is to see your name on the cover (and inner pages) of a printed publication (unless of course you got there before I did, lol!). So…

I don’t say this to gloat or to beg for praise from you good folk. It just struck me that when you check facts (you know those things that are real and quantifiable?), you sometimes realise your impressions and emotions have been lying to you.

So. All in all, now I think about it, not too shabby a month!