Aeryn Rudel's Blog, page 19

A Week of Writing: 6/21/21 to 6/27/21

Last week of June, folks. Let’s see how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from novelist Barbara Kingsolver.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”

~ Barbara Kingsolver

I think as authors we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what people want. Be it editors or agents or readers, it’s almost impossible not to ...

Acceptance Rates: A 10-Year Review

It’s been awhile since I did an acceptance rate post (2019 my post history tells me), and now that Duotrope has some additional accounting tools, I can figure those numbers more accurately than ever. (All you have to do is hit a button, and Duotrope gives you all the numbers). So let’s take a look at my acceptance rates over the last ten years and see what it tells us about where I’ve been and maybe where I’m going.

I started tracking my submissions religiously out at Duotrope in 2012. I did hav...

A Week of Writing: 6/14/21 to 6/20/21

Three weeks of June gone by. Here’s how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from Anthony Trollope.

A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.

– Anthony Trollope

I like this quote because, well, it’s how I write. Now this is not to say it’s the only way to write or the best way, but I think what Anthony Trollope is getting at here is that if you can commit to 1,000 words a day or even 500 on your novel or story or whatever, it quickly ad...

One-Hour Flash: My Hero

Been a while since I’ve done one of these, but this is another story I wrote in an hour based on a visual prompt. Many of these prompted one-hour stories go on to publication, and others, like this one, well, don’t. So instead of letting the piece collect dust on my hard drive, I’m gonna inflict, er, I mean share it with all of you. That said, this one is a bit different than the others. More on that after the story.

Here’s “My Hero”

My Hero

Azazel shook the file folder at Baal and pounded his ...

A Week of Writing: 6/7/21 to 6/13/21

Another week walks into the sunset. Here’s how I did.

Words to Write By

This week’s quote comes from Louise Brown.

I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.

–Louise Brown

Ain’t that the truth? I am currently sitting on 463 rejections. Some ballpark math tells me the word count of my average rejection is about 100 words. So I might not have the novel that Louise Brown has (yet), but I’ve got a longish novella of rejections. All joking aside, I ...

100 Submissions Per Year: Why I Do It

I’m a goal-oriented person, and I like to set fairly difficult goals for myself. One of those goals is 100 short story submissions per year, which I’ve been aiming at it for the last five years straight. Let me tell you a little about why I set this challenge for myself and its benefits and potential drawbacks. Like any goal, this one is not one-size-fits-all, but it works for me, and maybe it’ll works for you too.

First, the numbers. You’ll need to send roughly 8 submissions per month to hit 1...

A Week of Writing: 5/31/21 to 6/6/21

First week of June has come and gone. Here’s how I did.

Words to Write By

This week it’s another nugget of wisdom from Stephen King.

“Give me just enough information so that I can lie convincingly.”

― Stephen King

I’m currently writing a novella (more on that below) where I am incredibly familiar with the subject matter. In this case, it’s Major League Baseball. The problem with writing a subject you know well is there’s always the danger that you give too much information for the causal reader ...

Submission Statement: May 2021

And May is in the books. Here’s how I did.

May 2021 Report CardSubmissions Sent: 10Rejections: 10Acceptances: 1Publications: 1Further Consideration: 0

Ten submissions is a good month, and May’s numbers give me 43 for the year. That breaks down to 8.6 submissions per month and puts me on pace for 100 (but just barely). I’d like to get 11 submissions in May, which would average out to 9 subs per month. It’s only one more, so it seems doable. Ten rejections is not fun, especially since half ...

Multiple Rejections in a Single Day?! Why & What To Do

Well, here’s a topic I haven’t discussed in over five years, which is weird because I certainly have had occasion to discuss it many times. Recently, in fact. I’m talking about the multi-rejection day. That moment when the stars align and the rejections rain down from the heavens to crush your meager writing dreams to flaming wreckage. I’m being dramatic of course, but getting two, three, or even more rejections on the same day can be pretty damn disheartening. So let’s talk about why it happens...

Night Walk Wednesday: The Rarest Cut

Welcome to Night Walk Wednesday, where I talk about the submission journey of a story from my flash fiction anthology Night Walk & Other Dark Paths. This week’s tale is “The Rarest Cut.”

How it Started

This is yet another one-hour flash fiction success story, and the “Rarest Cut” is one of my earlier attempts in the one-hour blitz that has defined my flash fiction career. Word tells me this story was originally written in 2013, but I think it might be a tad older. The prompt is now lost to time,...