Jared Millet's Blog, page 10
September 29, 2011
Now I've Done It
As of today, I've taken over the job of NanoWrimo Municipal Liaison for Birmingham, Alabama. No time for cold feet now. May as well mention the NanoWrimo Boot Camp to be held by Southern Magic on October 22 at the Homewood Library. I'll be one of the speakers, and I expect that I'll go over how to use Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method of plot outlining, which I absolutely swear by.In other news, I finished and polished that psychological suspense story in twenty days - a new record for me. Now I'm just waiting for the rejection letter, and since I've never done non-SF before, I'm not sure where I'll send it next. I guess I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.
Right now, I've got three weeks or less to do another story, then on to getting ready for Part 2 of the nano-novel I started last year. Somewhere in all this, I need to revise yet another chapter of The Blood Prayer.
This would be so much easier if I could quit my day job. O Winning Lottery Ticket, where are you when I need you?
September 16, 2011
Story Call for Alabama Writers
So here I am, sticking my neck out. If you're an Alabama writer (or just a writer who happens to live in Alabama at the moment) head on over to Summer Gothic for an open story call. What I'm looking for are ghost stories - specifically, ones set in hot, sticky, wet, Southern summers. The call is open until December 15, 2011 and the story length range is 2,500-7,500 words.
Why am I doing this?
Shoot on over to the website for the full spiel, but the short version is that I've got to know many, many writers in the Birmingham area over the last few years, mostly through Write Club but also through several other organizations, and the question inevitably comes up: "Why don't we put together an anthology?" Since I'm more often than not the ringleader (or at least co-conspirator) at most of the writing meetings I go to, the question is usually directed at me. Write Club cannot do an anthology, however, since Write Club is a program of the Hoover Public Library, and the library isn't in the publishing business.
However, I says to myself, why couldn't I do it on my own? Not completely on my own, mind you: I've recruited a panel of willing participants to help me put this thing together, but for the moment they're remaining safely anonymous while I stick my literary unmentionables out in the wind.
In summary: If you're a writer, if you live in Alabama, and if you feel like you've got a ghost story in you, pop on over to Summer Gothic and see if you want to play along.
September 8, 2011
Challenge: Accepted
So here's the question I ask myself: How fast can I write a story, from idea to end of draft 1? My earlier attempt this year to get a story done in a timely manner failed miserably, partially because I tried to "wing it," part because I lacked real deadline pressure, but mostly because I'm a lazy bastard.
Today, a friend of mine pointed me to a story call for an anthology to raise funds for the Edgar Allen Poe museum in Baltimore. The deadline is only weeks away, so if I'm going to have a shot at this I've got mere days to get draft 1 on (electronic) paper. I've got most of an outline and 1,000 words already in the bank, but still no idea how the damn thing ends.
Here we go.
Today, a friend of mine pointed me to a story call for an anthology to raise funds for the Edgar Allen Poe museum in Baltimore. The deadline is only weeks away, so if I'm going to have a shot at this I've got mere days to get draft 1 on (electronic) paper. I've got most of an outline and 1,000 words already in the bank, but still no idea how the damn thing ends.
Here we go.
August 30, 2011
Dreams of Steam II: Brass and Bolts
It's officially for sale! Go out and get thee a copy. You can buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or at the Kerlak Publishing booth at Dragon*Con if you're lucky enough to be going this year.
P.S. I may have lost my mind.
For a while I've been toying with the idea of editing and publishing an anthology of stories by the many writers in the Birmingham area (and Alabama at large) that I've met over the last few years through my activities with NaNoWriMo, Write Club, Southern Magic, and the BPL Local Author Expo. Well, as of last night, those plans reached the no-turning-back stage. I'll be updating this blog with the official Story Call soon.
Stay posted.
Sudden Update
My story "The Unwinding House," which started life as a flash fiction piece performed at the Hoover Library a year and a half ago, will appear in an online issue of Kaleidotrope in 2012.
I'm so excited I can barely keep from using exclamation marks.
Oh, what the hell. Woohoo!!
P.S. I may have lost my mind.
For a while I've been toying with the idea of editing and publishing an anthology of stories by the many writers in the Birmingham area (and Alabama at large) that I've met over the last few years through my activities with NaNoWriMo, Write Club, Southern Magic, and the BPL Local Author Expo. Well, as of last night, those plans reached the no-turning-back stage. I'll be updating this blog with the official Story Call soon.
Stay posted.
Sudden Update
My story "The Unwinding House," which started life as a flash fiction piece performed at the Hoover Library a year and a half ago, will appear in an online issue of Kaleidotrope in 2012.
I'm so excited I can barely keep from using exclamation marks.
Oh, what the hell. Woohoo!!
August 22, 2011
Dreams of Steam II: Cover and Contents!
It looks like Kerlak is about to unleash its next steampunk anthology, Brass and Bolts , into the wild. Apparently the original Dreams of Steam was so successful that this one's coming out in hardback, trade paper, and ebook formats, available for ordering soon!
Once again, the host of this party is the esteemed Kimberly Richardson. My own contribution is a semi-sequel to last year's "Dead Man's Hand." That piece was essentially a haunted house story (with robots), but "Jumping the Rails" is more of a straight out adventure in the turn-of-the-century West.
Here's hoping that this collection is even more fun than the last one!
Contents:
Of Heroes and Airships - Victor Lorthos
Death With A Glint Of Bronze - Sean Taylor
For The Fear Of Steam - Missa Dixon
Dreams Of Freedom - Len Berry
The Real Magic - H. David Blalock
The Third Eye - Alexander S. Brown
In Tesla's Court - Robert Cerio
Commander Tesla Versus The Holy Roman Empire - Phillip R. Cox
Protege - Dwayne DeBardelaben
The Perfect Woman - Kara Ferguson
The Tale Of Lady Helvetica - Christopher Friesen
The Locked Door - Allan Gilbreath
Great Minds - Jeff Ollen Harris
Grass Elephant - M. Keaton
Cicada Summer - Jon Klement
The Big Golden Apple - Cindy MacLeod
The Automated Man - Alli Martin
Jumping The Rails - Jared Millet
Chilled Meat - J. L. Mulvihill
Steam Race - Herika R. Raymer
Winnet's Octavian - Laura H. Smith
The Devil's Children - Angelia Sparrow and Joy Coop
The Boys In The Boiler Room - David Tabb
Bedeviled - Nick Valentino
The Island Sojourn - Stephen Zimmer
July 1, 2011
Another Year, Another Sale
Doing a happy dance, since my story "Jumping the Rails" has been accepted for the anthology Dreams of Steam II: Of Brass and Bolts. The story is a follow-up to "Dead Man's Hand" but with new characters, so it's not exactly a sequel. As soon as I know more about the anthology, so will you. Congrats to everyone else who made it into the collection!
Status of Other Stories: My time travel story and my stupid, stupid cat story are currently floating out there in the wild; I eagerly await rejections. My kayaking story is still festering in its first draft compost heap - maybe I'll polish it off this month and fire it into the submission gauntlet. I'm finally back into The Blood Prayer - draft 10, I think - and it's going slowly, but well.
That's all for now. Have fun blowing shit up on the 4th!
Status of Other Stories: My time travel story and my stupid, stupid cat story are currently floating out there in the wild; I eagerly await rejections. My kayaking story is still festering in its first draft compost heap - maybe I'll polish it off this month and fire it into the submission gauntlet. I'm finally back into The Blood Prayer - draft 10, I think - and it's going slowly, but well.
That's all for now. Have fun blowing shit up on the 4th!
April 22, 2011
Finito!
Ooookay. If you remember, a couple months ago I posted here that I was going to start writing a new short story, and that I would finish the damn thing. I think I said something like "1,000 words per day, death before dishonor." Well, the title of the story is "River's End" and it's finally done. So how'd I do?
Feb 24 - Apr 22 = 58 days
Final word count: 6,675
Words per day: 115
Yeah. Not so much.
In my defense, I attempted a different writing style than I'm used to. In the past, I've always been an outliner, and this time I decided just to wing it. That didn't work out so well, and I ended up abandoning the story for a better part of a month and a half. Then, finally, when I was printing an excerpt to share with my writers' group, inspiration struck and I knew how to make it work.
It's kind of like when you look at a piece of art and can't tell what it is, then you turn your head sideways and suddenly see how it goes together? That's kind of what writing this story was like. Still, I'm happy with the end product. I'll set it aside for a couple of days, then polish it up and set it loose in the wild.
What's next? Well, Kerlak has a story call for Dreams of Steam II, for which submissions are due May 31. I have an earlier deadline than that, though, because I swore to another writing group I'm involved with that on May 5 I would present them with either a finished first draft or my own severed head.
That gives me just under two weeks. Better get cracking.
Feb 24 - Apr 22 = 58 days
Final word count: 6,675
Words per day: 115
Yeah. Not so much.
In my defense, I attempted a different writing style than I'm used to. In the past, I've always been an outliner, and this time I decided just to wing it. That didn't work out so well, and I ended up abandoning the story for a better part of a month and a half. Then, finally, when I was printing an excerpt to share with my writers' group, inspiration struck and I knew how to make it work.
It's kind of like when you look at a piece of art and can't tell what it is, then you turn your head sideways and suddenly see how it goes together? That's kind of what writing this story was like. Still, I'm happy with the end product. I'll set it aside for a couple of days, then polish it up and set it loose in the wild.
What's next? Well, Kerlak has a story call for Dreams of Steam II, for which submissions are due May 31. I have an earlier deadline than that, though, because I swore to another writing group I'm involved with that on May 5 I would present them with either a finished first draft or my own severed head.
That gives me just under two weeks. Better get cracking.
April 6, 2011
Flash Fiction Night - The Movie!
Flash Fiction - Open Mike Night 2011 from Hoover Library on Vimeo.
Featured Stories
"The Fourth" by Anne Breen
"The Button" by Sean DeArmond
"Freedom" by Phil Fishman
"The Road" by Emily Cutler
"Aiko, My Little Loved One" by Lisa Dolensky
"Bad Timing" by Denise Dupree
Poems: "Kay-as" & "Magus" by Carly Koenig
"The Tree of Many Leaves" by Larry Hensley
"Momma Said" by Carol Jolley
"Clara's Tail" by David Oser
"Fire" by Jared Millet
"Imaginary Stepmother" by Mary Rees
A few observations: The program went very well this year. (Last year it ran a little long.) All the presenters did a wonderful job.
We actually had two mikes on stage - one for the readers and one for the MCs. The MC mike doesn't show up in the shot, which is why it appears on video as if each author is being introduced by a disembodied voice.
I wish the mike had been able to pick up more of the audience noise. There were laughs and chuckles throughout (at appropriate moments, of course) that don't quite come across in the video. Also, I had no idea that the stage lighting would turn my green shirt brown. Next year I'll stick with red.
While I don't expect anyone who doesn't already know me to stumble across this video, in case that happens: That little grimace/choke/cough thing I do occasionally? Tourette Syndrome. Trust me, it used to be a lot worse.
March 23, 2011
Fire
by Jared Millet
Quickly, everyone, come inside. Someone bar the door behind us. This old city may be empty of people, but I think I saw a wolf scouting us out a few blocks back. Where there's one, there's bound to be more.
Sweet Judas on a stick, but it's cold in here. Still, it looks safe to build a fire. That marble floor won't catch, and if we break that upper window it will act as a chimney. Let's just hope some of the furniture is wood and not plastic.
But wait. Oh my god, look where we are. Forget the furniture, kids, we just hit the jackpot. Just look at all those shelves. All those dusty volumes. Row after row after row. I tell you what, we're not going to freeze tonight.
Did you know that paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit? Says so in this book right here. Who's got the matches? We should only need one. Run it across the pages. Get the kindling going, then bring some more, quick. Places like this used to hand these out for free, you know.
Start with the skinny ones with all those bright pictures. Fan them open on the pile. If you're quick, you can read them while the pages start to curl. Hey look, it's a banquet. Green eggs and ham. Piles of roast beast. Who's got the cat food? Open a can. Hey, let's celebrate. Go ahead and open two.
What's next? Ah, textbooks. May as well, no one ever read them anyway. You might think the world wouldn't have gone downhill if people had, but who are we kidding? People are people. All the history in the world couldn't change that, much less the algebra. What's that... trigonometry? Oh please, burn it all.
Now this one's funny. The Perfect Resume for Dummies. Just imagine: somebody somewhere was the last person ever to read this. What was he thinking? I guess people still had dreams, right up to the end. I wonder if he picked the "work-based resume" or the curriculum vitae. Whatever. They both burn just as well.
Now we get to the good stuff. What'll it be, kids? Thrillers or romance? Adventures or mysteries? Comical pastoral or pastoral historical? Sorry. Shakespeare joke. We'll get to him later, just you wait. Oh, I know. Bring me the science fiction. You know, those books with the bright shiny futures on the cover. Burn the whole lot before it makes me sick. The fantasy too, why not. After all, there's no wizard going to sweep down on a broom and save us, is there? May as well do us some good.
That reminds me. As long as we're on the subject, there's another fantasy department somewhere over in nonfiction. See if you can find it. Some of the books will have people with wings on the cover. They called those guardian angels, if you can believe it. I wonder if one of them will protect us the next time a storm hits, or a bear steals all our food. Throw them on the fire; maybe that will wake them up.
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I'm getting cranky in my old age. We should stay positive if we're going to keep strong and make it all the way south to where it's warm. But I'm saying, you don't know. You were too young. You don't remember the stupidity of it all. No one cared what was going wrong in the world, not even the ones who said they did. Everything was always someone else's problem. And you know what? I'm just as much to blame as anyone else.
Where were we? What's next? Home Repair and Improvement. Yeah, may as well. That won't be useful where we're going, not unless you think we'll find construction equipment and power tools that work. Once we settle down, we'll have to invent the wheel all over again. If you find a book on that, you can save it. Just make sure it has lots of pictures.
It's finally getting warm in here. That's good. There's a lot of night left to go. What else have you got for me? Travelogues. Distant shores and foreign lands. 50 Best Diners on Route 66. Torch 'em. Antiques and Collectibles? Definitive Price Guide to Depression Era Glass. Light her up.
Politics. Oh, please, bring me politics. Anything with a picture of some screaming guy on the cover, those should burn the best. The writers should all be in Hell now; maybe the books will burn hotter. Sports almanacs? Burn 'em. Biographies? Burn. Poetry? Science? History? Burn.
Oh, here they are. The Philosophers. The Thinkers. The greatest minds in history, the ones who taught us how to be human. The ones who showed us how to live with purpose, with responsibility. How to not let the whole human race slide into ruin. Fat lot of good they did. Bring 'em on.
Plato. Socrates. Nietzche. Decartes.
Franklin. Jefferson. Einstein. Nobel.
Clemens. Faulkner . Dante. Angelou.
Homer. Aquinas. Luther. King.
That's enough. Keep it stoked and that blaze will go on until morning. We'll be out in the wild again soon, and we've a long, cold trek ahead of us. Let's take our rest while we can. If it doesn't attract any wolves, we'll remain as long as the fuel lasts. With luck, there'll be a break in the weather. But for a while, we can stay here, in the warm, cozy light of history.
Until the last
of the fire
goes out.
This story is copyright 2011 Jared Millet.
It was performed on March 22, 2011, at the Hoover Public Library Flash Fiction Night, sponsored by the Hoover Library Write Club.
See also: Witch's Cross, Flash Fiction Night 2010.
Quickly, everyone, come inside. Someone bar the door behind us. This old city may be empty of people, but I think I saw a wolf scouting us out a few blocks back. Where there's one, there's bound to be more.
Sweet Judas on a stick, but it's cold in here. Still, it looks safe to build a fire. That marble floor won't catch, and if we break that upper window it will act as a chimney. Let's just hope some of the furniture is wood and not plastic.
But wait. Oh my god, look where we are. Forget the furniture, kids, we just hit the jackpot. Just look at all those shelves. All those dusty volumes. Row after row after row. I tell you what, we're not going to freeze tonight.
Did you know that paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit? Says so in this book right here. Who's got the matches? We should only need one. Run it across the pages. Get the kindling going, then bring some more, quick. Places like this used to hand these out for free, you know.
Start with the skinny ones with all those bright pictures. Fan them open on the pile. If you're quick, you can read them while the pages start to curl. Hey look, it's a banquet. Green eggs and ham. Piles of roast beast. Who's got the cat food? Open a can. Hey, let's celebrate. Go ahead and open two.
What's next? Ah, textbooks. May as well, no one ever read them anyway. You might think the world wouldn't have gone downhill if people had, but who are we kidding? People are people. All the history in the world couldn't change that, much less the algebra. What's that... trigonometry? Oh please, burn it all.
Now this one's funny. The Perfect Resume for Dummies. Just imagine: somebody somewhere was the last person ever to read this. What was he thinking? I guess people still had dreams, right up to the end. I wonder if he picked the "work-based resume" or the curriculum vitae. Whatever. They both burn just as well.
Now we get to the good stuff. What'll it be, kids? Thrillers or romance? Adventures or mysteries? Comical pastoral or pastoral historical? Sorry. Shakespeare joke. We'll get to him later, just you wait. Oh, I know. Bring me the science fiction. You know, those books with the bright shiny futures on the cover. Burn the whole lot before it makes me sick. The fantasy too, why not. After all, there's no wizard going to sweep down on a broom and save us, is there? May as well do us some good.
That reminds me. As long as we're on the subject, there's another fantasy department somewhere over in nonfiction. See if you can find it. Some of the books will have people with wings on the cover. They called those guardian angels, if you can believe it. I wonder if one of them will protect us the next time a storm hits, or a bear steals all our food. Throw them on the fire; maybe that will wake them up.
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I'm getting cranky in my old age. We should stay positive if we're going to keep strong and make it all the way south to where it's warm. But I'm saying, you don't know. You were too young. You don't remember the stupidity of it all. No one cared what was going wrong in the world, not even the ones who said they did. Everything was always someone else's problem. And you know what? I'm just as much to blame as anyone else.
Where were we? What's next? Home Repair and Improvement. Yeah, may as well. That won't be useful where we're going, not unless you think we'll find construction equipment and power tools that work. Once we settle down, we'll have to invent the wheel all over again. If you find a book on that, you can save it. Just make sure it has lots of pictures.
It's finally getting warm in here. That's good. There's a lot of night left to go. What else have you got for me? Travelogues. Distant shores and foreign lands. 50 Best Diners on Route 66. Torch 'em. Antiques and Collectibles? Definitive Price Guide to Depression Era Glass. Light her up.
Politics. Oh, please, bring me politics. Anything with a picture of some screaming guy on the cover, those should burn the best. The writers should all be in Hell now; maybe the books will burn hotter. Sports almanacs? Burn 'em. Biographies? Burn. Poetry? Science? History? Burn.
Oh, here they are. The Philosophers. The Thinkers. The greatest minds in history, the ones who taught us how to be human. The ones who showed us how to live with purpose, with responsibility. How to not let the whole human race slide into ruin. Fat lot of good they did. Bring 'em on.
Plato. Socrates. Nietzche. Decartes.
Franklin. Jefferson. Einstein. Nobel.
Clemens. Faulkner . Dante. Angelou.
Homer. Aquinas. Luther. King.
That's enough. Keep it stoked and that blaze will go on until morning. We'll be out in the wild again soon, and we've a long, cold trek ahead of us. Let's take our rest while we can. If it doesn't attract any wolves, we'll remain as long as the fuel lasts. With luck, there'll be a break in the weather. But for a while, we can stay here, in the warm, cozy light of history.
Until the last
of the fire
goes out.
This story is copyright 2011 Jared Millet.
It was performed on March 22, 2011, at the Hoover Public Library Flash Fiction Night, sponsored by the Hoover Library Write Club.
See also: Witch's Cross, Flash Fiction Night 2010.
March 17, 2011
Flash Fiction Night 2.0, and a Review
It's that time again - time for my writing group, the Hoover Library Write Club, to put on another Flash Fiction Night at the Library Theatre. We've got about a dozen writers presenting this year, and it's always great to get your material out there in front of a living, breathing audience.Last year I read two stories: a time-travel piece that I'm currently shopping around in a much longer version, and "Witch's Cross," which I posted online here. This year I'll be presenting a story called "Fire," which is either the most pessimistic or the most pretentious thing I've ever written. Probably both.
If you're anywhere near the greater Birmingham area, please drop by the Hoover Public Library (200 Municipal Drive, Hoover AL 35216) on Tuesday, March 22, at 7:00 p.m. You won't be disappointed, or your money back.
Also, it's free.
This just in: a fair but positive review of Dreams of Steam over at Steampunk Chronicle.
Says the Professor:
"Kimberly Richardson, award winning author of Tales from a Goth Librarian, ... treats us to a diverse yet thorough collection of tales full of adventure, romance, mystery and invention all drenched in the savory flavor of steampunk.
"Some of the stories seem a bit unpolished. Nevertheless, the overall impression is favorable and even the novice writers show promise. Several of the tales are simply gems and you quickly find yourself turning pages as you devour the story. All in all, this anthology runs the full gamut of steampunk and is both a great introduction and summary of what the genre has to offer in a literary context."
Read the whole review on their site. I'll be honest: it makes me feel a little bubbly inside that my own "Dead Man's Hand" is the first story he singles out by name.
"So, Jared," you may ask, "how's that whole 'I'm going to wing a brand new short story, 1000 words per day, and damn the torpedos' thing going for you?"
*sigh*
It's coming. That word count goal didn't seem that ambitious, but apparently the 'wing it' approach doesn't work so well for me. I finished Act One of the story only to realize that it's really Act Three, and now I have to go back to the beginning and put a lot more stuff in so that The End is actually The End.
After that, I'll be tooling up a submission for Dreams of Steam II and getting back to work on The Blood Prayer.
Carry on!
