Fortnightly update 24: 26.10.2020 to 8.11.2020
In this blog series, I share my fortnight-to-fortnight triumphs (and failures) as a writer. Despite all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Flash fiction and short stories
I’m currently submitting flash fiction and short stories to online magazines and such for publication. This fortnight, I submitted a couple more flash fiction pieces to various magazines and did a TONNE of research. I can’t stress how important it is to know your market. It should get me the leg-up I was missing until about a month ago. Some of the magazines and other publications I’ve been reading and keeping my eye on include:
Wow, I really I hope I can claim those subscriptions when it comes to tax time. If you’re interested in short fiction, I recommend all of these, but I particularly enjoy The Arcanist and Pseudopod because their podcasts are on Spotify. Score.
Frontier Media
So the reason I called this post “Rollercoaster” is because this fortnight has bloody been one, mostly because my role at Frontier Media has changed, a lot. But first, what is Frontier Media?
It’s a media production company specialising in YouTube, with its two largest channels being The Front (200k+ subs) and Geetsly’s (320k+ subs). I’ve written scripts for Geetsly’s in the past, but mostly I write scripts for The Front. I also help our with a range of other stuff, such as writing copy, writing business documentation, editing other writers’ scripts, managing social media, and more.
As of this fortnight, however, I’m stepping into a management role and becoming responsible for our brand new channel The Braved (which I’ll also be writing scripts for) and our relatively new music channel RelaxJack. Long story short, my workload has just about doubled, and I get to spearhead some exciting creative projects. I’ll be sharing more information about The Braved and RelaxJack in the following months, as I’d like to get some content on them before I do. We’re also rebranding our website, so I’ll share that with you soon as well — professional mugshots and everything.
As for The Front, five videos for which I wrote the scripts were uploaded this fortnight.
I write 280-character stories using various writing prompt hashtags on Twitter, and I also host #WeirdVSS. This fortnight, I wrote just three stories. Still gotta pick up my game!
#glue / #chocolate
He sniffed glue when he was eight and was hooked on being hooked. White powders came next. Then liquids golden-brown. A hit of crime, even. And, on special occasions, a dose of murder. But he never predicted the fix that ended him — goddamn chocolate.
#scrawl
Peter scrawled MAE on the doll’s back with a Sharpie, turned it over and pushed its black Labrador hair over its burlap ear. On the other side of the world, an invisible hand lifted the real Mae’s hair, and she screamed. Peter reclined with a sewing needle, smiled.
#worm
Eyes red, feathers sloughing, the magpie mother landed on the table and regurgitated a worm into my palm. I swallowed it and thought of all my long years confined to fat, fleshy feet and the ground. Then I flew out the neckhole of my shirt before it collapsed on me.
Conclusion
I hate ACTUAL rollercoasters (and the sun — who needs it, really?), but this ride is great. I feel like I’ve actually earned a break for once. I think I’m gonna go out and do some headbanging.
Thanks for reading <3