Fortnightly update 38: 10.05.2021 to 23.05.2021
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.
Short fiction
I’m currently submitting short fiction, mostly flash fiction and short stories, to online magazines and such for publication. This fortnight was a struggle, if I’m being honest. I started and then abandoned like five stories in the first week alone. In the second, I forced myself to take a break. I needed to recharge my creative energy, and thankfully was able to. Here are my stats nonetheless, with the additional stat of “submissions pending”:
Submissions: 1
Pending: 7
Rejections: 1
Acceptances: 0
My short story “Crocodile” went live with Frost Zone Zine, too. You can read it online right here.
Frontier Media
I write scripts for Frontier Media, a media production company specialising in YouTube. Our two largest channels are The Front and Geetsly’s, and while I’ve written a little for Geetsly’s in the past, I mostly write for The Front and our new, smaller channel The Braved. As of this post, I’m gonna start sharing my Frontier Media stats; i.e. how many published videos I’ve worked on. Five videos for which I wrote the scripts were published this fortnight; here are my total stats:
Videos for The Front: 87
Videos for The Braved: 17
I write 280-character stories and poems using various writing prompt hashtags on Twitter. Despite having a difficult fortnight with my short fiction game, I’m proud to say that I’m back on that bird app with seven tiny stories this fortnight.
#jailbird
He was a jailbird by choice. When the moon was full and the tides were high, he would have gutted his own mother if she got between him and the sea. Now he had iron and concrete to contend with, and a cell with no window. It was safer this way. But the urge still burned.
#bark
I stroke the pale bark. Goosebumps spread up and down the trunk, mirroring my own skin. I pluck a leaf, and it winces. I press myself against it. It’s as warm as a woman on a rug by a fireplace. I start to thrust. A month latter, it bears a fruit, with my face on it.
#superpower
One superpower pressed the button, and then the world cascaded into nuclear holocaust. Watching from their spaceship in orbit, Gwzop sighed. Then he dropped ten galactic credits into Katzar’s waiting palm. Katzar smirked.
“Another ten on Europa?”
“Let’s make it five.”
#poleaxe
His guards and their poleaxes used to stand on the outside of his door, not in. Now, the greatest threat to his kingdom is he – as much a prisoner of his chamber as his mind. He tries to overrule it, though among all that he’s forgotten is that he gave the order himself.
#conversation
I’m so glad I gathered the guts to eavesdrop on Agnus and Hecate’s conversation and found out that they intended to sacrifice me, ME, to the Blood Queen when the party was over. I was about to leave! Speaking of guts, actually, they’re bringing the knife over now. Yay!
#idol
I have a clear memory of Gran praying to her idol, a beetle in a resin cube. They were going to bury her with it, but I took it. Now it chitters to me, begging me to rebury her with it inside. Having fulfilled its end of the deal, it wants only what it’s owed. A feast.
#average
His legs were longer than average, and could bend the other way. He never showed anyone this, nor the spinneret on his back. That all changed after the waitress had folded over frontways to pick up his wallet. “You’re not alone,” she’d said, and placed it in his hand.
Conclusion
This fortnight was a slog, but there was totally some silver lining. For one, the Twitter stuff. But more than that, I gave three larger projects some serious thought. One is editing my grandad’s autobiography; that’s straightforward enough. The other two are still in the conceptual phase though, so I don’t want to spill all my beans just yet. One may end up being a longer prose piece. One will have something to do with audio. But that’s enough beans for you for now, friend. Lastly, I’m still playing Monster of the Week and effing loving it. It was one of the things that helped me recharge my creative juices this fortnight.
Thanks for reading <3