I don't usually cover the specifics of my writing projects. Not out of any negative feelings. It's more that until I see something in publication, I like to keep it to myself. I'm a bit private, I guess.
But I thought I'd write a quick post to cover my projects in general. Currently, I'm working on a fantasy short story. It takes place in a very different setting than other stories I've had published. It's also the second story I've written around two new characters (who will not be mentioned in specifics for reasons stated above). The exciting thing is that I can imagine a lot with these two characters, beyond short stories. But I'm not sure how far their complete tale spans. I'm hoping that with each new story I'll start to see more of what their picture looks like. I would certainly like to write a novel around them, but that might not be enough. I'm very drawn by them and their overall struggle, along with this unique setting. It's all just so very different from other fantasy I've worked on.
But when I complete this short story, I want to work on a novel that's been brewing in my mind for months. I wrote a version of it years ago, but I wasn't skilled enough to make it work well. I didn't really like the plot I had come up with overall; it just didn't feel right to me. But now I've got ideas around it that I've been itching to try. Completely from scratch (that's how much it didn't feel right to me). And as much as I love my newest short story characters, I don't feel like I have enough thoughts around them to embark on their novel (or series of novels or whatever it might be). So I'm going to plow forward with what I do know.
My short story inventory currently sits at five stories. By inventory, I mean stories that I'm actively submitting to magazines for publication. Three are fantasy, and two are science fiction. They're all looking for good homes, and I hope they all find them. All but one were recently written, but the older one has undergone many edits since I first said, "Finished," years ago. In fact, it underwent another edit about two months ago. I think it's a strong story, but like so many tales I write, I think it will take just the right market to pick it up. I write the ideas that come to me; I don't force myself to plot stories around topics/characters/settings that I know would have a better chance of selling (if that makes sense).
I think I mentioned in the past that I did complete a novel sometime recently. I have no news around this, but yes, I'm still actively pursuing publication. Novels can take a very long time to move through this process, and I learned long ago not to sit on pins and needles throughout the journey. Hopefully this journey will end with a published book, but who knows?
So that's where I'm at from a high level. Working with words, crafting as well as I can, and hopefully increasing my skills as I go.
