Sometimes I see a submissions call for works on a theme and I think, I have something like that somewhere. And I scroll through my archives and dust off something old and revise it a little bit before sending it out. Because much of my past writings are short stories that I had to push to make them hit the word count for writing workshops. It seems natural to cut them back down to the flash-length pieces I originally intended them to be.

However, something about the spring weather makes me want to tackle massive projects. So I dusted off something else, something much longer than a short story. It’s a novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2010.

I’ve struggled through many years of NaNo, but this one happened pretty naturally. I’ve even revised the novel a time or two, but it was always a half-ass effort, never knowing for sure what I intended to do with it.

But the story has been sticking in my mind lately, and I decided this is the project I want to take on this spring. And since the novel is actually based on a short story, I wanted to revisit that original work to compare the two.

My dad loved this short story when I wrote it. I was in college, sure I’d be a famous author one day, cut working as a graphic designer to get through school. So I formatted the story into a book layout, designed a cover, printed it, bound it, and gave it to my dad for his birthday. (Yes, I’m cringing that I thought this was a gift.)

Anyway, now I’m incredibly glad I did that, and that he kept it! Not long ago, I lost all my documents from 2003-2018. Now I have a hard copy of the story I can type and save in a dozen different places. (My dad also saved a few other stories I’d given him to read, so I have those too!)

I re-read the story and actually really love it. I can clearly remember when the idea came to me, but I didn’t remember how I wove the pieces together to make it work. And now, loving the original story so much, I feel invigorated to tackle the novel. And finally do something with it. So that’s where I’ll be for the foreseeable future.

Since April, I’ve submitted 44 times to 32 different outlets. For someone who hasn’t been on a submitting spree since… 2011? I’ll take that.

Out of those submissions, five are still out. Five were accepted.

• My one-sentence flash is published HERE.
• “Just a Little Crush” is published in an anthology you can find HERE.
• “Douglas Fir Give Me Heartburn: Exploring the Magic of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street” is published HERE.
• Another one-sentence flash is forthcoming from Rejection Letters.
• The last acceptance is a chapter in the Antiwrimo novel that will be published by Thirty West next year.

I wrote a hybrid chapbook with a friend and we submitted it to 7 places (included in my total numbers above). It’s still out at 2 places. We have a list of other presses to submit to in the new year.

This year I became a Priority Editor at Flash Fiction Magazine. I’ve learned so much about reading, selecting, and editing stories for publication. I’ve loved working with authors and feel just as excited to email them about publications as I am about my own acceptances. I also worked as a judge for one contest and will do that again in January. In the new year, I’m taking on new responsibilities, including leading editorial meetings and hosting their Zoom events. I love having my foot in the door of another publishing outlet, along with Split/Lip Press, which I’ve been with for a year and a half now!

In more personal writing news, I took a week-long flash workshop with Nancy Stohlman this summer and a 7-week course through SmokeLong Quarterly this fall. I’ve done a few one-off workshops too, with the likes of Kathy Fish, Tommy Dean, and Gotham Writer’s Workshop. In each course, I’ve read extensively, pushed my writing limits, and met amazing people. I’ve even started a workshop with one group, and we’re still going strong. Getting feedback from other writers and giving them mine as well has helped me grow so much as a writer.

I typically take my “new year” as birthday to birthday, but as someone who loves fresh starts and goals, I’ll follow the calendar year as well. I already made resolutions on my birthday and am well on my way to reaching them. As far as public resolutions go, I don’t have anything concrete.

• I want to submit more this year, especially since I’ll be starting in January instead of April!
• Hopefully that means I’ll publish more as well.
• I need to work on REVISION. I have so much work that I write and then put away. I’m in two critique groups and get amazing feedback, so I need to take advantage of the help these writers are giving me and really revise my work. I like the idea of it more than the actual action…
• I’d like to continue to grow in my publishing roles to really make the most of the experiences.
• I’d like to write a chapbook of my own, or perhaps a novella-in-flash.
• I’m already scheduled to take another workshop with Kathy Fish in January, but I might look to take more in summer or fall.

If you’re interested, check out my 2021 Year in Reading post.