Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Lifted Brow

The Lifted Brow, a "biannual attack journal" published in Australia, has just accepted my story "Breeders" for publication. I am excited about this for so many reasons. Their current issue (TLB6) features a David Foster Wallace story excerpted from The Pale King, his forthcoming (posthumous) novel that will be published by Little, Brown in 2011. Rick Moody is also in TLB6 along with a host of talented international writers. I'm not sure if "Breeders" will be published in TLB7 or TLB8, but I will keep you posted. Of course, you can order a copy of The Lifted Brow 6 (which also includes two CDs) by clicking here. I'll post again regarding "Breeders" when it is slated for publication, which should be some time this year.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Twenty Ten

Goals. When you put them on paper and stick to the plan good things happen. I exceeded my writing goals in 2009 and I hope to do so again this year. I have three finished short stories that I'll be submitting to journals over the course of the year. But the big fish in 2010 is writing and finishing a novel.

I've never had a goal to write and finish a novel. Thus far in my writing life I've focused on short stories. Not this year. I'm dedicating January and February to research. Reading novels and stories similar to what I want to write and researching late 1800's London and the wild American west. Oh, and outlining the story so I have a road map. In March I plan to start writing the novel and hopefully by August I'll have a working rough draft. I'll spend the rest of the year revising and hopefully by January 2011 I'll have a manuscript to send to agents