The Camp Site

Well, what a whirlwind of summer it has been. I submitted five short stories to various publications, worked on two longer pieces, oh and drove my kiddos all over to various summer camps. Additionally, we took two family vacations. So yeah, it’s been busy.

With the kids back in school, I feel like I finally have time to breathe again.

So now for some updates:

First, I entered two Writing Battle contests back in spring. Both my pieces came in the top 64 for their category. I’m pretty proud of them. They both challenged me, especially It’s a Crush!. I never thought I would be able to write an effective piece in 500 words or less. I also wasn’t thrilled with my prompts. But somehow, my twisted mind came up with a story and based on how well it did, I think it worked.

My other piece, It’s Just Business also placed in the top 64 for its category. This was written in the height of the Elon Musk and DOGE drama. I got some good feedback and I wish I had given more time to developing the villain in this story. But that’s how we grow as writers.

As I mentioned, I entered some other pieces into contests, but they are still in the judging phase.

Right now, flash fiction seems to be my jam. I also have found that I enjoy writing pieces that don’t have happy ends.

Second…

Back in May, as I was exiting the gym after working out, I felt a very painful pop in my right foot. After a very long process of doctor appointments and MRIs, I found out in August that I broke my sesamoid bone and have a tear in one of my ligaments. This is commonly known as Tuff Toe. Fun times.

I’m scheduled to have it repaired surgically in October. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to drive for three plus weeks and I’m not looking forward to that. But it does mean more reading  and writing time so that will be nice.

Right now, I find myself struggling to balance my time between short story writing and working on a novel.  As I mentioned, I submitted a lot of short stories this summer but that has left me with little time to work on a longer piece. Right now, my goal is to get through a first draft by the beginning of the year.

I’ll have more updates in the coming days. Stay tuned!