In a Flash; January 23 2023

I hope everyone’s staying healthy (or, as healthy as you can). My kid’s grandparents, aunt, and uncle all caught Covid last weekend – but, strangely enough, my kid and our household avoided catching it. I’ve still been in Worry Mode all the same, and a little bit stuck in the headspace of ‘Covid is inevitable’.

It could have been controlled, y’all. We were lied to and let down. Sigh.

On a better note, I got through my revisions alright! I basically spent every minute of the school day editing, so from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm for the past several days (plus some work done over the weekend) I was reading the first two books of The Rebirth of Qistedei series from front to back, and then back to front.

(Protip, line edits are so much easier to do when you read from the bottom up. Lacking context helps make the lines stand out so you can strengthen them! You may have known this already, but it’s a trick I will love ‘til my dying day.)

I also participated in a flash fiction contest! The prompt was given at 10 am on Friday, and participants had 48 hours to craft a short story from it. I find that stuff really fun, I used to go that when participating in The Writer’s Games (which led to me being published in one edition four times!), and I want to find more competitions like it.

So, if you happen to know of any… Shout out in the comments? Free is best, for alas, my financial resources are limited. Besides, entering the pay-to-submit contests feel a little too much like gambling, you know? I’m putting a lot of stock in my ability to cater to a judge’s (unknown) personal taste, alongside my skill.

As one of my best friends and honest critics has put it, there’s nothing technically wrong with my writing. Everything I do now is pretty much based on how much time I have to finesse the end product, avoiding over-finessing, and… yeah. The reader’s preferences.

It’s hard, not knowing what I can do to improve. I think I’d feel more in control of my success if I could get a comprehensive list of what I’m doing wrong and pointers on how to fix it. But, that’s just not how writing works.

Alas.

For now, how about we have some more of our improvised story?

It was like a song from childhood, something achingly familiar, but Sage couldn’t remember the words or tune well enough to satisfy the itch that had opened in their brain.

Calamity… They knew something of Calamity, or about Calamity, but… As a person? A god? A concept?

Sage buried their forehead against their palm. Inanna seemed to mistake it for grief, and she reached out, resting her hand on their shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.”