Outside World.

I'm pleased to announce I've finally made the pages of Aurealis. Issue 80 includes my story, Outside World.

I first picked up a copy of Aurealis way back in 1990 as I passed by a news-stand at the station. (Yes, I paid for it.) Issue #2, with artwork by Shaun Tan and stories by Damien Broderick, Rosaleen Love, Paul Collins and Stephen Dedman, among others. Little did I know that one day I would be writing and they would actually publish one of my stories.

But now they have.

Outside World is a story of immigration, a story that has its roots in two other tales I read. The Arrival by Jean Arasanayagam, and Sky Burial by Xinran.  

I was in Sri Lanka, climbing Little Adam's Peak and thinking about these stories when the idea for this piece popped into my head. Not fully formed, unfortunately. In fact it took a lot of consideration, several rewrites and a major change in the ending after critiques from my friends at SuperNOVA writing group. It would have made a great story to tell at drinks if I'd been climbing Adam's Peak rather than Little Adam's Peak, for that is where Arthur C. Clarke was when he looked up and imagined space elevators for the first time.

Aurealis 80  is available here.

Bang!

And just like that a whole lot of things fall into place.

Last weekend I was on a writers retreat with SuperNOVA writers, my writing group. Somewhere between the red wine, the fun and the fellowship, I edited and rewrote a few stories. A few days ago I posted about this process, about looking back and seeing an improvement in my own writing. Since then, a matter of only four days, there's been a shift in my paradigm.

Theories, ideas, rules, structures and comments about writing short fiction all clicked in my brain. It's like the scales have been taken from my eyes. A new understanding.

Along with some other great stuff that's happening around me, I feel re-inspired. I really can't wait to sit down and get some new words out. I feel like I've just lifted from that plateau of which I wrote, and am climbing onward and upward. Of course, I'm still in the foothills.

Writing! Soon!

But first, I have some home maintenance to do. Sigh.

Retreat To Advance.

It's the last day of my writer's retreat. I'm down by the beach at Dromana with SuperNOVA, my writers' group.

Nine of us gathered, all like-minded individuals, and I feel fortunate to be sharing this time with such great writers, all more experienced and knowledgeable than I. Clarion graduates, professionally published writers and editors.

So far I've been very productive. I've completed the editorial changes on my story, That Which We Believe, due to be published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, as well as completed rewrites on two other stories. Both these stories will be sent out into the publishing wilderness this coming week.

But before that happens I have a few hours left to get to work on another story. And so it's back to radio silence as I head off to the dark side of the moon.

See you on the other side.

Gotta Wear Shades?

I sold a story this week, which is great news. It's a story I really like, and when I wrote it I was riffing off a story by one of my favourite short story writers, Katherine Mansfield. I was surprised when it was straight out rejected at a number of markets without any comment. I'd never been so confident of selling a story before. Finally, one editor made a short comment and with a quick rewrite, he bought the story. All good, in the end.

But despite selling a story this week, I've been a little pessimistic about my writing future. I don't feel like I'm advancing and improving, although it may simply be that the progress is slow. Being in Australia I don't feel like we have the same opportunities and access  to SF workshops and masterclasses that our American peers have. And I haven't yet cracked that pro-market barrier.

I am, of course, extremely grateful to SuperNOVA, my writers' group. Their comments, insights and critiques have taught me a great deal. And generally they have been very kind with their feedback.

This morning, I noticed a posting on Facebook from someone I know. A young woman in her first year of university. She simply said she was excited for the future and feeling wonderful.

I have no idea whether this is a general feeling towards life, or whether she's received some significant news, but I'm thrilled for her that she's so optimistic.

Now while I have plans and hopes for my writing future, I don't know whether optimistic is the word I would use for me. But it's certainly a wonderful state to be in, and one that I'm hoping to achieve.

It Never Stops.

In my last post, last Sunday, I questioned whether I'd ever be able to find the elusive 'X-factor' that pushes a story head and shoulders above the others.

A couple of hours after writing that, I went to SuperNOVA, my writers' group. I had submitted a story for crit, and was rather looking forward to it. Nobody savaged my story, most people seemed to like aspects of it, and everyone had advice that was pretty good.

But one of my fellow writers, who has previously read slush for a well know magazine, suddenly said "This is a good story. One that I would have pushed up to my editor. But not one that would have excited me enough to text him straight away." (or words to that effect.)

Had she been reading my blog? She did a pretty good job of explaining to me where the story was lacking, along with the others, and the scales fell from my eyes. I could actually see what they were saying, and damn them, they were right.

It never stops, this learning thing, does it?

Now to rewrite the story with what I've learned.