A few weeks ago, I got a rejection from a magazine for my short story “Upshot.” Rejections are part of a writer’s life, but this one was unusual in that along with the “sorry” came some helpful insight. The main character is a Mayan native living in isolation in the cloud forest region of Guatemala,…
Author: DremaDeoraich
Learning From Burnout
Back in the early- to mid-90s, I and a few other volunteers began a small non-profit for the Mid-Atlantic earth-based spiritual community. In the beginning, its sole activity was to produce a regular publication, and a small one at that. Within a few years, the project had become my full-time, all-volunteer (i.e. “non-paying”) job. The…
Non-Traditional Alternatives
My novel (the first book of a trilogy) has been out on query for months now. I’ve gone through a list of agencies and am now trying publishing houses that don’t require representation. I also want to try a few small presses and see what they can do for me. But I have to admit…
Sound the Retreat!
One of my biggest hurdles to meeting a daily word count is diversion. We live in an apartment complex in a populous neighborhood in a busy city. Outside our window is a lovely green space with hollies, crape myrtles and squirrels. A bazillion birds, along with dragonflies and butterflies, flit past my window, dragging my…
First-Timer’s High
Bobby and I were on vacation when my first short story came out. As I said last week, I knew it was coming, just not when. To say we’d been checking the website every hour is not exactly an exaggeration. When PayPal announced receipt of payment from the publisher, I was ecstatic, but it was…
Story Beginnings
Last January, a friend sent me a link to a short-story contest through the American Philosophical Association. The story had to have a philosophical element, and winning entries would be published in Sci-Phi Online Magazine. I read their content, really liked what I saw, and wrote my first ever short story, “Last Call.” Of course,…
Shine Shine Shine
By Lydia Netzer St. Martin’s Press, ISBN: 978-1250007070 Paperback, ©2012, 320 pages Sunny is the social anchor of her neighborhood, coordinating craft shows and support groups, serving as the reliable and rock-steady block mom everyone turns to in a crisis. Maxon, her husband, is a genius engineer who is on his way to the moon…
Story Endings
Writers know that the first few lines in a short story or novel are crucial. It is those precious few seconds during which we must grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. We spend a great deal of time getting the beginning just right, sometimes going back after the rest of…
Sign (Up) Here
Ever since I began writing, I wished for a local writers group. The only ones I’d found were in Virginia Beach, maybe half an hour from our flat during off-rush-hour traffic. Not all that bad, you might think. But if I was going to take a few hours away from my keyboard, I didn’t want…
What Not to Do
(Caveat: It is not my habit or intention to belittle another author’s writing. That said, I don’t always like everything I read. Do you? The statements herein are my opinion only. Your mileage may vary.) This is not a book review. I just want that clear right up front, because in this post I want…