Weekly Goals - February 26, 2008

About the same as last week...made some progress, but didn't hit all of my weekly goals.

The results:

1. Completed the first draft of "Double Trouble"
2. Completed about 1000 words on "Twisted Fate"
3. Completed about 500 words on "Fate's Revenge" (a follow-on story to "Twisted Fate" and )

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete the first draft of "Twisted Fate"
2. Complete the first draft of "Fate's Revenge"

Submission status for the week:

Short stories:
"Genesis" (rejected, looking for another outlet)
"Entrapment" (since February 10)
"Redemption" (since February 19)
"No Good Deed" (ACCEPTED)
"Ever Dark" (reprint, since February 14)

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - February 19, 2008

A little better, but still didn't hit my weekly goals.

The results:

1. Completed approximately 3800 words and almost at the end, but first draft still unfinished.
2. Still not started.
3. Completed a revision of 3 more chapters (for a total of 5 thus far) of Friends in Deed.

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete the first draft for my new short story, "Double Trouble"
2. Complete the first draft for a second short story

(and yes, I've removed any goals related to Death Brings the Victory)

Submission status for the week:

Short stories:
"Genesis" (since December 26)
"Entrapment" (since February 10)
"Redemption" (re-submitted February 19)
"No Good Deed" (since January 29)
"Ever Dark" (reprint, since February 14)

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - February 12, 2008

Another week where I didn't hit all of my weekly goals. It's been a dismal month so far.

The results:

1. Completed approximately 2000 words, but first draft still unfinished.
2. Not even started.
3. Completed a revision of 1 more chapter (of a goal of 2) of Friends in Deed.

[On the plus side, I think the Friends in Deed revisions so far are really making it a much better story]

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete the first draft for my new short story, "Double Trouble"
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
3. Complete revisions on 1 more chapter of Friends in Deed

Submission status for the week:

Submitted short stories:
"Genesis" (since December 26)
"Entrapment" (rejected, then resubmitted February 10)
"Redemption" (rejected, then resubmitted February 10)
"No Good Deed" (since January 29)

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - February 5, 2008

A little better week, but still didn't hit all of my original goals.

The results:

1. Started the first draft on two new short stories, but unfinished.
2. Not even started.
3. Completed.
4. Completed revisions on 2 chapters of Friends in Deed (not included in my original goals, but completed anyway)

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete the first draft for my new short story, "Double Trouble"
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
3. Complete revisions on 2 more chapters of Friends in Deed

Submission status for the week:

Submitted short stories:
"Genesis" (since December 26)
"Entrapment" (since January 13)
"Redemption" (rejected, then resubmitted February 5)
"No Good Deed" (since January 29)

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

A Must For Any Writer to See

Any writer who's ever debated the notion of fan fiction will enjoy this gem from the friendly folks over at Strong Bad E-mail...

Enjoy!

Surprisingly Essential First Page Contest

I heard about a contest over at agent Nathan Bransford's blog in which each contestant posts the first 500 words of their manuscript. Here is the excerpt I posted, from my (currently in revision) manuscript Friends in Deed:

Even in the depth of my nightmares, Lycus IV was a formidable hell. The scenery misled one to think of mighty grandeur. Lush green trees lined the banks. Sporadic cloud cover offered broken views of a pale blue mountain range.

This prison planet’s terror was not found in its natural surroundings, but from its unwilling inhabitants.

A wide, slow-moving river flowed in front of me over a deep bed of rocks. My filthy clothing was ripped and shredded, and left bloody skin exposed. I gazed back across the clear, inviting water.

A bellow filled the air and I turned to look. A pale, naked giant rumbled through the brush, still yelling at the top of his lungs. High above his head, he gripped his makeshift mallet, a boulder strapped into a forked tree branch. I jumped to the side as the weapon crashed down.

He stared with one wide eye and the other glazed over. Saliva dribbled from his lips.

“I am King of the wooded realm! You dare invade my territory?”

This wasn’t a fight I planned to stick around for. Psychotics were the worst type of violent.

He hoisted his club and swung it at me. I stumbled back and it came so close I felt the breeze. I turned toward the opposite bank and sprinted across the riverbed.

“Your punishment is death! Vengeance is demanded!”

I high-stepped through calf-deep water while the beast screamed bloody murder behind me. I dared not look back, because there was no doubt he gained on me with every step.

My foot caught a cluster of rocks under the surface and I splashed down, drenched by the cool, clear water. I flipped over and faced my attacker as he left me in a cold, dark shadow. Milky-white foam oozed over his lower lip.

“Prepare to meet your maker!”

He raised the mallet high above his head. At least death would be quick, but I couldn’t say much for painless. I closed my eyes and waited for the crushing blow.

A whistle filled the air and the giant beast gasped and choked. My eyes flashed open and the beast dropped his weapon into the river behind him.

Only one object stood between me and oblivion, a homemade arrow buried in his neck. He couldn’t pull it from the front, so reached back. His mind gave up hope as soon as his fingers probed the stone tip. The monster’s eyes rolled up into his head, then fell backwards.

The corpse splashed down and huge waves rolled past me. I scrambled around and gazed at the opposite bank. There, a bow in his left hand and more arrows strapped to his back, stood the man who’d just saved my life.

Elijah Cassus.

Weekly Goals - January 29, 2008

A terrible week toward my goals...

The results:

1. Started the plotlines for two new short stories. Not completed.
2. Not even started.
3. About a third of the way finished.

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete the first draft for two new short stories
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
3. Read T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

In addition to my writing goals, I've decided to start putting up my submission status for the week:

Submitted short stories:
"Genesis" (since December 26)
"Entrapment" (since January 13)
"Redemption" (since January 26)
"No Good Deed" (since January 29)

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Success!!!

Just discovered that "Little White Truths" was a Top Ten finisher (#6, technically) in the 2007 P&E Reader's Poll. Thanks to everyone who voted, and check back often for more news on my 2008 publications...

Weekly Goals - January 22, 2008

Work is beginning to pick up, and will probably do so for the next three months, so the success I've been having lately might be on the downturn. That being said, I've completed all of my planned goals for January...

From this past week:

1. Completed one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
2. Completed the final draft of "No Good Deed" and trying to figure out where to submit.

And now the (bonus) goals for this week:

1. Complete the plotlines for two new short stories
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
3. Read T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - January 15, 2008

Depression blows...

A little bit of success this week:

1. Completed one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
2. Completed the first draft of the Heroes Die Young screenplay
3. Completed the final draft of "Entrapment" and submitted (this wasn't on my goals for the week, but I figured it needed to be listed as an accomplishment)

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory
2. Complete the final draft of "No Good Deed"

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Terrific News

On the heels of my first published short story, another of my stories has now been published over at Ray Gun Revival.

Be sure to check out "Ever Dark" in the latest issue (37). Just to let you know, someone at the magazine came up with that tag line listed in the magazine. They must not have liked mine (or I forgot to put one in...that happens sometimes)

And for those who didn't get a chance to check out the first story when it was out, "Little White Truths" is still available in the RGR archives, issue 33.

Weekly Goals - January 8, 2008

So I'm a day early...sue me. :-)
(Besides, I have exciting news to share that I want to keep at the top of the page)

Had some decent success this week:

1. Completed the first draft of my new short story "Entrapment"
2. Completed about three-quarters of the first draft screenplay adaptation of Heroes Die Young
3. Completed the plotline for my short story "No Good Deed" and the first draft as well

And now the goals for this week:

1. Complete two chapters of Death Brings the Victory
2. Complete the first draft screenplay adaptation of Heroes Die Young

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!!!

Had much better success this week:

1. Completed first draft of "Dead Man's Forge" (although it didn't seem like the story would ever end)
2. Completed final draft of "Redemption" and submitted it to a major print publisher. We'll see how that turns out.
3. Completed one chapter of Death Brings the Victory

So, even though I go back to work tomorrow, with all the fun that entails, here are my goals for this week:

1. Complete first draft of my new short story "Entrapment"
2. Complete the (first draft) screenplay adaptation of Heroes Die Young
3. Complete the plotline for my new untitled short story.

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

P&E Readers' Poll

Happy New Year to everyone!

The new year has brought a new edition of the Preditors and Editors Readers' Poll to life. My short story "Little White Truths" (from Issue 33 of Ray Gun Revival) is on the list under Science Fiction Short Stories. If you read it and enjoyed it, I'd sure appreciate your vote!

(And if you haven't read it yet, get your booty over to Ray Gun Revival and check it out (under Back Issues))

:)

Another Customer Service Rant

(I originally posted this at Absolute Write, but decided to repost this here. Two reasons: One, it's been a while since my original post on customer service...and two, to break up the monotony of weekly writing goals posts)

Long ago, I stopped visiting Kinko's because of really bizarre fees they would charge for a person to bring in digital files to print. I could go to other print shops in town and get it done for no additional charge, so why bother spending money I didn't have to.

Somewhere along the line, I decided to go back there, simply because of the 24-hour convenience (so I could stop and get copies made before work). I found out they no longer charged extra to print digital files.

Last Saturday, I went to my regular Kinko's early in the morning to avoid Christmas traffic. I had a Word document I needed to print out for some final hand-edits, and my printer has some issues which makes a 30-page document a pain-in-the-butt to print off at home. So, I went in...everything went quick and I was out with nary a problem.

Today, I was planning to go to the same Kinko's with the updated Word document. Long story short, between some other appointments and post-Christmas price hunting, I ended up near another Kinko's. To avoid making the long drive out of the way, I decided to go in and get the file printed. They took the flash drive and printed it off for me, and then gave me the bill...twice as much as the other Kinko's.

Needless to say, I was a little confused, so asked what the extra charge was for.

Apparently, they do digital files, but if it's not in PDF format, they charge you an extra fee???

When I mentioned the other store had not charged me, the clerk basically stated they were supposed to charge for it, but sometimes clerks didn't, depending on the clerk.

Not to mention, it would have been nice for the clerk to mention there would be an extra fee for printing the Word document, and was I fine with that?

So, unfortunately for them, I think I'll stick with the other print shops, where I've never been charged extra, regardless of the file types I use...the clerks stick to a predetermined system of charges...and the clerks communicate with me any extra fees that may or may not be involved before processing the order.

An Excellent Post From a Real Writer

I read a post over at Joe Konrath's blog today, and found it very enlightening as a new writer. I recommend it for anyone who truly desires to become a writer, especially the "I Will Feed My Addiction" and "I Will Never Be Satisfied" sections near the bottom of the post (at least for me...)

Enjoy!

Weekly Goals - December 25, 2007

Had a little bit better luck this week, but still didn't accomplish the goals I set out last week:

1. Completed around 5000 words on the first draft of "Dead Man's Forge" but still am not even halfway done telling the story. That's dangerous.
2. Didn't write anything toward Death Brings the Victory due to all the work toward "Dead Man's Forge."

So, here are the goals for next week (New Year's). I'm hoping being off work between now and then will help.

1. Complete first draft of "Dead Man's Forge."
2. Complete final draft of "Redemption."
3. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory.

And oh yes, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - December 18, 2007

Didn't get a thing accomplished on my goals for last week, so the goals for this week remain the same.

1. Complete first draft of "Dead Man's Forge." (title changed)
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory.

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - December 11, 2007

(Only a day late...)

An update on last week's goals...

1. Completed.
2. Not even started.

The goals for this week are as follows:

1. Complete first draft of "Demon's Forge."
2. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory.

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals

Weekly Goals - December 4, 2007

An update on last week's goals...

1. Completed.
2. Completed and sent to one of the many beta readers I trust.

The goals for this week are as follows:

1. Complete one chapter of Death Brings the Victory.
2. Complete one section of the plot outline for Death Brings the Victory.

Aston West
novels
short stories
writing goals