It's a Jumble

I keep meaning to blog about the stories I like, and while I put it off the list grows ever longer. So before the list gets away from me entirely, here’s a round-up of some recent things I’ve read . . . From Various Magazines Jeanette Ng, Three hundred Years   in Mythic Delirium, Winter 2016 issue.  One of the things that I really admire about Mythic Delirium magazine has been the way that monthly selections are built around certain themes, story and poems echoing one another. The March 2016 offerings were gifts from the sea. “Three Hundred Years” by new writer Jeannette Ng is an aching, yearning take on The Little Mermaid tale which I’ve never seen before. And sea-poems by Alexandra Seidel and Jennifer Crow complement this story, and each other, beautifully. Rati Mehrotra The Family Ghost in The Sockdolager.  The Pillar of Shiva in Triptych Tales  I read “The Pillar of Shiva” a year ago when it first came out, but I wanted to pair...

In which I indulge in writing advice without any real authority. . . Every writer has That One Story. The story that scared you to write. The story that contains a part of your soul. The story that you swear is the best thing you’ve ever written, that will make you a star, that is your breakout work. If this does not sell, you think, there is no hope and you might as well give up. Because this story is the best thing you are capable of. I wrote That One Story in December of last year. My trusted critique partners loved it. Unknown readers in my Critters group loved it. Multiple people told me that it made them cry. I sent the story off in high hopes to the venue of my dreams, a submissions call that seemed encouraging . . .  and received a form rejection in reply. I’ve received three more form rejections for that story since. And I was hurt. Am hurt. I’ve actually been surprised by the hurt—I thought, after more than two years of regularly submitting storie...

Spring has been flirting with us—snow falls in thick inches, melts, then falls again. But I think that this time Spring is here to say. All the birds arrived at once this week. I stepped outside to see my Littlest One off at the bus stop, and I stepped into a cacophony of birdsong. Robin, blue jay, red-winged blackbird—I saw them all during my walk. Snowmelt rushes along the edges of streets into the gutters. The neighbor kids are running around in short sleeves.  And with the change of seasons there’s an odd, unsettled, restless energy. For me, there’s a feeling of, What's next? I wrote what I thought was the best story I’ve ever written this past December. Since then, I’ve written nothing that I’ve really liked. I started and failed two stories. Wrote one that I think is only okay. I feel in transition myself. I want to write something new, but what? I read a novel last week. Binged on short fiction. I keep hoping that reading enough good work will spark something in me,...

Snowfall outside, but hot tea and a snug blanket within. Quiet, and the space and time to write and read and think. And also to cook. Some lists for the month so far: New recipes Tried Traditional Vietnamese Pho , as presented by the infallible J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats. There is a good pho place about 20 minutes from my house, but being able to eat this soup without ever leaving the house (on a frigid January Michigan winter night) is the absolute best. All the steps are worth it. Yes. Char those onions and ginger! Parboil the meat! I used a combo of oxtails and beef shanks. Heaven. The next day my kids' schools were canceled due to snow, and they were thrilled to have pho again for their lunch (yes, the soup is better the next day). Oyakodon .  Recipe from the website Two Red Bowls. So very very simple to make. Chicken and custardy eggs simmered in a sweet, salty sauce and served over rice. It's warm and comforting and perfect for winter. Onion tart...

The year draws to its close tonight, and I'm joining others with my list of favorite books read in 2015! Fiction, nonfiction, novels and short story collections. . . I didn't read as much as I would have liked (I never do) but these are the ones that stayed most powerfully with me. Fiction Novels Best Novel— Pen Pal by Francesca Forrest The best novel I read this year was a hard-to-pigeonhole, slipstreamish epistolary novel self-published in 2013. I first heard of Francesca Forrest when I came across her lovely short story, Seven Bridges , in the archives of the digital magazine, The Future Fire . Pen Pal is her first published novel (I think). It is gorgeous and affecting. These are the first lines: Dear person who finds my message, I live in a place called Mermaid's Hands. All our houses rest on the mud when the tide is out, but when it comes in, they rise right up and float. They're all roped together, so we don't lose anyone. I like Me...

I am happy to announce two new stories out this month. " Moon Story" was published in October in the fall issue of Mythic Delirium . It is now available for free reading online as the featured December story. It is a fairy tale about questing, about growing up and letting go, and yes, it takes place on the Moon. A magical Moon of  "snow and ice, of frozen lakes and deep blue shadows." Also bats and rats. The featured poetry of this month, "Star Fishing" by Shveta Thakrar and "Jupiter Dis(mis)ed" by J.C. Runolfson beautifully round out the celestial theme. Read the entire fall issue--it's all great stuff! My second story this month is "Knife and Sea," a little flash piece in the winter issue of Mirror Dance . This is also a fairy tale, but decidedly darker than "Moon Story." The winter issue of Mirror Dance is always devoted to flash fiction, poetry, and pieces that straddle the definitions of poetry and prose. Darkne...

I came across this piece by novelist Daniel Jose Older on not writing every day. And my heart cheered Yes! Yes. Yes to the nth degree. Earlier this month I had space in my schedule. School for the kids had started; I had no medical writing assignments in sight. I will write , I thought. Who knows when I'll have this time again? I had nothing to write about. No story in my head. No matter—don't other writers just sit at the blank screen and stuff just pours out of them? Don't they say that if you just sit your butt in the chair and force yourself then the words will come because it's just work and willpower and moving those fingers on the keyboard? Doesn't everyone say shitty first drafts and just keep going and just do it --? I tried. It was a disaster. Because sometimes, as Daniel JoseOlder writes in his essay , the story you're working on just isn't ready to be written yet. Because, as he says, "brainstorming is part of writing...