The blog and Hide-out of a humour writer, mom, IT professional, not necessarily in that order.
A mid-week blog post to share the publication of my humour piece on the special occasion of Boss’ Day in Arre! You know how parents always bow down to the wishes of the littlest one in their family? Not sure about you but that’s me all the way, and here’s my ode to my three-year-old for being a tough taskmaster on his direct reports:
Happy Boss’s Day to My Toddler, the CEO of My Household
Have a read and hope you enjoy it!
To begin with, I have another publication announcement this week, but fear not – resources abound too!
I just found out that I placed second runner-up in eShe’s first ever Flash Fiction Contest. The theme was ‘Women and Work’. The word count was 100. And the contest was restricted to women writers.
No fancy prizes other than a certificate and a notebook, but I’m still quite pleased as the topic is one I’m very passionate about.
Check out the winners list here.
On to the resources!
A discussion on a writing group I’m part of spurred me to make a list of sites that have useful articles for revising and editing fiction:
Nail your
Novel
Novelist Roz Morris churns out a feast of useful articles on writing and
editing your written work to perfection. Her book of the same name is another useful
recourse.
Writer Anne R Allen maintains this blog along with bestselling author Ruth Harris. This site offers a wealth of information that helps you get your stories written and honed for submission.
Writer and Ex-Literary Agent Nathan
Bransford’s blog
Nathan Bransford worked as a literary agent at Curtis Brown and has also authored the bestselling MG series Jacob Wunderbar. His book How to Write a Novel is one to add to your bookshelf.
A couple of articles specifically on editing include:
10 Things to Do Before Editing Your First Draft
Ultimate Guide: Structural Editing For Your Novel
In other writing news, I conjured up a last-minute entry to the Bath Flash Fiction Award which granted me this badge:
What have you been up to? Any writing links or resources you would like to share? Let me know in the comments!
A brief blog post today to hold the fort while I go off pandal-hopping during Durga Puja.
I’m happy to share the publication of my story Open in Spark!
This has an interesting story behind the story. I had written it long back when Orkut was decommissioned, but subsequently set it aside as I wasn’t too happy with it. The other day I was randomly browsing various literary journal submission guidelines and I came across Spark. By coincidence the theme was ‘Secrets’ and by another fantastic coincidence the theme deadline was that very day!
I spruced up my story the best I could and sent it off. It was accepted a week later and has gone through three rounds of edits (the editor helped me improve the portions that had left me unsatisfied).
The theme for their November issue is ‘The Wait’.
Check out the details here: http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/write-for-us/
Do read my story if possible and let me know what you think!
I’m pleased to share an essay of mine after quite a long gap. The HerStry blog had put out a call for submissions matching the May theme of motherhood. I sent in my submission and in ten days I got the happy news that it was accepted for publication.
You can read An Even Keel on the HerStry blog here.
Let me know what you think! If you have any work of your own to share, please drop a link in the comments below!
A few years ago, a sudden health scare drove me to the hospital for a couple of medical tests like an MRI and another to detect for TB. All came back negative and nothing worrying, but it did spark a story idea for me.
If a man suspected his wife of cheating on man, who could he approach to help solve his troubles? In my story he consults a godman, who suggests a slightly unconventional approach to detecting the wife’s infidelity.
The story I wrote called ‘The Mantoux Test’ was accepted for publication last year in the Transmundane Press’ Transcendent anthology.
Click here to read an excerpt!
This post tells the ‘story behind the story’.
And here’s my interview with The Transmundane Press.
Do let me know what you think of the excerpt! If you’ve published anything recently, feel free to drop a link in the comments below!
I have a piece of flash published in Zizzle Lit’s second issue. Just got my contributor copy yesterday and it’s beautiful!!
I would encourage everyone to submit here. They offer professional payment, and
ask for a childhood photo as well as notes on your story.
Check out their submissions guidelines here!
If you’re wondering why everything’s looking different, it’s because I changed the theme again! I hope it’s not too jarring a change but the theme really caught my eye and I changed it without even really meaning to. The last such transformation happened more than a year back so it was long overdue.
Do drop me a line with your thoughts on the new theme!
