Reading … Reading … Reading … the lull after the storm

Yes, it’s been quiet around here for a bit. I know. There are reasons, of course, and of course they are mostly self-inflicted (in the good way). I’ve noted before that I’m getting ready to attend a workshop in Oregon with Brigid (and Lisa Silverthorne, and several other great writers). It’s going to be much fun. But this is a bit of a unique workshop, in that each writer is submitting not one, but six short stories (each focused on its own themed anthology). Part of the gig is to have read all the stories, or at least read them far enough to gain something valuable from them when they are discussed. Have I mentioned that it appears there will be something over 40 writers at this workshop?

Take a moment to do the math. 40 writers x 6 stories = 240 stories.

We received access to them about a week ago.

That’s right, 240 stories to read in a week. Assuming each averages to 5K words, that works out to about 1.2 million words. Of course, you don’t read every one of those words. Part of this learning it to read like editors, and to then translate those reasons we put stories down into ideas and tactics that keep those reasons from creeping into our own writing. I would guess I read only 60-65% of the words submitted. But still. That’s maybe 800K words. It’s a huge chunk of work. Then … to this … add that I had the opportunity to read a draft of a novel by another friend of mine—a chance I jumped at because she’s a great writer—and you’ve got a whole new level of … uh … work. Yes, I know, shoot me dead, I have to read for something I’ll loosely call “my job.”

Anyway … as of today, I’m finally done. It’s been a long week for me, and to be honest, I don’t see how people who have full day jobs will be able to do a medium decent job of it. But that’s not for me to say, eh? It is only for me to do. I can say that I’m feeling a strange post-process energy fade.

Not to worry, though.

After all, I still have a short story to trim up, and a new novella to write…and then there’s the business book I promised to feed back on, and another research project to undertake.

It’s always something, after all.

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Posted in Daily Writing, Life.

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