I completed, revised, polished, proofed, and fretted over the new short story this weekend and decided to submit it this morning. It came in at exactly 900 words, right smack in the middle of the market’s range. Constructing the story was interesting. I knew the opening line, the ending paragraph, and the essential framework of the story from the get-go, so I assembled them in a document and then blended them into the story. Not the typical way of writing for me, but it seemed to work out. I didn’t even have to fret too much about going over the upper limit, which often happens, especially for very short stories. I came in at about 800 words on the first draft, which gave me some breathing room to expand on some details. It’s a neat market, unlike most, and I’ve got my fingers crossed.
I also resubbed another story that was rejected with favorable comments last week. Gotta keep those plates all spinning.
It’s hard to imagine two more inept racers on The Amazing Race than Lance and Keri, who were eliminated this week. How many times do you have to get lost before you ask for directions? Lance not only refused to do so, he seemed afraid that people might give them directions. I don’t really understand that mentality, especially not with $1 million on the line. Dubai is a fascinating place–I liked the comment by one team that there didn’t seem to be any recession going on there, with all the construction and opulance.
I’m about 2/3 of the way through The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson. The books could definitely have benefitted from some more aggressive editing, but the author was dead, so I guess that wasn’t so much of an option. It’s easy to tell that the author was a journalist, because of his minute attention to detail. Characters are constantly bringing each other up to date on the situation, which means that the reader hears the same things over and over again. That’s my biggest issue with this book. It’s a much more complex story than the previous books, with several different things going on at once. It’s also more political and delves into the inner workings of Swedish governance, which is interesting. From the moment Larsson described the female SIS operative, I knew she and Blomkvist would end up in bed. He’s a middle-aged pudgy man who is apparently irresistible to women!
This week’s episode of Mad Men had one of the best instances of dramatic tension I’ve seen in a while. Betty finds the keys to Don’s secret drawer and opens it. I don’t know what she expected to find–probably evidence of his dalliances–but what she got was certainly something different. And misleading. It was Don’s history, without anyone there to explain to her what it all meant. After sitting up waiting for him to come home to demand an explanation, she had second thoughts, and returned everything to its original location. However, she knows. And we know she knows. You can see the knowledge etched in her face as Don receives his accolades at the party. But Don doesn’t know she knows. Tension personified. Good stuff. Roger Sterling’s dotty mother was hilarious in the limousine on the way to the party. And I knew that what’s his name was going to forget his perfect idea. Always write these things down!
