Happy Holidays to all!
With NaNoWriMo once again past the 50K word count mark (twice, actually, given the major trimming and rebuild starting right after the victory stretch, though the draft still has a long ways to go before reaching publish-worthy status), my semi-working vacation has become a full one at last, if not quite the snowy kind I’d expected/somewhat hoped for. Now, with the New Year just a couple days away, it seemed the time for one last 2023 update, and a first glimpse of what’s planned for 2024!
The biggest news to report: As promised in the last entry, my Alternate History short story, “Toe-to-Toe” has at last been published, as part of Sea Lion Press’s anthology “‘If We’d Just Got That Penalty’. A Collection of Alternate History Sporting Stories”! For those not familiar with the plot, it centers on a group of boxing legends (Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Max Baer, and John Henry Lewis, to name but a few) coaching or competing in the 1952 Olympics…in a Nazi Germany on its last legs, and which their presence might help topple for good. The link is attached below, for any in need of a new fiction buzz, or a New Year’s/belated Xmas gift—and the same goes for my collection In Other Words, on sale thru New Year’s Day!
It’ll be a similar kind of work for the starting round of writing next year. Although I will never lose the love of writing novella- and novel-length projects, the experience of such, both during and outside NNWM, is always (not surprisingly) a draining process, sometimes to the point where I’ve despaired of ever finishing, or can’t even look at my keyboard (let alone the current draft) without shuddering and looking away for anything else to do–yet still wanting to write, and sliding into ennui and depression when nothing happens. At points like that, I’ve found bursts of short story work, be it outlining, a single scene in another project, or a whole other draft, has done more to slide the slide than any other trick–and, more than once, leads to ideas and progress I’d never expected. Even better, it’s often led to (IMHO 😛 ) stellar final stories, and keeps me fresh for longer projects.
Therefore, starting Jan. 3rd, the bulk of my writing up to late Spring (end of April, or thereabouts) will be short story work, concentrated on the drafts I’ve outlined, begun or finished for my Civil War and “Divided Worlds” anthologies. Those will be changing as well: rather than release them as collections, I will be looking to submit the individual stories to SLP and other AH or SF sites/venues. Except for some very early (and therefore crappy) versions of my first works in the early 2010s, I haven’t done much in the way of magazine or other submissions, so this will no doubt be an…enlightening experience, if nothing else. When and if inspiration or enthusiasm for these short works runs dry, I’ll turn to others: “Ballots & Barricades”, my AH story set in France during a rather different May ’68, is at the top of this list, followed by the outline and first scenes for an AH Rome draft told in chronicler style. When late spring-early summer rolls around, it’ll be back to novel-length projects, in the form of the FINAL final final work on Reckonings, the fourth and last book of my Cross & Flag series–which will be published this coming year. Short drafts will remain at the ready during this time, however, and throughout 2024: a quick “fix” when needed, basically 😀 .
Well, it’s long past time I closed the screen for tonight. I’ll be back next year, though 😛 , with more details on the 2024 lineup; in the meantime, stay safe and warm, relax, and see you in January!
Mark Anthony Ciccone 