If Trains Puffed Green Smoke

I try not to edit while drafting a story--and usually fail in the case of short stories and first chapters--but I'm considering following my five-year-old niece's method.

How to write according to Amy...

Write two sentences.
Cross out any misspellings or loose words.
Spend next half-hour drawing pretty and gruesome illustrations.
If you can't find a green crayon, add snot. ("Everyone has green up their noses," she said at my yuck!)
If you can't find a red crayon....use a pink one instead. Phew!

You may want to attempt the above method while writing a steampunk story for the below--though I recommend you don't.

Sean Wallace is looking for stories for The Mammoth Book of Steampunk to be published by Robinson in the UK and Running Press in the US in 2012. Deadline is April 1st, 2011 and the pay rate is five cents a word.

Get to.

WIP Wednesday - Under Construction

It's almost here... No, not the season of joy and goodwill to all men (and Editors bearing rejection letters). I'm talking about January 1st, that magical time when we believe all our dreams will come true, and yes we will work harder than we have ever worked before, and write better than we have ever... Yawn. I swear the elves are sprinkling magic dust over my shoulders. It's a strange old time of year.

So, my early 2010 looks pretty much like this...

Finish 'Grim Glass Vein' and make it the most sparkly book ever written (even sparklier than Meyer's vampires only there are no sharp teethed ones here).

Then I have the in-construction-plans for two novellas, both science fictionish. "When Orange Lanterns Lit the World" is more dystopian future (I've fallen in love with dystopia this year), and "The Moth Brigade" (title will change) is a little steampunkish affair that may be past-set or may be future-set and probably won't be all that steampunkish at all. I love it when I make no sense at all.

And before all that I really need to finish start the story about an awakened marionette that keeps nagging at me. I'm sure it'll be brilliant, I just need to drag it out of. Now where's my hook?