1. Many of you seem to be falling behind. Please write about the obstacles you've faced, what you still need to do to catch up, and how you plan to budget your time. Remember presentations of your projects start next week.
       

- Reflective Narrative
- Statement of goals (as a writer)
- CV
- Representative Writing Samples
        (not sure if they're supposed to be long samples or short samples)
        - personal essay from Writing w/ Style (creative non-fiction)
        - passage from a short story (fiction writing)
- Others
        - additional writing sample (probably fiction writing)
        - query letter to a magazine
                idea: expansion to Harry Potter theme park soon, could recap                     look at the phenomenon of the books/movies, how it relates to                 the park, fan reaction to the park, statistics about money                         (merchandise, tickets), who was involved in making the park,                     when the expansion is due to be completed, what the expansion                 will include.

I'll need class time to work on the Reflective Narrative, Statement of Goals, and especially the CV. Finding writing samples will be easy because I obviously have many from being a Writing Arts major. I can whittle the choices down on my own time. But the first three items involve lots of self-reflection and so getting time in class will be

I read a blog entry from writingforward.com called "20 creative writing careers." These are the careers that caught my eye, from most desirable to least, respectively:

1. Freelance short fiction writing
2. Blogger/Columnist
3. Manuscript Reader
4. Screenwriter
5. Article writer
6. Agent's assistant
7. Video game writer
   
8. Ghostwriter

You'll notice that at the very top of the list is a career in which I would get full credit and exposure for my work (regardless of whether or not I get paid) while at the bottom is ghostwriting. I included "manuscript reader" in my top three career choices because, besides writing, I also love to read and edit other people's work. I wouldn't mind doing both #1 and #3....
                                           
                                            *******

For the second half of today's homework assignment, I did some extensive research to target publications/magazines that pertain specifically to my number one career choice, freelance short fiction writing. Most of the magazines I found were actually founded recently, which interested me since I myself am a budding writer. I figured looking at new magazines would be an interesting route to take.

Abomination Magazine
        Editor: Corey J. Goldberg & Bryan Babin
        Published: quarterly
        Founded in 2012
        Accepts: horror, sci-fi, fantasy with an emphasis on tales of terror

Dark Eclipse e-magazine
        Editor: Stan Swanson
        Founded: 2011
        Specializes in horror of all forms and shapes for adults
        Accepts: Short stories, no more than 4,000 words in length,                         which focus on new and twisted ways of looking at horror.                         Preference is given to flash stories which are less than 1,500                     words and still manage to pack a punch

Menacing Hedge
        Editor: Kelly Boyker
        Published: quarterly
        Founded: 2011
        Accepts: poetry, fiction and artwork, that is "committed to fostering             access to emerging and experimental poetry and prose. visceral                 poetry, prose and art that gives us a strange tingly rushing feeling.             We want our eyes to dilate, our pores to open one by one,                         and our skin to break out in shivery gooseflesh. prefer poems,                     stories, art, and images of a darkish nature"

Zombie Coffee Press
        Editor: T.M. Nienaber
        Published: once a week, publish stories in serial, meaning we publish a         section of a longer short story
        Accepts: horror fiction, sci-fi with a horror theme, or dark                             fantasy, poetry, flash fiction (500-1500 words), short fiction                         (3000-10,000 words)

Congruent Spaces Magazine
        Editor: Michael Camarata
        Published: Monthly
        Founded 2011
        Accepts: short fiction (fantasy, horror, literary/mainstream, sci-fi) up             to 2500 words

Deadman’s Tome
        Editor: Mr. Deadman
        Published: monthly
        Founded: 2008
        Accepts: strange, creepy, weird fiction. "We want your poems of                     unwelcoming horror and stories of man’s own undoing. We want                 the Lovecraftian, the inventors of otherworldly mythos, the                         architects of insanity. Deadman’s Tome is a place where serial                 killers, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other horrific entities can             join forces to instill terror in our readers’ heart."

The Naked Feather
        Editor: Mercedes Lucero
        Published: annually
        Founded 2011
        Accepts: "We have no guidelines. Amaze us."

These publications would hopefully be a start to a more globally recognized writing career. I'm aware that many of these sites are slightly disturbing to the eye, but it goes with the territory. With even more research, I will carefully choose where I would want to publish each of my pieces as they come along.

The pros of these publications is that they cater specifically to the type of work that I do, which is horror fiction. The cons of these publications is that some of them don't pay for published works, so I would have to get a second job that's not quite up to par with my "dream job." The biggest con would probably be the same as the pro, which is that it's such a specific niche. So if I applied for a freelance journalism job with these websites listed as my previous experience, that might be a hindrance.

I'd like to think not, though. A good writer is a good writer.

I am collaborating with Casey Otto and we are planning on interviewing Lisa Jahn-Clough from Rowan University's Writing Arts department. We feel she is an excellent person to mine for helpful tips on how to write fiction and how to publish it, seeing as she's done it herself many times.

Casey and I have not settled on a research question yet, but I hope that generating this list of possible interview questions and then comparing notes will help solve that problem.

Writing process
Starting to write a story is the hardest part for me, how long do you sit on notes for an idea before you start writing?

How far does "write from experience" go before you have to do research on a story?

Do you work on a deadline? If so, how do you handle working on a deadline? (certain number of words a day, binge writing, etc)?

Do you send manuscripts in stages, or do you send the whole thing at once?

Have you ever worked hard on a novel and then found out that there was a similar story published already? What would you do about that?


Publishing process
Is an agent crucial to publishing success?

How much time does it take before getting a response about a submission?

What are some strategies to keeping track of what you've sent out, where you sent it, what's been accepted, rejected, etc.?

What websites/magazines/other forums should an aspiring writer look at to find relevant places to publish?

Is a novel more preferable than a collection of short stories?

I am not considering graduate school, though I've had at least two teachers try and nudge me down that academic career path. So, the job markets I have done a little research on and hope to enter are:
        -Freelance fiction writing
        -Freelance creative non-fiction
        -Proofreading

This list is general for a reason. Being too specific at this point would result in guaranteed failure at breaking into a job market. If I say I only want to write short fiction and poetry, that's a very narrow career to break into. According to the readings from earlier this week, many people start in one place to pay the bills and, down the road, end up in a career in which they are truly happy. The list above consists of the top three markets I would be able to start out happy in, but I am fully aware of "reality" and am willing and, I'd like to believe, able to adjust accordingly.


Accomplishments I'd like to focus on are that I have experience in creative writing, having taken six fiction writing courses and four creative non-fiction courses at Rowan University (I'm not sure if I should count College Comp I and II, since literally everyone has to take that). I have also published a total of six poems and short stories in the University’s undergraduate magazine, Avant, between the 2010-2012 issues.


CV objective statement
My objective is to work as a freelance creative writer. I would like to highlight my thorough education in both fiction and creative non-fiction writing, as well as the number of pieces I have consistently had published in a magazine.