I completed a flash piece I started yesterday based a backstory from my “Sixteen” story I finished yesterday. Still have some revising to do, and I need to cut about 200 words to get it under 1,000. I plan on writing one more story based on “Sixteen.” I’m not sure if it will be flash or something longer yet. I just have a vague idea for it, no actual plot ideas.

Oh, and you should download and watch this. It’s only 99¢, and if you’re a Paul Reubens fan as well as a MST3k fan, you’ll cry yourself to tears.

I completed the first draft of “Sixteen” this afternoon! I’m super glad to have that thing off my plate. It was like the story that’d never end. It ended up being around 6,000 words. I’ll probably let it sit for a few days before I start revisions, then I’ll probably send it out to the writer’s group for feedback at some point. It’s less dystopian sci-fi than I’d planned, and more sci-fi noir, complete with a femme fatale and everything. I think it’s going to be pretty cool once it’s polished, but for now I don’t want to think about it anymore.

Stolen from Erin’s LJ (but with my answers! ;-))

1. How old were you in 1980?
Not born yet :-\

2. How old were you in 1989?
7

3. Were you a Toys R’ Us Kid?
Yes! I went there to buy Atari games and other awesome ’80s toys!

4. Did you watch Transformers?
No. I was into Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and Care Bears!

5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen?
No, but I got it on VHS for Christmas one year. I never really got into it, though. ET was one ugly mother . . .

6. Did you own a Lite Bright?
Oh, yes.

7. Who is your favorite Golden Girl?
Uh . . . the slutty one?

8. When someone says “Who you gonna call?”
Ghostbusters!

9. What was your favorite toy(s) in the eighties?
Colorforms, pencil and paper, Barbies, She-Ra toys, My Little Ponies, awesome Little Tyke desk.

10. Did you have a Pogo Ball?
No, those are evil.
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I’m still working on “Sixteen”! My goals was to be done last weekend, but here I am. Oh, well. At least I haven’t given up on it. I think I should be done less than 1,000 words from now, and my writer’s group is having a write-in this afternoon, so it looks like I might actually finish today. And, this story has spawned a separate flash piece based on one of the backstories in it, so that’s good, right? Yeah. So I’m excited!

Rio, my kitty with the bladder problem is doing a lot better. Now that he’s not in pain, he’s a lot more playful and active than he had been. And I just thought he was a lazy cat!

Oh, and I found out my favorite deceased B movie goddess, Mary Beth Hughes has a MySpace profile. The disturbing part? That it wasn’t made by me, and until today, her location was Hollywood, TX. However, as of just now, it’s changed to Hollywood, CA.

MySpace is weird. I try to stay away from it.

Well, it’s Monday and “Sixteen” isn’t finished, but I’m on the home stretch. I was a bit distracted yesterday with my kitty at the emergency vet all day (he’s okay, he just has a bladder infection, and he’s on medication to fix it). I’m off work today, though, so I’m hoping to finish the story today.

My goal is to finish my ’70s dystopian sci-fi piece, “Sixteen,” by the end of the day, or, at worst, the end of the weekend (yay for 3-day weekends! Lincoln and Washington–you rock!). I didn’t touch it yesterday–too tired for a busy week at work, plus a farewell dinner for some friends moving to CA . . . (mmm . . . sushi!).

Anyway, wish me luck. After I finish my story, I’m thinking about digging back into my ignored-for-a-month NaNo novel.

“Brimstone and Liars” is a top 25 story on Every Day Fiction! Check it out!

Props to Alex for the heads-up!

Young adult short stories are difficult to market. I have one particular story that’s been rejected three times, and I’m running out of viable markets to submit it to. None of the editors who rejected it provided any feedback as to what the problem was. So I don’t know if the story just sucks, if I’m hitting the wrong markets, or if it’s a combination of the two. I guess I’ll just keep submitting it (as long as I can find markets) and see what happens . . .

The Valentine’s Day issue of Pen Pricks Microfiction is up. It’s a PDF linked from their main site. Two of my stories are in there–”Cheap Date” and “Revenge”!

I’m working on a new sci-fi story, inspired by a dream I had early this morning while sleeping through my screaming alarm clock. It’s got a ’70s dystopian vibe to it, and I’m already 1,700 words into it. Exciting!