Honor before royalties
Slouching toward publication
I am pleased to get a second 2024 honorable mention in the online anthology magazine, Elegant Literature. While you can’t read my story, Manifest Destiny, there you can see my name in the fine print of volume 038, tagged to my pen name, MC Harris. My previous honorable mention was my story, Duped, in volume 029. I’ll work on getting my stories in e-print for you. (Even such small things can take a village. Thanks to my awesome author friend Andy Keith (see his story, Through the Quantum Eye, in Elegant Literature #029); my short story SHEGLET group partners,
, , and Moo; my Kafka Kohort peeps, , Christine, , , Margo, and Moneet; and my SHEG accomplices Derek, Hayley, Laura, and Shawn.)Two HMs and no publications in 2024 may not seem like much, but it gives me some sense I’m not entirely insane to have wobbled off down this path. I submitted nine out of 12 months and felt only three submissions were truly ready. These were two of those. That suggests I’m developing some sense of what works in short fiction.
What about 2025?
I’ve never found annual resolutions useful. Instead, I meander into my aspirations. I dabble, doodle, and muddle (bet you thought I would write diddle), all while metabolizing guidance and examples. I stay lightly but persistently engaged in a few interests, building skills slowly and steadily. Occasionally, I indulge in a period of intense involvement with a project (e.g., a PhD and 5 National Novel Writing Month completions, all prior to AI availability).
No resolutions then, but this year I’m putting a few stakes in the mud.
Achieve basic conversational, listening, reading, and writing proficiency in Spanish.
Improve my author deliberate practice, with the guidance of superior sources including
, , and coaches like and (Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts).Continue writing short fiction and submitting to contests and publications.
Post more regularly here, beginning not later than April. (April? There are reasons. Reasons more mysteriously compelling than the possibility the cast of Oak Island may find another rusty hobnail.)
I hope you create and enjoy beauty, joy, and community in 2025.