Happy Memorial Day to you all! Today's post will be relatively light, mainly because there's nothing juicy to report.
American Chronicle
I submitted the piece I started last weekend on France's new president, a straight journalism article this time. I think it came out pretty well and even though I didn't get direct feedback, I got a number of hits on it and the count still is climbing. Because of the holiday weekend, though, I only wrote one for AmChron. My next one will be entitled "The Folly of Nation-Building" and I hope to have that submitted for publication by Monday evening.
In Verse
I'm currently working on a new poem entitled "Near Myth." It's a work in progress at the moment.
Short Fiction
I completed my drafts on "Macdougal Street" and now it's in the hands of my loyal editors. I decided to preempt completion of "Death Perception" for a new one that popped into my head called "Bones Under the Bed." That one is going quite well. I should have the first draft done by Wednesday.
Screenplay
No progress on Original Idea this week, but I did get some new play on my three posted works listed on Inktip.com. It's hard to get excited by the hits right now, mainly because no one is calling me about them. The farthest they've gotten lately is the synopses are being read. I don't know how much they charge producers and such to read complete works, but it seems no one wants to pull the trigger that way.
Other
The link to the interview I did with E.I. Johnson can be found here.
I decided to join WritersCafe.org, another site dedicated to writers and providing them a facility to share their work. It is a much better designed site than EditRED, but only time will tell whether it has the same community feel of ER. I like the camaraderie, but I like the quality feedback more. We'll see.
So, in closing, let me say that if you're a veteran or family of one, thank you for your loved one's service to this country. We're lucky to have such brave men and women watching our backs and they should know they're appreciated by all of us.
Michael C. Cordell
www.michaelcordellauthor.com
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Competition Time?
This has been a busy week outside of the writing world, so I don't have much to show for it in today's blog.
American Chronicle
Only one article this week (so far, anyway) for this online news and opinion site. This time I wrote a scathing retrospective on the Bush Administration's record on global warming. The article, entitled "Washington's Weird Science," shows Bush's record on addressing the crisis. The one I'm writing for tonight's submission is a piece on France's new president and what it means for that country and the world.
In Verse
No poetry this week.
Short Fiction
I finished the first and second drafts of "Macdougal Street" and I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far. The next short story in the queue is called "Death Perception," which I should be starting this weekend.
Screenplay
After not hearing from the producer about A Perfect Tenant, I posted it on Inktip.com. I've gotten some activity on it. I'm going to watch it for a while and if it dies on the vine, I may break down and get some coverage. I'm also going to see if I can still enter this script into a contest (need to research this first).
Didn't touch Original Idea this week, I'm sad to say. I'll see how the coming week goes.
Other
I'm continuing to expand my MySpace network, meeting new authors and other artists.
I got an email this week from a writer named E.I. Johnson who has a blog where she interviews writers of different notoriety - and she asked me if she could interview me! I agreed and she sent me questions to answer. The results should be published on her blog on Tuesday. I'll post a link next week.
That's all for this week's entertainment. Until next time, be well!
Michael C. Cordell
American Chronicle
Only one article this week (so far, anyway) for this online news and opinion site. This time I wrote a scathing retrospective on the Bush Administration's record on global warming. The article, entitled "Washington's Weird Science," shows Bush's record on addressing the crisis. The one I'm writing for tonight's submission is a piece on France's new president and what it means for that country and the world.
In Verse
No poetry this week.
Short Fiction
I finished the first and second drafts of "Macdougal Street" and I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far. The next short story in the queue is called "Death Perception," which I should be starting this weekend.
Screenplay
After not hearing from the producer about A Perfect Tenant, I posted it on Inktip.com. I've gotten some activity on it. I'm going to watch it for a while and if it dies on the vine, I may break down and get some coverage. I'm also going to see if I can still enter this script into a contest (need to research this first).
Didn't touch Original Idea this week, I'm sad to say. I'll see how the coming week goes.
Other
I'm continuing to expand my MySpace network, meeting new authors and other artists.
I got an email this week from a writer named E.I. Johnson who has a blog where she interviews writers of different notoriety - and she asked me if she could interview me! I agreed and she sent me questions to answer. The results should be published on her blog on Tuesday. I'll post a link next week.
That's all for this week's entertainment. Until next time, be well!
Michael C. Cordell
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Back on Track
No earth-shattering news this week, but I'm happy to say I got back to my short story "Macdougal Street" and now I'm off and running.
American Chronicle
I wrote another two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "Reason and the Eternal Abortion Debate," discusses many of the ambiguities and arguable points made by both sides of the abortion issue. The other article I wrote, called "September Showdown - Last Chance for Bush In Iraq?" goes into extended detail about the timeline of the Iraq war and shows how the White House changed the message to fit the circumstances since even before the war. As always, at the very least I hope I'm making my case and raising a few eyebrows in the process.
In Verse
I wrote one poem this week, but I haven't posted it anywhere. As I mentioned last week, I plan to start posting poetry on my site http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. In fact, I have an idea related to that, but I'm not going to mention it until I have the energy to follow through.
Short Fiction
As I mentioned, I made a lot of progress on "Macdougal Street" and I even have an ending set up in my head. All I have to do is finish the first draft and read it.
This week, I bought a book to help me target my stories for the right magazines. It's called The Best Magazine Markets for Writers 2007 and it has great descriptions of all the magazines that I may want to pitch to.
Screenplay
I registered A Perfect Tenant with the WMA and sent it to the US Copyright Office for registration. Also, I sent an email to the producer I spoke to last year to see if she was interested in this new work, but I haven't heard from her. I'm going to wait until next Sunday before giving up and posting it on Inktip.com.
No progress on Original Idea this week, but I have been keeping busy.
Reading
Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey. It's not a fast read and my falling asleep when I read anything doesn't help.
Other
My MySpace friend count is now over 700! This is good from a networking perspective. I pity those poor people when I send a bulleting announcement touting my new book come February of next year.
I continue to refine my new submissions tracker I created in Microsoft Excel. Who knows, maybe I'll give it away some day (after I tart it up a bit).
That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!
Michael C. Cordell
American Chronicle
I wrote another two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "Reason and the Eternal Abortion Debate," discusses many of the ambiguities and arguable points made by both sides of the abortion issue. The other article I wrote, called "September Showdown - Last Chance for Bush In Iraq?" goes into extended detail about the timeline of the Iraq war and shows how the White House changed the message to fit the circumstances since even before the war. As always, at the very least I hope I'm making my case and raising a few eyebrows in the process.
In Verse
I wrote one poem this week, but I haven't posted it anywhere. As I mentioned last week, I plan to start posting poetry on my site http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. In fact, I have an idea related to that, but I'm not going to mention it until I have the energy to follow through.
Short Fiction
As I mentioned, I made a lot of progress on "Macdougal Street" and I even have an ending set up in my head. All I have to do is finish the first draft and read it.
This week, I bought a book to help me target my stories for the right magazines. It's called The Best Magazine Markets for Writers 2007 and it has great descriptions of all the magazines that I may want to pitch to.
Screenplay
I registered A Perfect Tenant with the WMA and sent it to the US Copyright Office for registration. Also, I sent an email to the producer I spoke to last year to see if she was interested in this new work, but I haven't heard from her. I'm going to wait until next Sunday before giving up and posting it on Inktip.com.
No progress on Original Idea this week, but I have been keeping busy.
Reading
Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey. It's not a fast read and my falling asleep when I read anything doesn't help.
Other
My MySpace friend count is now over 700! This is good from a networking perspective. I pity those poor people when I send a bulleting announcement touting my new book come February of next year.
I continue to refine my new submissions tracker I created in Microsoft Excel. Who knows, maybe I'll give it away some day (after I tart it up a bit).
That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!
Michael C. Cordell
Monday, May 7, 2007
Fire When Ready, Gridley!
This week's news … I finished A Perfect Tenant, my new screenplay and now I'm ready to peddle it. The other news … I decided to quit EditRED.com. As I've mentioned before, editing others' work was taking too big a bite out of my writing time. I found that my production schedule was faltering as a result Now with the completion of my screenplay, I don't have time for much non-writing work. Marketing my script is going to be a large part of my efforts.
American Chronicle
I wrote two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "In The Aftermath of May 1st," is a piece about one of my strong beliefs, the problems caused by illegal immigration. The other article I wrote, called "Homing In On The Homeless Crisis" discusses my suggestions for addressing a major societal issue. These two pieces show my significant differing views on issues of our day and that one does not have to follow the party line one way or the other. I believe what I believe and don't apologize for it. No one else should, either.
I joined the Yahoo group for AmChron writers. Hopefully I'll be able to make good contacts there, too.
In Verse
No poems this week, though I have an idea about poems that I'm planning to launch on my website http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. As I mentioned, I left EditRED, so I don't know if any of my poetry submittals would've made their anthology, but I didn't want to pay for another quarter to find out.
Short Fiction
I'm still working on "Macdougal Street," but haven't made a lot of progress since last week. That's near the top of my list this week.
I did hear from Glimmertrain about the three short stories I submitted earlier this year - "Baylor," "Shad Fishing in Northern Connecticut" and "Street Life." Unfortunately, none of them made the cut, so I need to accelerate my submissions and spread them around to other magazines. I've been rather lax doing that, I'm afraid.
Screenplay
I completed all four drafts of A Perfect Tenant and like I wrote in the preamble, I'm getting it ready to sell. I'll have it registered with the WMA in the next day or so, then it will be off to the US Copyright Office for registration. Meanwhile, before I put it on Inktip.com, I'm going to see if the producer I worked with last year on The Rebound Guy (now called Ricochet Man) is interested. I've already written several loglines and a tight synopsis to see if I can gain any interest.
Meanwhile, I pulled out the long treatment for my next screenplay, Original Idea. More on that whole process in the coming weeks and months.
Reading
Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, though admittedly I'm taking my time with it.
Other
I decided to increase my MySpace friends and I'm near 700 as of this writing. I want to make it to 1000 by August. It doesn't hurt to network!
I created a great submissions tracker using Microsoft Excel. It's better than what I used on EditRed and eventually, I hope to include an income tracker with it, too. First, I need to sell something.
That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!
Michael C. Cordell
American Chronicle
I wrote two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "In The Aftermath of May 1st," is a piece about one of my strong beliefs, the problems caused by illegal immigration. The other article I wrote, called "Homing In On The Homeless Crisis" discusses my suggestions for addressing a major societal issue. These two pieces show my significant differing views on issues of our day and that one does not have to follow the party line one way or the other. I believe what I believe and don't apologize for it. No one else should, either.
I joined the Yahoo group for AmChron writers. Hopefully I'll be able to make good contacts there, too.
In Verse
No poems this week, though I have an idea about poems that I'm planning to launch on my website http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. As I mentioned, I left EditRED, so I don't know if any of my poetry submittals would've made their anthology, but I didn't want to pay for another quarter to find out.
Short Fiction
I'm still working on "Macdougal Street," but haven't made a lot of progress since last week. That's near the top of my list this week.
I did hear from Glimmertrain about the three short stories I submitted earlier this year - "Baylor," "Shad Fishing in Northern Connecticut" and "Street Life." Unfortunately, none of them made the cut, so I need to accelerate my submissions and spread them around to other magazines. I've been rather lax doing that, I'm afraid.
Screenplay
I completed all four drafts of A Perfect Tenant and like I wrote in the preamble, I'm getting it ready to sell. I'll have it registered with the WMA in the next day or so, then it will be off to the US Copyright Office for registration. Meanwhile, before I put it on Inktip.com, I'm going to see if the producer I worked with last year on The Rebound Guy (now called Ricochet Man) is interested. I've already written several loglines and a tight synopsis to see if I can gain any interest.
Meanwhile, I pulled out the long treatment for my next screenplay, Original Idea. More on that whole process in the coming weeks and months.
Reading
Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, though admittedly I'm taking my time with it.
Other
I decided to increase my MySpace friends and I'm near 700 as of this writing. I want to make it to 1000 by August. It doesn't hurt to network!
I created a great submissions tracker using Microsoft Excel. It's better than what I used on EditRed and eventually, I hope to include an income tracker with it, too. First, I need to sell something.
That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!
Michael C. Cordell
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