Author Topic: Jimmy's Oil Spike Induced Fiction... Progress  (Read 7102 times)

bluerequiem

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    • Blue Requiem - Data Ghosts
on: November 03, 2008, 10:17:31 PM
Due to high gas prices I started riding the bus this summer and found myself with a little under 2 hours of time that used to be spent commuting now at my disposal.  I decided to pick up the threads of various story ideas sitting on my hard drive and work them out on the bus.  I don't know what I want to do with the finished stories yet, but in the meantime I have been putting "chapters" of Data Ghosts up on my website, Blue Requiem as I finish them.

Data Ghosts: GPS coordinates from cell phones are used to cross reference huge government databases and render the information in real time to heads up displays over the heads of citizens. When someone’s location is different than actually reported to the system, due to lag or deception, you get a data ghost: names and numbers floating in the empty air. What happens when Frank Crane’s ghost is discovered at the scene of a double homicide?

This is turning out to be about 6,000 words in short story format and is completed in first draft form.

What May Happen in the Year of our Lord 1688: Is my homage to the science fiction out there that doesn't get its predictions right.  This story is written from the perspective of a 12th century Dominican monk who writes a fictional manuscript that takes place in the year 1688.

Love and Murder in a Car Wash: An automated car washing robot falls in love with a female patron that pushes all his right buttons.


bluerequiem

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    • Blue Requiem - Data Ghosts
Reply #1 on: November 10, 2008, 06:16:04 PM
I have a couple of stories now that I would like to submit to markets.  This is the information I have gathered from various forums and if anyone has any better suggestions about how to go about this, I would appreciate it.

1) Identify paying markets through Ralan and Duotrope
2) Rank markets I want to submit to (some have suggested by profitability or 'esteem')
3) Submit story to my top market choice and work on other stories while I wait for a reply.
4) If the reply was a rejection, submit the same story to the next market on my list, and submit a new story (if one is available) to the top market.

Any advice on this would be appreciated.


DKT

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Reply #2 on: November 10, 2008, 06:22:06 PM
I think you've pretty much got it.  My only small bit of advice would be to tailor your market lists to your stories. 

Good luck!


bluerequiem

  • Palmer
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    • Blue Requiem - Data Ghosts
Reply #3 on: January 23, 2009, 10:49:22 PM
I just discovered a community writing center sponsored by a local community college that offers free writing coaching.  I just had my first session today and got some great feedback that should help improve my writing.  If anyone is in the Salt Lake City area, I'd suggest checking it out.
http://www.slcc.edu/cwc/index.asp



Listener

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Reply #4 on: January 24, 2009, 03:02:48 PM
I like the GPS story idea. For a while I've been kicking around something involving GPSes and how many of them I see mounted to windshields as I drive to and from work. But yours sounds more interesting.

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

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bluerequiem

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Reply #5 on: January 28, 2009, 08:45:21 PM
Thanks, Listener.  I've have the data ghosts story in a 4th draft and am going to take it to a local writing group next month.  For now I've been polishing a 2k word story about an entrepreneur who gets in on the ground floor of the exotic cloned animal sterilization business.




Listener

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Reply #6 on: January 30, 2009, 04:17:52 PM
Thanks, Listener.  I've have the data ghosts story in a 4th draft and am going to take it to a local writing group next month.  For now I've been polishing a 2k word story about an entrepreneur who gets in on the ground floor of the exotic cloned animal sterilization business.

So... making sure that cloned animals don't reproduce except via cloning?

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

Blog || Quote Blog ||  Written and Audio Work || Twitter: @listener42


bluerequiem

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    • Blue Requiem - Data Ghosts
Reply #7 on: February 02, 2009, 11:02:34 PM
More along the lines of why you would have any pet neutered/fixed, or not.  Once you can get a cloned ocelot as a pet, will people be having them de-clawed?  Will you want to let your pet panda out during the day without worrying about dealing with baby pandas?