{"id":198,"date":"2017-05-15T21:02:12","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T01:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=198"},"modified":"2017-05-15T21:02:12","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T01:02:12","slug":"idea-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/15\/idea-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Idea Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"

For some reason, lately my head is full of ideas for stories.<\/p>\n

No, seriously. It\u2019s always been full of ideas for a single story, one that had many parts and threads. Now, the ideas are independent of that tale, branching out into a number of different directions and genres. Two new novels are simmering amongst the other clutter in my brain \u2013 a crime\/detective story, and a tale of dystopian society where everything is not as perfect it seems. A number of short story ideas also clamored for attention until I finally wrote them, including a ghost story, a tale of what happens when you get what you wish for, and an inspirational piece based on an interesting real-life encounter with a street person in my city. I\u2019m still working on a literary story about an elderly man\u2019s life as it comes full circle. (I\u2019ve gotten a lot of help on this one from the Island Pond, Vermont historical society. Use your resources, people.)<\/p>\n

Maybe these ideas were sparked when my friend Chris sent me an e-mail with a contest challenge. Sponsored by the American Philosophical Association<\/a>, entries required a limited word count (naturally) and had to include some sort of philosophical thread. The deadline for submission was only about a month away, and at first I thought I couldn\u2019t possibly make up a whole new story, much less write and finalize it by that date. I shoved the idea to the back of my brain and left it to simmer.<\/p>\n

About a week later, just as I was drifting off to sleep (told you!), an idea for the story exploded into my mind almost fully fleshed out. I dragged myself out of the warm bed to make notes, started plotting it the next day, and submitted it more than a week early. I\u2019m actually pretty proud of this little tale. The contest offers a $500 first prize, plus publication in Sci Phi Journal<\/a>, and of course I hope to win. But the money is secondary to publication. So far, I have no credits on that score, and a published short story would be a notch in my belt, so to speak, something I can mention in my queries for a novel. Better still, it\u2019s encouragement, better than any carrot on any stick. Also? Short stories are, well, shorter than a full manuscript. I can finish and submit multiple stories in the time it would take to finish one novel. It feels oh-so-good to finish a project that quickly, especially when I put so much of myself into every piece!<\/p>\n

It was after that story began to come together that other ideas began popping up here and there at odd moments. (Friends and family, I hope that explains the distant, somewhat loopy look that comes over my face at unpredictable moments during our chats.) Now they\u2019re coming so fast it\u2019s hard to know which one I should write first.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve only done very basic research into short-story markets, so I can\u2019t offer much input on those yet. Still, common sense says \u201cDo your homework.\u201d Before I submit to anyone<\/em>, it\u2019s smart to check out any fine print on their website, specifically:<\/p>\n