Clarion West Write-a-thon 2k13

Posted on June 23, 2013 by A.

It’s that time again. I’m participating in this year’s Clarion West Write-a-thon. The Write-a-thon runs for six weeks: June 23rd through August 3rd. My goal this year is the same modest goal I had last year: complete and polish a story. Maybe two, if I press my nose to the grindstone. In the spirit of Clarion West, I’m working on something science fictional. My secondary goal is to form some better writing habits. I’m going to try to work for an hour a day, five days a week. By the end of the six weeks, hopefully I’ll have made working on my own projects a solid part of my workweek.

I’ll be posting here about my progress and process.

You can sponsor me, if you like. Proceeds benefit the Clarion Foundation.

Wigleaf Likes Mars

Posted on May 4, 2013 by A.

I just found out via the ever wonderful and supportive NANO Fiction that “Mars” was selected for the Wigleaf Top 50. From a longlist of 200 short short stories, Wigleaf and a selecting editor sifted out their favorite 50 stories from 2012. “Mars” is on that list.

I started reading Wigleaf back in the winter of 2011. I’d recently moved to Austin, TX, and was interning at American Short Fiction, where Callie Collins and Jill Meyers (now of A Strange Object) introduced me to a thousand great sources of new fiction, including Wigleaf. Wigleaf was my introduction to contemporary microfiction, and it’s what sparked my interest in experimenting with very, very short stories.

I’m pleasantly stunned that my story about Mars and not-Mars is included on this list. Many thanks to Wigleaf, to selecting editor Danielle Evans, and to NANO Fiction for taking a chance on this piece in the first place.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have 49 other great stories to read.

My Winter Journal Hoard

Posted on January 28, 2013 by A.

Much like a small rodent hoards nuts and seeds for the long winter, I tend to stash away lit journals for a rainy day. My unread journal hoard is starting to outgrow my bedside table, however, and winter is definitely here. I spent the last six years in the mild climes of Oregon and Texas. I left my Brooklyn apartment this afternoon to get groceries and I don’t think I will be leaving my apartment again until the sleet decides to stop doing whatever it is that it thinks it’s doing. Snow does not charm me. It just makes me want to huddle indoors. Good thing I have a bedside table full of lit journals and a cupboard full of tea. Here’s what I’ll be reading this week.

I’ve moved three times in the last six months, so my contributor’s copy of NANO Fiction 6.1 only just reached me. This is the first time I’ve seen my fiction in print outside of college art and lit mags. I’m a feckless youth who cut my writing teeth in undergraduate workshops, and it’s always wonderful to get positive feedback from people who’ve never met me and aren’t socially required to be nice and encouraging. NANO has given this story a lot of support, including making it one of their weekly features. Thanks, NANites.

I got a copy of PEN’s journal when I visited their offices recently, and I’m looking forward to reading some great fiction, essays, and interviews this week.

I’ve been carting my copy of Hobart #13 around for a while, saving it for a special occasion. As Hobart #14 has been out since December, I think it’s time to finally crack it open so that I can order the next issue.

I also received my editor’s copy of Unstuck #2, and I am very excited to curl up with this weighty collection of short fiction and read a journal I’m proud to have helped produced.

What journals are you reading right now?

Metablogging

Posted on December 5, 2012 by A.

Hello, this is a blog post about my blog.

I finally bit the bullet and got myself a real domain name. So long, WordPress domain I registered when I was 19! I’ll miss the subtle reference to Alan Moore’s seminal Superman story, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, but it was time to have a website that was more properly tied to my actual name.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be posting about comic books and science fiction and video game narrative pretty much all the time. New name, same old content.

Now I just have to figure out a layout that doesn’t make me wince.

Sandy vs. Mars

Posted on October 29, 2012 by A.

I’m hunkered down in my Brooklyn bunker right now, avoiding the overflowing Gowanus canal. So I was very pleased to discover that NANO Fiction decided to make “Mars” their featured story this week. “Mars” will appear in print in next month’s issue of NANO Fiction, so consider this a pleasant preview.

How to Apply for a Job

Posted on October 17, 2012 by A.

While I’m enjoying my freelance jobs right now, I’m also looking for full-time work, because I’m interested in experiencing the fabled adult land of health insurance and paid vacations. This means that I spend a lot of time sending out carefully written cover letters and resumés and then never hearing anything back.

To vent some of my application woe, I wrote a short mock how-to called “How to Apply for a Job”. (With many apologies to Lorrie Moorie’s excellent, excellent Self-Help.) I thought about posting it here, but then decided to send to to a personal finance site I like just in case they might want it.

They did, and you can now find it here.

Microfiction? Microfiction.

Posted on October 1, 2012 by A.

Remember when I said that NANO Fiction was going to publish a story of mine? Luckily, they didn’t abruptly change their minds in the subsequent weeks. NANO Fiction Volume 6, Number 1 will be shipping next month. “Mars” will be in it, as will other stories by other wonderful people. If you would like a copy, you can preorder it.

I’m looking forward to receiving my own copy. The cover is absurdly gorgeous, and I can’t wait to stretch out on my couch with a cup of tea and read many sharp bits of small fictions.

In other news, a fine fellow I know created a website that allows you to comfortably ogle at the red planet from the comfort of your favorite chair. It is called The Mars Ogler, and it is very much worth a look.

A. Werner

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