Yesterday I posted a question about whether publishing something on a blog meant that it was considered “already published” for the purposes of trying to submit said work elsewhere.  In particular, I wanted to know whether publishing a short story on my blog meant that then I could not submit this short story to literary magazines.

Later in the evening, I spoke with LawyerFriend–who knows all about copyright and publishing stuff.  He said that yes indeed my assumption was correct.  If you put something on your blog, it’s considered “published material” so if magazines want First Rights to your piece, you can’t submit to that magazine.  He went on to spout a lot of other legal garble that was somewhat complicated and I didn’t quite understand.  The long and the short of it is: if you think there’s a chance you may want to submit a piece somewhere, don’t post it on your blog first.  Thanks LawyerFriend!

That said, I still like the idea of posting some Story-A-Day work because it’s the thought of knowing that someone out there might be looking at my stories, thus keeping me accountable.  Which is when I got this idea:

Anyone out there wanna play catch?

Here’s how it works:

• I toss you a story via email and you catch it.  You can toss a story back if you like, too.
• As for what to do with the story: you don’t have to read it (though you’re welcome to if you want).  You certainly don’t have to critique or comment on it.  You just have to catch it.  And know that your story will be caught on this end.
• If more than one person decides to play, then I’ll put an email list together and we can toss to the whole group.

If you want to play, comment below then send me an your story at: iggingabi.catch@gmail.com

p.s. If you want to keep the game separate from your regular email, just open a new gmail account and use that for catch!

I’ve been working away at my Story-A-Day goal and I’ve come across one problem.  While I love the idea of posting the stories here as a write them, there are some pieces that I think may actually be worth revising after May.  The thing is, though, that once content is posted on a blog, it’s considered ” already published.”  Or at least, this is what I’ve been told.

My question for today is a two-part deal.

1. Is it true that if you post a piece of fiction/poetry/etc. on your blog it’s considered “previously published”?
2. How does one get around that when participating in a challenge like Story-A-Day?  Do you just not post your work?

Happy writing!

Sometimes it feels like getting any writing done is this Big Screaming Deal.  Those are the times when writing feels like work and I need to force myself to sit and hammer out a certain number of words.  A lot of times I end up wasting time, procrastinating, doing everything else I need to do but not writing.  This is because the writing feels like such a insurmountable hurdle that I psych myself out before I even get started. To get out of these slumps, my only solution is to let iggi take over.

iggi Tips for Making Writing Less of A Big Deal

1)  Write NOW.  iggi is impulsive; when it wants to do something, it has to happen right that second.  Thing is, when it comes to writing, iggi has a point; “now” is always the best time.  Instead of waiting for a four-hour block of time to free up before I sit down and write, I’ve started carrying a notebook so I can jot down things in those snippets of time between all the “life” in my life.  While 4 minutes of writing might not be as long as 4 hours, it’s certainly longer than no writing at all.

2)  Make a mess.  I have to learn to embrace the supreme ickiness of my first drafts.  I shouldn’t try to make a masterpiece on my first go-round because masterpieces are hard.  iggi tells me just to throw some words on a page and not be afraid of what comes out.  I can always come back later to revise.

 3)  Me, ME! MEEEEE.  iggi is all about iggi and iggi knows everything.  Trouble with me is that I’ve turned second-guessing into an art-form.  What I need to remember is that even the worst verbal spillage can contain a nugget of something beautiful if I take the time to look.  I have to trust that I’ll be able to find that one treasure amid the junk.

4)  Stuff.  iggi liking stuff. The blank page freaks me out so I’ve had to learn to avoid blank-page-syndrome.  If I’m working on paper, I scribble or doodle on it first.  If I’m working on computer, I put something in the document (quote, prompt, assignment, idea…)  The point is to have something already on the page before I start to write.

In the end, the important thing is that I’m writing, whether it’s fifteen minutes of total garbage or fifteen pages of lyrical goodness.  I will now sign off and go write today’s story.

Happy writing!

One of my favorite picture books is The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg.

This book contains various drawings with titles and captions to inspire a story.  The idea is that the reader is left open to devise his or her own narratives from these pictures, captions and titles.

Not only does this book provide several different story possibilities, but the drawings alone are enough to inspire a writer for dozens of stories apiece.  The art is dark and haunting and beautiful.  But before I get carried away, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.