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Rhonda Zatezalo

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Writing

Momentum

April 21, 2018 By Rhonda Zatezalo Leave a Comment

Momentum of fast moving train

There’s a funny thing about momentum, once it builds up, it’s hard to stop it. Of course, if you’ve taken a science or physics course, you’re thinking “Duh.” That’s a basic principal. Yeah, there’s all these great fundamental laws about an object in motion, velocity, or centrifugal force, but how many of us think of that object as a dream? You begin forward movement on that dream until you’ve got a healthy momentum going, and it’s rather difficult to bring it all to a halt. You’ve trained yourself that this is the new normal. This idea goes along with the saying that it takes 21 days (or 30 days, or however many days) to create a habit. That’s great, but lots of us think of habits as something we need to quit.  For many people there’s negative emotion around the word habit. So I’ve decided to rephrase it. I don’t need to create a habit, I need to create Momentum.

This month I’ve been working on a meeting a challenge called the “1,000 Word March.” A couple of my friends and fellow writers put this challenge together and it’s been great to see people logging their word counts. Even on the days when they don’t hit that 1k. I think it’s those missed days that inspire me the most. That even when we miss the mark, the momentum we’ve been building means we’re still trying every day. We’re showing up truthfully, and without fear of judgment, saying, “I may not have written 1,000 words today, but I’m here and I’m still trying.” For me that’s powerful.

Another powerful tool is to actually see that momentum, and to understand that every step forward, every word written counts. For me a visual reminder placed where I see it every day works best. So I printed out the month of April, with places to log word counts. Every day I write gets a star. Some days have a gold star which means I wrote over 1k, other days have a red star which means I didn’t even break 500 words. But you know what? It’s the 21st of the month and there isn’t a single day without a star. THAT is the momentum I see and don’t want to break. I can’t just let it slide, because once that day is over, there’s not another chance to earn a star for that space.

Silly little mind hack? Maybe, but it’s working.

I’ve written more than 12,000 words on my novel this month, and almost 4,000 on other creative projects. I’d been at a stand still with the book. I had lots of great ideas, but not much forward movement. Now I can see the novel is almost done and ready for editing. That’s momentum, and I’m not stopping. One more star, one more week of stars, and pretty soon? All those stars mean I’m querying agents to get Vargen on the shelf of your local bookstore. Who knew a gold star could help make dreams come true? 😉

What mind hacks do you use to keep you moving on your goals when you’d rather do something else?

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: thoughts, writing

Hangover? The Day After Rejection

April 4, 2018 By Rhonda Zatezalo 1 Comment

Raindrops hitting gray paved sidewalk
It’s Wednesday.  Hump Day.  Mid-week slump day.

Normally I don’t have trouble with the middle of the week. I haven’t worked 9-5 at an outside office since 2013. For five years I’ve been running my own business, and while I don’t often cut myself slack, hump day is a bit easier when the commute is just downstairs.

Today’s different though. It’s April 4th, spring has sprung, but there’s snow on the ground—again— and there wasn’t when I filled the bird feeders yesterday. In fact yesterday it was a cool drizzle that felt like spring. Tease.

Yesterday. That’s a big part of why today is off. I feel hungover, but didn’t drink. Maybe I should have. I had a lot of hope riding on a short story I’d submitted. Yesterday I got the rejection note. It wasn’t even a real note, just a form email saying my story didn’t “fit” the anthology, and good luck wishes for finding a home for it. (I admit, I’m a bit spoiled with the feedback I’ve gotten on other pieces, so this was anti-climactic.)

When I got the note yesterday, I was 770 words into the 1,000 I needed to write for the day. When I opened the email, I didn’t think it was results. The subject line said update. I figured they were taking longer to get through all the submissions and were politely letting us know. So. Not. Prepared. for the rejection.

It threw off my writing groove. I wandered around, felt a bit lost, created a twitter graphic, and went outside in the drizzle to fill the feeders. I listened to the birds and came back inside.

I’d like to say I came in full of determination, but I didn’t. I sat down at my desk as lost as I’d been when I left. I know rejection is part of my job as a writer, but sometimes it’s tougher than others. My husband was worried about me, wondering how to help. He was disappointed too. He loved the story and thought it would be picked up. I could tell he was unsure what I needed every time he turned his chair to check on me and then returning to his own screen without saying a word. It was part of the reason I’d wandered. I didn’t want him to worry. *I* didn’t know what I needed, so what could I tell him?

Now, here I was, back in front of the computer, manuscript open in Scrivener. Unsure what to do next, I read the last sentence I’d written. Then I just started typing. When I finally hit a break in the scene, I looked at the word count box that hovers at the edge of my screen. It said 1,436. I’d almost doubled my words in that time.

I could have kept going, but it was a good place to stop, with an opening that would be easy to pick up next time. And dinner needed to be made. (BTW- The gluten-free chicken parmesan turned out great, and I’d never made it before. Win!)

Back to today though. Today is yucky. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I don’t want to work. I’m tired and achy, and though some of that is period related, I know a lot of it is the emotional bruising of getting your hopes dashed.

Rejection in any form sucks.

I knew I’d be dealing with it a lot in the career I’d chosen. Along the way I’ve worried that I couldn’t withstand it, that I would quit. I’ve been working on this book on and off for about two and a half years.  I’ve wanted to quit, wanted to trash it, take the easy way out, but the story won’t let go. The worlds I’ve created live and they refuse to die. I will finish this book— most likely this month— and then I will revise it.

And then I’ll shop around for agents. Opening myself up for more rejection. Why?

Because at my core, I’m a writer. I prove it to myself over and over, and this post is just another form of that proof. See, as much as I am glad you’re here reading this, I can’t say I wrote it FOR you, dear reader. I wrote it with the intention of you reading it, but I wrote it for me.

It’s an act of defiance, an act of love, and an act of self-care. In all the times I’ve been lost, hurting, alone, or just low, writing has been what’s kept me sane(-ish).

I’m glad you’re here for the journey, for reading the high points and the low. For celebrating with me, and commiserating. Now I need to get back to the story, finish book one, so I can put out the call for beta readers.

Onward.

Filed Under: random, Writing Tagged With: reality, rejection, thoughts, writing

Win a FREE copy of Missing Pieces 8

July 25, 2017 By Rhonda Zatezalo Leave a Comment

Win a copy of Missing Pieces Vol. 8~PLEASE NOTE THE NEW CLOSE DATE~
(I apologize to any who entered before the original close date. You are still entered to win. There was a technical issue that didn’t record things properly and I was out of town and unable to access the data. If you received a second confirmation email, please click to confirm. I apologize for the confusion. Thank you for your understanding and good luck!)

This first contest will be open to U.S. residents only. Sorry international folks! I hope to remedy that in future contests.

How it works
Sign up to receive my newsletter before Oct. 1st to be entered to win one of my personal copies of Missing Pieces, Vol. VIII. The winner will receive a free copy of Missing Pieces, Vol. VIII with the title page of Wild Portal Child signed by me. Free shipping is included. Winner will be chosen via random drawing.

No matter when you signed up, as long as it’s before October first, you’ll be entered to win.

By entering you’re agreeing to receive occasional email updates about stories and upcoming books, events and other contests. If you don’t like the content you’re receiving, you can unsubscribe after the contest, but I hope you enjoy the updates and choose to stay.

Enter here:

 

No purchase necessary. Any purchase will not enhance chance of winning. Void where prohibited. This sweepstakes is hosted by Crearies Marketing Design, LLC. Enter to win by signing up to receive an email newsletter from rhondazatezalo.com. Sweepstakes is open to all subscribers through 11:59 CST, September 30, 2017. Must be at least 13 years of age to enter. Winner(s) will be chosen and notified by email no later than October 12, 2017. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Winner(s) first name and last initial may be used for marketing purposes. All entrants are agreeing to receive email communications from the Sponsor and/or rhondazatezalo.com. Odds of wining are based on the number of entries, possibly as low as 1:20. Winner must provide a physical address (not a PO Box) for prize delivery. This contest is not sponsored by the publisher or editor of Missing Pieces. Value of prize is approximately $20 USD.

Filed Under: Contests, Events, Fiction, Vargen Tagged With: books, fiction, vargen

Five Takeaways from the 2017 Flash Fiction Challenge

July 17, 2017 By Rhonda Zatezalo Leave a Comment

The NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge is an annual challenge for writers to create a story of 1,000 words or less in 48 hours. At the beginning of the clock you are assigned a genre, a location, and a random object that has to appear in the story. There are four challenge phases. Each entrant submits stories for phases 1 & 2 where points are given. Then the top point earners move on to phase three, and the top there move to phase four. Every story is judged and writers receive feedback for each story submitted (one per challenge phase).

I learned about this challenge the day before registration closed, which was two days before the competition started. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to enter. The entry fee was $50 at that point, and though there is potential to win cash and prizes, I wasn’t sure how much I would benefit from the experience. (I don’t anticipate winning) I let my loved ones talk me into getting involved because no matter what, it sounded fun. Now the crazy weekend is over and here is what I learned from participating in just round one.

dual arch gravestoneFormat: Flash Fiction, Genre: Ghost Story, Location: Basement, Object: Tattoo machine

1. Making time and clearing commitments was essential.
Though flash fiction is short, it takes time to be concise. I’m grateful my husband doesn’t mind last-minute changes. We had other plans for the weekend but nothing that couldn’t be moved around or cancelled. It wasn’t so much that I was writing every hour that I was awake, but that, when I wasn’t writing, I could wander both mentally or physically as needed. This freedom gave me the space to develop four different stories for the challenge. I narrowed it down to two by the end, and that’s where the second takeaway comes in.

2. Understanding genre is important. I’ve never written a ghost story. I’ve written scary scenes and worked on thriller projects, but I’ve never done a true ghost story. NYC Midnight explains their definition of each genres on their website and they include examples from both literature and film. With just 48 hours to create and polish a story, I didn’t think I should spend too many hours researching. When it came down to choosing between the two stories I was happy with, I looked to see which story best fit the assignment given. After close examination, my favorite of the two seemed to fit the horror genre better. So I chose to submit the favorite of my beta readers.

3. Having alpha/beta readers was a big help. There’s no time to put this project “in the drawer” to get some space from it, which is a typical writers trick for perspective. Thus I relied heavily on my family and a few trusted friends for honest feedback. I’ve experimented a lot with flash fiction this year and my readers have been instrumental in my growth as a writer. (Thank you everyone!)

4. Find things that put you in the head space of the work. This goes back to genre a bit, but I found this invaluable. I changed the background in Scrivener (my writing program of choice) to an eerie graveyard scene and listened to creepy music while writing. When I was done writing on Saturday I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. So even though I was done with my writing for the day, I kept my head in the genre through the evening. This helped a lot. The next morning I woke up with a whole new story idea which ended up being the horror story I wrote. Even though I didn’t use the story for the contest, I like it and will publish it elsewhere. I’m finding that keeping your head in the work, even when you aren’t writing, helps me write better, whether it’s flash fiction, a novel, or even non-fiction.

5. Reminder, sure writing is hard work but it can be lots of fun. Writing for a living means my favorite thing to do is also the thing I dread Monday morning. Ok, not really but you get my point. Writing is my job, but it’s also what I love to do, it’s how I process things, and as such I sometimes forget how much fun it can be. This contest really brought that home for me. Flash fiction is a great medium to challenge yourself as a writer to do something new. It can take you away from the everyday grind and perhaps be an introduction to a new concept or story idea you hadn’t thought of before. I’m looking forward to the Next Flash Fiction Challenge happening in September.

Bonus: In the past I’ve been known to say something along the lines of: “I hate Twitter, it’s stupid.” You know what’s really stupid? Hating something you haven’t taken the time to understand. Over the past six months I’ve gotten involved in the writing community on Twitter and have really come to love it. What an awesome group of people! Checking in with other writers via the #flashfictionchallenge hashtag over the weekend was a great way to connect and cheer others on. It also helped remind me that, though I often feel like it, I am not alone in this writing journey.

Wishing everyone a week full of your favorite kind of success.

Much love and thanks for reading,

Rhonda

Filed Under: Contests, Fiction, Flash Fiction Tagged With: fiction, flash, thoughts, writing

“Click to submit”

June 4, 2017 By Rhonda Zatezalo Leave a Comment

June is here! Wait, what? So soon? 2017 is flying by but there are good things happening. Here’s what’s new…

I’ve written two flash fiction pieces recently and have them submitted to three different contests. These stories are more contemporary / mainstream fiction than anything I’ve been writing. They are stories that resonated with me.

All Hallows’ Harvest was written for fun, but it’s a piece about death. The fun part was breaking the stereotype, not the dying part. It pokes at our expectations and the desire for just a little more time.

If no one but me ever publishes this story, there is still one awesome thing that came out of it – I found a great freelance editor. I didn’t plan on this story, I didn’t plan to write flash fiction, and I didn’t plan on it being any good. When it was done, I liked it. A lot. I thought, maybe I should enter it into a contest, but then I’d need an editor. I asked around one of the awesome writer-focused Facebook groups and was connected to someone who was willing to read it and critique it. I sent it off and waited.

Magic happened.

Was it a perfect story? of course not! Did I learn a whole lot? Yes. This was the magic. This is where I got to see things from a perspective I hadn’t yet. With that critique the story became so much better, and I became just a bit more confident as a writer. All Hallows’ Harvest has a final word count of about 980 words and is entered into two contests currently.

So of course when I finished the next story I sent it on for critique. That story is called Take Care, and it’s loosely based on a criticism I overheard. The speaker was making judgements of a stranger without knowing or caring about any of the details that made up that persons life. Take Care looks at what could have been truth and reminds me that we can never assume we know other people’s struggles. The editing process also made this story so much better than version one. It felt more real, more substantial. Take Care finished at around 1,100 words and is also entered into two contests.

And a quick update on the Vargen novelette, Wild Portal Child, (formerly called “Too far?”). At almost 15,000 words this story has been accepted for publication in the GenCon anthology, Missing Pieces Vol. 8. I’ve just sent it off for a final critique and proofread. I’m looking forward to making this story shine, especially since it’s the first look you, dear readers, will have into the Vargen worlds.

The earliest I’ll hear about any of the contests is the end of June. I’ll keep you updated as I find out where things go.

On deck for stories are a couple of ideas. I’d love to hear which you think I should write first.

One story I’m working on can be loosely called a space opera. It features a captain with an overly sensitive nose, who lost her ship and is working to build a new one. She gets caught up in several shady deals trying to buy a rare, top of the line air purifier for the new ship. Hijinks and bar fights ensue with both crew and customers as she tries to grease all the right palms. This one should be fun to finish and fun to read.

Another story I’m working on explores the prejudices of a society towards a girl caught in the middle of a police sting while sentenced to community service. This story looks closely at the ideas of race, the lack of support for our elderly, and the supposition of guilt by association. There are hard truths and a lot of unfairness at the center of this story, and I don’t know yet how it’s going to end.

I have more than twenty other stories ideas in my notebook. There’s random flash fiction, lots of Vargen short stories, and a few full novels that have been percolating for years. I’ve finally collected things and organized them so I can choose what to write next.

Wishing you happiness in all that you do.

Warmly,
RZ

 

Filed Under: Contests, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Writing

Crafting a world … or two

January 5, 2016 By Rhonda Zatezalo 1 Comment

Books have been my escape and playtime for almost as long as I can remember. One of the things that has always fascinated me about books is how there can be an entirely different world inside. Sometimes the world looks like my world, and I can relate well to what’s going on. Other times the world is so strange that I have to rely on the characters to connect. It astounds me that authors create these worlds from well, nothing really. Sure there are influences from life or other stories, but the nitty gritty details are what make the story believable.

Take Lord of the Rings as an example. One detail: Hobbits are inherently good and less fallible than humans. It is this one little (or very large) detail that makes it possible for Frodo to carry the Ring all the way to Mount Doom, when any of the humans, elves or even a Maiar such as Gandalf, would fail. This is why we get Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, and, of course, Bilbo, lovable, good-hearted folk that are necessary for the plot to succeed. One choice means it has to be a Hobbit instead of any other character that destroys the ring.world-crafting

This is one detail, in maybe millions, that Tolkien had to decide upon as he created Middle Earth. Clothing, society, economies, communities, and so many more details including an entire language – he created them all. I am in awe of all the tiny things that make those stories work. And, though I don’t aspire to be Tolkien, I’m a bit paralyzed when I look at all the details of my two worlds and the many decisions I will make amongst the characters who live there.

Both of my worlds have Earth and our society/history as a base, but neither are worlds that exist currently. One world is futuristic, and the other is almost archaic. They have some things in common, but each world is mostly unaware of the other. The plot moves on; the characters react to the narrative, and the worlds must support each detail.

What a fun and daunting adventure I’ve embarked upon! I look forward to sharing more details of my worlds as I can.

(I wonder, should there be dragons?) 😉

Filed Under: Projects, Writing

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Writing is an exercise of creation, but publishing is one of vulnerability. I am profoundly grateful to my friends, family and fans for their support and feedback. I’m also grateful to the critics–you help me stay humble and strive for better work.

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