Weekly Day-Off Story Challenge - Round Five (For Reals)

The fifth round of my weekly day-off story challenge has come and gone, and I have emerged victorious. It was a hard slog, though. Between not having written as much lately, and the two weeks I missed (not really missed, just postponed) due to funeral and exhaustion, I was a bit rusty.

In order to ameliorate that, I gave myself a little leeway. I used a story idea from the idea bank, rather than going completely from scratch. I also took time to craft the story in my head yesterday, and even recorded a short section (a loose version of the first scene, maybe 500 words.) My recording turned out like crap, mostly unusable. But having made it really helped solidify the story and structure in my head.

Even so, it took me from ten AM until five PM to write the story, and another hour snatched between then and eight PM to edit. All told, eight hours for a 3,300 word story. 400 words an hour is definitely not my best speed. On the bright side, it's the second longest, out of five. It's also a great story, if I do say so myself.

I had much more difficulty focusing than usual, distractions kept calling out to me. Also, I had to do a fair amount of research, for such a short piece. Mostly on bit details that were only relevant because I wanted them to be specific, and correct.

The story's title is "Stalking the Stalk". It's one of my weird/horror pieces, and features icky plant-like monsters vs. rednecks with guns. Sort of.

I'm at the point where I've got more stories written than places to submit, by a margin that is starting to feel uncomfortable. So stay tuned, these might start showing up here soon. Especially if I hear some interest.