Shameless Plug

For those of you who don’t know, my name is Shy MacShannon and I am a Canadian (soon-to-be published) author. I’m currently working on my debut Chuck the Chosen, a comedic fantasy about a 34-year-old guy who just wants to know if this whole chosen thing comes with any benefits, like a pay cheque perhaps.

I Am a Slug and I Am Also in Hell

There’s something about the beginning of a project (or beginning of editing a project in this case) that makes me lag behind. I guess I should be happy that I’m starting to learn the idiosyncrasies of how I finish a book, but I’d be happy to stop this particular habit. It’s that first 20k. I just can’t for the life of me push through the mush to get the momentum going! Lucky for me, I just passed this point.

When I was writing the first draft of Chuck the Chosen, a random character popped into existence that I hadn’t planned for. In truth, I had a vague idea of who the “bad guy” was. Along came this character, solving that problem for me. The issue, however, was that I didn’t know what the motivation was. I think (I hope) I’ve figured that out today. There also may be some sexual tension between Chuck and the antagonist (sue me).

The Actual Update

I’m in the midst of finishing up chapter 6! This one is titled “All the Children Have Weapons and I’m Scared”. Think Neverland meets every dystopian film you’ve ever watched meets Recess. If that doesn’t sell you, I’m just not sure anything will, you heathen.

So far, I’ve managed to add more description, and thus more to my word count on every chapter. I’m currently sitting at 21,582 with 48,418 left to go for me to have reached my goal of 70k. I’d be lying if I said I’ve been feeling a little blocked but that’s why we build habits folks! I pulled out my agenda and made a list to hopefully keep me on better track to reach my goal of mid-April for this second draft. I just want this book to turn out the best it can, but I desperately want to publish this year…*takes a deep breath*

The Stuff I’m Doing to Procrastinate

I am still in the waiting room!

I should be hearing back from the Stinging Fly any day now for one of my short stories. Otherwise, May and June are going to be big months for me finding out whether I’ve managed…anything at this point.

If you’re new to this blog, I am currently querying my children’s book “Dolcey May and the Great Big Change” which is about an elder dog coming to terms with a new, fluffy addition to the family. I should find out in May if the agent I’m querying will finally be our home. I am very excited to work with this agent because they are particularly interested in animal protagonist’s so cross your fingers folks!

I’m simultaneously sending out one of my short stories to both Friction magazine and Fractured magazine. Both accept simultaneous submissions, it just means I need to inform one of them if the other accepts.

Lastly, I have a poem I wrote on a whim that I’m waiting to hear back about. I sent it into Contemporary Verse 2, which publishes poems twice a year. I had never heard of them, but my poem felt like it had potential to find a home with them. This one gives a 2-7 month wait! I sent my poem in at the end of November so at this point it could be any day now.

Thats it for now! As always, stay writing so that maybe one day people will believe you when you say you’re a writer!

Oh! And you can follow me on IG, Threads, and you can now support me on Patreon <3