The Blair Hippo Project: Scribblins

Where Pete Provides Handy Info On His Nascent Career as a Writer

04/16/06: First Draft Theater

I've been meaning to do this for a little while now. First Draft Theater is becoming a semi-regular feature on Son and Foe, but wouldn't ya know it, Jeremiah isn't going to just blindly run everything I send him; new FDT's need to actually be good. Of course, I think they're all good, but I'm a writer; we're arrogant that way. Anyway, this page will provide links both to the ones Jeremiah runs (on Son and Foe) along with the rejects (hosted here on BlairHippo). Enjoy.

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08/13/05: New Bibliography Entries, New Story

Ah, the best reason to update the site in the whole world; my bibliography needs some updatin'. New sale and two new publications to announce -- sweet! And I've also added an actual story to the site -- Chump Change. Enjoy!

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03/12/05: A Toolbox Full of Wonders

Man, this sonuvabitch took forever; I hope it's worth it. I just posted A Toolbox Full of Wonders, my attempt to use my profession to offer something back to the writing community. And now, self-promotion!

Oh, and this marks the first time I've put something on this site that I think other people might actually find useful. Here's hoping other people agree.

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01/09/05: Bibliography

I just got done creating a bibliography so's I can put all my publishing credits in one place. It looks all professional and everything! Check it out!

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11/26/04: Credit Update!

I've had a few things get published in the not-so-distant past. Let's link to 'em!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation, on Somewhat.org. I'd just about given up on this story; even markets that tend to be sympathetic and send "Near Miss" rejects were giving this one nuthin' but form rejections. Somewhat is a nifty little humor mag that agreed this one was a keeper; thanks, Fred!

The Big Picture, on Defenestration. This one, on the other hand, kept getting "It was hilarious, just not for us" kinda notes. I have a batch of flash stories that I salvaged from my work on the Red Meat Construction Set; I don't know why I've been so reluctant to market them as humor pieces and keep trying to shoehorn them into "genre" slots. Oh, well. Defenestration snatched this one up in a hurry (sending me their coveted "Acceptance Limerick"), and I'm glad to see my story got put up just in time for their vastly improved site redesign. Thanks, Andrew!

Astute readers will note a certain similarity in subject matter between these two stories. This is a complete (and somewhat annoying) co-incidence. Not to give away the punchlines for anybody who hasn't read them yet, but out of the twenty-some stories I'm shopping, precisely two used this plot device. (And I didn't even notice the similarity until after they'd been accepted.) So, naturally, they both find homes at roughly the same time. Gah.

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08/11/04: Creation.

The header says it all. This is the page where I'll be providing info on my writerly activities.

I got word today that I had another story accepted for publication. W00t! The 'zine in question is an on-line affair, Somewhat.org. Publication date TBA, but the editor didn't request any rewrites, so my suspicion is it'll go up with the next batch of new stuff in two weeks. No payment on this one; this is strictly for the prestige of getting my name and work in front of some strangers' eyeballs.

Of course, the Big News is already a couple months old; I sold a story to Cicada. This is a huge honkin' sale; twenty-five cents a word for a magazine with a massive readership. The only catch is that they buy all rights to the story; for a first sale (pro-rate, no less!), I can live with that. Publication date remains TBA on this one, too, though unlikely to be anywhere near as soon as Somewhat.org; this editor does want some rewriting, and there's going to be some back-and-forth on that yet. In the letter of acceptance, I was told it would probably take a year or two. Even so, this is a big deal for me.

And as long as I'm listing my publishing credits, I have to include the 2003 edition of Triangulation. Look! It's got my name on it and everything! Order yours today! Not sold in stores! Made a cool $13.50 off that little puppy. Aw, yeah. Livin' large, baby.

Any list of writing credits would be incomplete without a nod to the folks in Write or Die, an open writers' workshop in Pittsburgh I've been attending since late 2002. Great bunch of folks; if you're in the Pittsburgh area and have been looking for people to give you an unbiased review of your work, you might want to drop by some time and see what we're all about. (Footnote -- WorD)

Also have to get in a nod to my other workshop, (Footnote -- Workshops) the venerable and revered Pittsburgh Worldwrights. (Footnote -- Worldwrights) Invitation-only, this bunch; a very professional atmosphere.

I have, in my deep, dark past, been a staff writer for The Onion -- or, at least, the short-lived Champaign/Urbana incarnation thereof. It had some good moments, but unfortunately proved to be something of an embittering experience, making it something I typically don't want to talk about. (Footnote -- Really!)

I also have a couple of writing credits to my name from late high school; (Footnote -- HS) in 1990, I took second place in a short story contest in a Christian youth magazine called, appropriately enough, "Youth!". Near as I can tell, they're defunct now. I also wrote a "scenario" (short story) that took first place at the International Future Problem Solvers' competition in 1991.

Astute readers will notice there's a bit of a gap between my incarnation as a writer then and my rebirth as a writer now. But that's a subject for a different day.