Our second spotlight of the month features Nikki Baird who is serving as anthology chair. Nikki was happy to join in the fun because she wants to see a large number of RMFW members at her workshop tomorrow and is hoping for lots of great member story submissions for Crossing Colfax, the first RMFW anthology since 2009.
The workshop is called Short Story Breakdown: Prepping for Anthology 2014
Saturday, January 25
1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Bel Mar Public Library
555 S. Allison Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80226
Members Only
The deadline for submitting to the anthology is March 14th. For more information and the submission form, go to the anthology page on the RMFW website.
1. Nikki, tell us what you do for RMFW and why you are involved.
I am the anthology chair, which means that I shepherd the production of RMFW’s short story anthology. The organization has produced 3 collections so far, and this will be our fourth – and my first in this role. But it will also be the first anthology produced in this wild west of self-publishing, which is very exciting.
It’s been awhile since RMFW has produced an anthology, and I’ve increasingly realized the importance of short stories both in advancing a writing career as well as advancing craft. So I became passionate enough (or just plain crazy enough) to decide that a) this is something that RMFW should do again and b) I will volunteer to lead it. So here I am!
2. What is your current WIP or most recent publication, and where can we buy a book, if available?
I’m actually in the process of putting out my own short story collection, as a way to dip my toes in the water of self-publishing. The collection is called Uncanny, and I hesitate to give a publication date because every time I do that, life gets in the way big time. But I’m in the process of designing covers right now, so it should be available “very soon.”
3. We’ve all heard of bucket lists — you know, those life-wish lists of experiences, dreams or goals we want to accomplish– what’s one of yours?
To go to St. Petersburg, Russia and experience a white Russian night. I was a dual-major in college, and Russian was the second major (which is a really long story all on its own), but I never got to spend a semester there because that happened to be right as the Soviet Union fell apart and it became very inadvisable to travel there. Would’ve definitely helped my language skills. But St. Petersburg is a city with a fascinating history, built by one of the most enigmatic leaders of Russia, and it is absolutely on my list of things to see in my lifetime.
4. Most writers have an Achilles heel with their writing. Confess, what’s yours?
Saying the same thing twice. Granted, I say it differently each time, and I usually like both ways – which is why I end up leaving it in on the first pass. I’ve had to learn to give myself some time to let the love fade, and then I can go back and ruthlessly delete all my over-writing. Either that, or my wonderful critique partners will not hesitate to point out the repeats.
5. What do you love most about the writing life?
When my story surprises me. I think I will never know if the connections that suddenly emerge out of nowhere were actually planned long ago deep in my sub-conscious, or if I really did only just see the opportunity, but I love that little jolt of “Of course that’s what should happen next! How did I not see that before?”
6. Now that you have a little writing experience, what advice would you go back and give yourself as a beginning writer?
Get over the whole grammar over-reaction (you know, the mind-numbing high school lectures on sentence structure followed by the verbal beatings and grades when it was clear I absorbed nothing). The vocabulary of grammar can be confusing and challenging, but every craftsperson should know the tools of their trade, and grammar is the tool of the writing trade. I resisting learning the language of my chosen profession for too long, and I would say it prevented me from quickly learning the “why” behind a lot of the rules out there. It, to be repetitive, slowed me down.
7. What does your desk look like? What item must be on your desk? Do you have any personal, fun items you keep on it?
You really want to see this? Just remember, you asked!
The first thing you should know is that, yes, I have a treadmill desk. I just found out that I walked 1,722 miles in 2013, which also wasn’t a full year of walking because I didn’t set it up until February. I will confess that most of my heavy writing is not done on the treadmill – it’s hard to walk, think, and type all at once and I’m always worried I’ll mess at least one of them up if I try all three. So the treadmill is only running a couple hours a day, not all day, and usually when I’m thinking or checking email, not when I’m writing.
The very colorful picture leaning against the wall is a wax art piece created by my son, and the larger black & white drawing is one my husband made in high school.
The second thing to know is that the image above is missing its usual occupant, which is the family cat, Katara (named after the Water Tribe girl from the Avatar cartoon series). Next to her is the one thing I always have on my desk, which is a picture of my husband sticking his tongue out at the camera (in the heart frame). It is a reminder not to take myself too seriously.
8. What book are you currently reading (or what was the last one you read)?
I am reading The Atlantis Gene, by A.G. Riddle. I’ve recently bought or downloaded a bunch of different fantasy/scifi/horror e-books on Amazon at different price points to see what the quality of each price point is. This one is pretty good – I will definitely finish it.
Thanks for sharing the good information, Nikki. I hope you get a ton (well, maybe not a whole ton) of submissions for the anthology. Love the title “Uncanny” for a short story collection. Let us know when we can get a copy.