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Hello Friends,

Happy Halloween! The spooky season is here, and with it, lots to share from the last couple of months. September and October were filled with writing projects, exciting life updates, and time to dive into some of my favourite hobbies. Here’s everything that’s been going on:

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September Highlights

Writing
September was a productive month for new ideas and ongoing projects;

• “Alabaster”: I focused on fleshing out the story’s structure and working through key scenes.
• “Breaking News!”: I dove into this piece, moving forward with outlines and rough scenes. It’s been fun experimenting with voice and pacing in this one.
• The Microphone Story: I outlined another new concept, currently dubbed the quite original “microphone story.” Lots to work with here, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.
• “The Cul-de-sac Kid”: I revisited and did some light edits on this piece as well, refining its voice and tweaking a few plot details.

Writing Adjacent
September also saw the launch of this newsletter and work on my website! I finished designing my business card, but it’s turned into more of a mini-book—stay tuned to see what I mean. Eager to make it official!

Rejections
The rejections kept rolling in, but each brought valuable feedback:

• Ember finally rejected “The Cul-de-sac Kid” after 326 days! After re-reading, I see areas that needed refining. I’ve added about 600 more words so far, with a bit more to go before it’s ready for resubmission. Two out of five places I’ve sent it to have provided encouraging feedback, which has been invaluable.

Life Updates
Car maintenance and weekend trips were major parts of my month. My 9-to-5 schedule keeps weekends free, which allowed for some family visits and mini road trips along the 401, 402, 403, and 406—beautiful drives that are becoming familiar. I’m hoping to expand my travels up and down the 401, even into the U.S. eventually!

Basketball & Raptors
Basketball season is upon us! The highlight for me was Vince Carter’s jersey retirement. On a less celebratory note, the recent MLSE sale has me disappointed; I’m hoping legal action will prevent the sale from giving Rogers an even tighter grip on our teams.

Reading
I read Don Miazek’s Pale Grey Dot and James S. A. Corey’s Mercy of the Gods. Both had powerful elements of suspense and world-building. I look forward to the sequels. Fall always puts me in the reading mood! Click on the photo above to purchase a copy of Don’s novel.

Music
In September, I performed acoustically at my aunt’s wedding, which was a special experience. It’s rekindled my interest in music and performing—though I’m having to rein it in for now!

Events
September had its fair share of events:

• I was able to attend one of the Toronto In-Person reading sessions and ProWritingAid webinars, where I picked up some great writing tips.

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October Updates

Writing
October was slower on the writing front because of some needed rest and a bit of travel, but I still made progress:

• “Breaking News!” was originally meant for Polar Borealis, but I lost momentum. I took a few days to return to it and hope to pick it back up with renewed energy.
• “The Cul-de-sac Kid” received more edits following its rejection. I’m focusing on tightening the story’s core and refining some of the descriptive language to bring it closer to the version I envision.

Writing Group
I’m thrilled that Denise “Rio” Murphy, a collaborator in my morning writing group, has reached the Alpha reading stage for her novel. It’s exciting to see her progress, and I’m learning a lot from her process.

Rejections
Both “Scared Stiff” and “Printer Currently Not Available, Try Again Later” received rejections this month. The response I got from Scared Stiff described it as a “high-quality piece,” which was encouraging, even if it wasn’t the right fit. Time to send these stories back out into the world.

Life
This month was filled with family time. I spent eight days visiting my nephew, sister, and brother-in-law, then visited my best friend’s kids, one of whom is 13 now and really starting to feel like a teenager. Watching them grow up is a joy—and a bit of a reminder of time passing!

Basketball & Raptors
Raptor’s season is back, and I couldn’t be more excited! I’ve been catching as many games as possible and am impressed by some of the other teams, too—particularly the Lakers, OKC, Boston, and GSW. Can’t wait to see what the season holds!

Reading
I started reading Broken Genius by Dew Murray and have reached about 80 pages. I’ve set it aside temporarily, as I’m currently immersed in the audiobook of the latest Bobiverse release. I’ve also picked up a book by a writing group member, James Donwe’s Sisters of Jade, which has me intrigued.

Events
This week, I’m heading to Can-Con in Ottawa. If any of you are attending, keep an eye out for me—I’d love to connect in person! That’ll be the last big event for me this year unless we’re able to squeeze in an anthology release before 2025.

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Looking Ahead: Plans for November

In November, I’ll be diving into a new writing project for a one-shot anthology. The theme and title are all set, and I can’t wait to work on my story during those 24 hours. I’ll also be announcing more details about the anthology release soon, so stay tuned!

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Writing Prompt of the Month
For those of you looking for a bit of inspiration this season, here’s a prompt to get those creative gears turning:

A star-mapping crew stumbles upon a constellation that should not exist, appearing overnight. As they research, they realize that each of the stars is connected to a disappearance in recent history, and the next constellation is a warning of an upcoming catastrophe.

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Thanks for catching up with me! I appreciate having you all along on this journey through rejections, writing milestones, family time, and everything in between. I hope you have a wonderful Halloween, and I’m looking forward to sharing more in the next update.

Warmly,
Tim Windling