Our Band of Brothers is rather small at the moment. Seems every December a few move on to do an MFA or write The Great British/American Novel.
But to date the blast has reached 135 pieces, and we have an outside chance of reaching 200 by the close (February 5th)
Boot Campers are also subbing like crazy to fill their "Out There" pot.
In my own case, 56 pieces, about 50 publishable, about a dozen a lot better than that, 27 subs so far (will go to 35 this week.)
I try to have about 50 items circulating, and when I'm working hard I'll get up to 70 and then just keep topping up as the hits/rejections start coming back.
Quantity Begets Quality
The most common criticism of "output-output!" is that it "must be" at the expense of quality.
I find the opposite, and most BCers report a certain "stiffness" in their writing which disappears about a week in. They then see steady improvement over two weeks (weeks 2&3) before either a plateau or a slight fall in mental acuity (ideas-wise) in the last week/ten days.
But, let's face it, if a one-month blast produces ONE really good piece and you win a competition or place at a level you've never reached before, isn't that worth it?
I will probably get to 80 pieces by Feb 5th.
I will be disappointed if I don't place 65 and win 1-2 competitions.
The test results will start landing in March and let's see where we are in December 15
Watch this Space!
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