In which I offer up some footage and random thoughts from my town's annual Labor Day parade earlier this month.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Day #8796 - Falling Into Place
Happy Autumnal Equinox, Internet! It is the first official day of fall and I know I've been neglecting this blog lately, so what better reason for me to come back and give you an update than the semi-annual occasion of me balancing an egg on its end?
First off, a recap of the last few weeks. Not a whole lot to say, actually. The new school year is in full swing and there have been a whole bunch of changes going on in the school library where I work. Mostly good things, but a lot of adjusting! I love the students and staff at my school, and it's really shaping up to be a good year. The fall play is also under way, so every night I'm at rehearsals for that which is a joy to get to see these fantastic young adults I work with in a different light.
As for my writing lately, well, there hasn't been a whole lot of that going on. Part of it is due to lack of time, and part of it is I'm trying to find my rhythm, too. The writers who have succeed and gotten published say to try and try again, and I know they're right and that this was never going to be an easy road, but I also need to recharge. I never want to resent writing, so while I do write everyday, I have no new stories to report on as of late. Though I still encourage you to check out the story I did for the Defy the Dark contest - I'm particularly proud of it.
Life has just been a lot of busy lately, in a really great way. Since I'm finally done with grad school, in a lot of ways it feels I'm getting to know myself in my twenties just now. I'm more social at work. I'm reading more lately. I'm trying to step out of my shell, and so far, pretty darn good.
So it's been a decent September and I'm hoping this trend keeps going. And now, for your viewing pleasure, the traditional standing an egg on its end!
First off, a recap of the last few weeks. Not a whole lot to say, actually. The new school year is in full swing and there have been a whole bunch of changes going on in the school library where I work. Mostly good things, but a lot of adjusting! I love the students and staff at my school, and it's really shaping up to be a good year. The fall play is also under way, so every night I'm at rehearsals for that which is a joy to get to see these fantastic young adults I work with in a different light.
As for my writing lately, well, there hasn't been a whole lot of that going on. Part of it is due to lack of time, and part of it is I'm trying to find my rhythm, too. The writers who have succeed and gotten published say to try and try again, and I know they're right and that this was never going to be an easy road, but I also need to recharge. I never want to resent writing, so while I do write everyday, I have no new stories to report on as of late. Though I still encourage you to check out the story I did for the Defy the Dark contest - I'm particularly proud of it.
Life has just been a lot of busy lately, in a really great way. Since I'm finally done with grad school, in a lot of ways it feels I'm getting to know myself in my twenties just now. I'm more social at work. I'm reading more lately. I'm trying to step out of my shell, and so far, pretty darn good.
So it's been a decent September and I'm hoping this trend keeps going. And now, for your viewing pleasure, the traditional standing an egg on its end!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Day #8782 - Have Hope
Well readers, now that some of that excitement I had mentioned in my last post has come and gone, I now feel free to tell you exactly what it was because I no longer have to fear jinxing anything.
I haven't been sending out new query letters for a while now. My story didn't get an overwhelming response by any means in my posts during WriteOnCon and while I have sent many many many queries, I've been stuck in the land of form rejections. Every. Single. Time. Despite multiple drafts of that letter and trying different approaches, maybe the big problem is that my pitch is bad because no one was interested.
Until 12 days ago.
Twelve days ago I finally got what I referred to as a "not a rejection letter" when I called my mother to tell her about. An agent who I had queried nearly two months before finally replied with a request for a full! There was much happy dancing at this news. Finally, someone was at least willing to give my story, my baby, this manuscript I have loved with every ounce of myself for two years, a second look. I didn't get my hopes up, but it still felt great.
Now yesterday, I got the ending that is most common in this business and on this rocky road: another form rejection, though very politely written, from this agent saying this just wasn't for her. And that's okay. Am I bummed? Of course. Especially when I also got two other form rejections from other agents I'd sent initial queries to a few months ago at the same time.
But as the great Meg Cabot has said, "You're not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you."
Still, my 12 days of having a chance were great, and at least I had that. It's 12 more days than I had before, and maybe it'll happen again. In the meantime, I've taken a break from sending more queries for a variety of reasons, and I still write every single day. Maybe some day this particular dream of mine will come true, but if not, there are still many other ways I'm blessed and there's always room for hope.
So that's where my writing journey currently stands. I'd still love for you guys to check out my first ever short story, Exposed, which is published over on Figment.com and is/was my entry for the Defy the Dark contest.
Until next time....
I haven't been sending out new query letters for a while now. My story didn't get an overwhelming response by any means in my posts during WriteOnCon and while I have sent many many many queries, I've been stuck in the land of form rejections. Every. Single. Time. Despite multiple drafts of that letter and trying different approaches, maybe the big problem is that my pitch is bad because no one was interested.
Until 12 days ago.
Twelve days ago I finally got what I referred to as a "not a rejection letter" when I called my mother to tell her about. An agent who I had queried nearly two months before finally replied with a request for a full! There was much happy dancing at this news. Finally, someone was at least willing to give my story, my baby, this manuscript I have loved with every ounce of myself for two years, a second look. I didn't get my hopes up, but it still felt great.
Now yesterday, I got the ending that is most common in this business and on this rocky road: another form rejection, though very politely written, from this agent saying this just wasn't for her. And that's okay. Am I bummed? Of course. Especially when I also got two other form rejections from other agents I'd sent initial queries to a few months ago at the same time.
But as the great Meg Cabot has said, "You're not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you."
Still, my 12 days of having a chance were great, and at least I had that. It's 12 more days than I had before, and maybe it'll happen again. In the meantime, I've taken a break from sending more queries for a variety of reasons, and I still write every single day. Maybe some day this particular dream of mine will come true, but if not, there are still many other ways I'm blessed and there's always room for hope.
So that's where my writing journey currently stands. I'd still love for you guys to check out my first ever short story, Exposed, which is published over on Figment.com and is/was my entry for the Defy the Dark contest.
Until next time....
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