First Rejection Letter

Another highlight from this past month was getting my first rejection letter.

This is not something that I'd normally say qualifies as a highlight. But when I first got it, it oddly felt good.



Alice In Wonderland (Original Manuscript)

Rejection letters are to be expected when it comes to trying to get published. I hadn't created a full length manuscript, but I have written a few shorter pieces since starting this journey and so I thought I'd take a stab at trying to get one of them published in a Literary magazine. After waiting for a grueling 5 weeks, I finally got a response. Thanks, but no thanks.

When I saw this response I almost felt relief. I had passed another rite as a writer. My first of many rejection letters to come.

I'm sure it feels good to get published. But it also feels good to be rejected and still love the act of writing.
 

A word on Editing and Revision

I'm over half-way done with my second writing class now and honestly all I want to do is seize everything I've written before and attack it again. It's starting to hamper with my assignments to continue writing new material.

I think I may have found a new drug. And it's called Revision.

I know a lot of people really dread this part - I used to be one of them. I was able to edit very easily; capitalize this, add a comma here. Not a problem. Didn't ever break a sweat. I would avoid revision though like the plague.

I think it was a combination of being too scared of trying again and being prideful. I liked what I originally wrote. If I didn't, I wouldn't have put it out there for people to read. What was wrong with the way it was? Wasn't it good enough?

Because right now I'm living through a blizzard

After going through my last class and forcing myself to stretch a bit I found that there was actually a freedom to admitting to revisions. I liked myself better. I liked my work better.

I didn't always agree on what the professor wanted me to do in my revisions, but accepting that maybe those things did need some work somehow allowed my creative juices to flow. I found alternate solutions to the problems presented to me (and alternate problems as well).

Not enough closure in the ending? But my ending is fine. Let's focus on the climax instead. Can you add to it? Does it need to be moved back? Who's missing from that moment that should be there?

Is your main character a little flat? But I like him the way he is. Maybe the supporting characters need more development instead. Can you create a foil? Can you add depth to a relationship?

I wish I had stumbled upon this sooner. I feel like I have much more control over my work. I feel more like a creator instead of an instrument. This monster who I thought would tie my hands behind my back instead has only opened dusty windows and encouraged long walks in the park.

There's a way to be happier with your work.

Not to mention there's a lot less pressure to get it all right the first time :)

NaNoWriMo Fail and End of Class

Just last month I *attempted* NaNoWriMo for the first time.

Let me preface the rest of this post with this - I failed.

If you don't already know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a push to write 50,000 words in 30 days. (Learn more here)

I barely made it to 5,000.

I knew it was going to be hard, but wow I did not expect myself to fail as bad as I did. There are a few things though that now I feel better prepared for when I do it again next year. My biggest obstacle? Writing every day. It really does make a difference.

I'm still really glad I did it - even though it was super stressful with the end of my first writing class. I sat down last night to work on a new piece for this new class (that I was dreading writing) and was surprised at how easily I was able to crank out 500+ words. I can definitely say it was beneficial in increasing my word count.

Can we also just celebrate for a minute that I finished my first ever writing class?! It ended on November 30th and wow what an experience.

I wouldn't fully recommend that every aspiring author take a writing class. I could have easily gone through the whole thing and not improve my writing at all. The structure of the course didn't force me to change - I had to do that on my own. It did help me with deadlines, and making myself stay on top of my writing habits. However, I am a better writer now because I pushed myself. If you're not willing to push, a class like that will prove to be pointless.

I've already started my next class, as previously mentioned, so stay tuned for more updates! My writing journey is far from over :)

Mid-point check-in

At this point I've reached the halfway mark in my first writing class. I've finished my second piece and I have already experienced some serious highs and lows. It has been quite the ride so far.

What I'm in right now is technically a 100-level class. This makes it so there is a myriad of talented (and not-so-talented) students. Our professor is going through the publishing process herself right now, so while she is ahead of us on our career plans, I don't actually feel as much trepidation as I thought I would about getting my work graded by her.

What I'm about to say may make me seem really petty, but here it goes.

Our first two weeks were focused on introductions and poetry. I personally felt like I had a killer piece for this section. It moved, it dazzled, and it carried the intricately woven symbolism like a well-balanced woman carrying a basket on her head. It was the best piece of poetry I had ever done. I received minimal feedback on it though. It was as if I had spouted off some Shakespearian verse to a bunch of self-absorbed teenagers. They either didn't get it - or they didn't care.

We had a few free-write exercises too that were posted for review as well. I wasn't overly impressed with mine, but I was happy with how much I could see myself growing already. Then I read something another student wrote and I felt total despair. Her piece was truly amazing, and while she did admit that this wasn't her first rodeo (she'd been practicing for ten years, slowly tweaking her writing methods) I couldn't help but feel like I would never reach that point.  I could never write like that.

My saving grace happened the next day. We have been reading Stephen King's, On Writing (a book I would highly recommend for writers). Having him show all his vulnerabilities along with wonderful pep talks really boosted me up again. I could do this.

In fact, it boosted me up so much that I went ahead and signed up for my second writing class. I have just enough time to squeeze in one more between my current class and the birth of our little girl. Here's the kicker though - it's technically a 400-level class. Wow, does that make me nervous all over again. Sometimes I think I'm crazy.

The past two weeks we have been focusing on creative non-fiction - something I've never tried before. Not quite as much of a roller coaster as the poetry, but still bouncing me around a bit. I've come to really like it. Who knows, maybe I'll pursue it even more on my own.

I have been impressed with my writing/editing process in this section though and how much it has already grown. I don't feel like I am stuck in my old one anymore - which makes me even more committed to see this thing through.

Taking the Plunge

In just a couple of weeks I will be starting my first official Creative Writing course.

I am definitely excited. But to say I'm not nervous at all would be a huge lie. To write is one thing, to be professionally critiqued is another though.

Even though I've decided to take this big step in my writing I have this huge insecurity still hanging over my head.

What if I'm not good enough?

This question has really always been looming over me, but thanks to a few books I've recently read I have finally worked up the courage to jump into this. The most influential book though was, Traveling with Pomegranates. I feel like I really connected to a part of it where Ann Kidd Taylor writes about giving herself up to an apprenticeship in writing. She's not sure whether she can really do it. But in the spirit of how people used to find their "careers" (so to speak) she decides to give herself seven years (the traditional time of an apprenticeship) of writing and trying to figure out how to make it professionally as a writer.

This really made me pause when I was reading it. Of course I knew it would take time to become accomplished - so why was I always beating myself up every time I couldn't figure it all out with in six months? I was burning myself out before I could make a decent start.

So I've decided to give myself an apprenticeship in writing, but only until I am 30. Which gives me about six-ish years to try and make my way into this publishing world.

And I'm about to take my first step.