New Yorker, I did it - rather I posted it. I haven't done that for five years, sent them my cat poem in 2013.
But your stuff's good, if I recall, a nice glide given topic, or subject matter of love and pain. Stay strong. Do you need a prompt? That works for me.
I guess that's what I was suggesting, in my round-a-bout way. It seems a shame that rejection is such a major part of it all that that's the first things writers think about when they submit.
Republic of Mice @2013 MW Siren for the killing each day at six o’clock The tiny mice have gathered to watch a cat in stocks. Taunted by the widows of veterans he chewed His paws are chained in handcuffs Mouseslaughter days are through
A signed copy of your cat poem would cheer me right up. Ha, so true. I'm trying to keep my expectations down, because rejection is the most likely scenario for any sub. But I really do believe in this manuscript, so it's hard.
I just found out I did not get the grant I applied for. It would have been nice. I used to be just poor. Now I'm poor and a little sad.
I have to believe that every writer/artist has to have faith in their work, it starts with that surely. I think it's just human nature to hope, especially with the things you believe in; in the things about yourself you believe in.
On behalf of the community let me be the first to say how very well you do considering - your "tiny brain." Thank you @carly for you, for your inspiration, your honesty, and for your courage.
@Carly Berg - I think everyone is like that, the whole dull versus imaginative thing you were talking about. I've been coming home from work this week and just vegging out to Netflix, no real energy to it at all. I also think of the balance of doing other things, or non creative things, can make the creative times much more energizing, or something like that. I am an engineer but like to do creative stuff at home, sometimes. I think there's a balance thing where the different parts of your life help keep the other parts together, in sync. I think you mentioned it when you wrote about switching to non-fiction.
I create art. That's how I think of it. I have an advanced degree. It's never going to be a chore. And it's not quite a job. I'm just coming at it from a completely different angle.
That's my approach as well. I don't want writing to become a chore. Writing fiction is not my profession and it's not what defines me. It's what I like to do for fun. (It's a lot of fun!) That doesn't mean I don't want to do it to a high standard, but it does mean I don't beat myself up about it when I'm not in the mood to write. When I am in the mood, I LOVE to sit down and get going, and truly hate being interrupted. I also find that time away from the actual writing can produce solutions to specific writing problems I might not have come up with if I'd just kept grimly bashing away. And, conversely, bashing away at a problem usually ends up making it worse. My one worry is that I'm not getting any younger. So I really want to finish the current project and get it 'out there.' I wish I'd had access to a wordprocessor back when I was in my 30s instead of my 50s. I think I'd have become a more seriously focused writer, if I had. Writing with a pen or typewriter never worked for me, because I am such a heavy editor/changer. My stuff always ended up crossed out, bits written in the margins, stuff taped over other stuff, to the extent that I couldn't read it any more. Wordprocessors rescued the hobby for me and restored the joy of writing. I have always made up stories in my head, so that wasn't the issue. I always had a story to tell.
I want to write but when I actually sit down with word processor open, keyboard under my fingers, I freeze. I do think it's the mental load of being in limbo with the other project, so I'm hoping for a quick answer.
Careful @rats, you're verging on parody. Is my art not also art? Doth not @carly & @TE possess also so-called advance degreeth. What angle is that then? As for writer's block? I've been collating my diaries 2013-2017 'As I look out the window this morning, lo, when shalt magozine reply to my submission, lo' - x 120 000 entries, a variation on the same theme. If you could all just remember my avatar - for compilation of said blog entries - in the event of my demise, please? That little fantasy popped up again yesterday, not that one, the other one, I was making the bed: 'If only he'd known in his lifetime that today we revere him as Shakespeare or Dame Barbara le Cartland?' 'Very, very tragic, he passed at the peak of his powers, buried with his ashtrays and the Mr Bump mug...' 'Ya...only through the detective work of a deranged fan do we glimpse 'drafts' of those major works of the 21st century...' 'Absolutely,' 'Mister Obama, if you would recite the cat poem?' 'It would be my hon(or).' I emerged from those mists of fantasy, gathered my wits, the hot flushes overwhelmed aside the pillows I thumped, if not now, when? I cried again, leaked at the eye, returned to my ordinateur in my corner.
I think you should get Trump to recite your cat poem, might do something. I love that some have had the chance to do degrees, that's awesome, if I'd had the chance I think I would have enjoyed that. Unfortunately I discovered art later in life so that passed me by. I think if you apply yourself you can discover new things about yourself even without a degree or further education in that field. Just got to give yourself a chance, whether you are older or younger.
One guy I envy - I think he's called Mark Dash - researches and writes pop history articles - for the Smithsonian, for the History Today market. Things like 'Human Combustion'/ 'The Bermuda Triangle re-visited'/'Tristan Da Cunha - is it an Island in the Atlantic?' 'The Talman Shud mystery' - just tidy writing, I wish I could do that for bread & butter.
Does sound like an interesting way to make a living. Absolutely need the quals or the ex to write something formal, or technical, but my comments were aimed at the fictional/creative type of writing. I don't think you need a degree to write a novel or a short story as a fictional writer. I think it's great if you get the chance, go for it, but not necessary, in my opinion.
I have an MFA in fiction. I don't think everyone needs one, but I don't think I would where I am without one. My program was pretty intense, a lot of work. But I needed that time and guidance to unlock some of my potential. Maybe it would have happened without the degree, but it probably would have taken about 10 years longer. And you do make connections that can pay off. They also help you find grants and other opportunities for writers. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I would go back and do it 100 times over if I could. I didn't need a degree to write and a lot of people told me that when I decided this was something I wanted. But what an MFA does more than anything, I think, is create this world where reading and writing is at the center of your life for a few years. And it's at the center of your friends' lives. And everyone is there because they worked hard and are willing to work harder. An MFA is not a program to learn to write. Everyone who gets in can already write and quite well in most cases. I was quite intimidated by the skills and quality of work my classmates were producing. It takes time to get better. An advanced writing degree gives you that time, depends it of you, and expects greatness. I agree with this. In my case, I needed a little help. I needed the MFA.
There's nothing like another form rejection to keep my momentum going. Today's was a 33-day form rejection from The Georgia Review.
Very good points. Taking an MFA shows a committment to writing that's more intense than just sitting down and saying 'I'm going to write.' It also adds in a supportive environment for writing and provides an extra push caused by the need to do well, to gain the degree. As you say, it's not about learning to write. It's about learning to write to a very high standard.
How many of us have had the courage to do an MFA? I bet it's extremely advantageous, but that's years of your life (not to mention the financial cost and potential social stigma) that could have been spent toward a career more likely to go somewhere.
