Just curious whether you have written any shorts with a nautical theme, and how you got on with them?
I wrote my 'Spencer' having a duel in a Southwark gin palace. He steals his enemy's shipping ticket and embarks on a voyage [imposter] as the ship's surgeon. The top half is outstanding but I panicked with the 1000s of blank pages to Australia. I might go back to it... And other shorts from my blogstyle - escaping from prison/escaping from the Royal Navy in a Mirror dinghy crammed with bankrobbers...and also a cosy old devil doing up his boat on the South coast - gets involved with drug smugglers. I'm sure there's others. I will go back to the sea...
I keep forgetting that you guys are quite prolific. The devil and the drug smugglers sounds quite interesting.
Post office in the morning. Got a new story to send out. I feel good about this one. Ha! I always feel good about new stuff I'm sending out. I've got to say I've sent out more submissions this month than I ever have. I've always wanted to see if I could make as many submissions as there are days in a month. This month I've hit and passed that target. I've made 38 submissions this month. I have 63 pending overall. Can't say I'm not trying.
I write full time. I have been paid for speaking engagements about writing and I do some work for a journal and a small press. But I spend a lot of time reading and writing. This is pretty much it. And it doesn't come easy. That's for sure. For me, at least. All I can do is really try. I guess you could say I'm a full-time trier with sprinkles of success.
I ask this question all the time of these guys, Woodstock, I write painfully slowly so the thought of people writing so much every day, every month, is amazing. That's all any of us can do, DR, do the best we can.
Yes it’s amazing. I write every day on my train home which is 15-20 mins a day during the week, with a bit longer on Mondays as I have a longer journey. Then I try and do once lunchtime a week at work for half an hour, and half an hour on Saturday and the same on Sunday. I’d love to do more.
Does anyone else have a fear of submitting a piece too soon? I write something and I really work it. Sometimes I have someone else read it first. I always have my lover give it a read before it goes out. But my lover is kind and knows how hard I try, which can play into the sort of feedback I get. I'm very grateful for those who swap stories with me, but I don't want to go too crazy and ask people to read everything I write. Sometimes we have to trust ourselves, right? I was about to send a story out today, but now I'm questioning it. I'm not sure I have enough description? I'm not sure I need more description. Did I write a stupid ending? I can redo it. Do I have a plot? Is this thing even interesting? Why do I write such stupid stories? So, I held back from hitting send. Still, I'm not sure if I need to do more work or if it's just my nerves. A few years back when I was in an MFA program, almost everything I wrote went through intensive workshops and tons of revision. About half the stories in my thesis have been published. The other ones I'm letting go of. That leaves me with the new and newer stuff. And it leaves me wondering when I feel a story is done if it's just another draft, maybe a good draft. But done? Really done? Why are twenty pages so maddening? There are a few publications that I like to submit to on a regular basis. They reject me on a regular basis, but there are some good ones I continuously try. And when a story is brand new, I have the option of submitting it places that don't take simultaneous submissions because I don't have it anywhere else yet. Do you guys have some places you try and try again at? Where do you send your best work? The glossies are at the top of my list. I know super hard, but I do read them and I believe I can sometimes write something like their stories. Gotta love those personal rejections from the big dogs. Then there are a few reviews. I believe The Missouri Review has rejected almost everything I've ever written, and this dates back years. But sometimes they write personal rejections and say nice things and that generic "try us again" has me trying them again and again. I love The Paris Review for the gritty and sexy stories. You've got to read them to see what I mean, but, man, their aesthetic becomes quite clear. Great writing above all. I feel like I try everywhere. I try to know the markets. I try to write the stories that spark something in an editor to send me money. Hey, it happens, but there is just so much time and rejection in between the literary world showing me any love. So far in 2019, I've been rejected 26 times. Boo! Sorry for the long post/rant. Feeling lonely and discouraged in the process. It happens, I know. But I am really nervous about moving forward with new stories and letting others go. I would like to think I'm better now, but I don't really know. I've got about five stories that aren't out yet. When do you feel really ready to hit send?
Do you belong to any other forums besides this one? Maybe one that would allow users to exchange stories privately? I know you don't want to post complete works for critiques, for fear of losing first publication rights. But it seems to me that no one can really read their own work objectively. No one can even proof-read their own work with 100% reliability. I think I'm so darn accurate, and I once nearly sent out a statement about the local pubic school system.
Don't get me started on this one, CJ, totally on the mark. How do you know? You don't, you can only trust yourself and take a punt. And then, of course, get nothing in reply from the magazines. It's the thing about trying to get published that frustrates me the most.
The thing is I also think where the advice or suggestions are coming from. I don't like the idea of posting my work for several reasons. One of them is that anyone can read and comment and I'm not sure that's always helpful. The other thing is (and this is a big one for me) I don't want to post a story without my name on it. It's not out of fear it someone would take it, but it's my story, my work. I want the credit good or bad, and I don't want to use my real name on here. Then there is also the rights thing that I'm just not going to touch. I'm not on any other forums. I think one is enough. I've gotten to know some of the folks on here and I do trade stories, but I write far more than I can ask people to read. With my little short story crew, I know how they write too. I can see we're working at about the same level or they're better. These writing friendships are the best thing to come out of this rejection thread. I tend to think I sort of need someone to say it's ready to send out, but that's not always going to be the case. And I agree it can be hard to catch everything on our own. However, my biggest sale was for a story that no one read before I sent it out. And I didn't think it was my best work, but an editor sure did. I want that to happen again.
The publishing game is a beast. That's for sure. Does anyone else wonder why they're not literary famous by now? LOL. It's hard to trust ourselves, especially knowing that even if everything is right, the story will most likely be rejected and be rejected multiple times. Right after I send something, I always think of something I want to change. It's hard to imagine there are so many writers trying to do the same thing we are. The slush pile is filled with gut-trusting best attempts. Okay, sending something new out. Ready or not, world, here comes a new story.
It's an age old writers problem, you work on a story for so long you can no longer be trusted to see its value. It becomes too familiar to you, you become blinded to it, and your judgement is eroded to the point you don't trust yourself. Well you should, even if you don't feel like it.
Yeah, I got a bad one today from the London Magazine. But I sent one out for ‘Spoken Word’ - although it’s not ‘spoken word’ - strictly. I turned up once to a ‘Spoken Word.’ It was a highlight. I must have submitted like a muscle memory. They wanted ‘sex stuff’ and that’s what I was writing before the death stuff. Little projects where they pay you £100. That’s what I’m supposed to pursue. I will...once confidence blooms a little..:/ [mobile pidgin] Keep on keeping on @DR
So spoken word means exactly what it sounds like? I'm sure your mojo will come back, dude, keep on keeping on yourself, right?
No, it’s grass roots poetry couplets. But you get a clever rapper and it is entertaining. The brief’s wide...you turn up with something different...and people are entertained...which is good enough. I had some success in Brighton but I’m not 23. It’s the writer’s equivalent of open mic (hell). However - there are shouts & calls for submissions on the wider web. This leads to ‘literary festivals’ and on toward ‘books,’ [mobile super-tap]
