Rejection, rejection, rejection...

Right, that all sounds terrifying. I could never do that, not good at the whole public thing, good for you if you can.
Um, what's mobile super-tap?

 

Oh..I was born with these fat fingers ^and when I tap^on a phone^I don't always make sense^or am lucid particularly^^^
...

So for history of 'spoken word' you seek out the clip with the rap dude and the stiffy teacher - and the teacher riffing all long-style and wins the crowd and the game and the £10 000...but probably gives it to the kid. Or my wife's favourite:

 

Well, that was interesting, there was a sort of rhyme there, thought I heard it anyway.

 

Yeah I conflated two scenes that are in the same scene. There's the 'rap off' type stuff, and then the more heavy political, and then the more hee hee, light-hearted, mmm, maybe...word-play - that's me. And y'know, lions' dens are easy, y'know?

You got to be up with this stuff, Pops, heh heh.

...

Not that I'm doing this, but it's the same advertisement, the same event/ organisers...[v, old clip from when @DR was 5]



Or...thinking...I sent my sub to the wrong people, but that, that, that doesn't matter...

 

I did see a little of that, never heard of it before. You were doing that kind of stuff then? Interesting, I guess it would give you a platform to be noticed, if you were a writer of novels and shorts, a kind of career boost.
But I could never do that in a million...

 

No...not really...it is only part of the picture. It's where all [plenty of] the opportunities lie with 'civic' and 'grants' and 'culture..' and...

 

Right, it' s a very visual kind of reading performance I guess. Can't see why this should get grants etc, but things become cool at some point, popular because of it, so maybe then people all suddenly jump up and start supporting it...

 

If you turned one of your stories into a poem, and entered it into 'Dorset/Hampshire/Sussex writers' prize,' and won 3rd place, and read it at Salisbury library...and some fella said 'that was amusing, come to my Festival new faces...' it's the same, in parallel.

...public money somewhere, and your Guardian first review at the festival.

 

Right, and away goes your career.
Perhaps that's why I don't have one, in writing that is.

 

Heh, I walked out of mine.

Well, what harm would reading a poem to a crowd of thespians do? It's nice. One of my greatest/strangest/most confusing experiences. Imagine, like a Beatle

 

I'm not a public performance kind of person; don't think I'll ever get used to it, being in the spotlight.
Anyway, I'm off to bed dude, have a good one.

 

All the editors are at AWP this weekend. Should mean no or very few rejections are going out. Also means an acceptance is pretty unlikely. And once all these short story writers have five minutes of face time with these editors, I bet these publications get even more flooded with submissions. Wishing I was at AWP...

 

What's AWP?

 

It's a yearly conference. AWP stands for Association of Writers and Writing Programs. And basically every American literary journal is there. They have readings and talks and parties. They also have tables set up where you can just stop by and say hello to your favorite magazine or journal editors. I went the year it was close to where I live, but I didn't really know to much about it or really take advantage of who and what was there. I really want to go again. Stupid money and lack thereof. I just want to party with the right people.

 

Ah, the old networking trick, in writing it's more about that than in other careers I guess.

 

As a matter if interest, do writers really do the whole partying thing?

 

I suppose I'd try it once if you arrived on the doorstep. Otherwise more solo, and in darkness is my pleasure. Currently enduring drafting hell toward Bridport entry, 12 quid.

 

Yeah, me too, not the movement you understand, just the solo environment. So, how many times have you re-written your last entry then? I know mine go through so many I lose count.

 

Well...too many really...and I thought after the third rotation is was zinging and included the story in an application for a grant/and sent it to 2 American mags.

It came back once...[rej..]

I looked at it again and took it through the 4th rotation, the 2ooth draft(?) Awful.

So I sent that one to Bridport after 4 days work - just now. 4 days work! - and I can forget about it thinking I get £30 000 if it wins the accumulator..pfff...

 

What is you mean by rotation?
And Bridport, and accumulator?

 

- I have a ... ... ...tableau.......of 3000 words...written one month or three months, or three years ago. Each sweep of the eye is either silent, or is narrated aloud at the screen.

- Invariably, I am swapping, and constantly, my 'his' for a 'the,' and 'the' for 'a' and 'a' for the 'the' and 'as' for 'while' and bollocks...so an evening/2 days with my draft might be described as a 'rotation,' rather than a single read-thru..being a draft....meh...meh.

First rotation is my new baby, and usually anything is good by the third or fourth rotation. I don't know why, those are my limits. I actually think my stories are very good first draft, I don't even know why I do this, but I do.

Win Bridport = £5000 + you are entered into the major awards to come [BBC short story...+ others...

 

Right, just looked up that Bridport, now that I know...never seen it before in my life. Looks serious.
You rotation thing though, I mean, what? I couldn't quite get what you meant but don't worry, I do think it's a tough way to write something, but I guess we all have our methods and means. If the method works then...well if it ain't broke etc...

 

Well...you wouldn't want to narrate an ugly piece...and you want 'gags' to appear effortless...?

 

Narrate as in read aloud?
I guess not, a kind of practice you mean?
I've never read anything I've written out loud, can't remember anyway.

 

I want the piece to work on both levels: read or performed.