Inadvertent Motivation
Estimated Days Until Blogger Burnout: 11
 
OK, first of all, I just got here.  Now Blogger has gotten all fancy on me and added a bunch of toolbar stuff that is frankly freaking me out.  I don't do well with too many options.
 
Second, well, I suppose I should point something out.  The inevitable has happened.  This blog has had a... I'm ashamed to say it as it brings me dangerously close to sincerity... a positive effect on me.
 
Writing stuff again (here, I mean) prompted me to go rummaging through my old stores of short stories and other assorted writings.  I was quite impressed with myself, I must say.  Although, less obviously impressed than the literary magazine editorial staffs that had rejected every single one of those stories, often more than once.
 
Anyway, my great achievement was a small step; outright success mitigated by the bleedover of the overwhelming inertia of a long period of creative stagnation (read that: laziness) into my otherwise bold and decisive action.
 
Today, I made a submission to a literary magazine.
 
Of course, with my desktop monitor all busted up and junk, I couldn't check my old Submissions Log (it's just an Excel spreadsheet folks), so for all I know I've already sent that story to that particular magazine and had it rejected, but ah well.  They can have the privilege of rejecting it twice.
 
The lazy part is that I submitted it to the only litmag I could find that accepted e-mail submissions.  Look, manuscript envelopes are large and postage can add up on you fast, all right?  And in my defense, most of the litmags I was looking at are affiliated with universities and thus shut down until September, so get off my case already.
 
Of course since they do accept e-submissions, I know they get deluged with manuscripts, so I don't have alot of hope.  The story is good in parts, but is overall somewhat uneven.  That said, it is my best work, so it always stings a little bit when it gets rejected.  But it's $500 if it gets accepted...
 
Turns out I enjoy writing.  Who knew?
 
Currently reading Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett (my 19th Pratchett book!  Lawks...).  On deck: The Brothers Karamazov.  Dostoyevsky.  Eight hundred thousand pages with (apparently) NO PARAGRAPH BREAKS.  It's a race to see if I can get it read in less time it took ol' Fyodor to write it.  My money's on the Russian.
 
All this for the sake of bettering myself.
 
 
Today's post on the Narcissus Scale: 8.8 (it actually could have been worse)
 
 
Pops



- posted by Pops @ 10:51 PM