Writing is a series of ups and downs.
It’s what I imagine an actor’s life consists of…when
you’re cruising along, portraying your character with everything you have,
clicking on all cylinders, and everything makes you feel as if you’re walking
on a cloud.
The other side of the coin is when things aren’t going
so right…you’ve blown an audition, you’re not hitting your mark no matter what
you try, and you can’t remember a line if it’s sticking out of your nose.
Writing is like that.
I’m not talking about the usual “writer’s block” this
time…I’m talking about outside distractions.
What I call “writer’s block” is the point in a piece of
work when you’re stumped. You’ve written
yourself into a spot that will take some concentration to write yourself out
of, or you don’t know in what direction you want to take your writing.
The “ups” happen when you’re writing along, and the
story is clicking so well inside your head that you can’t get your fingers to
type the words fast enough. They happen
when you’ve sold a piece of work that you weren’t expecting to sell. They happen when a compliment about a story
comes out of the blue, and brings you out of a blue funk.
The outside distractions could be anything…an unpaid
bill, a rejection letter, slow sales, a bad review. Any of these things can provide the “downs”,
and shaking them has to come from inside yourself.
If you’re trying to market a story, know your
market. For instance, I mentioned that
Glimmer Train Press declined both Saturday
In The Park and MacArthur Park. Were they bad stories? No!
After The Little Drummer Boy,
I personally consider Saturday In The
Park to be one of my best short stories featuring Justice Security. Do action/adventure/suspense stories based on
an established series of stories fit what Glimmer Train Press is looking for? Probably not…and I guessed that when I
submitted them. But, as I’ve said here
before, the market for action/adventure stories is very limited.
Glimmer Train Press still has Gold and Hot Child In The
City under consideration. They were
submitted at the same time as Saturday In
The Park, and well before MacArthur
Park. Gold and Hot Child are
both stand-alone stories, with tinges of horror and the unexplained, and are
not connected to any series. Are these
types of stories something that Glimmer Train Press is looking for? Maybe, since they’re still under
consideration.
To survive the “downs” in a writing career, you’ve got
to be able to reach inside yourself, grab those “down” feelings, and twist them
out of existence.
To do this, use two strong tools that are in your
possession. The first tool is a firm
belief in yourself and your writing skills.
The second tool?
Hope.
Keep reading!
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