Write What You Know?

April Stats:

Submissions Made: 11
Sales Made: 1
Rejections Received: 10
Other: 0
Publications: 1
Crits Done: 1
Word Count for the Month: 5,231
Total # Pieces Circulating: 18

My number of crits and reviews written and my total monthly word count were both entirely too low. I plan to turn that around now that the semester is over.

Recently, I've re-read all the short pieces I've written over the past five years. I was struck by how the ones that really work are all about broken people trying to find their way in the world. They're not necessary looking to get unbroken, just trying to figure out how to live day-to-day lives, despite their state of being. They're just trying to find their place. Sometimes the tales end on a positive note, sometimes not. Not everyone is going to live "happily ever after," but sometimes they get to live as happy as they can. Most of them are simply looking for someplace to call "home."

I realized that the reason those stories tend to work is because they are written from a deep, gut level. This struck me hard during a day of furious rewriting. As I was working over the various pieces, I was approaching them fearlessly, seeing clearly what worked and what did not.

The reason I've been unhappy with my current work is that I've been avoiding working on that level. I've been staying out of the deep water lately. I've been content to construct solid stories. Solid is not enough.

"Fetch," my ghost dog story, took a lot out of me. It left me drained and tired, but I also think it is one of the best things I've written in the last six months. I'm not satisfied with the level of my current work, so there's only one thing to do.

*Looks out at the deep, deep water. Looks at his phantom streetcars, who have been pleading to be used in a story. Thinks about how somewhere in the world at any given moment, Roy Orbison is singing.*

Yeah, you and me guys, let's go.

Write What You Know?

April Stats:

Submissions Made: 11
Sales Made: 1
Rejections Received: 10
Other: 0
Publications: 1
Crits Done: 1
Word Count for the Month: 5,231
Total # Pieces Circulating: 18

My number of crits and reviews written and my total monthly word count were both entirely too low. I plan to turn that around now that the semester is over.

Recently, I've re-read all the short pieces I've written over the past five years. I was struck by how the ones that really work are all about broken people trying to find their way in the world. They're not necessary looking to get unbroken, just trying to figure out how to live day-to-day lives, despite their state of being. They're just trying to find their place. Sometimes the tales end on a positive note, sometimes not. Not everyone is going to live "happily ever after," but sometimes they get to live as happy as they can. Most of them are simply looking for someplace to call "home."

I realized that the reason those stories tend to work is because they are written from a deep, gut level. This struck me hard during a day of furious rewriting. As I was working over the various pieces, I was approaching them fearlessly, seeing clearly what worked and what did not.

The reason I've been unhappy with my current work is that I've been avoiding working on that level. I've been staying out of the deep water lately. I've been content to construct solid stories. Solid is not enough.

"Fetch," my ghost dog story, took a lot out of me. It left me drained and tired, but I also think it is one of the best things I've written in the last six months. I'm not satisfied with the level of my current work, so there's only one thing to do.

*Looks out at the deep, deep water. Looks at his phantom streetcars, who have been pleading to be used in a story. Thinks about how somewhere in the world at any given moment, Roy Orbison is singing.*

Yeah, you and me guys, let's go.