"The only thing worse than writing is not writing."
Friday, 7 December 2018 20:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ordinarybirds I'm getting ready to make what will probably be my final Glimmer Train submission before they shutter in 2019. There will be other contests before then, and general submissions (the reading fee for a general submission is only $2 I believe) but I have a little more than half of a story in my pocket that fits the submission category, and they extended the deadline to January 2nd, and hell, how cool would it be to not only be published by them but as a contest winner? And since I just got paid by the BoE for my election day work, I can pay the reading fee.
I had always planned to just throw stories at GT until something stuck; they pay well, they look for new writers, they're a print journal, something you can hold in your hands, rub your face on, give your mother to take to school and show all her teacher friends at lunch. I am not even vaguely ashamed of my one online publication credit--do you understand how incredible it is to hear your story read out loud by a total stranger and have been paid for the privilege?--but I've always dreamed of being in print.
But of course before any of that can happen, I have to actually finish the story. Ask for beta reads. Edit, edit some more, keep poking it. Agonize over a title only to choose one vague word like I always do. Tell myself it's done this time and then give it one last read. Argue with my partner over whether or not this weird little turn of phrase is worth keeping. Try not to get my hopes up too much. Fail at that. Maybe make some other submissions to other places, do some world building for the other two stories I've got kicking around. Try not to be too pessimistic about my chances of any kind of success. Fail at that.
My partner, and our mutual ex, have a saying: you keep creating because it hurts too badly not to. The only thing worse than writing is not writing.
(This is all a very dramatic way of saying "I dont wanna :c ")
I had always planned to just throw stories at GT until something stuck; they pay well, they look for new writers, they're a print journal, something you can hold in your hands, rub your face on, give your mother to take to school and show all her teacher friends at lunch. I am not even vaguely ashamed of my one online publication credit--do you understand how incredible it is to hear your story read out loud by a total stranger and have been paid for the privilege?--but I've always dreamed of being in print.
But of course before any of that can happen, I have to actually finish the story. Ask for beta reads. Edit, edit some more, keep poking it. Agonize over a title only to choose one vague word like I always do. Tell myself it's done this time and then give it one last read. Argue with my partner over whether or not this weird little turn of phrase is worth keeping. Try not to get my hopes up too much. Fail at that. Maybe make some other submissions to other places, do some world building for the other two stories I've got kicking around. Try not to be too pessimistic about my chances of any kind of success. Fail at that.
My partner, and our mutual ex, have a saying: you keep creating because it hurts too badly not to. The only thing worse than writing is not writing.
(This is all a very dramatic way of saying "I dont wanna :c ")
no subject
10/12/18 22:18 (UTC)