... still playing with the design ...
January 8, 1999
5:19 a.m.
Rejections from Talebones and Century ... yes, I said Century.   Lisa (the copy-editor and wife - not the writer and friend) is a pretty incredible person, you know? (Actually, Lisa, the writer and friend is a pretty incredible person, too, but this entry isn't about her). Besides having a full-time freelance gig, and taking care of Brigid and me, she's also volunteered to be "Cookie Mom" with Brigid's Girl Scout troop, and "Advertising Director" for a major event at Brigid's school. It's this last that's got me working this morning. I'm stepping outside the world of fiction this morning, putting the finishing touches on a short feature article I promised Lisa I would write. She'll mail it to several local papers, and, I assume, at least a few will print it. So I suppose this will be my first publishing credit of 1999. Not a lot of money (can you say "The Big Nilch"?) but it's for a great cause. I'm in the middle of doing something I never do - I'm going back and totally retooling a story I wrote a couple years ago. This is one that has bugged me for some time. It's a strong story, with some great moments of writing inside it - yeah, I know that sounds self-absorbed. Unfortunately, the story only made it onto the page in the distant background. It made the rounds, receiving very nice rejections from several people, including my only personal from Kris Rusch (who said it was lovely but that the story wasn't strong enough - one would think I could have taken a hint here, eh?). I've looked at it about a billion times since I wrote it, and always kept myself from going back. But my fingers have itched to do it again more times than I could count. But I'm taking my New Year's Resolutions to heart this year. I'll not send something out that I think is not my best. And this one could be done better. So it will be. I realize that I haven't talked about what I "like" in journals. I've thought about it, I really have. But the reason I haven't commented on them is that I'm not sure what to say. I like things that interest me. I don't like things that don't. I'll say that I find I have a tendency to visit places that give me an idea of who the person really is. But I also tend to gloss over the stuff that isn't related to writing. I do read pretty much each of the "Not-a-Ring" journals at least some of the time. But, I'll admit to not reading each of them every day. I wouldn't have anyone change their journal just to match my tastes, though - after all, everyone is different, and everyone's journal will probably draw a different crowd of folks as their primary readers. I know I keep my journal my way. I like to change it every now and again (like today), and I try to keep my entries at least peripherally on the topic of writing. Sometimes I stray, of course. But, hey. It's my place. Have a great day.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"Thou art a retailer of phrases, and dost deal in remnants of remnants." William Congreve |
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