Gratitude

I’m grateful for my sisters…who have helped me never give up. Today I review my submission spread sheets - those that query agents and publishers, those that approach directors and producers, and those that offer fiction and nonfiction to magazines. I find 200 + entries detailing what I sent, why I chose to send to that person, and when I can expect to hear back.

Occassionally good news arrives. I record acceptances and requests for fulls, etc. More often my work is praised but not a fit, close but not there, doesn't fit with the exact needs at this time...Writers know this drill.

The one change I’ve recently made to my attitude about it was inspired by Sister Folio. Instead of typing in Rejected … I now type Declined . Feels less permanent, less personal, less negative. I’m grateful after all these years that I’ve finally learned to be kinder to myself in this small way.

My sisters inspire me every day. In uncountable ways.

Someday I’ll be published to a wide audience and I’ll be able to use these spread sheets to demonstrate to other aspiring writers that it takes hard and focused work and unending perseverance. I am grateful for my gifts. That includes the small ones and the greatest ones: Folio, Nib, and Storm Petrel.

Love and gratitude spilling from the Inkpot.

velvet imaginings

Overheard Lately between the SOTQ:

"Alas for my sisters' vast talents that lay obscured beneath the smothering velvet of their own imaginings."

"I'm having one of those days where I wonder why I'm even bothering. Frustrated. Feeling like a big loser. Just all around wondering if it's too much effort."

"Not that all the loserness has gone away, but I can see the good things, too. We must cling to the things that make us happy."

Dear Sisters of the Quill,

Having always been a big fan of writing with pen and paper, I’ve had to work hard to evolve with technology: conquering cut and paste back when Word Star made it infinitely more cumbersome, track changes (which this editor now appreciates as much as the invention of the printing press), the social realm of Face Book and LinkedIn (still amazed my son wanted to friend me!). And - soon to come - zipping and unzipping files (which sounds a bit intimate to me).

May mastering these technological means by which to share our worlds through our words ward off brain rot.

I’m up for the new adventure of blogging because of you: the sisters I never had growing up, friends that will never be surpassed in generosity, and my most precious co-conspirators in literary crime. You understand and share my obsession with pulling the sunshine and dregs from the ether to slap down on paper. I admire you, Janet, Julie, and Shannon. I am grateful for the opportunity to take this journey with you. Love and Hugs from the Inkpot.