I haven't written a word for weeks. This is for three reasons:
1) Insert standard western society 'really busy' blurb here.
2) I've been researching and planning for a new YA sci-fi novel.
3) A run of rejections and a couple of negative reviews have sapped my motivation. Yes I know they shouldn't and all the reasons why, but when you try really hard only to be dismissed as making a 'slight effort', it does make you question your ability.
So it was good to get two positive signs today. One was an email by a new writer saying how I'd made my mark on the australian horror scene, the other was a little fact I stumbled across: I'm on the 2005 'Year's Best' recommended reading list!
So if I can just remember to bring my danged flash drive to work, I think I'll try to write in lunch breaks again. Maybe some of my critique group remember who I am...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
The Long Dry
Well, I knew the bubble would burst some day, and it has. I've just had yet another in a long stream of rejections. At the beginning it seemed like everything I submitted was snapped up instantly.
Have statistics caught up with me? Has my writing turned to crap? Motivation is plummeting.
Still, my original plan when I started all this was:
1) See if I can write a story that someone would want to read (tick)
2) See if I can write a story that someone would pay me for (tick)
3) Do that a couple of times, to make sure it wasn't a fluke (tick)
4) See if I can get anywhere in a writing comp (tick tick)
5) Have a go at a novel.
So, I guess it's time to turn my attention to reeeeeallly long stories. I find this very hard to do because I can't waffle, I only get teeny bits of time to write, and I don't want to wait a year or more to find out if it was all a waste of time. However, this is the next logical step in stretching myself as a writer.
I've already tried twice to write a novel. Both times, my crit group thought the first two chapters were excellent and the third one sucked. This made me give up until I got another bright idea for a novel.
Teeny voice from shoulder: "Stop being such a WUSS! Believe in yourself!"
Teeny voice from other shoulder: "Listen to that Disney-philosophy dork! Ha! As if you could do as good a job as (successful author/acclaimed author/the spec fic clique)".
If only those voices would shut up so I could write.
Have statistics caught up with me? Has my writing turned to crap? Motivation is plummeting.
Still, my original plan when I started all this was:
1) See if I can write a story that someone would want to read (tick)
2) See if I can write a story that someone would pay me for (tick)
3) Do that a couple of times, to make sure it wasn't a fluke (tick)
4) See if I can get anywhere in a writing comp (tick tick)
5) Have a go at a novel.
So, I guess it's time to turn my attention to reeeeeallly long stories. I find this very hard to do because I can't waffle, I only get teeny bits of time to write, and I don't want to wait a year or more to find out if it was all a waste of time. However, this is the next logical step in stretching myself as a writer.
I've already tried twice to write a novel. Both times, my crit group thought the first two chapters were excellent and the third one sucked. This made me give up until I got another bright idea for a novel.
Teeny voice from shoulder: "Stop being such a WUSS! Believe in yourself!"
Teeny voice from other shoulder: "Listen to that Disney-philosophy dork! Ha! As if you could do as good a job as (successful author/acclaimed author/the spec fic clique)".
If only those voices would shut up so I could write.
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