Distractions

Well, I haven't finished the rough draft of Loose Changeling yet, though I'm close. I've run into a number of distractions, some good, some bad.

Good?  I have some new revisions I want to make to Lestoor's Chosen, based on beta reader feedback and some of my own analysis.  People seem to like the first third, but have a hard time putting the book down once they get to the last two thirds.  They take a week or two to read the first third, and finish the last two thirds in a couple days.  So...while I'm happy I'm doing something right for the last majority of the book, there's still that pesky third that isn't quite up to par.  I want to make it hard to say "no" to.    So I've been writing notes, jotting down ideas, and re-outlining.  I expect it'll take me a couple weeks of intensive work to implement the changes I'm considering.

I've also been writing short stories.  I'm trying to pick up a couple publication credits before I start sending out my query en masse.  I'm to the point where I've gotten personal rejections from Daily Science Fiction, F&SF, and Clarkesworld, so I think I'm close.  I'll file this distraction under not-a-time-waster.  I also think honing my short story skills is making me a better writer.  Can't waste words when you're writing a short!

And then there's Words With Friends.  Damn you, Words With Friends!  I'm logging on to Facebook less just to avoid the temptation of clicking on it and playing some words.  So fun, and so terribly distracting.

How do you deal with distraction?

I like to go to the coffee shop down the street on weekends, where I can't get an internet connection because they changed the wifi password (and I haven't asked what the new one is).

What I'm reading right now: Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett

Brain Dead

Last week was one helluva week.  I'm moving into the busy time at my day job, I had house guests, and I was occupied after work with finishing another round of revisions on Lestoor's Chosen.  I've been getting feedback from beta readers, which I've incorporated into the manuscript.  It's always interesting to see what people think.  Some of the criticisms overlapped, so those were no-brainers - fix 'em.  Different people had different things that bothered them, so I used my discretion.  And some criticisms contradicted each other.  I mostly left these things as-is. It is officially out on submission now, so here's hoping!

I usually write intensely every day, but I'm exhausted at the moment.  I suppose a couple days off from novel-writing can't hurt.  I'm very excited about finishing the rough draft of Loose Changeling.  I had to adjust the outline a couple times to fix plot problems, but I think it's solid now.  And I've been cheating and writing little snippets of Windrider.

I'm still working on some short stories.  I have a couple out on submission right now.  Got a personal rejection from the editor of F&SF a few days ago, and I'm hunting for another place to send that one.

I think in 2013 I'm going to move back to my roots and plan out a multiple POV epic fantasy.  Unless, of course, I can sell Lestoor's Chosen and they (the nebulous they) want the other two books.  Though it's a standalone, I've got two more swirling in my head.  Ah well, I can dream, can't I?

The Sting of Rejection

Every time I get a rejection, I think about what it means to grow a thick skin.  That’s what common wisdom says – if you want to be a writer, you have to grow a thick skin. I’ve been writing stories for a long time, and went through the submission process with my trunked novel.  So I’ve endured a lot of rejection.  Have I grown a thick skin?

I’d be lying if I said rejection doesn’t hurt me anymore.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes I get a rejection, shrug, and send it out to the next publication.  And then there are the times I get my hopes up.  At these times, rejection hits like a punch to the stomach.  I spend about five to ten minutes wallowing, lamenting my future failures, convinced I’ll never be good enough.  My cat slinks off in disgust, my dog tries to lick my face, and my husband is left bemused.

So maybe my skin isn’t as thick as it should be.

But after I’m done being ridiculous, I come back to the rejection, to the piece, and try to figure out where I went wrong.

I suppose, in conclusion, I don’t think it’s necessary for a writer to have a thick skin.  It probably helps.  I always feel better when I can shrug off a rejection rather than going the wallowing route. Still, I’m not going to stop dreaming just because it stings less when these dreams aren’t realized.  I think what’s really important is picking yourself up after a rejection, dusting yourself off, and getting enough distance to re-examine things with an objective eye.

Keep writing, keep dreaming, keep the rejections coming!