I’ve made another full revolution around the sun! Last Friday, I celebrated my birthday by simply turning another year older. There were also some meals with loved ones, gifts, a bit of beer, and perhaps a few more fun things. These, obviously, were unimportant compared to the arrival of an AARP envelope welcoming me into “being damned old enough to belong to the American Association of Retired Persons.”
HAH! Joke’s on them, I’m a writer and an American citizen, so I will never be able to retire!
Oh. Ugh….
Ah, well, onward and upward! At least the skies have been blue, and temperatures have left the arctic zone (for me, that means it is 60 F outside instead of 45 F). Shorts and beer garden weather, which is why it is my favorite time of year.
Writing Updates
I don’t want to say it was an unproductive week, although looking at my spreadsheet, it appears less productive than past weeks. I have a good reason for that, though.
I’ve mentioned before that I do a timed writing prompt every morning as a warm-up exercise. Well, over the course of several days, my prompt writing began to link together. Not a huge thing, this happens, and often, I get a full-length short story out of the prompt writing.
This was a bit different. I’ve put a novel idea, which I call Ragman, on the back burner to cook a bit until summer break, when I expect to have time to give it the attention it deserves.
Apparently, Ragman is not very patient, though. Three mornings in a row, Ragman kept creeping into my morning warmup with new characters and directions. Things I hadn’t even had on my radar. Does this mean I need to start focusing on Ragman now, while still in the thick of the university season?
Perhaps. Perhaps…
That is not to say I was completely not hitting my goals! I finished revising “Dendrolatry” and have sent it out into the world. Two submissions this week, but planning a few more over the coming weeks as submission windows open at a few places.
I received a rejection for “From Little Mice.” It was a nice rejection, not rude at all, from the journal Hearth Stories. I also received a rejection from Jeopardy for the flash story “Myths of Each Other.” Also, a nice rejection, but I also know the editor personally, so perhaps they felt they had to be nice. I jest! Plus, I have two more stories submitted to that publication (with different editors, though), so they may still accept something.
Published this week is “Is It Capitalism, or the New Feudalism?” over on Medium. (Free read friend link below, share it wide and far!) It’s an exploration of how we can create room for creating and creative thought in the system where we currently find ourselves.
Reading Notes
I finished Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers and have moved on to the second book, Prayer for the Crown Shy. I went into these books knowing I would love them. I love every single thing that Chambers writes, from now until forever. I love how she plays with the idea of gender and speciesism and nonbinary/nondualistic love.
What I didn’t expect was how much I was going to specifically love these two books. They are library books, soon they will be my books because I placed them on order at my local independent bookstore (you know I am not ordering them from some online retailer). I see myself carrying these books in my bag, just so I can read a passage or chapter whenever I am sad, confused, or need some inspiration.
These books are that good. Go read them.
I also finished Laura Goode’s Pitch Craft. Another excellent book, for different reasons, obviously. Goode does an excellent job breaking down the state of the writing and publishing world as it is right now. Most of the craft books I find on the publishing industry are woefully out of date or have put all of the eggs into the self-publishing basket. Pitch Craft is both up to date and it is an engaging read. I rarely read books like this cover to cover, but I did this one. It’s another one that I am adding to my reference) bookshelf.
The sun is still shining. If you are familiar with the PNW in April, you are also aware that this may change at any moment, and it will once again be cold and rainy. Thus, I am going to find a beer garden to sit in so I can soak up the sun, people-watch, and get back to the business of writing.
As always, go forth in hope, Friends!
Jenny Wren 