Friday 10 July 2009

a thing completed, a thing rejected, a thing being considered

Completed - my submission for the Guardian Weekender short story competition. I stuck with my 'is it a story' story, fleshed some parts out, and sent it away.

Rejected - I received an email yesterday from Smokelong Quarterly to tell me they're passing on the flash I sent them. They only took 4 days to decide - which is a really useful turnaround. I felt that sting when I read the email, the 'whydon'ttheylikeit/me???' sting, before letting it go and reminding myself of all the reasons editors reject stories, and if they just didn't like it - that's okay.

Being considered - then this morning a much more hopeful email arrived in my inbox, and although I puzzled at the fact it's addressed to a 'Jenny', it does reference the name of the story I sent to Flash Fiction Online, who wrote to say it's passed the first round of their selection process. That's given me a nice boost, and fully exorcised any lurking rejection demons from yesterday. It's not a yes, but it's a possibility, and that's great right now.



Today I'm off work and I am having a day of no writing. At least no scheduled writing. I hardly ever do this because I always feel like there's something I should be working on. Today I think my brain needs to do something else. It's a beautiful day - so a spot in a cafe by the river I think, with Mslexia, is in order.


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