Monday, February 20, 2012

A Rant and A Plan

I've had it. I'm sick and tired of feeling sorry for myself which I've been doing WAY too much lately. It doesn't solve anything, it doesn't make me feel better, and no one wants to hear about it!

I've let myself get too focused on the things which aren't going well in my life and it's distracted me from the things that are going well. And that's just not a good way to live.

Right now, right this minute, even though I'm achy and my rejection string is running up into the high double-digits, I've got a positive attitude. And darn it, I'm GOING to hang onto it.

Whew...  OK. It felt good to get that out. I went to my Tae Kwon Do class tonight for the first time in weeks and even though my arm and shoulder were sore, I did what I could with the other parts of my body. I've got some rejected stories that I need to get back out the door, and I'm going to do that tonight. And I'm going to finish revising the story for the Kazka Press contest that's due in under six hours as I type this blog post.

And I'm going to try my best to stay positive, no matter what.

Here endeth the rant.

The plan. Well, call this more a preview of a plan. I'm bringing back Dissecting the Short Story. I'm still working out all of the details, but I plan to post the details of the plan on Thursday this week. Here's a hint: Those polls you saw on the blog, about print and online publications?  Yeah. They're part of this.

For now, adieu... I've ranted my rant and teased my plan and now I'm going to get some small folks into bed and get to writing!

21 comments:

  1. That is awesome. Being positive can be so hard -it's easy to let everything else get us down.
    I'll always be here to cheer you on - I'm sorry crap got to you, but your preview of a positive plan looks pretty damn good :D

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    1. Thank you, K.T.!

      The last few weeks have been lousy no matter how you look at them, but that doesn't mean the next few weeks have to be lousy, too! At least, that's the mindset I'm aiming to keep.

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  2. I realize that rant was to get it off your chest but you've got me all pumped with "That's right!" and "You can do it!"

    So there you have it. You are the man. A little sore, a little rejected and standing strong as a writer because you are not giving up.

    Woot!

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    1. :)

      Thank you so much, Angela! I really appreciate it and I'm glad to know that my venting was therapeutic for someone other than just myself.

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  3. Dissecting the Short Story sounds interesting. I was just reading this Raymond Chandler biography and I guess he was really into dissecting his own stories and those of other writers. The way he really learned to write fiction was by dissecting Hemingway, Dashiell Hammett, and others and then figuring out how to apply those principles.

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    1. Hi there! If you're interested in seeing the most recent Dissecting the Short Story post I'd done before putting it on a brief hiatus it is here: Dissecting the Short Story for "Observations on a Clock" by D. Thomas Minton.

      Additionally, Mr. Minton was kind enough to allow me to interview him about the story and his writing and you can check that out if you're interested in seeing what he and I discussed.

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  4. Aww. I really wish you luck. I know how hard it is to stay positive, so I'm right there with you. I hope everything is going better for you in the future. Keep optimistic!

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  5. Yay! It's always better to focus on the positive. Besides, every success definitely outweighs a whole pile of disappointments.

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    1. That's a very good point. Thanks for dropping by to comment, Angeline!

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  6. I did this a few months ago - not just about writing, but about EVERYTHING. I was really down on what I hadn't accomplished yet and didn't at all see what I HAD.

    You can do it - stay positive, stay focused.

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    1. I can totally relate to that. Glad to hear that you were able to work through it -- gives me more confidence that I'll manage it to hear that other people have. :)

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  7. Nice blog! Very well written - heartfelt ... sounds like a good character for a book! I'm in your group for Rachael's 4th Campaign! Great to get to know you! ~Theresa Sneed, author of No Angel (and angel with an attitude) and its forthcoming prequel, From Heaven to Earth. http://theresasmallsneed.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Theresa. I need to get around to more of the Campaigner blogs here, soon, myself. I'm looking forward to checking out yours.

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  8. Hang in there Michael! You can do it! Rejection is part of the process. Consider it one more step closer to being published. You have to believe in yourself, believe that you have a great story to tell, believe that there are readers out there who want to see your work. JUST BELIEVE!!!
    I'm your campaign groupie in Cozy Mysteries. It took a lot of rejections before I got mine published.

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    1. Thank you, Betsy! I appreciate you dropping in to comment and your words of encouragement.

      The positive attitude is still with me so far. Aiming to nurture it and keep it around for a good long time...

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  9. I see over on Duotrope that your efforts paid off with Kazka Press. Congratulations! Good things don't just happen--you need to put yourself in position to take advantage of good things when they come by.

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    1. Yes, indeed! That was very gratifying, especially since I decided to do a complete redraft of the story the day before it was due. (Granted, at 713 words, that wasn't a TON of redrafting, but still...)

      And that's very good advice. A lot of what looks like "luck" sometimes is actually the result of preparation.

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  10. You've been tagged! http://iwriteandread.blogspot.com/2012/02/wip-wednesday-week-3-and-tag-youre-it.html

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    1. :) I've been very lax in responding to these so far during this campaign... I'll see if I can put up a big honkin' "Answers to Questions" post here in the next several days.

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  11. Glad to see you've pulled yourself up and are ready to get back in the fight!

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