#67

And just about all of the stories that are out there have come back (aside from a few with publications that are much, much slower than the norm.)

And to add to that, my brain is once again turning to novels…

Rejection #66

Just what it says on the box…

Three reasons my parents are awesome…

1.  I knew from a very young age that they’d support me in anything I decided to do.  Baseball, soccer, moving to Australia, writing, they’ve never blinked and continue to help me every step of the way.  That means everything.

2.  Both of them are damn good at what they do, and haven’t stopped doing it.  They’re an inspiration.  My Mom’s been a teacher for a zillion years, or so, and she still loves it.  My Dad never, never stops.  Obstacles, challenges, whatever, he just kept on pushing toward the life he knew he wanted for he and his family.

3.  They bought me this.  (sans hands…)

A Sony Reader.  It is, without question, just about the coolest thing I’ve ever had.  It’s got a battery life of 2 weeks, charges via USB, and there are tons and tons of free magazines and books out there.  I’ve only had it a couple of weeks, so far, and I’ve already been able to catch up on a lot of what’s going on in the spec fic world.  Sure, they’re expensive (well, not for me, since my parents rock…) but down here in Australia, a hardback can easily cost more than thirty dollars.  The same book’ll cost between $6 and $10 US, or thereabouts.  I love bookstores as much as anyone, and used bookstores even more, but this is a FAR more environmentally friendly, fiscally responsible, and kick ass option.  Yeah, yeah, I hear it already.  “I like the tactile feel of a book.”  I felt that way too, but once you’ve got the leather-bound cover attached to the Sony Reader, it feels like a book, weighs what a book weighs, and, best of all, when I’m reading in bed (lying down on my side) I can happily read those 1,500 page juggernauts without hearing my ligaments separate from the bones in my arm.

Rejection #65

and counting…

13/11/09 (11/13/09)

Wow.  It’s scary how just writing the date like that  (one way for Aussie land, one for the US) is kind of morbid.  So often it’s this big final stamp on someone’s life.

Anyway…

Happy Friday the 13th.

Headspace

Well, here’s proof.  The Star Wars exhibition has been gone for 4 days, and I’ve written 2 new stories.  It’s a wonderful thing to have room in your own head to do your own thing, and get paid for the priviledge…

Near and Dear…

I am very much of the opinion that some stories are big stories, and some are not.  It doesn’t make the ones that aren’t any lesser than they are, but some stories I write mean more to me than others.  I know we’re supposed to pretend we all love our children equally, but, not having any kids, I can admit that some of my stories mean more to me than others.  The difficult ones, the ones that challenged me, the ones that lingered in my head and demanded my time, they’re the ones I love the most.  The others, the ones that are there when I sit down and get written, a little bit, so that they’ll get out of the way of the bigger stories, mean a lot to me too.  Creation of all kinds is worthy of awe. 

But if you had to fight for it, it means more.

#64

And again.  Also, I sent a bunch of stories (5) to a friend who’s editting a magazine.  I won’t name the magazine, or the friend, as what he’s letting me do isn’t the norm, but it will ensure, undoubtably, that I get a bunch of rejections. 

I do feel bad, though, that I’ve set this particular avalanche in motion on him.  Hopefully, he’ll forgive me.    I had to wait for a few of them to bounce off their previous targets, which took a while…

Rejection #63

Looks like everybody’s back from WorldCon, or whatever, as the rejections are starting to wander back…  I don’t see myself achieving my 100 rejections in 10 months goal, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying.  I’ve only got 7 stories out there in the big bad world, right now, which isn’t good.  Not good at all. 

I shall have to rectify that…

So… #61 and #62

For the last four months or so, Scienceworks (my place of employ) has had the Star Wars exhibition.  It’s been busy.  Way too busy for writing thoughts to properly bounce around in my head, and I’ve also had a lot of days where I came home after work and pretty much went to sleep immediately, none of which is conducive to putting words on paper.

Anyway, today is the last day of the exhibition.  If I make it, which will mean I decide not to drink the Flavor-Ade I suspect we’ll be handing around when we close the doors, I’ll do a post about the exhibition itself, and the crazy questions I got asked.  They’re awesome.  For now, I’ll leave you with the news that I got rejections 61 and 62 today, both personal, both liking the stories but feeling they weren’t quite right for them. 

I sense an avalanche of fiction in the future of a number of editors, now that I’ll have a chance to breathe…