Long Weekend

Loooong weekend.

My husband had bad back pain and therefore became my patient. Subject to all of my chattering and ideas bouncing off the walls! Poor guy.  We were in pain together though; my wrist (splinted now for over a month) is making progress so I knit (some) but did very little else beyond chores or scrolling on FB.

How is all of this relaxing so draining? Does that make sense to anyone else?

I finally caved and started up a rousing march to get me on my feet! Only....to be sucked...back down into my chair...and watch the video after it, which was a very cool documentary!  Point was, my resolve only lasted a mere two minutes.  Sigh.

Hopefully things will shift. I'll get some sleep, some willpower, some story idea (have NONE at the moment and haven't written a word since finishing my last story 10 days ago). There's just too much in my head.

How do you cope when you're drained? What helps or hurts? I'm open to suggestions.

Cheers!

Nanowrimo winner at last!!!

 

I remember last year I had heard of Nano and truly wanted to do it..I was all set and had a story forming in my mind....when tragedy struck. My father-in-law died on November 11th and all hell broke loose in my personal life. Writing was out of the question and wasn't even on my brain again until sometime the following March!

Finally though, working through things and with help; life went on. When this November rolled around, I was determined to do it! I had two writing buddies that would help unstick my thoughts and get me rolling again, plus a wonderful beta that wouldn't let me post until it made sense!

So...long story short, this year I won Nano! 59K words in about 23 days. Ahhhh. I finally did it! 

 

One of the worst words ever, for any writer is to see REJECTED.

I don't know a single author out there that hasn't been rejected at least once. It's heartbreaking, how could they do this to you? It takes a toll, believe me. But it is definitely not the end of the line.

So how do you pick yourself up and dust yourself off after such a blow?

1. It is not a personal attack.
They have seen your words and your story, but they do not know you. It is not an attack on your person or your psyche.

2. If they gave reasons, take them to heart as constructive criticism.
Most good publishers will give solid reasons as to why they did not accept your work. Either it didn't fit, or needed shortening/lengthening, there were story continuity issues, whatever. Keep in mind they have a business to run and will take what they think will sell.

3. Keep at it.
This is not the end of the line, not by a long shot. My first couple of books were rejected but they gave reasons and I worked on them. Dive into your contacts for a good beta (which are worth their weight in gold). With help, polish up the story and re-submit it somewhere else.

4. If you're the Indie type, do it yourself.
If you've got drive, motivation, and a good network, go indie! I've done this with a couple of mine and have gotten a great response. I found that I didn't need a publishing house to accept me to give my story 'worth'. I knew it was good and didn't want to wait. (very impatient person). It paid off for the most part.

5. Keep writing.
No matter what, this is your craft, don't let them rule what you want to do. I've been writing since I was seven years old and minus a couple of years off sporadically; it has been my lifelong pursuit. If you feel it, write it. Go with your passion. The audience will find you.

S. L. Danielson, Author