Tuesday, April 19, 2011

How you doing?

The writing lifestyle is not as glamorous as I would have wanted it to be. But then again what ever is? OK maybe some things in life do live up to the glamor but I find them to be few and far between events. As I settle into my non-grad school supported writing life I wonder if it will ever be as hardcore as some of my friends and teachers. Everyone has their own commitments and at times I do wish I was a notch deeper in the writing community. In time I think I will get where I want to be, but as for now I must say I am glad to be where I am.

Where is that exactly you ask. WELL, I am consistently keeping up the writer habits I managed to acquire during grad school. Here are a few things I've been doing since turning in my thesis:

- Still thinking about some of my thesis stories I was not totally happy with and how I might change them for the better.

- I finished my first Charlie Hoot story and began a second one. A close friend of mine has already read through the first story and has given me some positive feedback. Now I need to dive into the world of children's literature and decide what to do with these stories. Should I try right away for a book publication or should I submit them to a children's journal?

- I've continued to work on my short short and think I've made some good head way with it. I am slow on this project mostly because it takes me in a different place with my writing. Compared to other projects this one is much more fragmented and loose flowing (if that makes sense to anyone but me). I hope it all makes sense by the time I am done with it.

- I've certainly picked up my reading. I have been able to stay current with my New Yorkers as they arrive every week in the mail. This is something I have not been able to do in over 7 months.
- I purchased a lit mag (Tin House) from my favorite books store Unabridged Books and learned that a good selection of lit mags is hard to find in most book stores. The one I got was one of the only three available. So with a few good recommendations I decided just to order another magazine (Salt Hill) straight from the publisher's website. By the time I actually tracked down where I could get it in the city and went to purchase it I figured I would have it in the mail. This venture I am pretty excited about because lit mags was something in the past I had very little time for and never quite got a chance to explore the many available options.
- And when I am bored with all those reading options I like to switch them out with the many books that have gone ignored these past months on my book shelf. I am still trudging through The Instructions and I am determined to finish it. I'm enjoying reading it again, but boy oh boy, books that size can really wear a reader out.

- LASTLY I have submitted to journals AND I even received a rejection notice already from one of those submissions. Even though it was a "we can't use your story at this time" kind of letter it was nice not to have to wait so long for a response.

So there it is folks, my continued life as a writer. I may be dressed in sweats and a robe as I do my work, but if I'm doing it well the words should draw all the same attention that a glamorous lifestyle would. I can live with that.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Keeping up the Momentum

Since my devoted day of rest I have managed to keep up my busy pace. I have applied to at least five jobs since last week, I wrote 1042 words on my Charlie Hoot project, thought of the next Charlie Hoot story I want to write, and picked up "The Instructions" again (I'm around page 420 out of 1000 plus pages). I'm still working my two internship and volunteering at the Chicago Art Institute.

The only thing holding me back this week is a serious acting out from my sinuses. The up and down weather has really kept me under the weather. If I took a 24 hour allergy pill at 9pm the night before. How bad is it to take another one before that initial 24 hours has passed? Nonetheless, I am pushing forward with determination to at least write something each day. And despite how much I dislike cover letter I think I might finally be getting a handle on them. The pup is at least happy I have more time to play and take him for walks.

Lastly, because I thought it is worth a mention for some comedy. I joined a book club. Except we don't actually read books. Hummm. I joined about two months ago and attended a meeting last minute because I happen to have already read the book assigned. I was the only one that actually did the reading. The ladies are wonderful company and extremely busy professionals. So I applaud their efforts to try and read for the club, but I think they have finally given over to what most book clubs turn into - a social gathering. We did discuss in the last meeting of maybe donating books to charities instead of reading them or maybe reading shorter articles related to our interests. But we haven't made any decisions yet.