REJECTED

With so much practice you'd think I'd be used to it

Dec 30, 2023

I am a reject.

The short story I submitted for publication was rejected. Although I expected this (the rejection letter said that 98% of submissions were rejected), it still stings. So, what was the publication? It was for the Horror Writers Association. Here was what they were looking for:

Scaring and Daring Adventures will be an anthology of original fiction stories that draw from the rich tradition of classic works of children’s literature and puts a “scaring” spin on the “daring adventures.” These stories will be intended for middle-grade readers and will reference characters, situations, or settings from famous works of literature that are in the public domain.

The classic children’s story I picked was Alice in Wonderland. The “scaring” spin I put on it was werewolves.

The rejection letter, which I will pin on the wall of The Office of Demonology, was very kind and was intended to make me feel that it wasn’t me, it was them. It wasn’t want THEY were looking for. Either way, I enjoyed writing the story and hope you enjoy reading it. Click here to read MALICE IN OVERLAND.

Puppet Sleeve Complete

The next phase of the puppet build was creating an arm sleeve out of a spandex material. I bought the supplies from Joann, cut the material to size, and sewed it with my sewing machine. I am still new to hand and machine sewing, which was difficult. It came out slightly sloppy, and I didn’t follow the instructions correctly. It didn’t matter to me since this will never be seen. It will be inside the body. I still need to make a sleeve for the second puppet, and I will try harder to make it a bit cleaner.

I am at the stage where I am getting fatigued with this puppet build. It may be because the steps are getting more intense with sewing. I started looking at other projects I could work on instead of building the puppet. I am distracted by newer, shinier objects. But I stopped myself and said I was committed to finishing the puppet, and then I could decide what to make next. This newsletter keeps me on task. Even if only one person reads it, I am committed to finishing what I started. It is my weekly obligation to report what I am up to. It would be rather crappy to write about building a puppet for this long and then stop. That said…

Where is Judas Black?

selective focus photography of man smoking while sitting on stair — Photo by Jake Young on Unsplash

Christmas wasn’t so fun for me. Beginning Christmas Eve, I became very ill. I had a stomach bug, which put me out of commission. I spent all day in bed on Christmas and didn’t leave until the next day. I’m about 98% better now, but I didn’t get much revision done on the Judas Black story. I set a deadline to have it complete for this newsletter, but I am extending it until the next newsletter. The good news is you can read my rejected story instead this week.

FASHION! Turn to the left!

The latest episode of Writing Fiction is all about giving your characters style. It was a very fun discussion, so I hope all of you writers give it a listen on your favorite podcast app. If you aren’t a writer, please share this newsletter with a writer friend.