Feeling a Bit Long-Winded

We probably wouldn't worry about what people think of us if we could know how seldom they do. ~ Olin Miller

This is a post that rambles along and doesn't much go anywhere. You've been warned.

Hey... I won a contest at the Debutante Ball! If you haven't gone over there, you should. They make me laugh almost every day. Judy has two of their books, and I'm waiting for a report. Judy?

Allie wrote this blog post yesterday about a friend who gave an odd response to the news that Allie was having two novels published this year. I find that I get a similar response from many folks about having my stuff accepted at The Wild Rose Press. I suspect it's because, to a non-writer, it's just not that exciting. They aren't going to realize the years (and years, and years) you've spent writing, honing your craft, submitting stories and novels and collecting hundreds of rejections ... Of course, not everyone goes that route. If Brenda Coulter wasn't so nice, I'd hate her. Check out her comment to this blog post.

I got my quarterly royalty statement from Wild Rose and it looks like I can keep myself in printer paper for another month or two. DH will be distraught that we can't buy that lake front property yet, but I'll keep forging ahead :-)

I also got the galley's from my Vintage Rose story, "Miles From You". I'm excited! I really like this story. I can't wait until you all can read it. But first, I need to go look for typos.

I had a wonderful writing day yesterday, and it's those kind of days that keep me going. I wrote almost 2000 words on my novella, and even better -- I liked the direction they took the story. Oh sure, they'll need editing. And I'll need to add a bit more emotion (it was an emotional scene, and I kept a little distance from it which isn't a good thing), but it worked. I'd been stuck for a few days, so it was quite refreshing to sit down and have the words come.

I checked out my stories on Fictionwise the other day, and found my first not-so-good review. Up until now, all the reviews were either Great or Good. I now have an "OK" on my record. At least they don't allow worded reviews, or I would be very sad to know why they didn't particularly like the story.

Gay wrote in a post the other day about how negative critiques, particularly those from people you respect, can make you think about quitting.

I've walked in those shoes, and talked about that here a little... writers talk about their work as "babies" and I've made the comparison myself. No one likes to hear that their baby is ugly or stupid or bad. The difference is this: if someone told me that my DD was ugly (or stupid or bad), I wouldn't believe them. She's beautiful, smart and wonderful.

Yet, when someone criticizes our writing, we think, "Are they right? Is this garbage? Am I fooling myself?" Though I've gotten better at keeping the really negative stuff at a distance, it still affects me. I don't question my writing ability, and I know I can't stop writing, but it can be demoralizing and keep my production down while I mull it all over.

Clearly, I should wait to write these posts until I've finished at least one full cup of coffee. I hope my rambling didn't drive you crazy... Rain here today. Again. Ugh.

Have a lovely day.

Oh... and enter my contest. C'mon, you know you want to!