Monday, April 13, 2009

Truckin' on...

I apologize for long absence. There has just been a lot to do around the apartment, lots of little things like re-registering the car and other such headaches.

I just received my eighth rejection yesterday for "Gullible Jack." I am now down to half of submissions remaining out, four of which I might be hearing from soon (my guess from their estimated response time). This latest rejection came from Fifth Wednesday Journal. They, out of all the rejections thus far, have been the only one to provide feedback. I can't tell you how appreciative I was. This gave me hope for several reasons. 1. They took the time to evaluate my work and didn't just read it and toss it. They care for their writers. 2. And I quote: "I admire the story’s risk-taking." That's always nice to hear. 3. The majority of their suggestions and comments were things I had struggled and fought over, and now I have a better idea of where to take the story should it not get picked up be any of the other eight submissions still out.

I think I'm realizing one of my weaknesses as a writer, not including my A.D.D. I have a hard time providing enough background and, for lack of a better term, psychological evidence for what is taking place in the story. Apparently, I tend to focus too much on the here and now of the piece. I will keep this in mind as I wrap up the first draft of "The Red Truck" and go through the editing process.

A question for you writers out there: How do you write a first-person narrative without using "I" in almost every sentence? Right now that's what it feels like is happening to me.

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