February 2010
This month Susan submits two of her children’s stories to two editors. Otherwise she is taking a breather from her daily writing practice to enjoy the Olympic Games in Whistler and Vancouver.
Neither snow nor sleet…
I am, at my core, an optimist. Once, when I was a young woman, I was given the following scenario:
You are locked inside a cement room, alone. No one can see you or hear you and yet, through a small window you can see blue sky, birds and a meadow. How do you feel?
I wrote: Hopeful.
What does this have to do with my middle-aged self? Well, Kindergarten Mafia was given a pass by the editor who requested the full manuscript. But, for the first time, my adult fiction received a rejection that included encouragement:
“You have such a fun, attention-grabbing voice and tone, that it’s easy to dive right into your cast of characters. While I very much like the focus on female friendship and the overcoming of adversity, I’m concerned that the story just doesn’t feel fresh enough to pull in our wide commercial audience. You are clearly a talented writer, but I must regretfully pass on the project.”
Okay, there’s that bit about lack of freshness – but on balance, this editor has given me hope.
(Did I mention that the cement room is a metaphor for death? Does this make Writing That Which is Unread equal to Death? Dear Lord this is calling is unrelenting. If my passion were, say, playing the piano, at least it would come in handy at a party.)
And so, after months of writing and querying and pitching and submitting I am taking a break. I partake of the once-in-a-lifetime Olympic celebration in my home towns of Whistler and Vancouver. Then I will turn my attention toward my goals for 2010 and by March first I will begin daily writing once again.
I will emerge from the cement room. I will dance in the meadow.