While falling down the black hole of the internet not long ago, I stumbled upon the illuminating blog of L. Lambert Lawson. He’s a speculative fiction writer who has the bravery to post not only his acceptances, but also his rejections for the whole world to see. While I’ll never be as brave as him (though it’d certainly mean I’d post more blog posts over the course of a year), I admire him. Plus, his list of rejections salved my soul. I’d been getting a spate of rejections lately. I kept telling myself that it’s a good thing because it means I’m persevering, but it can be rather soul-dampening after a while. So, thanks L. Lambert Lawson!
Also, he introduced me to the concept of "Write 1 Submit 1" which led me to an annual writing experiment based around the writing habits of an author I seek to emulate, Ray Bradbury.
According to the Write1Sub1 website, here are the rules to the experiment:
- Write and submit a short story or poem every week (or month), starting the first week of January and ending the last week of December. Goal: 52 new submissions in 52 weeks (or 12 in 12 months).
- You don’t have to write and submit the same story within the same week — although that’s what Bradbury did. Often it pays to set a story aside for a while and come back to it.
- The length of your story can be as short as Twitter fiction (140 characters) or as long as a novelette (15,000 words). Any style, any genre: whatever you write.
- Every week, we post a "check-in" where you can tell the world about your progress. Share your triumphs and disasters — we’re all in this together.
I stumbled upon this concept a bit late (4 weeks in), so I’m aiming for 49 short stories written in 2014 and a minimum of 49 submissions. And, sorry, I’m not quite courageous enough to post a weekly update. I will, however, post up an update at the end of the year. Hopefully, this will help me get into the habit of churning out new writing on a regular basis instead of becoming mired in the swamp of tedious editing or wandering in the deserts of overperfectionism (is this even a proper word? Oh well, I’m going to pull a Joyce and say it is). *cross fingers* Wish me much luck and send me virtual cookies to keep up my strength! If you’re a writer, join in on the fun and post your own updates!