Far out...

I'm nearing my 200th post on this blog. Traffic's light as ever, but that's okay. It's a quiet place, where I just do my thing, and hope that those few who know of this sanctuary enjoy their visits. You're all special to me, my friends!

So, I keep writing stories, sending them out. I've got a possible connection by way of a friend, who knows a big NYC literary agent. Right now, that's her thing, but I'm hoping if it works out for her, I can make it work out for me, too. Networking really is everything, which can be dispiriting, when you're busy trying to write stuff on its own merits. But the alternative, namely, not writing, is far, far worse. And so, the dance goes on, the ebb and flow of paper and envelopes, the unanswered queries, the speedy rejections, the lingering hopes, the fleeting victories in an ongoing campaign. But the alternative, the Nothing, is just unthinkable, and so I dance, my friends. I write the words, and hope that, someday, those words reach people who care about them.

An editor myself, I have no illusions about editors, no respect for the profession. I mean, yes, editing matters, but it's a chimerical occupation, where, if you do a good job, your work goes unnoticed. Only bad editing gets noticed. Not a good place to be. Anyway, I don't respect editors very much, but hope that my prose eventually gets more than a few batted eyelashes at some point.

My record stands at 1 and 22 -- acceptances to rejections, which isn't actually so bad, when you think about it. The three that are still floating in the ether right now are hanging around my neck like an albatross garland. I want to inquire about them, but the times that I've done that, even after more-than-reasonable intervals of waiting on my part, have earned my snarky replies. Editors are like bears, best left to slumber in their caves.

I have no illusions about myself as a great writer -- I'm a good one, adequate to the task. I love words, love weaving them into fun forms, playing with sound and rhythm and shape and characters. Always with characters. I love characters, let them write my stories for me. I'm best at dialogue, but I think that's because I'm such an audiophile -- sound matters so much to me, so everything I write sounds good (to me), because I sound it all out internally.

Anyway, I'm sorry to natter on about writing and such. I usually pursue a policy of writing more and talking about it less, but I'm feeling momentarily expansive, so there you have it.