End of February 2015 Update & Trunked Stories

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I forgot. Nothing changed in February. No rejections came in, nor did I mail anything else out. I think the cold weather and the snow slowed everyone down. I know I feel like a slowpoke.

Rejections: 11
Acceptances: 0
Submissions: 8

One thing I didn’t mention last time concerned a flash fiction piece I have trunked. I like the story, but I have learned that even the mere mention of vampires (even if there isn’t a character in the story!) makes most editors roll their eyes. After getting comments about how they are sick of vampires (again just mentioned, not actually what the story was about or even an important plot point), I realized that this story needs to sit for a while. Too many other writers are sending these stories out, and I can’t expect my story to be treated any better.

It’s a hard thing to let a story go. I have a few that I wrote years ago, but I probably will never rewrite them. I want to work on projects that I am excited by and not cling to works that are flawed and might never been very good. Part of me used to believe that, given enough time, the story will work itself out. But I’m not so sure anymore. Sometimes, I think I just didn’t write a good story.

Yeah, sometimes I write bad stories.

For whatever reason, I needed to write it down. But I can’t treat every piece like a precious, unbreakable object. Sometimes I just write a story to see if I can write in a certain style or subject matter. The challenge interests me.

Now I realize, not all of those stories should be shared. Or maybe I shouldn’t try and sell them. I can always put them up on this site. The two stories up right now, I chose to share because I didn’t think I should sell them anywhere else. Comfort Zone has the main character die at the end and that is so overused, no one would want it. (Although I still like it and am quite proud.) Triton’s Fist was written for a contest and I didn’t like the idea of sending out such a specific story anywhere else. I’ve heard editors are annoyed when they get left over stories from contests. It was a short, creepy story I enjoyed, so up it when too.

I guess I am learning to let go. Not every story I write will be successful. The important point is that I keep writing, because I do have some stories that I think are very good. I realize not that I will never run out of ideas. In the past, I worried about this. But thanks to my challenge last year, I know this is not true. Just when I think I have run out, I get two more. (or more!)

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
–Leonardo da Vinci

Never did that quote ring more true than now. This story will be put aside with the others. Those stories that I find interesting, but I don’t want to put any more thought or energy into them. Maybe I wrote them just for fun, or maybe I thought it would turn into something more significant. All I know for sure – I am done (for now) and I have other work to do.