Week #49 Weigh-in

The end of Week 49 is upon us!

How's it been for you? Have the words flowed Quicker than the Eye, or has A Sound of Thunder gotten in the way?

Here's your chance to tell everybody about it, whether you're a weekly or monthly (or anything in between) W1S1 participant.

If you've managed to write a story and submit a story, shout it from the rooftops. Yahoo! If you've had something W1S1-related accepted, tell us so we can add you to the Write1Sub1 Hall of Fame. But if stuff has interfered with your writing and every reply has been a rejection, let us know that too so we can commiserate. We're all in this together.

Also, remember to note your paid publications ($) for our Published Work$ page -- stories published from W1S1 2011 - 2013, and don't forget to post the link. While W1S1 continues to encourage all avenues for publication, we want to especially highlight those stories and markets that help to put peanut butter on a writer's toast.

Successes and failures, triumphs and disasters, brilliant ideas and insane dreams: we want to read all about them.

**W1S1 2014 is on the way, so feel free to plaster our new badge wherever you plaster such things to spread the word!

Welcome Aboard, Devin Miller!

As you may have noticed, we have some "new" smiling faces here at Write1Sub1. Please join me in welcoming Devin Miller to the team as a fellow site administrator. You'll be seeing his name more often next year as he joins the monthly rotation, moderating Write1Sub1's posts and updates. Check out Devin's bio on our "About Us" page to learn more about him, and be sure to visit his blog.

W1S1:  How long have you been a W1S1er, and what induced you to start?

Devin:  I started W1S1 in 2012, so two years. I did the weekly challenge then and the monthly challenge in 2013. I wanted to start it because I felt like I needed a jump-start in my writing, a fire lit beneath me, something to commit to and a reason to have to show up at the keyboard. Being part of W1S1 made me feel obligated to write, and my productivity skyrocketed. Also, I wanted to get to know other writers in the digital world and see how I fit in among them.

W1S1:  What have you appreciated the most about this challenge? 

Devin:  The best part about the challenge is the feeling of accomplishment when you realize how much work you did after a given amount of time--a month, six months, or the whole year. When you're in the middle of it, it feels a bit like walking through quicksand--the word is trudging. But afterwards, there's no getting around it--you're a writer. You started with nothing and now you have something. I had a lot of ideas for stories that I thought were too daunting or over my head at the time, but I wrote them anyway because I had to write something. And you know what? They turned out okay. And I'm better for writing them.
 
W1S1:  How has W1S1 affected your writing?

Devin:  W1S1 had the immediate impact of expanding the library of stories I've written, and I think with every word you write you get a little bit better. My 2012 stories varied a lot, from flash to novellas, because I couldn't always finish a long story in a week and had to make up the difference with something short. I got the feel of how a story should sound in short form vs. longer form, so that was one cool thing. Another is that I almost never had a plot planned out to write a story because I simply didn't have the time to bother--so W1S1 taught me to trust that the words would come and to simply start with a situation or scene and run with it.

W1S1:  What keeps you motivated to write?

Devin:  I love stories. I love reading them and watching them and writing them. Every story I read gives me ideas for scenes or stories of my own, and nothing excites me like writing a new story I think is good. They get to bouncing around in my head and can be rather insistent if I ignore them for too long, and relief comes only once I've done the work. If you've read Harry Potter, I've always thought the pensieve was a metaphor for writing, the way Dumbledore takes crowding thoughts out of his head and puts them in a bowl. Writing for me is like that, at times. But at the heart of it it's that I simply love stories.

W1S1:  Inquiring minds want to know: What's been your best/worst rejection?

Devin:  My worst rejection, if you can call it that, came in college as part of a writing class my junior year. We wrote three stories and put them online for the class to read and critique before we met to discuss them. I wrote something I knew would inflame people, mostly for fun but also because it was WAY outside my comfort zone--a horror story about this guy and girl being tortured by some crazy lady. It was a stupid plot idea and not well-written, but that was kind of the point. Anyway, there were ten things everyone was supposed to address, and I got a number of lists back except for this one guy who said he refused to talk about my "piece of shit" because it was so vulgar and insulting and crass . . . I wish I could remember exactly what he said. I've never had anyone say such hurtful things, and even though I didn't care about that story at all and just wrote it out of curiosity, his refusal even to comment on it stunned me.

My best rejection came a semester later, when I got my first and only personalized response from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The editor commented that he enjoyed the characterization of my protagonist, but overall the story wasn't up to snuff for the magazine. It was really maybe one line different from the form rejection, but I knew the form rejections very, very well, and knowing that he took a minute to type a difference into it was rewarding and rejuvenating.

W1S1:  Glad to have you on board, Devin! W1S1 2014 is seriously going to rock.

Week #48 Check-in & November Powerhouse Award

So how has the writing gone this week/month?

If you've managed to write a story or poem and submit it, comment today and let everyone cheer! If something you've written as part of W1S1, whether this year or in previous years, has been accepted, let us know so your name can be added to the Write1Sub1 Hall of Champions. And if stuff has gotten in the way of your writing or you're starting to feel like a rejection magnet, let us know, so we can commiserate. We're all in this together.

And don't forget to let us know when your W1S1 creations are published so they can be mentioned in the weekly Satummary. Be sure to note if they're paid publications ($) so they can be added to the Published Work$ page. Publications qualify for this page as long as they were written during any year's W1S1 participation, whether they pay pro rates or help you pay for morning coffee. While W1S1 continues to encourage all avenues for publication, we want to especially highlight those stories and markets that help to put coffee in a writer's cup.

Successes and failures, triumphs and disasters, brilliant ideas and insane dreams: we want to read all about them.

Meanwhile, are YOU a November Powerhouse?

At the end of each month we publish a list of everyone who has managed to stick to the challenge: whether weekly, monthly, or whatever variant is working for you.

This month, everyone who has done so receives the November Powerhouse Blogfest Award, named after Ray Bradbury's short story. If you've met your W1S1 writing goals during the month of November, just add your name and blog URL to the linky widget below.

And if you've had something W1S1-related published this month that you're particularly proud of, add its title and URL to the widget as well, and we'll be sure to check it out!

Week #47 Check-in

The end of Week #47 is upon us. How's it been for you? Have you been burning The Candle into the wee hours of night? Or have you been more like The Screaming Woman? Here's your chance to tell everybody about it, whether you're a weekly or monthly (or anything in between) W1S1 participant.

If you've managed to write and submit a story, leave us a comment! Woot! If you've had something published from this year's submissions, tell us so we can add you to the Write1Sub1 Hall of Fame. But if stuff has interfered with your writing and every reply has been a rejection, let us know so we can commiserate. We're all in this together.

Also, remember to note your paid publications ($) for our Published Work$ page -- stories published from W1S1 2011 or 2012, and don't forget to post the link with title so we can add it to $ Published Works! While W1S1 continues to encourage all avenues for publication, we want to especially highlight those stories and markets that help to put juice in a writer's laptop.

Successes and failures, triumphs and disasters, brilliant ideas and insane dreams: we want to read all about them.

Rejection is Not the End

One of my favorite quotes comes from Samuel Beckett: Fail Better. When the rejection letters pile up or the task of selling a story seems insurmountable, I always return to this quote.

Because let's face it, in this business you are going to get rejected. This can sink your mood, but don't let it sink your career! Rejection is not the end, it is only a stepping stone to achievement.

There are several ways to overcome the rejection blues. I often find reading other's stories of rejection and success to be particularly motivating. Some sites like Literary Rejections or Bizarre Publishing Stories feature famous authors' struggles to publication. The Write1Sub1 blog and comments left by our participants can be helpful. It's good to know you're not alone in your suffering. And sometimes, the best way to beat the blues is with a cup of coffee, a long walk with your dog, or lamenting with your writing buddies about how much rejection sucks.

However, the old saying holds the truest: When you fall off the horse, get right back on! The best way to overcome rejection is to send that story out again. Keep pushing forward to the next market, the next story. Park your butt in front of your computer and don't leave until the job is done.

Try again, fail again. Fail better.