The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Monday, January 5, 2015

You Asked For It

      Avert your eyes if your eyeballs are sensitive to flashy brilliance. But come back at the end... where a smidgen of pride flourishes and where darkness returns.




         Yes, this one of my new Crocs. It was given to me by my enabler husband. Of course, in this picture the strap is not where it is supposed to be. I wear my Crocs in the tres chic way--with the strap pushed to the front, so that it protects the top of my delicate size 11 foot.

        If you head to The Muffin on January 16, you can read my guest post. It's David Letterman and Chris Rock and writing advice... all rolled into one--and I only used one set of ellipsis.

        That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Just one. I had to slave over the post, paring it down from 147 sets of ellipsis--revising and drafting over and over--until I got it down to a single, solitary set.

         And now for the dark side. (A little Eddie and the Cruisers for you, Val.) One of my stories, "The Handler," had made it to the next-to-last hurdle for Chicken Soup's Thanks to Mom. Well today, it ended up lame. It leaped up, intending to clear with air to spare... only to crash into a mangled heap. The CS people said my story should be sent to the Pulitzer Prize people was being cut.

         What disappointment have you recently stared down? Minds that are licking their wounds want to know...(Hey! I had myself so reined in with those enchanting ellipsis, I had to let loose at some point...)



         

        

21 comments:

  1. Sorry. It is worse because you were almost there. Disappointments? A publisher has my $40 and won't send book--a judge said good things but then docked me for no header (which I thought was not necessary on a one page piece) and said I needed double spacing which it had. Today's 3-4 hour ME time was chopped to 2 hour including time to make lunch. Want me to go on? :). Stay warm and keep going!!!

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    1. Claudia--By my calculations, you still owe yourself a couple of hours of YOU time. Take it. (And thanks for the encouragement. ;)

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  2. Cool alligators, oops, crocs. I know how aggravating it is to have your story pulled last minute. Sorry:(
    Now I'm going to the Muffin.

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    1. Sorry Linda. The guest post is on Jan. 16. (And don't dis the Crocs. They are quite stylish!)

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  3. I will never understand the appeal of Crocs, but to each his own said the old lady as she kissed the cow. :-)

    Disappointments? I've had a few--including CS stories that ended up being cut. Work not paid for...agents dissing my fine plotting skills...scores of 1 (when the highest score was 5) from a contest judge.

    Btw, I love a good ellipsis. Or three. :-)

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    1. Cathy--Work not paid for? That must have hurt. And yes, there can never be too many ellipsis...

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  4. I'm so sorry about your story, Sioux. That sucks.

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    1. MZ--Thanks. But weren't you dazzled by the Crocs?

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  5. I'm an ellipsisaholic too . . . at least I used to be . . .

    Sorry about your story being cut. That stinks, but you can probably use it somewhere else! Hold on to that sucker and wait for the next opportunity.

    Disappointment and being a writer go hand in hand, I'm afraid. There are the lovely highs when we hear a "yes" and the inevitable lows when "no" is the word of the day. It hurts every time, but one yes makes all those negatives worth the price of admission.

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    1. Lisa--You are sooo right. A yes erases the recent no's...

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  6. Hey, look! Blogger didn't eat my message! ha!

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  7. Aw, sorry for the CS bow out. I am impressed that you made the list, though! I sent two Mom stories, one each for my mom and stepmom, and neither made any mark at all. For my first 2015 submission I did send one on Inspiration For Nurses and have hopes for it. It's about a nurse my brother had. The deadline is Jan 15, and considering I worked with nurses for many years you'd think I could come up with another one ...

    (I proudly display my ellipsis.)

    Walk proudly, Sioux, in those new Crocs.

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    1. Marcia--I'm going to form a club that worships ellipsis. Would you like to be the VP? (And good luck with the nurses story. I had nothing for that one.)

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  8. Better to make it to the next-to-last hurdle than never to have left the starting blocks. ;)

    Wow! Those are like...INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH Crocs!

    I have no recent disappointments because I have ventured nothing. Though I have gained nothing...I have lost nothing. Yep. I am wallowing in ellipses and loving it, baby!

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    1. Val--Industrial-strength? You think they look sturdy and... ugly? I envisioned myself heading to a gala in an evening gown and my new Crocs. Perhaps I need to rethink my ensemble...

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  9. Replies
    1. Kathy--If we got together we could have a Croc-a-thon!

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  10. Ugh! I hate when the CS ball is rolling along so beautifully and then the rug gets yanked right out from under.I can sing that tune quite well. As far as I know I'm still in the running with this one, but that could change tomorrow.

    Pat
    Critter Alley

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    1. Pat--I will keep my fingers and eyes crossed for you. But I imagine they've already sent all of the "Thanks but no thanks" letters out, so you're probably firmly in place...

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  11. Love your new crocs! And I'm sorry about your disappointing news, but it's better than not having received ANYTHING from them. Cough cough cough. Also, glad you are enjoying Unbroken. Norm and I saw the movie too, which was really good.

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  12. Sorry about your disappointing news. I've had that happen with another publication. But hey - those new crocs are a great consolation prize! And as a side note, being addicted to ellipses sounds way better than being addicted to colons. The latter just sounds so icky.

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