I'm Sioux Roslawski and this is my blog about writing, dogs, grown-up children, menopause, the joy of a marvelous book, classroom teaching in general, and specifically, the teaching of writing. You can email me at sroslawski(at)yahoo(dot)com.
It's almost the end of 2013. Of course, the older you are, the faster time passes. When we were kids, summers seemed never-ending and now a season passes by so quickly, you'd better not blink or you'll miss it.
New Year's resolutions are silly (in my opinion). They don't last for very long before they (along with our resolve) crumble at the wayside, forgotten.
But dreams and goals are different. You can think about and fantasize about and work toward fulfilling a dream or achieving a goal.
What are your goals/dreams for 2014? Inquisitive minds want to know...
At the end of 2012, Donna Volkenannt wrote a post chronicling her year as a writer. She listed her submissions and her acceptances/rejections. It inspired me to keep a planner and I faithfully mostly remembered to make a notation when I sent something off.
Hey, Donna! I just bought my new planner for 2014. Hopefully I will submit something in the first week of January to start things off.
And now, here is how my year went: (And if you want to avoid all the writer mumbo-jumbo and go straight to the earth-shattering revelations mildly interesting details, scroll past the bullet points.)
In January I submitted:
a story for the NYMB law enforcement anthology. (I haven't heard yet)
a story for the moms-to-be NYMB anthology.
a story for NYMB about the first meeting of the WWWP's (no news yet)
a guest post for writingwithoutwalls--it was published
a guest post for WOW--The Muffin called "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle." (it was published)
a story for the "Cupid's Quiver" collection--was published
a story for Sasee's March issue--rejected
a story for Chicken Soup's Just Us Girls anthology--published
In February I submitted:
a story for LTYM--was rejected
a story for Chicken Soup's "Lemon to Lemonades" collection--was rejected
another story for CS's "Lemon to Lemonades"--rejected
a story for Chicken Soup's Holiday Stories--rejected
a piece of flash fiction to an ultra-short competition--rejected
In March I submitted:
a piece to Sasee for their May 2013 issue--rejected
a story for CS's "Miraculous Messages from Heaven"--rejected
a short story to Bayou magazine--no news...still
a story to Chicken Soup's "The Dating Game"--accepted
a memoir piece for NYMB on Cats--???
In April I submitted:
a story to Silver Boomer Books' "Longest Hours" collection--rejected
a story for CS's book on cats--???
a story for Gloria Gaynor's anthology--rejected
In May I submitted:
a story to Chicken Soup's "Just Us Girls"--published
two stories to "Thirty Days to Sanity"--both rejected
a story to the NYMB on Dieting--???
a story for CS's book on holidays--???
In June I submitted:
a story to CS's "Multitasking Moms' Survival Guide--published
a story to CS's "Positive Kids"--accepted
a manuscript to Guardian Angel Publishing--rejected
another story to CS's "Positive Kids"--rejected
a story for NYMB on Special Occasions--???
a story for CS's "Rebooting" anthology--???
In July I submitted:
a story for Chicken Soup's book on dogs--???
a story for NYMB on Moms--accepted
a guest-post for WOW--The Muffin--published
a story for NYMB on Family--rejected
a story for Sasee's September issue--published
a story for NYMB on Moms--rejected
a story for CS's dog anthology---???
In August I submitted:
a story to NYMB on Moms--rejected
In September I submitted nothing. Yikes.
In October I submitted:
a story for CS's "Overcoming Challenges" piece--???
In November:
I worked on my NaNo project from 2012 and got into the mid 70,000's
I submitted a story for CS's "Home Sweet Home"
In December I submitted:
a guest post for WOW--The Muffin--published
I discovered several things. One, I know there are pieces I forgot to jot down. I will try to be not as naughty next year and instead be more meticulous.
Secondly, there were some months where submissions were sparse. April, May, August, September (none), October, November and December. I am going to try and be more vigilant and look at my planner, week by week, and see if I need to ramp up my submissions. For some of those months, I can make excuses rationalize why I didn't submit much. April is a busy month for me, teaching-wise (state testing). May is a crazy month for me, teaching-wise (the end of the school year/report cards). August is back-to-school month and September is parent-teacher conferences. October? Perhaps I'm too busy gobbling up Halloween candy before Halloween...November I completely understand. My priorities were with my NaNo (still not done). December--another crazy month teaching-wise (report cards are looming).
Third, (I already knew this) my rejections far, far outweigh my acceptances. Donna Volkenannt did a nice job of tallying up her rejected pieces vs. her published pieces. I'm too full of Christmas crap right now to do that. However, I think for every 942 pieces that got rejected, 3 got accepted. It seems I've been a lot naughtier as a writer than I've been nice.
Do you keep track of your submissions digitally, via a calendar/planner or some other way? Do you have a bit of advice to kick some (like me) in the butt?
Thirty-four years ago, minus one day, I was in great pain. But after gathering together my family and close friends, the pain stopped.
"What should I do now?" I asked my osteopath. He said, "Walk. Walk as much as you can. The act of walking with begin things again."
It was unseasonably warm on December 20, 1979--just like it was yesterday during the day. I walked the streets around my Maplewood home and eventually, things did start up again. The contractions returned and again my family and friends were summoned. When the evening of December 21 arrived, so had my beautiful daughter.
After my baby girl was checked out and declared perfect, the doctor and my mom--along with my mother-in-law and my adopted grandma--had cake and coffee. I cuddled up with the best early Christmas present anyone has ever gotten. *
Happy birthday, Virginia. You're the most wonderful daughter and the best mother.
* Note: In the 1970's, I worked at St. Anthony's Hospital and discovered that women were shaved (not their armpits) and an enema given before delivering. This was standard operating procedure.
Since I wanted to be a little more control of what happened, I chose to have my baby at home, without drugs. An incredible osteopath, Dr. Fred Duhart, did home deliveries. He delivered my daughter and eight years later, delivered my son.
And if you want to take a break from holiday shopping on Monday (Dec. 23) and you live in the St. Louis area, Lynn Obermoeller and Linda O'Connell will be reading their "I will survive" stories from the Gloria Gaynor collection. It's at the Gelateria, 3197 S. Grand and begins at 7:00. Ice cream and some great writing? What can be better than that...
There are books that have--at their center--a character that is the heart of the story. That character is the conduit of the emotional current that runs through the book.
Currently, I am working on writing a story and have--as the main character--a woman with a bruised heart. She has some twisted schemes up her sleeve. I'm hoping that as the tale evolves, the connecting thread will hold it together...
A week ago, I saw the movie Twelve Years a Slave. One reviewer said that the Solomon character was the brain of the movie, but the Patsy character was the heart. I could not agree more...
Imagine you are free. You have a family--a wife and children. You are respected in your community. And after he makes a single choice, he ends up enslaved...for the next twelve years.
I highly recommend this film. It is emotionally draining. It focuses on a dark period of American history, and is based on a true story. But the acting and the cinematography is impeccable.
Chicken Soup has a new call out for submissions. The Power of Forgiveness. This is something I've wrestled with for years. My brother and his wife are both addicted to Oxycontin--have been for over a decade-- and they've done some pretty heinous things. Things that are stranger than fiction. Things that I'm actually incorporating into my manuscript as "made up." Perhaps I will put a disclaimer at the end stating, "The events you read about were based on actual people and real-life events. The names were changed, in spite of their guilt."
I know the drill. The bitterness only hurts me. I'm poisoning myself when I don't forgive...or at least release.
Maybe I can work on getting healed as I work on a CS submission? Weirder things have happened...(The deadline is in June.) Also, the Chicken Soup folks have extended the deadline for their upcoming Alzheimer's collection. You have until December 12 to submit a story. Because my father was slayed by Alzheimer's, along with a close family friend, I've submitted two stories. I had a third one, but the necessary revising didn't come easy, and the deadline passed before I could finish it. Now, I have the time especially since the god of all teachers, the ice god, blessed us today.
Yesterday, I got an email from the publishers at Chicken Soup. A month or so ago, I had gotten word that one of my "Multitasking" stories had made it over a couple of hurdles. The title of the tale, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," was a nod to one of my musical favorites.
The email I got yesterday got me extra excited. My story, "All in Good Time" was being considered for the same collection. Two stories in one book. That would mean I only need to get 42 more CS notches on my publication belt to catch up with Linda O'Connell.
Wait. My memory had really turned to Swiss cheese. "All in Good Time" did not ring a bell. What story was that?
After opening the attachment, I realized they had changed my Meatloaf-y title. It was the same story, but now the decision was final. I was grateful to know I was for sure being included in the anthology, but felt a little silly counting an extra chick without even hatching it in my brain.
How about it? I know everyone has a story about forgiveness they can craft and send off...Right?
A popular term writers use is "married" when it comes to our writing.
"Are you married to this part? I think the story would be better without it."
"I'm not married to the ending. I know it's weak."
This year I've been working on a NaNoWriMo from 2012. In fact, I was a 2013 NaNo rebel. And now that November is officially done, but my manuscript is not, I'm still working.
My story is about writers. A group of rowdy women writers. And until about six months ago, there was no thread to make non-writers care. Really, there was no connecting thread, nothing really weaving the story together. But then I found one, and started adding pieces here and there as I revised while I also wrote.
Something was still missing, however. My "thread" was coming in too late--I thought. The major story layer needed to make an entrance earlier, in my opinion.
The problem? I had a beginning that I considered snappy--and engaging. Even though my tale is part humor and part darkness, I almost always lead with the self-denigrating foot. I use lightness to compensate when sadder times threaten to slay me.
Yesterday, I finally divorced the snappy beginning. Actually, I didn't get rid of it, but I did write a new first part...And I kind of like it.
Now, I'm still not finished. I haven't gotten to the ending yet. But I'm closer to the end. And, it's a more cohesive story than it was two days ago.
What part of what story was the most difficult for you to divorce? What part did others tell you need to get a divorce from, but you stayed with? Writerly minds want to know...
