I haven’t submitted anything for publication for several months. Once the courage wears off, after having had some success, it seems that I’ve become thin-skinned again. Part of the reason, I suppose, is that I’ve had pretty good success with non-fiction. But I really want to write fiction. One idea, and it’s not something I figured out, is that submitting to contests is a good idea. Somehow knowing that hundreds of others are also trying makes it seem less like rejection if I lose. I can say, “there were hundreds of others—chances were small to begin with.” I really have no idea how many submissions your typical magazine (print or electronic) gets. I do know that a number of editors don’t get my style, or what I’m trying to do. It’s not really horror. It’s more weird fiction. But literary. What’s wrong with the literary weird? To me, the unusual or uncanny is what I’m looking for when I read a story. I’ve read too many where nothing interesting happens (and yet t
Blog of a struggling writer.