K. Marvin Bruce

Man is this blog dusty!   The neglect isn’t willful, I assure you.   The thing about being a working writer is, well, work.   That combined with the fact that there’s life outside the internet that demands your time. In any case, I’m chuffed that my story “Meh Teh” has appeared in The Colored Lens .   The title is a Himalayan word for what westerners call “yeti.”   As with most of my fiction, however, there’s a deeper story.   And deeper stories often involve belief. It’s funny how easily religion can turn off a conversation.   Yet, I was recently at a book festival where several of the more successful authors I met were quite open about their religious convictions.   Perhaps it’s hiding in plain sight.   Like a yeti. I have to admit that I’ve never been to Nepal, or even India.   I made it to a corner of Asia once in my youth, but I like writing about places I imagine.   I recall studying maps as a child so th...

I suppose I should get over it.   I feel mercenary about writing for money.   Almost as if I’ve sold out.   What a strange way to announce my first story accepted for publication for pay.   Don’t get me wrong—I’m absolutely thrilled.   I’ve received prize money for my writing before, but getting paid to have someone publish it is new. This past week two bits of good news arrived on the same day.   My story “Meh-Teh” was accepted by The Colored Lens , and they’re a paying venue.   Simultaneously my story “Creative Writing Club” received honorable mention in Typehouse ’s second biennial short fiction contest.   I literally had to go for a jog after opening the emails just to clear my head. You see, I’ve been writing fiction for forty years.   I sent my first story in for publication a decade ago.   It won a contest.   Then the rejections began rolling in.   I’ve lost track of how many there have been. ...

Write and you’ll get advice.   Some years ago I signed up for Medium, a social network with many writers.   Now I get daily advice from the website, sometimes helpful, sometimes not.   You see, there’s no wrong way to write. Days after receiving the happy news that Ghostlight had accepted “The Pain of a Caterpillar” for publication, The Colored Lens emailed to say they were seriously considering “Meh-Teh” for their next edition.   It’s not the same as an acceptance, but a struggling writer takes all the signs of hope offered. Rod Serling, about whom I’ve written before, had a quote about writing that has stuck with me, although I can’t remember the exact words.   He noted that only writers understand the pain of rejection in the way with which we’re all so familiar.   As usual, he said it much more eloquently.   Still, having someone say “Maybe” is better than the more familiar “No.” I call myself a struggling writer becau...