Thursday, July 25, 2013

A list of 30 writers who were rejected

It's interesting to be cooped up in a place. People might get cabin fever and start doing crazy things. In my case, sometimes, I feel like a puppy that needs to be walked outside... But I digress. I found a link to a site talking about 30 famous writers who were rejected (and repeatedly rejected) by publishers. I think the biggies in the bunch are J.K. Rowling and Stephen King. But then a bunch of other writers were rejected constantly. So, what does this imply? Writing is hard. A written work needs a champion. The writer needs to be a champ. Therefore, writing is like the story of Rocky.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

I'm Back

After a very long hiatus, I've decided to start blogging again. (Not that too many people missed the blog or anything) It could be an exercise in writing before, you know, I write. (I am working on the YA novel again from where I left off three years ago before the MA program which sucked the life out of me) So...I am abroad. Kiev, Ukraine. Expat. Sort of. Interesting fact about this trip: I missed my own master's commencement just so I could get cheaper plane tickets to get here. Worth it though. I've been reading so much here. I started with Jane Eyre, then I re-read a lot of Jane Austen novels. Then I read a lot of other books, including a lot of books by Neil Gaiman. Now, I have three books that I began reading simultaneously - Mei Lee Chai's Dragon Chica, The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt, and Your First Novel by the writer-agent team Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb. Oh, and I've been exercising in a forest nearby. Don't worry. It's not that wild. There are trails and a lot of people who barbeque there in the week-ends. Nothing like the smell of marinated meat while exercising... Anyway, I decided that one of my goals will be to do at least one pull-up. I can't even manage one. Pathetic. Here's a call to do pull-ups for women: