Yeah, I should be writing.
OK…fine.
Fine.
FINE.
*mutters and starts typing*
publication
Small Victories
I talk a lot about rejections. Won’t be the first time. Won’t be the last. They’re both a writer’s rite of passage and the bane of our writing existence. It wouldn’t be realistic if I only told you about acceptances. Both happen, but it’s pushing through those rejections that keeps you going.
I think that we’re often so inundated with seeing other people’s successes in a way that can make you feel like “Damn, I must be doing something wrong.” While you’re glad and hyped for your colleagues, a little part of you screams inside sometimes. After you get over yourself, you realize anew that you love what you do, so you keep on with all sorts of hope in your heart that you’ll get to that point too.
Thing is, you take your small victories where you can. Did you write a few words, a sentence, a paragraph, whole pages? That’s something. More than what you had before! Keep going.
And write some more. And if the rejections still have you down, here are some bunnies who were like “This is MY driveway!” to me this morning…
See ya next time…
~L.
Be About This Writer Life
“I’m a 46-year old writer who can remember being a 10-year old writer and who expects someday to be an 80-year old writer…” ~Octavia Butler
“I have no ability nor desire to be other than a writer…though the fact is I whistle beautifully.” ~Dorothy West
I loved to write as a kid and here is an excerpt from a story that I wrote in the 4th grade. There are sorcerers, dragons, and even a “flute of dance!” I mean, you just have to include a flute of dance, right?? We’re talking ADVENTURE! Thing is…I kept doing it. I never stopped writing. And I can tell you: It’s never too late.
If you are thinking, I’d like to try my hand at this writing thing, go for it! I am so not a hater. There’s room for us all. There is no one definitive way to be a writer, but there are some basic truths:
Read the works of others and hone your own skills. Take workshops. Join groups. Read books or sites about writing. Talk to other writers. Be nice to other writers! Don’t be that person. Find colleagues. Find your peeps. Get a sense of it all. But most of all? Write! Pen to paper, fingers to keyboard. Pay attention to asked-for formats and guidelines. And when you feel ready, take that plunge and submit! Put yourself out there. You will get rejections. You will have moments of “Why the hell am I doing this?” or “I. SUCK.” I know it’s rough and feels a li’l hellish, but get out of your feelings and keep going because you love what you do. Keep at it. You will get published. Be about this writer life!
What are you waiting for?
See ya next time!
~L.
An Exercise in Lyrics
Hey there…I am so hyped to be a part of FIYAH Literary Magazine’s Winter 2018 Issue #5: “Ahistorical Blackness” along with Monique L. Desir, Irette Y. Patterson, Shari Paul, Phenderson Djèlí Clark and cover art by Trevor Fraley!
In addition to fantastic stories, essays and interviews every month, FIYAH releases a Spotify playlist in conjunction with the issue. The FIYAH team asked us to contribute three songs that complement our stories. I don’t know about anyone else, but I sat there for a moment like “Whoa…” as I hadn’t thought about it before. And I’ll be honest, I really enjoyed every minute of trying to decide.
I thought about my story’s themes and decided upon the main ones: freedom, dreaming, beginnings, creating. The lyrics of the songs themselves were also very important. Without telling you much more (you’ve gotta read “With These Hands” for yourself!) I went with Nina Simone‘s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”: “I wish I could live/Like I’m longin’ to live/I wish I could do/All the things that I can do/Though I’m way overdue/I’d be starting anew.”
The third song I chose, “Golden” by Jill Scott, has always felt like a celebration of self to me: “I’m taking my freedom/ Pulling it off the shelf/ Putting it on my chain/ Wear it around my neck…”
But the first one, “Fantasy” by Earth, Wind, and Fire, is a true love for me. It is one of the first songs that I ever knew in my life. I sang a part of it (“It’s your day/ shining day/ all your dreams come true”) to my baby when he was born. Its beautiful, hopeful lyrics have always spoken to me of dreaming, freedom and faraway places: “Come see victory, in the land called fantasy/ Loving life, a new decree/
Bring your mind to everlasting liberty.”
Enjoy the playlist and issue and support the hard work of the team at FIYAH by getting a subscription already!
See y’all next time…
~L.
My Hypeness is Real…
The latest issue (April 2017, Issue 95) of Apex Magazine is out!
I am incredibly excited because my poem “Vox” is published in it! Not only does this mark my debut as a poet, but I am so honored to be in it with luminaries such as Walter Mosely! Guest edited by Maurice Broaddus, it has fiction by Sheree Renee Thomas, Chesya Burke, and Kendra Fortmeyer and poetry by Linda Addison. It also has an essay by Tanya DePass and interviews with Sheree and artist Angelique Shelley, whose cover is stunning! My hypeness is SO REAL!
From the site:
“Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released the first Tuesday of every month.”
Please check it out and also support Apex‘s subscription drive so that you can continue to get wonderful, quality publications such as this!
LH Moore 