OK, the title 'Feeling Alive' may not sound all that suitable for June's IWSG post, but feeling alive after three years of 'fuzzy head' (it's just great being a 40-something woman) can have its downside!
First, the feeling alive bit - in case you were wondering. I have recently started taking a supplement called MACA - you may have heard of it. (The one I use is here if you're interested). I have been taking it for two weeks, during which time I was also trying to recover from a horrible head-cold. At first, I didn't feel any different but last week my brain suddenly started buzzing with story ideas - something that had been sadly missing for ages. I'd actually begun to accept that I must just have very little imagination! I've also been remembering to do things and not feeling quite as overwhelmed by life in general. So - maybe it's down to the MACA. Even if it isn't, I'm not going to stop taking it because I feel very well and energised.
Now, the insecure part. Writing short stories again means submitting them. Following a lot of initial success between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2012, my shorts seemed to go off the boil and started missing the mark. Everything I wrote pinged back as 'a well-worn theme' or 'not for us'. I was disheartened, but moved onto writing other things (again with success, which did a lot to re-boot my confidence) and I also started my novel in earnest. I am still writing the novel - I make sure I add something to it every day if I can, however busy that day has been - but I get so much satisfaction from writing those shorts!
To cut to the chase, I've sent two stories off and now feel slightly sick! I may well have chosen a well-worn theme again or they may miss the mark by being too vague or too obvious (where is that middle ground when you want it?) but hey! At least I'm trying and, as we all know, if you don't try you'll never succeed.
How are you feeling this first Wednesday in June? I'll be hopping around to find out later.
Thanks as always to Alex J Cavanaugh for starting this group. You can find the full list on his blog but I'm not pasting it here because it gets longer all the time!
18 comments:
Writing and submitting certainly make you feel alive - good luck with it, and don't give up! It's cool the MACA had such an immediate effect (although in my head I'm calling it Macca, which is reminding me of the Beatles!!)
Good luck with the shorts, and the novel too. You have to concentrate on your successes and it sounds like you've lots of those under your bely already.
"Slightly sick" upon submission? You are too funny. My favorite is when I send out a submission, and then read it again and find a typo. LUV it. Note: Not a good way to edit.
Oh--someone just told me the novel I had just finished was a theme that's been overdone. Great.
To Hell with 'em if they don't like your stories. As long as you do!
~Just Jill
Awwww, honey, good for you for sending some short stories off! :)
Good luck!
xx
How excellent that you're feeling energized, with whatever those initials might mean, heh heh.
And you are an original! If these pubs think you're just the same-old same-old - pfft! Sounds a bit too arrogant to me...and what do I know about arrogance, eh?
Best to you, kiddo!
The best part of submitting is the hope! Never give up!!
I get that same "fuzzy headidness" from my thyroid condition. Sometimes the meds work and I feel great, sometimes not and I feel like my brain is a bog of bad ideas. Glad you're submitting, though. Rejection sucks, but acceptances make everything better. :)) Good luck!
I'm sort of envious, you submit and only feel slightly sick? I'm completely neurotic for days. It takes a full week after a submission to calm down enough to begin normal human activities that don't involve stalking agents and editors (thanks internet!). Good luck.
Annalisa - I don't know why I put MACA in capitals - it's Maca - and, yes, it makes me think of ground up Paul McCartney, ha!
Thanks for the comments, everyone!
Good for you! Glad to hear you're feeling alive. :) Feeling slightly sick is just par for the course. Good luck with your submissions!
I imagine it felt great to have a clear mind again. Creative people must have an outlet for their ideas. It must be soooo frustrating when stymied. Glad to hear you're writing again. Wishing you all the best with future projects.
It's always a hard to submit! But good for you for doing it anyway :D
Woohoo for feeling energized! Good luck on the shorts you submitted. :D
Ugh I know that sick feeling. But hey you're moving toward the mountain (as Neil Gaiman says) and that's what counts!
I'm entering the forty-something fray this year and feeling revitalized by it. A new era so unlike the earlier years. It's amazing!
Let go of your anxiety and just go for it! Hey, you never know what might happen if you do!
Brilliant that you've submitted. Enjoy the sick feeling, it's what shows you you're alive (as my Mum used to say!). I always enjoy your blog and so have a little award for you if you'd care to accept?? Please see: http://jackiebuxton.blogspot.co.uk
I don't like when responses come back as "done before." They must not know everything has been done, but it's how you do it that matters!
Good luck! :D
Just keep plugging with those stories. Maybe some new markets might help, ones that haven't seen it before. Just don't lose hope.
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