tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post3504818594968429928..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: The magic codeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-20445840773187850432013-11-10T21:22:27.367-05:002013-11-10T21:22:27.367-05:00Great post, Joelle!
Thank God we have others who...Great post, Joelle! <br /><br />Thank God we have others who know what we're going through. I had thousands of rejections as well, and I wrote for eight years before I started selling any short stories professionally. I rewrote my first novel every year of those eight years. <br /><br />I think the breaking point came for me in three phases: #1- I had studied my heroes diligently, why I loved what they did, and how they did it. #2- I found what I really wanted to write. #3- I had people like Tom Piccirilli and Ethan Ellenberg give me advice it probably would have taken me another eight years to figure out on my own (I dedicated the novel I have coming out next August, A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS, to the two of them.) <br /><br />I still have so much to learn, but I'm thankful for those who have taught me and encouraged me and corrected me. <br /><br />Did you come up through the ranks in an online writers group? And if so, did you find that people you knew there asked you for the secret key to get in where you broke through? I'm just curious. It seems like all the people I knew before, except for two of them, thought I'd left them behind or something once I started selling professionally. I know they wish there was a secret key, but like you said, it's just hard work. It's belief in yourself. It's the ability to soul search and reflect. It's the pain and joy that come with the act of creating something only you can create. And it's the fun (yeah right!) of waiting for word on the latest submission.<br /><br />Again, thanks for the post! It's always nice to get a reminder of how fortunate we are to have other people to share our frustrations and successes with.Lee Thompsonhttp://leethompsonfiction.comnoreply@blogger.com