Updates

• It is now October 23rd and "Shoeless Boy" is still without shoes. Rationally I know I shouldn't care, but for some reason it deeply perturbs me.  I am currently willing myself not to be bothered.... It's a process...I can't promise that next time I see him that I won't confront him and his shoeless feet.  Dear God, grant me the strength I need to keep my mouth shut!

• So, although I'm still going to submit my writing directly to publishers , I decided to submit to an agent as well.  The first query letter may not win me any fans because as soon as I hit send I noticed an error.  They explicitly say to send only your finest and polished pieces and I sent in something with a comma instead of a period.  #rookiemistake #igreatlydislikebutdonthatehashtags

• Currently reading The World According to Garp and I don't like it.  Is this one of those books that I won't appreciate until the very end? 

• Read latest short story by Haruki Murakami, Samsa in Love. Wasn't too impressed...  Am I missing the appeal?  Perhaps it' because I never read Metamorphosis and really have no desire to..   Though... I did like this part: 
• “If you think of someone enough, you’re sure to meet them again,” she said in parting. This time there was real warmth in her voice."

• Submitted two articles to Tue/Night and I'm sending in some poetry to  The Sun Magazine today. Can we do some collective finger crossing?

Forms & Genres: Navigating the Literary Buffet

I've always enjoyed reading different writing forms and genres.  I appreciate fiction and nonfiction.  Drama, comedy, romance, young adult, chick lit, poetry, children's classics, distopian lit, biographies, EVERYTHING!  Not only do I enjoy reading a wide variety of literature, but I've also always enjoyed writing different literary forms.  In the past I've focused on writing poetry, essays and humor.  I've also always enjoyed writing song lyrics.  This is somewhat strange since I don't play an instrument or sing.  I guess it's really just poetry that I envision would be good as songs.

However, now that I'm newly dedicating myself to my writing pursuits, I feel like I just don't know what avenue to pursue as far as my writing is concerned.  I feel like I'm standing in front of  a glorious literary buffet and I am ravenous for each and every morsel in front of me.  I have children's book ideas, novel outlines, backlogs of poetry and newly penned short stories.  I guess I'm struggling to decide what genre to really hone in on.  I almost feel like I've been in a coma for years and now that I am newly awake I want to pursue anything and everything!  And really, that's what I've been doing so far.  In just the past couple of months I've written three new poems, a short story, two children's books and an article.  They have all been of strong interest to me and close to my heart.  Though, I will say the short story was a foray into a very unknown territory:  speculative fiction.  That was different.  It definitely took me outside my comfort zone.

I do think  I need to focus my efforts a bit more and choose maybe one or two projects to pursue full force.  I guess I'm feeling passionate about my kids books and pursuing that.  I think perhaps its because I have children of my own now.  I also really enjoy writing poetry, but I know this isn't really popular amongst the masses.  Though, my poetry is definitely not pretentious (in my humble opinion).  I actually think we need to make poetry more accesible to people.  I often think people are scared of it or find it boring, so they avoid it.  Perhaps if poets made more of an effort to make their work relatable, then it would have more readership.  I don't know.  I'm just rambling on and typing anything that comes to mind.  Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to flesh out what my next move is.
What to pursue?!  The possibilities are truly endless.  I think I need to do a bit more reflecting and "soul searching" and go from there.

Please feel free to share your thoughts or insights!  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller, Bueller....If you have a thought, just add it to the comments section.  I would love to hear from you.

In the meantime, I am going to leave you with a list of books/literary works that I consider some of my favorites. Perhaps reflecting on these will help me make some decisions.  In no particular order...

"She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb
"I Know this Much is True' by Wally Lamb
"The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas
"Sloppy Firsts" by Meagan McCafferty
"The Tipping Point" by Malcom Gladwell
"Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte
"Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
"Naked" by David Sedaris
"Dry" by Augusten Burroughs
"Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs
"A Sad State of Freedom" by Nazim Hikmet (a poem)
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"The Hunger Games Trilogy" by Suzanne Collins
"Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell
"Cherry" by Mary Karr
"The Jolly Postman" by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg (a children's book)
"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

The Pursuit of Happiness and Writing

Hi Everyone!  My name is Jess and I have been meaning to write this blog post for a couple of months now.  You see, a few months ago I had an epiphany, a 'come to Jesus moment' when I decided that I wasn't living the life I wanted to live.  I was feeling unfulfilled in my job and needed a creative outlet. My overall discontent was taking a toll on my soul.  So, after hours of quiet meditation, some bitching and moaning and lots of tears, I decided if I wanted a change in my life than I was the only one who could make it happen and I had to do it now!  Essentially I needed to quit whining and start living the life I wanted to live.

This led me to assess my true passion in life.  Deep down I have always known what that is, but had buried it under the drudgery of everyday life.  My passion, my true calling is writing.  For some reason (which I will delve into at another time), I never realized I could actually make a life and career out of writing.  It was always a hobby, a guilty pleasure.  It was something I did but never really shared with people.  But, during my life reassessment I decided that writing is my sustenance.  It is the fuel to my fire.  I decided that I needed to pursue it at all costs. 

In order to transition from closeted writer to published author, I realized I had to do a lot of homework.  So I went to the library and feverishly started reading books about getting published, becoming an author, etc. etc.  One book in particular that served as a great motivation and virtual kick in the pants was "How to Become A Famous Writer Before Your Dead: Your Words in Print and Your Name in Lights", by Ariel Gore.  I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to truly pursue writing and to get published.  Her insights were eye opening and her advice invaluable.  

Anyway, I'm getting off track.  Basically after doing quite a bit of research about the path to getting published, I decided that I was going to chronicle my pursuits on this here blog.  It was going to serve as a platform to share the trials and tribulations of my journey to becoming a published author.  That was approximately three months ago and I'm only today writing my first blog post.  The reason?  Life and writing got in the way and I mean that in the best way possible!  I went full force sending out queries, book proposals, entered writing contests, etc.  And guess what happened?  People actually responded to me.   

When I was searching for publishers that would accept unsolicited book proposals for children's books, I came across an amazing publisher:  Quirk Books.  I'm sure you have read one of their books at one time or other.  Well, Quirk doesn't publish children’s books, but I did notice that they encourage unsolicited proposals and actually enjoy slush!  That led me to sending them a book proposal that I thought they might be interested in.  It wasn’t what I had intended on pursuing for my first foray into the publishing world, but I thought it would be up their alley.  Well, within a week I got a response and they said they were intrigued and wanted to see some samples. Hallelujah!  Amen, it's a miracle! 
I wasn't expecting any response, never mind one so quickly.  Fast forward a couple of weeks later... They ultimately weren't interested in pursuing my idea further.  However, their kindness and feedback gave me the validation I needed to continue my writing pursuits.  They helped me realize that perhaps people may in fact be interested in what I have to write.  They confirmed that I could actually capture the attention of a legitimate publishing company!

From that point on I have been feverishly pursuing other leads, ideas and projects.  Most recently I submitted a short story to the Spark Anthology Contest.  I entered the McSweeney's Column Contest. I sent poems to the New Yorker. I wrote a blog entry and pitched it to the Huffington Post and submitted a snippet to my local newspaper (which they subsequently published).  I'm now looking for an illustrator to illustrate two childrens' books that I penned last month.  I want to self publish them.

It really has been a whirlwind and amazing journey thus far.  I feel like I have the momentum that I need to keep persevering.  I may not have entered the big leagues of publishing but I now feel validated in my quest to pursue my passion.  It’s like I have been magically granted permission to pursue what I want out of life and it’s invigorating. 

I know it’s not going to be easy and there are probably going to be more downs than ups and more rejections than acceptances.  But that’s ok.  So come join me on this wild ride and help me avoid the slush pile!

*Note:  This blog is not a showcase in editing.   It is mainly a place for me to record my thoughts about my writing pursuits and therefore I'm going to try not to stress about or put overemphasis on proper punctuation and grammar.  I'll save that for my submissions.  Thanks!