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Flying While Falling Down

~ A Writer's Journey Through Life and Other Oddities

Flying While Falling Down

Monthly Archives: February 2016

One Year, Smoke-Free: Thoughts About the Journey and Why I Did It

23 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by lengray in Self Care

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Tags

dad, experiences, I love you, quitting, smoke-free, smoking

Quit Smoking

There was a long time when I didn’t like myself. I made really terrible decisions about my life, my health, my beliefs. I sought out things that would hurt me, break me, and, in the long run, kill me.

One of those things was smoking. There were a lot of issues tied up into my usage of nicotine. I smoked to feel the buzz, the high that makes your body numb and shaky. I smoked to forget the stress and the anger of my life as a young woman. I smoked to avoid conversations and conflict. I smoked to avoid thinking about the things that were just too heavy. Continue reading →

10 Rejections and Counting

18 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by lengray in Writing

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Tags

#amwriting, 10 and counting, experiences, rejection, rejection letters, what it's like, write1sub1, writing, writing and life, writing life

10

Hey everyone,

As of today, I’ve reached 10 rejections in my writing journey so far. It feels kind of weird, to be honest. Should I be proud? Sad?

Mainly I just feel tired. Though that could be from waking up insanely early, who knows.

Reaching the double digits of rejectionhood seems like it should be celebrated in some way. It makes me wonder how many more rejections are in my future and what it’s going to feel like when I finally get an acceptance letter.

Writing a short story a week has left me feeling determined to work harder. I’ve improved a lot within the last two months and I know that I can keep getting better if I try. There’s a part of me that wants to go back to the drawing board and re-learn and re-assimilate all of the things I need to know as a writer. I want to get elbow deep in sentence structure and motif and the proper use of theme.

But the flip side of that sentiment is that I want to close my word document and never risk feeling that surge of disappointment as I realize that my writing isn’t good enough again. Because the only thing worse than not being good enough is realizing that even your best effort isn’t acceptable.

I’m not going to lie, Write One Sub One is a pretty brutal proving ground. It pushes you a lot. Over half of the rejections I’ve received have been within the last two months and that’s definitely affected how I feel about the quality of my writing, both positively and negatively.

Happily, I can’t think of anything I’d rather do with my spare time than make stories and write. And if I’m going to write, I suppose that the only thing to do with those writings is continue to send them to magazines.

In the meantime, look forward to another post within the next few days (I lost track of time and am a week behind on the blog) And to those writers out there that are trying to keep faith with their stories… don’t give up, okay?

Dealing With Rejection: What I’ve Learned So Far

05 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by lengray in Writing

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Tags

author, experiences, rejection, rejection letters, what it's like, writing, writing advice

Gonzo

 

Rejection sucks.

What sucks even more is that, for a writer, rejection is not only a possibility, but a certainty. Rejections can drain your confidence as a writer, your motivation, and your belief. But that’s not all they can do.

Rejections can make you stronger. Continue reading →

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