2022 Writing Log 06
Feb. 19th, 2022 07:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingI got my first rejection email of 2022 this week. There I was, being all happy and productive, and I forgot how much these emails hurt. It was like an arrow to the knee, but I’m still limping along.
- I finished my story “The New Kid in Postwick” and submitted it to the second check-in of the Pokémon zine Your Journey Awaits. This is going to be a free, digital-only zine, but the drafts of the artwork people have been submitting are already shaping up to be phenomenal.
- I did the second set of edits on my original horror story “The Lotus Girl.” I’ll let it rest for two weeks, and then I’ll return to it for a final set of edits at the beginning of March before submitting it. The magazine is almost certainly going to reject it, and I’m almost certainly going to cry when they do, but that’s no reason not to try. In any case, I primarily wrote this story to include in my botanical horror zine, and I already have an illustration ready to go.
- The zine that was going to publish my original horror story “Ms. Weaver’s Halloween Candy” didn’t sell a single copy. Between one thing and another, this actually doesn’t surprise me. I’m not sure what is and isn’t unprofessional regarding pulling my work from this zine at this point, but I edited the story again and submitted it to a professionally published anthology edited in collaboration with an online magazine I admire. Even if they reject it, it’s a good story. I’ll get it into print somehow.
- I submitted a writer application to an original murder mystery horror zine. The theme and premise of this zine are extremely interesting, and I’ve been following the project since it opened its interest check. I submitted my application less than an hour after the mods posted a link to the form on Twitter, which is a totally normal and reasonable thing to do.
- I’m continuing to work on The Demon King. I started over from the beginning so that I can get a better sense of what I’m doing. I’ve been motivated by a cool and stylish illustration by Arystocracys, which you can see on Twitter (here).
- I wrote a review of the graphic novel Pixels of You, which is so full of beauty and joy that it made me cry A LOT. It was happy crying. Mostly. But also I cried because of how complicated the world is, and how there are no easy solutions, and how all we can do is try to understand and love each other.
- I put together an essay for the Get Your Words Out community here on Dreamwidth called “Writing with ADHD.” The essay is scheduled to be posted to the closed comm sometime in March, and then I’ll probably post it elsewhere in April. Most of my advice (such as it is) boils down to “remember that your brain is wired differently and be kind to yourself.”
- To be honest, writing with ADHD is really hard. ADHD is a hereditary condition that, like diabetes, can’t be “cured” through behavioral strategies. There’s not a day that goes by when I wish I didn’t have it, but what can you do.
- I finished my fourth Wiztober illustration! I did a stylized landscape for this one, and it was super fun. I also wrote the captions for the fourth and fifth illustrations.
- I finished and submitted my third Korok illustration for the “March of the Koroks” event hosted by ZeldaCreators on Twitter. Despite its simplicity, I put this piece through multiple drafts – and backgrounds, and painting styles. It was a lot of work for something that was never going to get more than twenty likes on social media, so I decided to go ahead and post it. You can find it on Twitter (here).
The highlight of this past week is a comic collaboration with Frankiesbugs. Damn I love the work this artist does. One day they’re going to be famous, and no one will be happier or prouder of them than me.
- I finished my story “The New Kid in Postwick” and submitted it to the second check-in of the Pokémon zine Your Journey Awaits. This is going to be a free, digital-only zine, but the drafts of the artwork people have been submitting are already shaping up to be phenomenal.
- I did the second set of edits on my original horror story “The Lotus Girl.” I’ll let it rest for two weeks, and then I’ll return to it for a final set of edits at the beginning of March before submitting it. The magazine is almost certainly going to reject it, and I’m almost certainly going to cry when they do, but that’s no reason not to try. In any case, I primarily wrote this story to include in my botanical horror zine, and I already have an illustration ready to go.
- The zine that was going to publish my original horror story “Ms. Weaver’s Halloween Candy” didn’t sell a single copy. Between one thing and another, this actually doesn’t surprise me. I’m not sure what is and isn’t unprofessional regarding pulling my work from this zine at this point, but I edited the story again and submitted it to a professionally published anthology edited in collaboration with an online magazine I admire. Even if they reject it, it’s a good story. I’ll get it into print somehow.
- I submitted a writer application to an original murder mystery horror zine. The theme and premise of this zine are extremely interesting, and I’ve been following the project since it opened its interest check. I submitted my application less than an hour after the mods posted a link to the form on Twitter, which is a totally normal and reasonable thing to do.
- I’m continuing to work on The Demon King. I started over from the beginning so that I can get a better sense of what I’m doing. I’ve been motivated by a cool and stylish illustration by Arystocracys, which you can see on Twitter (here).
- I wrote a review of the graphic novel Pixels of You, which is so full of beauty and joy that it made me cry A LOT. It was happy crying. Mostly. But also I cried because of how complicated the world is, and how there are no easy solutions, and how all we can do is try to understand and love each other.
- I put together an essay for the Get Your Words Out community here on Dreamwidth called “Writing with ADHD.” The essay is scheduled to be posted to the closed comm sometime in March, and then I’ll probably post it elsewhere in April. Most of my advice (such as it is) boils down to “remember that your brain is wired differently and be kind to yourself.”
- To be honest, writing with ADHD is really hard. ADHD is a hereditary condition that, like diabetes, can’t be “cured” through behavioral strategies. There’s not a day that goes by when I wish I didn’t have it, but what can you do.
- I finished my fourth Wiztober illustration! I did a stylized landscape for this one, and it was super fun. I also wrote the captions for the fourth and fifth illustrations.
- I finished and submitted my third Korok illustration for the “March of the Koroks” event hosted by ZeldaCreators on Twitter. Despite its simplicity, I put this piece through multiple drafts – and backgrounds, and painting styles. It was a lot of work for something that was never going to get more than twenty likes on social media, so I decided to go ahead and post it. You can find it on Twitter (here).
The highlight of this past week is a comic collaboration with Frankiesbugs. Damn I love the work this artist does. One day they’re going to be famous, and no one will be happier or prouder of them than me.
