I fell at the first hurdle recently.

“If you write, you are a writer”

Gentle Writing Advise by Chuck Wendig

Yes! I thought on reading this. That is so true.

I AM A WRITER.

I will call myself a writer and I will believe it!

Easy right?

Recently, I went to a book launch for the latest anthology of the Short.Sharp.Stories competition. This year’s edition is called Power.

Now I submitted a story to Power. I wanted to from the moment I saw the call go out, I burnt to do this, I was determined, I told everybody and their dog about it. And I had a brilliant idea for it. I research and interviewed and drafted several versions of the story.

And it came out double the permitted length – fuck.

Everything I tried failed, I explored other new ideas, I dug half-baked ones out of old drawers – Nada.

But I was still determined, I had told everybody I was doing this and they kept asking about it (how dare they?), so in the end, at the last minute, I cobbled something together and send it off, thinking to myself that at least I was getting my name out there.

Well, it got exactly what is deserved. Which is to say politely declined.

The reviewer (editor? I think my academic experience may be seeping through) did find some nice things to say about it (thanks anonymous person), but in retrospect I feel a bit embarrassed about the whole thing.

Which leads us to the other night and falling on my arse at the kiddie jump. I met the ‘curator’, which is to say the lead editor and the brain-child of the whole S.S.S project, Joanne Hichens. I asked her to sign my copy of last year’s edition (One Life) which I bought from her.

And the bloody woman remembered my name and that I had submitted something to Power (seriously how dare she?)!

“Oh,” she says hands trembling as she juggles book and pen and eye glasses and wine glass. “You are a writer too?”
And I say: “Oh, Ah…” By which I mean: no, well, maybe one day, well I think we should say aspiring writer…

God Dammit

I AM A WRITER

And in a few more years I will have something they will want to publish. In a few more years I will have something I will want to publish, whether anyone else wants it or not.

End of Story.

P.S. Post of Gentle Writing Advise is coming up soon.