| I quit. After one too many rejection letters, I'd had | | | | is habit I can't break, no matter how hard |
| enough. I marched into my office, gathered | | | | I try.Another rejection arrived in my mailbox |
| up all the paper copies of my manuscripts, tossed | | | | yesterday. This time there was a hand written note on |
| them into a raging fire, and cried.Cried! Heck, I sobbed | | | | |
| so hard I gave myself a wicked case of the | | | | the side of the standard form letter. It read, "You are |
| hiccups.Not my finest moment but one that, if you're a | | | | a very talented writer, and I know you |
| writer, you've probably experienced at some | | | | will sell this manuscript. It's just not for me. Keep |
| point. Even if you didn't respond to your feelings of | | | | trying."Today, I mailed my first query since I officially |
| despair with a manuscript bonfire, you | | | | quit writing. I walked to the mailbox with the |
| probably had the same thoughts of, why exactly do I | | | | reverence of a mourner at a funeral. When I opened |
| do this?For my part, I vowed that this was the end. I | | | | the mouth of the blue postal box, I |
| would never write again and I would never send | | | | hesitated and wondered if I really wanted to put |
| my existing manuscripts to another editor or agent. I'd | | | | myself through all this again. Then I |
| wasted too much postage, money, time, | | | | remembered one of my favorite sayings by Korczak |
| sweat, and tears on a dream.This, my friends, is a | | | | Ziolkowski, the sculptor who created the |
| dark, lonely place to be. Never had I felt such coldness | | | | Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota: "When the |
| in my heart.Over the next few weeks, I learned | | | | dreams end, there is no more |
| something about myself; I am a writer. It's impossible | | | | greatness."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Stacy Verdick Case is |
| for | | | | the owner of a store that offers quality custom |
| me not to write, despite my strong conviction to the | | | | designed products for writers of all genres. Stacy |
| contrary.Story ideas, characters, even scenes flooded | | | | invites you to visit her store and sign up for her free |
| into my head unbidden. What did I do with these | | | | monthly ezine that offers writing tips to help keep you |
| snippets? Wrote them down like the trained monkey I | | | | on track. |
| am.Soon, I was writing again on a regular basis. Writing | | | | |