This past week I returned to my office day job and survived. Somehow my family has also seemed to adjust with me. My fears of not being able to make it to the train on time because of radical measures at home (i.e. civil disobedience protests by my kids) were amped up higher than necessary. We all made it to the train and daycare and work on time. (This still seems a minor miracle to me). Hopefully long term the royal subjects don’t decide to revolt. It is hard to explain what a kitchen or bathroom riot at the hands of small children looks like if you’ve never seen one, and always seems a bad excuse for lateness in the professional world.
The fate of my writing life feels tenuous at the moment. Ideally I will acquire some kind of simple machinery (i.e. a small but functional mini laptop) for the hour I spend on the train every day soon to keep up the momentum. There is so much pleasure and satisfaction in writing for me at this time of life, and I am motivated to keep working against my own tiredness. I already feel my writing life and progress has been sadly delayed by the events of the past few years, and I want to keep moving forward as quickly as I can.
My method for staying on track, which I set up earlier in the year, has been to keep a schedule of submission and contest deadlines for poetry, creative non-fiction and postcard fiction. (I wish I’d done this much earlier, at a less busy stage of life). There are three deadlines coming up before May 1st that I hope to meet. My latest strategy in lieu of my return to work has been to write often, no matter what, and to try to write well without thinking too hard about every word. That is to say, there will be careful editing later, but not so much agonizing. I just don’t have time for it.
I was sick last week (the last of the family to catch the dreaded plague that held everyone back for day upon sad, sick day) and that has already put me behind with a few projects. I am late with an interview I have been trying to set up with the amazing Deanna Roy of Casey Shay Press. Deanna is an accomplished writer and photographer who also happens to have created one of the most useful and complete websites about pregnancy loss out there. My favourite creation of Deanna’s, though, is a beautiful and thoughtfully created memorial book for families who have lost a child. I can’t wait to learn more about her work, her book and her publishing company.
Last week I was able to complete a three part interview with an equally amazing woman, Kristi Sagrillo, who designs memorial jewelry which she sells in her etsy shop. This interview will be published on April 1st, and entered in another contest that begins on that very date on hubpages.
Speaking of contests, the big news since my last post has been my winning the writing contest I was nominated for last week. While my nomination may have been the result of my writing, my win represents the support of many friends who voted for my article Day Trips from Vancouver, Canada every day until the contest closed. Thank you very much to all of you for your support! I have already seen a rise in traffic to my online articles and as a result of the increased traffic have gained some new followers and fan mail as well.
Late Breaking News: I learned about an hour ago that my submission to the Mostly for Mothers miscarriage anthology was accepted! My piece, entitled For Tristan: A Meditation on Loss, Grief and Healing will be published in their upcoming book entitled The Sound of Silence: Journeys Through Miscarriage. Now there are edits to discuss and approve and a contract to sign. The publisher's plan is to release a print and e-book in the coming year...
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