Nicole J Simms/ March 5, 2013/ Blog/ 0 comments

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Pen to Paper

After a long break, I have finally started to write again. Since beginning this journey, I had become obsessed with the idea of being published, so I wrote then submitted, wrote and then submitted. And what followed was a several rejection kicks to the gut, leaving me winded and deflated.

So, just like with many other times in my life, I found myself at a crossroads: do I continue, or do I stop?

It was then that I calmly considered the possible reasons for my rejections. Firstly, I was churning out stories rather than taking the time to edit them properly — stories that aren’t ready to be published won’t be published. Secondly, sometimes a story needs to find the right home because not every magazine or anthology is the right place for your story.

So I took a break from submitting and focused on editing my stories. However, I still wanted to know if I was a good enough writer, so even though I was vulnerable, I uploaded my story ‘Cake for a Neighbour’ to Shortbread stories. (Note: Shortbread Stories’ website is being redeveloped.)

I wanted the feedback and prepared myself for the negatives that I assumed would follow. But, to my surprise, people liked it, not hundreds of people just a handful, but even that was enough to give me a little confidence boost. Of course, I had some feedback: my grammar was off, and I mixed up ‘drawer’ for ‘draw’, but people enjoyed the story.

However, even with the positive feedback, I slowly turned my back on writing. So when the New Year came I told myself, ‘Nicole, you’ve got stories to share with people, so you must share them.’ And with the little reminder that people do like what I have written, I have returned my pen to paper, and slowly a story unfolds. This may be my best story to date, but only time will tell.

That’s all I have for you for today.

Keep writing, folks.

Don’t forget, if you want email alerts of my latest posts, then please subscribe. And you can follow me on Twitter, Goodreads or like my Facebook page — you can also join my online writing group Setting Self-Doubt on Fire Squad.

Also, I’ve also created a Nicole J Simms YouTube channel. On my channel, I will be sharing videos of my performances, trips, writing group adventures and my stories.

And, you can also download my e-book The Book of Drabbles for FREE, so check it out.

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