Forward Motion

And now, some words of wisdom from that bastion of pop-punk deep-thinking, Relient K:

"…I see that it’s good / to experience the bittersweet / to taste defeat / then brush my teeth / experience the bittersweet / to taste defeat then brush my teeth / cause I struggle with forward motion / I struggle with forward motion / we all struggle with forward motion / cause forward motion is harder than it sounds / well every time I gain some ground / I gotta turn myself around again"

Can anyone figure out the title of that song? You have one guess.

Only one.

But yes, at last, with a couple of pieces in the mail, a new query sent today, and a couple more ready to go next week, I can heave a sigh of relief that things are finally happening. Strictly in the sense that I'm getting my work out -- don't think anyone's asked me to sign a contract or anything. Most likely, I'll just have a few more form rejection slips to pop into the "Poob" box S. gave me this spring, but I prefer to stay positive and be completely stunned every time a new rejection arrives.

"What?!" Gasp! "How could they have turned down my story/poems/essay? It's as entertaining as anything that magazine published last month! And as well-written as anything they've done in the last year!"

Righteous indignation does, on occasion, stave off otherwise overwhelming self-pity. And yes, that was an intentionally verbose, rhyming, alliterative, ridiculous sentence.

(I'm feeling particularly inspired after reading the finalists for this year's Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the worst opening line to a novel or story, which you can read here: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/scott.rice/blfc2008.htm.)

Of course, since I'm not trying to win a bad writing contest, I'm attempting to write well -- even if it's just a query e-mail to an editor low in a magazine's pecking order. "They" say those e-mails and letters are often the most important writing beginning freelancers do....

Needless to say, I've got my fingers crossed. Figuratively speaking, of course; crossed fingers would make it pretty difficult to do the rest of the writing I need to get to over the next few days.