Success, I think

[katiefoolery]

After two months of fearing that the rejection email must have been sucked into the endless ether of the internet, I received a reply back about my flash fiction, Child Care.  As far as I can tell, it has been accepted for publication in AntiSF and that's rather cheering news, I must say.  There's no payment for said publication, but that's not the point.  I've finally made a start to my Year of Really Making an Effort to Get Published and it feels good.  I feel inspired to do some more writing and submit it to all the markets that Blindmouse was good enough to suggest to me.

The good news is that tomorrow sees a return to my most boring place of work and I'm hoping to institute a policy of Doing Some Writing Whenever It Gets Boring.  I anticipate that this should see my doing some writing for all of the seven or so hours that I spend there.  Why must work be so damn boring?

And second in a series of questions that are difficult to answer: why did I waste my entire holidays mucking about on the internet and procrastinating instead of getting some writing done?  That's a hard one to answer, because all the solutions to said quandary seem to suggest more than a little silliness on my part.  But I'm not so silly that I can't see that I have to do something about this.  As nice as it is to be surrounded by books, I don't want to spend the rest of my life working in a library.  My ideal workplace would be a lovely sunny study with a giant desk a little like this:

The study would also feature a window with a view just ripe for inspiration and a little bell, with which I could request cups of tea from my Timothy.

If only I could get it into my thick head that I'll never have any of this if I don't start writing seriously.  Of course, there's no guarantee I'll have it even if I do try, but it's better to try than to be stuck in a boring library for the rest of my life.  That's not to say I'm not incredibly grateful for my job.  I am.  It provides us with money for food, rent and other sundry necessitities.  But even though my brain appreciates these things, it finds itself starved of stimulation at work and constantly threatens to go on strike if I don't think of something interesting to do.

But on the up side - I've made a start on my Year of Doing Stuff and if I can't be inspired by that, then there's something wrong with me.

Comments

[funaga.livejournal.com]

One of our good Aussie authors - I can't remember who :S - has a beautiful view of gardens from his study window. However, he faces the desk towards a blank, grey wall, because he says he gets too distracted if he can see the gardens. Something to ponder, at any rate ;)

[the-kaytinator.livejournal.com]

Huzzah for the Year of Doing Stuff!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I think I remember reading something similar by Morris Gleitzman. At least, I think it was him. Something about a blank wall being more inspiring than a magnificent view, or at least, less distracting.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Indeed! It shall be The Year in Which Stuff is Done. Thank goodness for my making a start in January, before too much momentum is lost. :)

[silverwerecat.livejournal.com]

Congrats! That's a promising start, no doubt!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly! It is rather a good sign, I feel.

[cat-eyes-el.livejournal.com]

Oooh, a Year of Doing Stuff. I need a Year of Motiviation To Actually Do Stuff Early but it's not as catchy...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Maybe all you need is some sort of personification of Motivation To Actually Do Stuff Early. I suggest a squirrel (which should appeal to the Dreamweaver in you). All you need to do is call this the Year of the Squirrel and remember to get everything done early, like the squirrel does.

Or not. It's up to you, really.

[tangledtale.livejournal.com]

Year of doing stuff-ers unite! That's great news about the publication too, here's to many more posts updating us on good news like this in the future! Hurrah!

[maskedconfessor.livejournal.com]

It's true! I have similar experiences. Occasionally, I take a book outside into the garden with the intention of relaxing and getting some reading done in this calming environment. Invariably, I barely read a page and find myself staring and some plant or other, lost in a daydream.
Congratulations on your publication and good luck for the year!

[naelany.livejournal.com]

Huzzah *throws confetti*, congrats on getting published (please excuse the typos as I'm writing this without my glasses lol). I love the desk, by the way. Strife towards the desk, Katie ^_~

[naelany.livejournal.com]

or is that strive...duh

[snarkymonkey.livejournal.com]

*trumpets blare and much huzzahing commences*

Oh, many congratulations, dear Katie. =3 And as you say, so what if it isn't paid publication. It's your name, in print, where others can see. Oh, so gleeful! =3

And I love that desk. =3 I need to see if I can't get my dad to replace my current junk computer desk with something much nicer. He'll grumble but because I'm the baby, I'm pretty sure he'd do it. *snickers* Oh, I'm an evil daughter.

And yes, Dek glares at me right now, pointing invariably toward your post in reminder. Oops! XD

[elfie-chan.livejournal.com]

Yay, congratulations! *cheers for you*

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I shall do my best, good Galli, indeed I shall. :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Hehe! I like the idea of strifing towards the desk - it sounds quite enjoyably chaotic. Thank-you muchly, good Naelany. :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you! :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

It's a great desk, isn't it? Drawers on both sides, plenty of room on which to spread one's writing mess... And a banker's lamp would fininsh it all off nicely.

Pay good heed to Dek, good Karen. Don't make me come over there... :D

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly! I'm hoping to make a real effort to produce more posts like this one. :)

It sounds like we writers are an easily-distracted bunch. Maybe I'll have to pull a blind down to obscure the lovely view, should I ever find myself in the possession of one.

[naelany.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* Always glad to be of service ^_~

[elfie-chan.livejournal.com]

Also, I am absolutely loving your icons. Just so you know.

[rigel-7.livejournal.com]

Congratulations Bunly One!

And you wrote LorF in your holiday break so not everything's lost!!

I was mooching around Jaqueline Carey's site (http://www.jacquelinecarey.com/) the other day to find the publication date for her new book (alas not till June) and she has a picture of the view from her writing desk.

It has mountains!

*is supremely jealous*

So now I know where her beautiful prose comes from :P

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Why, thank-you muchly, good Elfie. I was feeling the need for some icons that suggested "writing" and all of these paintings of ladies in older times, writing appeared. They're lovely images, aren't they? Feel free to snaffle if you'd like any of them.

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's true - the LorF was good. I'm very fond of the "Darkness" one - I think it's some of my best writing for a while.

I think it'd be nice to have a view of mountains. I used to live with a view of mountains and it was lovely, although I wouldn't say no to a view of the ocean either. :)

I'm glad you like the icons. Google images was being particularly good to me yesterday, providing me with all these lovely paintings. And now I have a choice of icons to represent writing.

[elfie-chan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you. I may very well do that. They are very lovely.

[(Anonymous)]

Katie,

What great news on the publication!! Making the next step is always inspiring to me as well. Good going!!

Kelly Parra
writerwords.blogspot.com

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much, Kelly. I am rather insipred by it all. :)