One Step at a Time

Posted by Unknown

Well, folks. I'm leaving on a mini vacation to the coast and won't be around to post anything this week. I'll have my journal with me and will be writing away, but I don't think I'll try to escape the beach to find a cafe for the sole purpose of blogging.

In the interim, I leave you with this thought, "small successes."

I just sent off my very first flash fiction story to a paying market. Actually, that's the first thing I've sent off to any paying market where I wasn't hired beforehand. This submission comes on the heals of having a letter to the editor printed in the small, local paper. It's always nice to see one's words in print, paid for or not. It's small successes like these that breed the confidence to try for something a little bigger the next time around.

So there's my idea. Start small. If you've never had your writing in print, write a letter to your editor, or enter a local writing anthology contest. If you haven't seen your name in print yet, this is a good way to stoke those embers and get the writer in you cook'n. And if your name has been in print but it has been a while, this might be just the thing you need to get you going again.

As far as letters to editors go, remember, controversy sells.

If you're interested, here is a link to the collumn that got my hackles up, and here is a link to the response that I wrote. Enjoy.