The Writing Trenches

Sunday Missives

Jun 21

Written By Katie McGuire

Currently reading:

Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice [audiobook]

Books finished this week: 0

Library updates:

I don’t have anything super exciting to share this week, especially on the reading front. As you can see above, I haven’t finished anything, though it’s not for lack of interest! I’m really enjoying Parable of the Sower and am looking forward to discussing it with smart people later this month, and I’ve vowed to finish my current poetry and short story selections so I can truly restart my goal of reading one poem and one short story daily.

In the meantime, as has been the case the last few months, lots of writing. Or, rather, lots of writing plans. I have plenty of stories to finish drafting and other submissions to polish up through the end of summer, and though the contests and submission calls have sometimes added stress I did not want or need to my life, the end goal——a submitted piece——is worth it. Even when I get declined——and pretty much every response has been a decline so far——I get to enjoy the moment when I click send or submit, and I get to bask in the feeling of being a “real” writer.

I know, that’s reductive. I personally actually believe that anyone who writes is a writer, whether they share the work or not. But I, of course, hold myself to different (and usually harmful and/or impossible) standards, and even as I’ve started writing more the last few years, I’ve still felt like something of a faker or even like a failure for not sharing my work anywhere or getting into the querying and submission trenches.

Well, I’m in just about every writing trench I can be right now, and nothing has really worked out just yet. But, even as much as the rejections hurt, I am enjoying the ride, and I’m proud of myself for taking those steps.