Repost: Idle Ink Podcast

A bit late but here is the Spotify link for my podcast with Idle Ink.

Idle Ink gave me my first published credit when they posted “Memory Catcher” to their site. It was an honour to speak with the editor, J.L. Corbett, about my writing journey and my projects.

It’s a long one (around 45 minutes) but give the last 10 minutes a listen if you’re short on time.

To write or not to write

I’ve mentioned previously that I wanted to take this year to focus on querying and getting more short stories published.

I was hoping to get an agent by year end or at least one more published short story. So far, I haven’t been successful with either.

A piece of me wonders if I just need something new to query or if the right person might still be out there. I wrapped up a rewrite of my fantasy novel, “Alive” last year and I am tempted to start on “Alive: Part II.” Or I could possibly start on a novel for my short story, “Embers.”

I used to be proud of the 4 books I’ve written but I realize that having a few books unpublished just makes it seem like your books must be bad. After all, one of them would be published already if they were decent.

So maybe it’s time to take a dive into a new world and expand into something new. Maybe “Embers” can be the one.

Or maybe it just becomes another book in my writing graveyard. The only option is to try to be positive. Perhaps writing again can rekindle some of my energy and confidence.

Whiplash: Revisited

So I previously did a piece on “Whiplash,” one of my favourite films.

Whiplash (2014) follows Andrew Nieman (Miles Teller), a student at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory. Nieman is a skilled jazz drummer who wishes to become one of the greats. Nieman’s relationship with his abusive instructor, Terrence Fletcher (J.K Simmons) provides the central conflict of the film and the film’s most interesting message.

Fletcher is depicted as abusive, emotionally and physically. However, Fletcher justifies his behaviour as being necessary for success. In Fletcher’s mind, any amount of abuse will not discourage a future legend. If anything, the abuse is necessary to separate the legends from the weak.

As I read more blog posts on the film, it seems like most people view Fletcher in a positive light. One YouTube comment called it “The Anti-Participation Trophy Movie.”

So, in my previous post I touched on my own experiences with a lack of discipline. I also touched on my experience being a teaching assistant, where most of the students were lazy and had me wishing I could go Fletcher on them.

“Whiplash” can lead to a nuanced discussion about limits and abuse, but of course, the internet reduces it to something simple.

According to comments, anyone who has any problem with Fletcher’s methods wants a participation trophy and will never amount to anything.

I just have to wonder if all the people who say that are greats in their own fields. Or how well they would do if they (or their loved ones) were treated like Nieman was.

Yes, a firm hand can be necessary and very useful. Maybe full on physical abuse can be a bit much sometimes.

Updates

So, it has been a while since I blogged. The handful of people who have read these blogs might have been curious about what I’ve been up to.

I’ve said in previous pieces that I want to focus on getting an agent this year, with less focus on writing. With five books in the backlog I have lost some of my motivation to work on rewrites or a new work since the hunt for an agent seemed to be going nowhere. I want to really focus on trying to get one before I dive into the next project. A piece of me worries all the work I’ve done will never see the light of day.

However, I know a lot of writing advice says to always keep writing. For now, I’m not. And if the end of this year brings no luck maybe I start working on a rewrite of Alive: Part II or start a novel for Embers.

Over the past few months I’ve gotten married and I’ll be heading out of the country for my honeymoon tomorrow. When I get back I’ll have some work (outside of the 9-5), plus querying and blogging to get back to.

New published poem – The Undertaker

Maybe not quite new, but “The Undertaker” got published on the 9th.

It’s my first poem and I’m glad I finally gave a poem a try. I actually got an acceptance within my first five submissions, which gives me a bit of a boost getting into the new year. Of course, the acceptances have been slow since then but I’ll keep at it and hope to get at least one other piece published this year.

As I’ve said before, my main goal is to finally get an agent this year.

Idle Ink Podcast

A bit late but here is the Spotify link for my podcast with Idle Ink.

Idle Ink gave me my first published credit when they posted “Memory Catcher” to their site. It was an honour to speak with the editor, J.L. Corbett, about my writing journey and my projects.

It’s a long one (around 45 minutes) but give the last 10 minutes a listen if you’re short on time.

New year goals

I have a poem coming out January 9, as well as my podcast episode with “Idle Ink.”

I’ll be posting both here when they go live.

2022 was a decent writing year. I finished a draft of another book, like I planned. I got another publication acceptance.

However, no agent. I made that a goal for this year and the year before and no luck yet.

This year also saw a huge scare for my writing, with my USB going missing for months. That also slowed down my agent search. I’m hoping I can finally breakthrough in 2023.

Re-reads and edits

Now that I’ve got copies of “Alive” and “Memory Catcher” back I’m working on re-reading them. I still feel like “Hazard” is the strongest work but I’ve exhausted most sci-fi agents so I need to start shopping other works around.

I’m going to try “Memory Catcher” with an agent who I submitted “Elseworld” and “Hazard” too.  Both times she said my writing style is great, but she didn’t like the concept. Hopefully “Memory Catcher” can be the one. The agent reopens to queries in late January so we’ll see what happens then.