Gosh, it's September!

My motto!

 Hello all, firstly, apologies for posting about a walk I recently did on this site. It belongs on my other blog, but I couldn't work out how to move it, so I left it. Anyway, it shows I have another life apart from writing, and hopefully you enjoyed it.

Secondly, it's September! I only realised this a few hours ago and I've yet to change the calendars. Where has the summer gone? Mine seems to have drifted away from me with dental problems and other things encroaching on life and not being able to concentrate. However, some good news. I have had two poems published by Witcraft, and Australian e-zine. They like all things humorous and luckily, I write stuff like that. In fact, I find it hard to place my more humorous work. I often think writing that is fun is seen as somehow less than serious work. Of course, what one thinks is funny isn't to someone else. My friend who proofreads for me had that experience with one of my stories. She thought it funny, but her friend didn't. Well, you can't please everyone.

Another of my humorous pieces made it to a longlist recently, which gives me hope, but I was pleased that Witcraft took my poems (scroll down to 29th August to read them) and do leave a comment if you like what you read.

Thirdly, I have sent a bundle of published and unpublished flash stories to my proofreader. It took me a while to realise the way I wanted to go and dithered over what I want to publish next. It is one step closer to a book! My proofreader has also just finished reading through a novella of mine and I have made all the amendments, but it needs another read through as ProWritingAid doesn't like mixed tenses when I write about the past in backstory and then return to the present day, so I need to check I have got it right.

Meanwhile (and fourthly), I have been trying to write the new story I began back in March. All was going well, but the last part I wrote was a slog. It may end up either edited or cut. 

Finally (and fifthly), I am thinking about entering the Mslexia YA writing competition. I have something that just needs a little editing, I just baulk at the cost of entry. I entered last year (or the year before) with a different story and got nowhere, but I guess if I don't try, I don't even have a chance.

By the way, I read today that writers of short fiction (and to some extent poetry) only have a success rate of 1% of the work they send out. Isn't that disheartening and sad? I feel quite lucky that my average has been higher than that in the past, but some years are leaner than others. Makes me wonder why I do this, but what else am I going to do? I can't imagine my life without writing in it.

Well, I hope your September goes well. Happy writing and reading.