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Y’all I almost missed my first check-in! As of this posting, I’ve submitted stories 8 times and received 5 rejections. I’m well on my way to having my most prolific year in terms of submission. Up to this point, the…
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Rejection #1 – Response
On January 28, 2026, I sent out my first submission of the year. Nearly two weeks later, I received my first rejection letter of the year. I had read to expect a response within 5-8 days, so as the days…
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World in the Box of My Mind
A lot of little kids have imaginary friends – constructed personalities they interact with and likely (I presume) reflect the kids’ desires, dreams, fears, and anxieties. I’m sure many highly qualified scholars have written at great length about this phenomenon,…
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Query Goals
This year, my amazing community group KanMoWriCo has put together a new leaderboard of sorts on TrackBear. We’re not tracking words written, hours spent writing, or even chapters completed. We’re tracking our rejections. Let’s be blunt. Rejections hurt. No matter…
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Beautiful Blue Eyes
“What a beautiful little person you are. And you have blue eyes. That makes it even better.” The older white lady who complimented my six-month-old child meant well. She saw us sitting at a table in a coffee shop, Sunshine…
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My Writing Journey #2: The State of My Journey
So we talked about my earliest experiences with writing, but where am I right now? As of writing this, I have submitted a handful of short stories for publication – all rejected without feedback. I have a complete manuscript of…
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My Writing Journey #1: Always Changing, Always the Same
I am not at the very start of my personal writing journey. That started long ago. I was very small, entranced by mom’s portable computer. Portable computer, not a laptop. That sucker needed a table – or the largest shelf…