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In terms of writing, I’m definitely a turtle, not a hare.
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Midland_painted_turtle.jpg
Some days the writing just seems futile. Either it doesn’t happen, or it’s painful and you’re convinced you’re a fraud. Raise your hand if this applies to you!
But through this summer of random writings, I ended up with a 1,000-word essay and a 500-word essay that I feel good enough about sending out on submission. Today I hit “submit” on entries to two different flash contests.
As always, I have no idea where these will end up, though the simple odds are in favor of them ending up in a trash bin. But the number of submissions I’ve completed in the past few years has been woefully low, since my energy has been focused on one big project that isn’t easily broken up into smaller essays.
The flash piece I submitted today was something I started three years ago. No surprise, since I’m a turtle writer, not a hare! I haven’t submitted the 1,000-word essay yet, but I feel it’s almost ready. Maybe I am getting faster, since I started that one at the beginning of the year — it’s only taken months, not years!
I don’t care where these pieces end up — I’m just glad to be submitting because it means that I have something I feel is ready to submit. And I haven’t had that feeling in a long time.
As I always say, slow progress is still progress!
Tell me about your summer writing progress.
If You Have Five Seconds to Spare 
I started a new YA novel because of the Story Guild I was chosen to participate in. It was tough to start, but once I got going, it got easier. I’m actually looking forward to working on it more! Worked on some picture book manuscripts because of a Loft class. And I continue to revise a YA novel that I’ve been working on for about 11 years… #iamaturtlewritertoo
Thank you Rachel. This blog resonates with me! This summer, I have focused on polishing the first 20 pages of my memoir. But I need to continue, and now I feel I am revising like a turtle. In the meantime, I have also written one flash non-fiction essay and a longer CNF piece which I intend to submit as soon as I can. I tend to write for submissions (shorter pieces) when I feel I am writing at a turtle pace for my bigger project. Sometimes it helps.
It was published by the University of Minnesota Press — it’s a small publisher here in Minnesota and I was so happy with how it turned out 🙂
I guess its much like being a designer… I could not design the logo for the journal i have composed… it took me months of research and weeks of designing… I ended up BUYING a stock image *lol* how ridiculous is that!!!
I write these blog posts, hit ‘publish’ and then read them… find a million grammatical and spelling errors, cringe myself almost to death…. I reckon WRITING and ESSAY or a BOOK, must be soooooo hard!!!!! GO YOU!!!! would love to read something of yours….
Any creative process has those “turtle” moments, right?! I do have a memoir that was published in 2013. It’s called We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter. I’d be honored if you’d check it out!
Oh wow! It’s on my list for pay day!!!! Just checked it out in Amazon!
Do you publish via KDP?