And...She's Back

I must apologize for the long and striking absence of any posting for the last couple of months. I took some time off for my family - in May to spend time with my children, and in June to get married and go on vacation. I am as a result fat and contented, so to speak, which doesn't translate into good art from what I understand. Art needs suffering. I guess at this point I have only my memories and gift for empathy to rely on. We shall see.

In the interim, however, I have been busy. I have been reading and studying voraciously, both in technique and in content. As I want to write about Louisiana and its people, I have read a collection of short stories by Louisianians, subscribed to and read the LSU Journal The Southern Review, and consumed an interesting book concerning our place in the modern world. I have also continued studying the great writers, with Hemingway's autobiographical work of living and working in Paris, and the book I am currently reading, a collection of essays, journal entries, and story ideas from Philip K. Dick. And, I also began studying photography, though that project is in its infancy.

On the writing front, I have fleshed out the ideas and notes for two new stories, and...(drum roll here) received my first two rejection notices. When I got them I didn't know if I should frame them as badges of honor or burn them. I chose instead to tuck them away quietly in between stacks of old notes, knowing that one day I'll be perusing and come upon them. Hopefully, it will be when I can look back as a successful writer with a bit of nostalgia. I'm sure the stack will grow, but I'm ok with that. Feels like I am earning my chops.

So, in any case, hello again to any readers out there. Tomorrow I will begin blogging anew in earnest, with updates on the stories, and links to interesting tidbits I come across. Till then....just write, damnit.

20 June 2007