Many of us often love waiting for that magic date or hour to set sail on a new adventure or making whatever change brewing in our minds. But I'm not waiting for the full moon or the New Year or any of that. I designate this moment magical enough. For a variety of reasons (that …
Category: rejection
The Fear Factor
First off, for the record, I never watched the Fear Factor reality show. Well, once when visiting my dad, but in dad's house we watch whatever his wife wants to watch--even though there are four TVs in the house. End of discussion. In any event, I'm not a big fan of fear. I'll watch a …
Write. Write some more. Then keep writing.
Okay, maybe in that picture I'm just typing an email. It's hard to say for sure. But my husband took that picture around the time I started my novel--in the year 2000 or 2001. And that's the laptop I started writing it on (RIP first laptop) and the desk I was sitting at. I certainly …
Getting Closer
A few years ago, I dressed as rejection for Halloween. I pinned all of my rejection letters to my jacket and a red, paper, broken heart to my jacket's lapel. I wrote "No!" and "Go away!" on the palms of my hands. I took my son's toy collapsable knife and pretended every so often to …
Is that the best you can do?
In high school I spent one year on the yearbook staff. I started the class really excited, and I ended the class hoping never to speak of it again. When my mother saw the section I'd worked on--the advertising section, which I hated but did work hard on--she said, "That doesn't look very good. That's …
Editing Rehab
Hello. My name is Marta, and I'm an editaholic. I've spent hours editing, gotten lost editing, and been unable to remember what I just wrote after editing. After a long night of editing, I've woken up with strange characters in my head. During my breaks at work, I'd be eating my lunch and sneaking in …
The Case of the You-Shoulds
My art is almost always black and white. Some people tell me to do more in color. Some people make it clear they would like my if it were in color. I like color, but I don't like what I do with color. Not when it comes to real paper and ink. But I've been …
Investaphobia
No one in the history of the universe invests money in a company knowing they're going to lose all said money. Oh, some people may invest in losers because they know how to actually get more money later--yeah, real estate nightmare, anyone--but the plan is to make money eventually. People lose money of course. Plans …
Just Give Me My Poisoned Apple Already
I wouldn't literally eat a poisoned apple, but metaphorically I think I already have. The evil queen in disguise is my own psyche, and the apple is seeds of doubt fleshed out with insecurity, neurosis, and fear. Hard to believe anyone takes a bite of that. How long has it been since an agent asked …
The Plague
I'm going to move into my house, set up my work space, and presto! Magic will happen. I'll finish all my art projects and start preparing for my next show. I'll finally know how to write that synopsis. I'll be brilliant. I'll get published. Right? This house business has pushed and shoved over so many …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 