Category Archives: Autobiographical

Slushpiles and Rejection Letters

Posted on by Henry

My day today has been rather full.  After reading homework in the library, I had the privilege of spending three hours going through a slushpile for someone I know (for the uninformed, a “slushpile” is what you call the vertiginous heaps of unsolicited submissions received by agents and publishing houses).

It was enlightening, and somehow encouraging and discouraging at the same time.  It puts me in mind of the internal rejection notes from Houghton Mifflin Company that I read while doing research last spring; I found reading committee notes on why HMCo shouldn’t print Poul Anderson, Philip K Dick, or even George Selden’s The Cricket in Times Square.  That’s two iconic mid-1900s sci-fi authors and the 1961 Newbery Honor recipient, all rejected with pithy and sometimes caustic internal notes exchanged between the various submissions readers.

It was enlightening because I found myself rejecting anything that didn’t closely match the guidelines I’d been given, even things that I thought might have been perfectly decent books.  There were no hard feelings, the submission simply wasn’t *exactly* what I was looking for.  It was encouraging, because a number of them weren’t very good and I’d like to think that I could do a better job than that.  And it was discouraging, because in order to submit something and get an editor you need a finished manuscript, and finishing a manuscript that would be accepted is much easier with an editor.

Basically, you could do it if they’d let you, but they won’t let you until you do it.

It’s a mess.

So, it’s time for me to figure out how to finish my work.  Again.

And if your work has been rejected by people, don’t give up.  Submit again and again and again.  Everywhere you can.  Maybe you should tweak things, but do keep trying.

Whoops!

Posted on by Henry

Sorry folks.  Today I combined taking a break from schoolwork with doing schoolwork… by which I mean I read Code Name Verity for several hours.  It’s really quite good so far, but I don’t have anything else to share with you today.  And now it is very definitely bed time.  I’ll try to have that horror piece for you next Friday.

Whoops!

Posted on by Henry

I’m not trying to foster excitement by withholding posts from you (unless you prefer that narrative, in which case I am).  I’ve been busy with school and life and both of those things happening at the same time for the past week or so, and so I’m afraid I missed yesterday’s post.  I might miss tomorrow’s as well, but perhaps I can salvage that.

On the plus side, I ran a good game of D&D 5e last night for my campaign group that had been waiting 3 months for a session, and I should have a 1st draft outline of a longer Barium Deep piece up here sometime soon.  But until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with me and wait.  Hasta luego.

The Middle Grade Character Intro I Actually Used

Posted on by Henry

Remember how I mentioned being dissatisfied with my work on Wednesday?  As you might gather from the title, I wrote another 500 word piece rather than use either of those two.  I am, as ever, somewhat dissatisfied, but I still like this one.  It’s… fun.  And somewhat painfully reminiscent of my childhood.  Enjoy.

Continue reading →

Flash Non-Fiction: Why I Write

Posted on by Henry

This week’s challenge from Chuck Wendig isn’t about fiction at all!  This week, he asked people to write 1000 words about why they write.  I took about that many words to think it through.  Some of my answer feels final, some of it doesn’t, and I’m sure there’s more to be said.  But my response begins below…

***

Why do I write?

That question makes me uneasy.  I don’t feel like I have a good answer to it, or maybe it’s that the answer I do have isn’t “good.” Part of the answer is very simple:

Continue reading →

Henry Bit Off More Than He Could Chew

Posted on by Henry

I know I have a big mouth, but apparently I tried to fit too many words in it this time.  Sorry.  Normally I’d have a piece of flash fiction for you right now (and I have started it), but instead, here’s the beginning of a nonsense sonnet I’m in the process of writing.

The King begged the peasant, “Please sir won’t you
Deign to grace my table with thy good name?”
“I could not,” he replied, “give credence to
Your reign.  I think not, if it’s all the same.”

I’ll have more for you on Friday. Really.

Whoops!

Posted on by Henry

I goofed up!  I was writing a piece of flash fiction earlier today (something I intend to submit to the Flash Fury contest run by The Molotov Cocktail), but then I got distracted by life here visiting my mom.  I’ll have this piece of flash fic up for you in a bit (maybe tomorrow, maybe next week), but I’m afraid I don’t have the usual stuff for you today.

Actually, I’m going to have to change my schedule starting next week, because I’ll have classes on Mondays and Thursdays and I have no desire to try going to class and post on the same day.  I’ll figure that out soon.

Two interesting articles instead of a big post

Posted on by Henry

I’ve been doing research for my History of Children’s Book Publishing class instead of writing an article today, and tomorrow I’ll spend as much of the day as I can cooped up in the Houghton Library at Harvard doing more research.  I should have gone there earlier, but for the past week and a half every single day that I planned to go (and haven’t been busy with other things) the library has closed because of snow.  Fimbulvetr has struck Boston, such is life.

In addition to that, I’ve been trying to figure out which story I want to continue for Chuck Wendig’s current flash fiction challenge.  I haven’t yet decided, as I’m still reading through some of the initial submissions.

But that doesn’t mean I have nothing interesting to share!  Two things have caught my attention today: one is an article about the ideological and theological underpinnings of ISIS / ISIL / Daesh, and the other is some super cool news about nanotech being used to fight cancer.  The cancer one is a super fast read and is worth checking out, and the other one is just straight up fascinating as an examination of the self-proclaimed caliphate as a fundamentally apocalyptic millenarian organization.

Whoops, it’s Christmas Eve

Posted on by Henry

So, uh, I forgot to post today.  I’ve been sick, and was distracted by friends being free for the holidays, and then by helping my landlady and her family prep their Christmas tree.  I hope that you’re all doing well, and I’ll be back next week.  Hopefully with less diseased fatigue.  ‘Til next time.

Eric Flint and Determined Optimism

Posted on by Henry

I love reading Eric Flint’s books.  Even when they’re not especially “good,” per se, I still go out of my way to get my hands on them.  There’s something special about the way that he constructs story-worlds that I find captivating, and I think I may finally have some of the right words for it.  Time and again, I’m struck by the way in which his stories convey a rigorously optimistic, idealistic world view; his protagonists work together to create a better world, or a better future, or a better something else, but there’s always the underlying presence of cooperating with others in order to improve upon what already exists.  I don’t always agree with everything that he writes, but given a choice between an Eric Flint-esque book and something less hopeful, I’ll pretty much always pick Flint (or at least return to Flint after a jaunt elsewhere).

Part of it has to do with inspiration, and part of it has to do with my personal headspace.  I consistently reference the need for inspiration towards something better when I review Flint’s books, often referring back to my article on Schindler’s List.  I sometimes feel willfully self-deceptive when I consciously shape my media consumption like this, but I find that my own outlook on life is far more positive and constructive when I make sure that I balance my media intake with more hopeful and inspiring stories.

All of which is to say that I find that Flint’s writing serves a very distinct purpose.  I like his work more for the fact that he very specifically introduces such positive people and/or groups into his stories; I find it tremendously reassuring to read about people consciously working together to create a better world, and I often feel more empowered to do the same after reading his work.  It makes a nice counterweight to my research into things like sex slavery, MKUltra, or Operation Condor.  There’s something refreshing to Flint’s idealistic community organizing that helps to clean out the toxicity of the horribly sinister things that we human beings have routinely done to each other.

I think there’s more to be covered here, but I’ll leave it at that for the moment.  What do you think?  Do you have similar mental health management strategies?  Do you actively seek inspiration in the media that you consume?