Writers Write

Most writers have stories of rejection after rejection before their first piece of work is published, so obviously this is what I was expecting when I submitted my first short story to a local magazine, Something Wicked, some time ago. Amazingly, the editor not only accepted my story, but also told me in person. At first I was convinced that he'd confused me with another writer, so I told him the title of my story and said, "That one?" He nodded and smiled at me, but I still wasn't convinced. I think I made a total fool of myself and must have asked for confirmation in one form or another at LEAST six times before finally accepting that yes, he had accepted MY story. Needless to say, he's rejected everything else I've sent in since then :p

Obviously I'm incredibly chuffed by that (the first story, not the rejections), and I still feel the need, a year and a half later, to brag about it.

And yet when I read that story over now, all I can do is cringe and resist the urge to take a red pen to it and edit, edit, edit... Not because there's anything wrong with it, but because I've come a long way since then and can write it much better now :-/ Aah well, these things happen... But it's testament to the fact that the more writers write, and the longer writers write for, the better we become...

For anyone interested, the beginning of this story can be read at http://www.somethingwicked.co.za/cms/issue_2_summer_2007/vanessa_finaughty.html