REJECTION WITH BOUNCE

I love my rejection slips.  They show me I try.

- Sylvia Plath

Long story short, I sent out a draft of my book* to a friend for a review, and the review came back that she had stopped reading at about 70 pages because she just couldn't get into it, and that if you haven't hooked the reader by 70 pages, then you never will because they will stop reading. 

So, the first reaction was feeling that this was a personal stab to the heart; it's like she told me my child looked like a gnome. I don't think that part is avoidable. It was a first draft, and I don't think anyone's first draft comes out anywhere near perfect. I read that part of her email again, and...nope it was still a stab to the heart. 

Then, I did what I did when I was back in college. I used to bounce back quickly back then. I remembered that I really enjoyed self-identifying as a problem-solver. For some reason, rejection never seemed to be a surprise then, it used to be something that just happened, and something that you turned into a problem to be solved. It's an old skill that I used to do instinctively, and that I'd like to learn again. 

I'm going to try to break the 70 pages of unreadability into manageable parts. What exactly worked or didn't? I think her assessment was useful and timely - I'm at a place where I can do something about it, but I would like something more concrete than that she couldn't get through it. I have some guesses on what went wrong, and if I think on it a bit, I can come up with some solutions. So life goes on. 

*Co-book. I've co-written a book, but to lessen confusion, I will use "my."

A PICTURE FOR THE WEEKEND NO. 27

JIHAE AND HER VOICE

I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign to fund Jihae's album. She has one of those deep textured singing voices. It's not exactly pretty, but the kind of voice that pulls its own weight, the box that houses her soul. When she sings, she releases a little bit of soul out into the universe. It's my kind of voice. 

It was probably listening to the pitch that did it for me. Sometimes, when people talk about their passion, you pick up on their enthusiasm, you feel happy that they're happy, and their success becomes yours. That is the essence of a good pitch.  

She included this song on her kickstarter page. I looked up some of her previous music and they're not as good. There's a promise here that better is coming. I believe it. 

ON WHO YOU BECOME

"I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become."

 -  Carl Jung

WEEKEND DIY: WALL BOX SHELVING

Photographer Petra Bindel

I'm not delusional. This is not at all easy and it may take forever - but this is an interesting idea: attaching boxes to walls to act as shelves, and painting the interiors to add a little bit of visual interest. There are two views here, from the front and from the side, to provide a little perspective. Takers?

MELLOW WRITING MUSIC: ALL MANKIND

Simple Desire, by All Mankind. Nice and chill.

WRITING PICTURE PROMPT NO. 1

I've never given a prompt before, and I've never even taken anyone up on one, they've always felt weird, but in the spirit of creative innovation, I will from time to time give out a picture prompt.  If you look up, I have provided a visual location for an event to take place. The streets are empty. It's a sunny day, and the point of focus is the house with the archway of flowers over the door.

To test this out, I will respond to my own prompt. Here goes:

She moved forward with an economy of movement, with minimal swinging of arms, or jutting of elbows. She walked the way a turtle swims, with inborn naturalness and casual elan.  She walked until she stopped, quickly and abruptly, in the precise center of the block, a movement that while sudden, was also completed smoothly and with consent.  Looking out in front of her, she arced her eyes over the entire length of the street. There were no cars, no other people. Instead, there was a pervading sense of waiting, for someone who had missed his mark, who should have been here. Waiting for her.

From the corner of her eye, she could see a flood of crimson blossoms arching over a doorway. They waved at her like hands, fluttering in the wind. Above the door, reflecting the sun, was the closed glass of a window. Behind the glass, she was sure, someone was watching. Attractive women could always tell when they were being watched. Over time, they learned their better angles. She knew that when she tilted her head back to turn, the sunlight would split across her face, haloing her features. He should have come out then; he should have already been there. The door was only steps away from where she stood. But the door remained closed. No one came out to greet her.

Of course, there were options. She could knock on the door. She could be polite or persuasive, but that went against one of her key guiding principles: never to reward cowardice. She waited a beat longer, and when the door remained closed, she adjusted her handbag over her shoulder and walked on.

Self-critique: This was self-indulgent and possibly made no sense. It's a jumble of images and descriptions with very little editing. I consider this part of a creative burst (or diarrhea or explosion) that I think is necessary to the act of creating. You have to give yourself the freedom to look bad.

This excerpt is also what I would consider a layer. French actress Juliette Binoche once described good acting as being like an onion - there are many layers to a performance. In that same sense, this scene is one layer in a larger piece that I've been constructing inside my head recently, and I will lay another perspective on top of it later, and then I will keep going, layering away until I have something substantial.

THE "I" IN TEAM

Image Source

In case you hadn't heard...

FUN LINKS

Photography

Here are some creative ways to improve your photography.

Mind

23 Hacks to Learn Anything Faster and Better
True learning takes reinforcement and work, so maybe this will help.

Life 

How to Do What You Love. 

Catchy title, isn't it? Doesn't that make you want to read it?

Discipline

A Guide to Saying No

There are some skills that will make life better, such as saying "no."

Simplify 

All the Things You Don't Need
I've been doing a lot of culling lately, both physical and mental, so this seemed appropriate.

Publishing

How to Self-Publish a Best-Seller: Publishing 3.0
This is one of the most thorough and informative articles on the topic I've come across. 

Audiobooks: 

And related to the above article, I have to agree that making your own audiobook sounds like a great idea - I listen to a lot of books on audiobook (multi-tasking), but the reader's voice has a huge effect on the experience. On that note, I highly recommend audiobook reader Scott Brick. I really notice when men read as women and vice versa, and the results can sometimes be jarring and/or offensive. Scott can do both genders in ways that are insane.

A WELL DESIGNED BOOK COVER

Via

I don't own this book and I've never read it. I'm sure it's good. Amazon seems to like it, but that's not why I'm talking about it. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but seriously, just look at it. Just look. It's beautiful. I found this on a design website because she thought it was beautiful. Again, neither of us was talking about content.  The yellow is striking and inviting, the writing is in a personal script, and the juxtaposition of freehand script against a geometric book pattern is simple, minimalist perfection.  

What struck me is how fresh and modern this cover is; this is a deliberate and calculated choice, as all covers are, and I believe that it works. By "it works," I mean that it will make a reader curious about the book, to want to take a peek inside, and sometimes that little push is all you need.

This cover would look beautiful hanging out on your desk or on the face of your iPad. I am by no means a book designer or cover artist or whatever the official title may be, but this is something worth considering, yes?