(There’s a poem in there somewhere; I just know it.)
These last seven days have been awesome in their…awesome. Okay, that wasn’t great, but bear with me. These last seven days have been excellent on a number of levels, and they’re all levels that connect (yes, even the tattoo thing). So, let me show you my fabulous week:
Writer
The flash fiction piece I’ve been shopping and re-shopping and re-re-shopping for the past six to nine months (my early records on submissions are not entirely clear) has found a home! “Swing Back” will be published at dailylove.net on the 18 of April. I’ll be linking again when it’s published, and I may even find some trivia tidbits to share with you regarding the story.
In further writing news, I had an idea for a short story come out of absolutely nowhere the other night (as I was trying to sleep, naturally), and it’s shaping up nicely. I don’t want to go into detail, as the story is nowhere near finished, but I do know the main plot of it is a woman who is burning down her house. I can’t wait to see what happens.
Editor
One of the ideas I strive to put out there regarding the writer/editor relationship, is that an editor should be helpful to the writer. My job, as editor, is to help the writer look at what’s on the page and say, “Okay, I can make this better.” Or, “Okay, I can fix this.” Or, “Okay, this is just fine the way it is.” I want the editing process to be a parternship wherein the writer writes, I offer suggestions and adjustments, and the end product is something that makes us both say, “That? That is damned fine work.”
Today, an author I work with referred to her book series as “ours” and thanked me for helping her love her characters again. That? That’s a great day’s work for me, and I’m thrilled.
Tattoo Haver
And, finally, the big reveal. On Tuesday, I went out and got one of my all-time favorite illustrations from one of my all-time favorite books tattooed on my person:
I never did master the tin can stilts.
It’s Ramona Quimby and Howie Kemp on their tin can stilts from Ramona and her Father. I’ve metioned before my love of children’s lit and YA, and Ramona Quimby has always been one of my favorite characters. Beverly Cleary was so gifted in writing Ramona, who’s creative and loud and headstrong and short-tempered. If those similarities to myself weren’t enough, my hair basically looked like that through most of my childhood.
It’s been a great week here, and I hope your week’s been great as well. School starts up on Monday, and I’m excited and ready. A 4.0 for last term only helps my enthusiasm. But I’ve still got 24 hours of freedom, so I’m going to go write and edit some more.
