On the Writing Life: That One Story
In which I indulge in writing advice without any real authority. . . Every writer has That One Story. The story that scared you to write. The story that contains a part of your soul. The story that you swear is the best thing you’ve ever written, that will make you a star, that is your breakout work. If this does not sell, you think, there is no hope and you might as well give up. Because this story is the best thing you are capable of. I wrote That One Story in December of last year. My trusted critique partners loved it. Unknown readers in my Critters group loved it. Multiple people told me that it made them cry. I sent the story off in high hopes to the venue of my dreams, a submissions call that seemed encouraging . . . and received a form rejection in reply. I’ve received three more form rejections for that story since. And I was hurt. Am hurt. I’ve actually been surprised by the hurt—I thought, after more than two years of regularly submitting storie...