Writing News 2020

I began this post in August of 2020 as so: “For now my district is going to be doing Remote Learning. We will see where we are after Labor Day in September.” Clearly, I never finished the post and Labor Day, and many other days, came and went. We are still in Remote Learning.

My last blog post was six months ago. How do I articulate the last 6 months? Part of me just wants to not write anything at all. And another part of me wants something here to remember: how did I make it through the last 6 months?

Do I want to reflect? Do I want to report? Do I want to highlight the highs and the lows? Do I just want to put it all out there even if it doesn’t make sense?

I have decided to organize my thinking about the last six months in the following categories: Body, Mind, Beyond the Mind, Teaching, Writing, and Writing News. This post is about Writing News.

The National Write Center (Writing Research to Improve Teaching and Evaluation) put out a call for teachers to write a poem that reflected the current changes they are experiencing with social distancing. This was part of a webinar facilitated by educator and author, Carol Jago. Using Quincy Troupe’s poem, “Flying Kites,” as a mentor text, the community of teachers wrote their own version. I had already done this activity with my students in spring during online learning, so I asked the National Write Center if I could submit the students’ works instead of mine. I am really proud of my former students; their work has tremendous depth. All revisions were made by students. Pens to Pixels: A Collection of Poetry (July 30, 2020). Do check out pages 92-93.

Flash Flood is  National Flash Fiction Day‘s curated online flash fiction journal. Yes, there is a national flash fiction day. I submitted a story to them and the first one didn’t make the cut. You are allowed three attempts. The response time is lightening fast. I sent another right away. Usually one waits weeks and months to hear news of a story being declined or “this is not for us, do send something else again.” But with such a fast turn around time, I was actually inspired to send something else, and my very tiny story, “Boys Who Make Music Need to Go Far Away” was accepted.

In October, The Common Breath accepted my story “Other People’s Memories”. They are a fine publication and I am very happy to have had my story included on their site.

Also in October, I learned that my tiny fiction, “Alphabets of War,” made it to the October 2020 Bath Flash Fiction Award long list. This is no easy task and I was overjoyed to have made the cut. It will be included alongside 136 powerful stories, all 300 words and under, in their fifth yearly anthology. The title of the anthology, Restore to Factory Settings, comes from the title of J A Keogh’s micro. You can read more about it here. And buy a copy here.

In November, a prose poem of mine, “A 1000 Year Old Fakir’s Dream,” and the image of Jamie’s painting “Rosie” (now in a private collection; if there was ever a painting that summed up 2020 this would be it!), were included in Love in the Time of Covid: A Chronicle of a Pandemic thanks to Witi Ihimaera and Michelle Elvy.

Before I share the last bit of writing news (which is pretty big news), I must go back to July. It was at the end of July when I finished the first draft of my novel. Yeah. It’s real. However, what no one tells you (actually, everyone who has written a novel tells you this) is that you should get the first draft done as soon as possible because plenty of work awaits after that. It’s hard to believe that, but it’s true. In so many ways the real work begins thereafter. After stepping away from it for a month, or maybe two months–I can’t recall (August and September are a blur because of Remote Teaching from home)–I began looking at the big picture and the small plot holes simultaneously while revising. On many occasions I just wanted to toss it all. Due to the encouragement from writer friends in the ULWS** group, I did the craziest thing: I entered* it into the Irish Writers Center’s Novel Fair competition.

I still don’t have words to express my surprise and joy at the news that my novel was short-listed! I am so thrilled for the 12 winners, but especially fellow writer from ULWS (2019), Lauren Mackenzie. Additionally, Anne O’ Leary’s novel, Fundamental Things, was also short-listed! She is also a writer I befriended at ULWS (2018 and 2019). I can confidently say that both of these writers are very talented and I can’t wait to read their books as soon as they are ready for the world. To better understand the Novel Fair, Anne’s post is helpful.

More next time!

*The portion submitted to the Novel Fair was not my second draft, but had gone through many revisions after the second draft.

**You can read about University of Limerick’s Winter School (ULWS) held in Doolin, Ireland here (2018) and here (2019).