"This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.” Barbara Kingsolver
A Writing Tool
Sheryl Strayed, author of Wild, wrote the world's best essay on writing. If you are offended by foul language, please skip to the next section. In her advice column, Dear Sugar, she responded to a despondent writer (haven't we all been there) with sage advice in "Write Like a Motherfucker." There are so many gems, like "the only way you’ll find out if you “have it in you” is to get to work and see if you do." The column is worth a read, and worth returning to when you doubt yourself and your writing.
Craft Tip
Make sure all flashbacks are triggered in story present. Bubble gum scented lip balm can trigger a memory of a first kiss. Make flashbacks part of your main character's thoughts as she's trying to make sense of what is happening in the story. Throwing them in because you think it's time to tell the reader something without relating it to what's happening in the story is jarring instead of natural and pulls the reader out of the story.
There's a Story Here: Zanzibar, Tanzania, 2018
What story would you write about this photo?
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