Editor's Note (NMB): I recall it was in the winter when I came across a Facebook post from an editor colleague I'd worked with on something in 2011, an NLAPW sister, who had set what seemed an insurmountable goal in an incredibly difficult time. I used the word "inspiring" in my comment on the post and we briefly chatted about it before I decided to approach her to write yet another thing more—a piece about her experiences. Without revealing the outcome, I wish to share a bit about what went into my request.
Ms. Vonnie Winslow Crist had set the goal of one hundred submissions in 2020. In a normal year, it could be considered an amazing ambition. In 2020? It was nothing short of extraordinary in my eyes. Through the many things I've learned and experienced in different areas of life through these times with a continual intention to bring back to you what treasures I can, this was something I wanted my writers to see when so often many were understandably confronted with the difficulty to create. Writers ranging from new to established were frequently saying the same thing to which I could respond with a solemn nod of recognition, and then I came across that Facebook post and its outcome at a time when I was interested in pursuing the theme of writing in challenging times prescriptively in various ways with some possible different authors and tools like prompts on the Facebook Holiday "Bizarre" page or experiences in different mediums. I saw this and thought how I would love a piece from Vonnie for the page that put things in a very engaging, relatable, encouraging way.
I rather liked the idea of making it a more intimate, gently conversational, "how I did this" piece about her work patterns and specificity about the sending out/submitting—while in the midst of what was 2020. Thinking of it as, How I Managed Generating (X amount) of Published Pieces in 2020 and Other Miracles... or something to that effect was envisioned. I wanted her to go internally, capture and convey that mindset she'd utilized, drawing on a well of perseverance undeterred and have the external part of the piece be mindful of motivational impact on others. Vonnie exceeded expectation while gracefully and eloquently underscoring the most important elements in her own magical way with reminders of who we are, what we do, and oddly enough, through the process of doing the piece, mentioned to me that it reminded her "once more" of her why.
The circle goes round in our sharing and creating and on this day of the solar eclipse, the ring of fire—our passion, our creation, our love and connectedness as creatives burns bright in the dark. Our initial conversations about this piece took place in the winter and Vonnie's recent words in our correspondence said that she "continues to embrace the challenge and persist." So should we all. The next eclipse is in December as a fun fact, so around again in time and creation we go. Let's see what we can all do in 2021. Ignite your heart and your art, storytellers.
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| Image of Vonnie Winslow Crist featured with permission |
Embrace
the Challenge
by
Vonnie Winslow Crist
Life presents
writers with obstacles all of the time. That said, the year 2020 was filled
with more roadblocks to creativity and publication than usual. Little did I
know on New Year's Eve 2019 when I decided to write and submit 100 stories or
poems to publications in 2020, that a pandemic, fierce politics, and personal
challenges would try to stop me. I soon discovered all of those things and more
did stand between me and my 100 submissions goal. But I was determined
to persist.
I began 2020 with
lots of reminders designed to inspire me pinned to the bulletin board behind my
computer. Quotes like: “Finish the things you've started,” (a hard one for me). “Everything is possible” – Deepak Chopra. “Know thyself! Know your limitations,
habits, and strengths.” “Do your best.” “Persist!” I also hung a calendar (on
which to jot deadlines) with animals and inspiring quotes on the board.
Beside the
bulletin board I hung two legal-size clipboards. On each of these, I clipped a
handmade chart titled, Project Planner. Under the title, I made three columns,
exactly the size of postable notes, labeled: Projects, Next Action, Pending.
Then, I used three different colors of sticky notes to fill in the charts. In
the Projects column, I placed 100 Submissions and the names of
several stories I was in the process of writing, Beneath Raven's Wing,
Dragon Rain, Writing for Anthologies, and two other untitled books I was
working on. In the Next Action column, I listed what step needed to be
done to reach that goal. Things like: edit a story, finish a poem, pull
together research, or look for a market. Under Pending, I placed tasks
which weren't pressing, but I could address when writing seemed difficult.
Examples of what I listed: update bibliography, update website, write a blog
post, enter data into Internet Science Fiction Data Base, rewrite a flawed
story/poem...
Why the bulletin
board and Project Planner charts? I'm a visual person. I need reminders in
front of me of tasks to be done. Also, it was positive reinforcement when I
took down the title of a finished story which had been submitted to a market,
and replaced it with the title of another story I'd just begun.
But where to find
100 stories or poems to submit? I had a few pieces of writing in my files which
just need to be revised. I revised those, then looked for markets. While
searching for suitable markets, I jotted down the submission information on
several anthology calls I spotted on Ralan.com, the Submission Grinder, or in
Facebook's open submission call groups. I used the themes of those submission
calls as inspiration. If I was going to write more stories, why not write with
an anthology in mind?
Which brings me to
drabbles. You might ask, “What's a drabble?” Answer: It's a piece of flash
fiction exactly 100 words in length, not including title or byline. Having
written poetry, a genre which requires every word to earn its place, writing a
story in 100 words seemed an easy task. Wrong! But I'd decided 2020 was the
year to embrace challenges, so I tried my hand at drabbles.
Sometimes, I took
a longer story I'd already written, and condensed its core narrative down to
100 words. Other times, I wrote a 100-word tale knowing I wanted to expand the
drabble into a longer story later. Committing to only writing 100 words never
seemed a huge mountain to climb—rather it seemed a few minutes of scribbling.
An unforeseen bonus to drabbles, markets for the little stories usually allowed
multiple submissions and acceptances. Ta-dah! I was moving toward my goal.
My go-to word for
2020, persist, became more important as acceptances and rejections
arrived in my in-box. I had to remind myself, whether an editor loved or hated
my story/drabble/poem, it was one person's opinion. I signed the contracts for
the acceptances, and immediately found a new market for the rejected pieces of
writing—while continuing to write new work.
The continuing
to write new work part of the formula to reach 100 submissions was
sometimes difficult. The world seemed to be crashing down. How could I worry
about writing?
Every day (and
sometimes more than once a day), I reminded myself stories were not only
important, but necessary. From childhood on, I'd always valued the family
stories I was told. From the moment I taught myself to read, I'd read books
brimming with story in every spare minute. As soon as I was able to string
together a few sentences, I'd told stories and recited nursery rhymes (one of
the first narratives we discover) to younger sisters, family, and friends.
What I still
remind myself, and encourage others to remember, is: Story, whether told in
prose, poetry, or paint, is one of the things which bind all humans together.
Therefore, storytelling is important. And those of us who wear the
storyteller's sweater, are essential to this world. Remembering you and your
writing are valuable, makes those hours spent in front of the computer or at
your desk worthwhile.
To complete the
2020 writing puzzle successfully, I not only needed a 100 submission goal, the
knowledge that storytelling was important, and markets to send to—I needed inspiration
for stories/drabbles/poems. Discovering new themes while looking for markets
was helpful. Researching those themes often helped even more. When I spotted a
call for drabbles about ancient societies, I leafed through a book on my
bookshelf about lost civilizations. I discovered many civilizations I'd never
heard of before. Reading that book and doing a little online research gave me
far more information and ideas than could be used in 5 drabbles.
After writing the
5 ancient societies drabbles and submitting them, I wrote an “extra” drabble as
a replacement in case of a rejection. Then, I wrote several poems based on the
research. One society in particular appealed to me, so I began a longer story
based on its possible demise. Before I could complete it, I spotted an
anthology looking for flash fiction (up to 1,000 words) about Easter and other
spring holidays.
A little research
generated not only ideas for four short Easter and St. Patrick's Day stories,
but fascinating information about uncommon folk customs. I managed to write
about one of those customs before I spotted an anthology call for 500-word
stories with witches, magic, or spells as the theme. Five-hundred words didn't
seem too long. So I wrote three witchy tales and submitted them.
The research for
these three submissions calls had given me an idea for a long story featuring a
magical woman, folk customs, and an ancient society. I added the challenge of
setting the witch/folk/ancient tale in the future on Earth after the grid had
been destroyed. After writing so many drabbles, flash fiction stories, and
500-word tales, I was ready to sink my teeth into a novelette!
What else kept me
writing when others found it difficult to put fingers to keyboard? I signed up
for a writing contest! With no expectation of winning, I wanted the challenge
of writing four stories of 4,000-6,000 words, in four different “surprise”
genres, assigned one after another, with only three weeks to write each tale.
You might ask,
“Why?” Because I knew after I'd paid the $10 entry fee, I wasn't going to waste
my money! Remember the “Know thyself!” saying from my bulletin board? I knew if
I invested money, I'd complete the contest. So while recovering from surgery (I
did mention 2020 was a tough year), I wrote four new stories.
But I still needed
more motivation to write! Remember the list of projects from my bulletin board?
Beneath Raven's Wing and Dragon Rain were story collections I
hoped to pull together. I focused on the raven stories first. I had almost
enough stories published and unpublished for a 45,000+ word collection, but
they needed to be edited, ordered, and slightly revised to eliminate repetitive
imagery. Also, at least two more stories needed to be written to increase the
word count to an acceptable length. No sooner had the task been completed, then
I spotted an opportunity to submit Beneath Raven's Wing to an Indie
publisher. The book was accepted, and the editing process began. Two stories
were pulled by the publisher, so I had to write two more stories to replace
them. Remember the research I'd done months earlier and the extra ideas not
used? Here's where they came in handy.
No sooner had I
sent off the raven story collection, then I pulled together Dragon Rain. Again,
stories needed editing, ordering, and revising. Again, I had to write
additional material. The dragon story collection was sent off, and currently
remains in the hands of a different Indie publisher.
I must say, it was
with great relief I returned to writing a few poems and drabbles. I needed to
catch my breath. That was until I spotted a call for a Weird Western anthology.
An idea, which required lots of research, popped into my mind. And so, the
cycle began again.
Though my writing
output might seem large to you, some of my writing friends completed more than
one novel in 2020! I can't even imagine doing that—or maybe I can.
When 2020 put up
obstacles, I viewed them as challenges. When it was near-impossible to muster
the drive to write, I persisted. When rejections hit the in-box, I sent the
stories to another market. When writing new material seemed impossible, I
revised old work and did writerly “chores.” When ideas seemed scarce, I
researched. When the world seemed to be falling to pieces, I reminded myself
storytelling is part of what makes us human.
Now, the all
important question: did I write and submit 100 stories/drabbles/poems in 2020?
Yes! In fact, I surpassed that goal (not counting the stories/drabbles/poems
resubmitted after rejection). As for the contest? I was one of the winners, and
those four stories will be appearing in an anthology this spring. Counting
reprints (which as a constant reviser, I revise before sending out again), over
100 of my stories/drabbles/poems were published in 2020. A bonus of
persisting I never expected.
What's in store
for 2021? I've modified my new stories/drabbles/poems goal to fifty. Why?
Because I want to complete a novel and at least one non-fiction book. Do I
expect 2021 to be easier than 2020? No! I expect this year to come with its own
roadblocks and detours. Still, I will persist.
In conclusion, I
say to each of you reading this essay, be proud of being a storyteller.
Remember, as our long ago ancestors gathered at night around the fire to chase
away the shadows and warm not only body, but soul, it was the storytellers who
helped the world make sense. It was the storytellers, with little more than a
stick with a glowing red tip and their imagination, who wove the threads of our
society and inspired our future.
Be that
storyteller. Persist despite setbacks. Find inspiration in the ordinary. Cheer
on the successes of fellow writers. Don't allow a closed door to prevent you
from knocking on another door. Seize opportunity if it shows up on your
doorstep. And challenge yourself to weave the warp and weft of story—which make
up the fabric of who we are and who we want to be.
Updates regarding the essay—Beneath Raven's Wing, the 1st story collection mentioned, was published Jan. 30, 2021 by Fae Corps publishing, and continues to receive good reviews. Dragon Rain, the 2nd story collection mentioned, is under contract with Mocha Memoirs Press, and should be published in September 2021. I've also begun working on another story collection—this one containing magical horse stories. There is a publisher interested in reviewing the manuscript this summer for possible 2022 publication.
BIO: Vonnie Winslow Crist, SFWA, HWA, SCBWI, NLAPW, is author of The Enchanted Dagger, Beneath Raven's Wing, Owl Light, The Greener Forest, and other award-winning books. Her writing appears in publications in Japan, Australia, India, Pakistan, Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, Canada, the UK, and USA. She's also an artist with over 1,000 illustrations in print. For more information: http://www.vonniewinslowcrist.com
