Yeah, plumbing. Freezing weather brings frozen pipes.
We have a small cabin we used to lease out as a shop. This past year we decided not to rent it so we could start another one of our ideas in there. We have had the water off for the last few months, because we aren’t ready to open it for business. With all the valves open, to give the pressure somewhere to go if it does freeze, their was one that froze anyway. It was the one going to the commode tank. I Forgot to lower the float. Anyway, It froze.
While working on the pipes, it made me think of my writing – how many pieces do I have that have been rejected and I keep submitting them to different markets. Maybe I need to take another look at them and check for leaks. The last time I looked at them they looked fine, but so did my little cabin. Maybe there is something I have overlooked. The words are not etched in stone, or frozen in time. I can change them.
For the final weeks of this year I am going to look over some of my forgotten pieces and do some plumbing. Patch up all the holes and warm them back up.
That’s what I’m thinking. How ’bout you?
Rick Starkey 
Sometimes I think I check my stuff TOO much! Every time I get a rejection I think I have to massively rewrite the entire story, when maybe it just wasn’t a fit for that particular magazine. If I get several rejections in a row, then I’ll check for leaks. 🙂
Sometimes it’s hard to know if it is the story, or just the editor.
I’m actually thinking of doing the very same thing. In fact, I have recently done just that with a few manuscripts. But I agree with Katrina that sometimes checking your stories too much prevents us from actually getting it out the door. At some point, we have to be satisfied and get it out. But once I’ve received at least 5 or 6 rejections from publishers, if it’s a piece I strongly believe in, I will revise once again. I find it amazing that almost every single time I’ve sent something out and then looked at it months later, I do find something I either learned in that time frame and realized I’d done it wrong, or see something I can change to make it better. Revising never ends!!
Yeah, revising is an ongoing process. So is the learning, like you mentioned in your comment.
Holes….yes. We all get them but as you said, all our work as writers is not “frozen” we can change it. And fix it. And rewrite it. Its funny how simple tasks in our every day life bring us back to writing. Good luck on the frozen plumbing. Been there. Done that. Ick.
ctny
The leaky pipe is fixed, just wish it was as easy in writing. We’ll see how well the pipes holds up when the next cold weather hits.
Rick, take a close look at the type of rejections those stories are receiving. If they are all form rejections, you might have some “leaks”. If they are personalized, then it’s probably just not the right market for the story. Good luck! And good luck with the plumbing, too!
Thanks, Kelly, I think the plumbing is fixed. Sometimes the markets seem like pipework too. You have find just the right pipeline to send them down. The market might need lukewarm, and my MS is too hot, or too cold.
Thanks again,
Rick