Reinvention

As I ponder the reinvention of this blog, I have been submitting manuscripts: short stories, novels, and poetry. The later triggered a thought.

Over the years I have written lots of poetry, mostly for person reflection, and most I wouldn't ever bother submitting to a publisher. Yet, it might be fun to share it here. So enjoy the reading.

"Brain Sculpture"
by Heather Hobson


The brain is like a sculpture
in need of careful carving.
Each new experience
is another chiseled line.
Every learned fact,
be it names of planets
or simple math equations,
creates a painstakingly planned detail,
forever engraved upon the sculpture of the mind,
which is only finished
when the sculptor no longer breathes.
The question then remains,
will it be an artistic masterpiece
or the feeble doings of a lunatic?

Contests and Submissions

Another afternoon has been spent researching publishers accepting work and contests. This research is almost a full-time job in itself. I remember when one only had the Writer's Market Guide in hand and that was your guide to the publishing world.

For those interested I have entered a flash fiction story titled "Ancestor Fish" with authorstand.com.  If you sign up, you can read my story and vote on it. This is a new venture for my writing, and I must confess, that "Ancestor Fish" is one of my older stories and I have done nothing with it in more than a decade.  I felt it fair to give it a little fresh air, while at the same time not "risking" my more valuable stories.

Also, this website is free to enter stories and there is a cash prize, so those of you with stories might want to consider it.

I am trying hard in my research to find contests with out fees and paying publishers.  Right now it appears most contests want money and most publishers aren't paying.  At least submitting through the internet means I don't have to pay for stamps and envelopes any more.

P.S. Thank you commenter of my last blog!  I really appreciate some else struggling with blogging too.

Worst Blogger ever and great writing website

I think I'm coming close to being the worst blogger ever. Besides only remembering to blog every three months or so, I don't think I'm blogging about anything terribly interesting, especially since I don't have a fan base yet.

Thus, I'm considering how to reinvent this blog.

Meanwhile, anyone who does stumble on to this page might want to check out www.duotrope.com. This is a free website with great listings of places that are currently accepting submissions in all genres, including fiction, children's, nonfiction, and poetry.  I've started submitting a few manuscripts to the publishers they have listed.  I will let you know what happens.