How eloquent! 20th August, 2009. September 21, 2009

Woah. How extremely, gut-wrenchingly annoying! I just wrote out almost an entire entry and then managed to delete it all. Darn it. I will try to remember it …

I think I started out by saying, ‘It’s been almost a whole month since I last wrote one of these thingos.’ Yeah. That was it exactly. How eloquent. Then I think I wrote a little something like, ’I’m terrible. This is why I’ll never be good at writing a blog …’

A lot has happened since the last update (including me turning twenty-three! Yay!) but the reason for me writing this particular entry was because on the 4th of September, dotdotdash was launched at a most superb party at the Rosemount Hotel. It was a huge hit. There were bands. There were slam poems and spoken word. There were typewriters, cakiepops and Bo Ra. There were zines, chapbooks, clothes-pegs, polaroids, raffle tickets, origami and textas. Best of all, there was a most delectable buzz generated by the eclectic crowd of art/lit-lovers assembled to celebrate the birth of a very funky publication.

It was great: Mel and I volunteered to help out by hanging at the ‘commissioned artists and writers’ table. I brought my green goose-feather quill. Mel brought her nibs and let me share her ink. We wore top-hats.

WE WERE COMMISSIONED.
A LOT.

We were originally rostered on to write and doodle between 7:30-8:30pm and 9:45-10:45pm, but we were enjoying ourselves so much (and, quite frankly, got so piled up with ‘orders’) that we ended up scribbling straight through from 7:30 ‘til midnight! Someone kind (I forget who!) made sure that the lemon, lime and bitters in our glasses was regularly replenished so that we didn’t get grumpy. There was also this charming little musical jewellery box that someone brought along and put on the table to collect money from the commissions – I was quite fascinated by it. Mel and I had to keep making sure that the ballerina was kept properly wound and ready to dance in case somebody wanted to make a donation to dotdotdash. I remember this one fellow who came along. I think he had stumbled into the ‘Playpen’ because he had drunk too much and was waiting for Boys Boys Boys and wasn’t really sure what all the fuss was about. He wobbled over to our table and said something like, ‘What’s this? What are you doing? Can you do one for me?’ To which I said, ‘We are the commissioned people. I am writing haiku (… hai-ku … it’s a type of Japanese poem? It’s three lines long and … never mind …) and Mel is drawing pictures. We can do something for you for a small donation …’ To which he responded by shoving a twenty-dollar note into the ballerina box. My eyes popped. ‘That’s … very generous,’ I said.

I leant over to Mel after we had sent him away grinning with a ‘I just got poem’d!’ sticker on his chest, a haiku in one hand and an illustration of something crazy with a big mouth in the other, and said, ‘I wonder if he realised that we would have put in the same amount of effort for 20 cents?!’

I saw so many lovely people that I knew. They visited me at the table. If I hadn’t been so caught up in the commissioned haiku, I would have liked to have spoken longer with many of my friends. It was nice. It was like a reunion party.

Also, I don’t know exactly how many were sold, but people seemed to like my zines! What does the wind eat for breakfast? sat in a little pile on the Perth Zine Collective’s stall, and I believe they also went along to Outskirts . I am very excited about this, especially since I consider that I ran off 52 copies and only have five left in my handbag (actually, only four, now: I left one on a table in the café of the State Library the other day just for kicks).

Anyway, the dotdotdash launch was incredible, but the magazine itself is just … wow. I know I’ve raved before, so I won’t again except to say that you (yes, you!) can now purchase your very own copy of this sparkling new journal by visiting http://www.dotdotdash.org right now and clicking on ‘SUBSCRIBE OR PURCHASE’. Do it. Do it now. You will like it.

In other news, I wrote three new poems for Poetry at Pat’s (which was supposed to take place today but didn’t because poor Pat was sick. I hope she gets better soon … and not just so that we can play with her cheese slicer and drink all her tea!). I wrote a ‘shape poem’, a ‘translation poem’ … and a ‘fan poem’. The latter of the three was a challenge: I decided to write a Shakespearean Sonnet about my very favourite character from Dragon Ball. The poem was almost nearly an absolute disaster, but I’m fairly pleased now with how it turned out (I think Yamcha would be, too!).

Also, I am panicking because the 30th of September is the closing date for submissions for dotdotdash Issue 2, and I still haven’t finished writing stuff!! Eeek!

Oh, and Deb Hunn has very kindly agreed to read over the manuscript for my book before I polish it up and send it back to Fremantle Press. I got a few emails from the Children’s and YA Lit. Publisher lately asking about my book, which reminded me that I told her (months ago) I would email her a draft in July. Whoops. Great start, Erin.

Okay, I gotta lay down and sleep now, but thanks for reading. It means a lot to know you’re interested …

~ Erin ‘Crazy Haiku Person’ Pearce ~

P.S: These photos were taken by the wonderful Jason Boudville. He’s cool!

Chatting with Elizabeth Tan ...

Our strengths and weaknesses ...

Werrrrrrrrblerrrrrrrrrrmmerblle … 28th August, 2009. September 4, 2009

Werrrrrrrrblerrrrrrrrrrmmerblle …

Good. Glad that’s out of my system!!

I am tired. Pieces of my brain are running everywhere and my head just feels … stretched …

Last week, a number of friends were very kind in assisting me as I practiced writing ‘commissioned haiku’. For approximately 2 hours, all I did was haiku! Thanks to the creative suggestion of my friends, I wrote about everything from angry geese to pimples …

((((WARNING!! PROMO ALERT! PROMO ALERT!)))

And you can read all about it now in my zine: What does the wind eat for breakfast?

I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to have the time to put a zine together, or if it was even one of my giftings, but I decided to knock up something to take along to the dotdotdash launch party next Friday (4th September!!!). I’ve never sold my writing before, so you can imagine I’m excited!!

What does the wind eat for breakfast? actually takes it’s title from a haiku I wrote whilst in Maureen Gibbon’s poetry class in 2007. The haiku was part of a collection called ‘The Confetti Meditations’, four of which appear in the zine itself. As well as ‘The Free Haiku Sale’ collection I wrote last week, What does the wind eat includes ‘The Haiku Diary’ – another collection of haiku written during my 2nd Honours semester in amongst thesis stuff as a sort of stress-relief. dotdotdash was kind enough to select one of the ‘Diary’ entries for the poetry section of Issue 1. (I can’t wait to get my hands on that magazine!!!)

As much as I would like to distribute these little booklets left, right and centre as presents for everyone, I can’t really afford to at this time. I exhausted my pocket money last week by purchasing the following assortment of things from the newsagency that I thought I would need to make a zine:

1. staples (which we already had)
2. paperclips (which I did not use)
3. a new notebook (which turned out to be extremely useful)
4. a big fat ream of cream-coloured paper which looked like it had been on the newsagency’s bottom shelf for at least 3 years and probably should have been sold to me for cheaper …
5. a roll of ‘cello-tape’ …

So, you see, until I cover the costs of making my zine, I will just have to demand a few dollars from anyone who would like a copy of their very own. Is that terribly greedy of me? Seriously, though, if you would like a zine, please let me know! I will reserve a copy for you …

I am still figuring out how to get our printer to print the zine properly … hmm …

On Tuesday, I participated in the 12-hour writing marathon (which actually became a 14-hour marathon .. with an extra 3 hours added to it by me after I got home) held at the home of SJ Finch. I’m still not sure why it was called ‘Birds Ate My Face’, although the avian reference may have inspired me to include a crow in the story I wrote … a crow NAMED ‘Crow’, who took a very long time indeed to enter my story … and the house IN my story …

ANYWAY, it was glorious. Together with SJ, Alex, Max and Sam, I spent the day typing away on my own little project. We were encouraged, if we had no current project to work on, to write a story for the John Marsden Prize, which closes today at 5pm.

I had a terrific day – so good to have so many laughs in one sitting. AND I was allowed a sneak-preview of dotdotdash (… man, it’s breathtaking!!) We ate spring rolls, and drank many cups of tea, and SJ made the most fantastic shepherd’s pie for dinner.

BUHHHHHT, I was disappointed that I still hadn’t quite finished my story by the time I left at 11:45pm.

I did it, though. I’m not sure how, or what possessed me, but I did it. I sent this email to SJ the following morning:

After driving Alex home, I got to bed (about 1am) and set my alarm for 6:15. I woke up, finished my short story whilst sitting in bed with my laptop (and while Mel snored along on the mattress on the floor beside my bed). At 8:40am, I was printing my documents and writing out submission forms. At 8:45 I was throwing on proper clothes and saying goodbye to Mel as I flew out the door. At 8:55 I was at the post office doing the whole ‘express post’ thing. At 9:10 I was calling work from the post office carpark to let them know I was running late (duh!). At 9:15 I was in the McDonalds Drive thru ordering a bacon and egg McMuffin meal (something I have not done in years … can’t remember the last time I ate a fastfood breakfast!) …

At 9:33 am I was clocking in at work. Blerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …

I don’t know if John Marsden will like my story, but at least I gave it a shot. And the lady at the Post Office assured me that it would arrive on time. I do hope she wasn’t lying …

So, afhdklhdsfjhkl: I’m very tired.

P.S: On the 17th of August, I was invited to read the winning entry of the Tim Winton Award for Young Writers Prize to the people gathered for the ceremony. It was a nerve-wracking, though extremely exciting, experience. I think it wasn’t the crowd that scared me. I was afraid, first of all, of getting Rachel Hao’s story The Piano Man ‘right’, especially since the author herself was watching me do it … but having Tim Winton sit right in front of the podium complicated things! I think I got a little awestruck and drifted away from the reading to a place where thoughts such as, ‘I should not have dyed my hair purple yesterday’ and ‘Please, Lord, don’t let me spit on Mr Cloudstreet when I have to annunciate my ’ss’s’ frequented my anxious mind. It all turned out okay, though, and a few people said they thought I read really well, which was encouraging. Tim even gave me a wink and a pat on the back before he went out to get his picture taken with all the budding writers. Ms Harris gave me two bottles of wine, and it was then that I knew I had truly become a writer …

Joking, of course.

But I really must express my gratitude to Deb Hunn for phoning me up about the reading. It was such a great experience, and a wonderful opportunity (and we both enjoyed the free refreshments table very much …) I had a very nice chat with Mr Winton after all the kids had gone home. I tried to tell him that Dad played the role of Ted Pickles in a production of Cloudstreet at the Darwin Entertainment Centre in 2003, and that it had been my first exposure to his work. I tried to tell him I loved Cloudstreet, though I STILL had not read it … but, after humouring me for a while, he said, ‘Ahh … Cloudstreet … I’m bloody sick of that book!’ It was slightly humbling when he changed the topic by asking me what my ‘thing’ was – ‘young adult fiction, wasn’t it?’ ‘Erm … yes …’

I tried my best to explain my dissertation on uncanny verisimilitude to Mr Winton … but I was just too starstruck by the Miles Franklin Man Himself to tell you whether I was at all coherent. I shouldn’t have been acting like such a goose – Tim was so casual and friendly and I think he seemed more interested in the fact that I had grown up in Darwin, which was absolutely fine and wonderful and I’m going to stop rambling now because I’m really tired.

Erin ‘Werrrrrrrrblerrrrrrrrrrmmerblle’ Pearce

Dotting and dashing … 4th August, 2009 August 4, 2009

Alright, does anyone remember that weird story I kept talking about some time back? The one involving detectives/rabbits? No? Well, that’s understandable, and probably for the best, however dotdotdash sent me another email yesterday which said:

Heylo Erin,

We also loved your short story/prose poem ‘The Hare Affair’ and would like to publish it.

I found this both exciting and scary. I did not anticipate that any of my ‘rejected’ pieces could still have a chance at publication, so, of course, I was ecstatic to receive this news. Then again, how awkward! My weirdness is going to be unleashed upon the world after all. This is the first time any of my short fiction/prose poems have been published, so I hope ‘The Hare Affair’ makes a good impression and doesn’t frighten anyone too much … or mess with their heads as much as it did mine while I was writing it.

Huh? A very small bird just beak-butted my bedroom window …

Alright. Stop: Promo Time!

If you, like me, are getting very excited about this dotdotdash business, then today (or tomorrow, or any day until the 30th of September, really) is your lucky day!! I believe dotdotdash are now accepting submissions for Issue 2 of the magazine, so if you have any (previously unpublished) short stories, poetry, creative non-fiction or visual art, visit www.dotdotdash.org for a submission form and send them your stuff!

Also, the theme of Issue 2 is ‘ugly’.

Also, the Issue 2 Challenge is to produce a three-panel comic strip.

Awesome!

Other news … hmm … was there other news? Not really, but I have begun circulating my manuscript, emailing it to trusted readers/feedback-givers etc, which is a cool place to be but still leaves me twiddling my thumbs and feeling anxious. I don’t think the wearyness/fatigue which has been decreasing the amount of time I’ve spent writing recently is a reflection of my interest in writing, or a writer’s block, I think I’m just worn out. Bleurghhhhh … *lolls forward, forehead on keys* bgghfghgnjGGTVFTGYHUJNGbgvfd …

Happy dotting, dashing and … other stuff!
- Erin (is tired) Pearce -

Knuckles crack, hands hover over the keys … (from 22nd of July, 2009) July 24, 2009

Hello friends!

So happy right now, for three main reasons:

1) I got an email from the Editor/s of dotdotdash on Monday night in which they told me they wanted to publish three of my pieces! It made me so joyful to know that they enjoyed my work enough to warrant it being included in the very first volume of their magazine. I feel very honoured, especially since I know how hard the dotdotdash team has been working on this project and the level of professionalism they are pursuing (and if any of you are reading this, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!). I am grateful and touched that someone believes my little clusters of words won’t detract from what is promising to be a fantastic collection.

2) I finished writing my ‘biographical note’ or ‘bio’. As I recently shared with Kevin E, I really don’t like writing them! Please don’t get me wrong – I haven’t written a whole legion! I’ve only had my work published once before, and so there’s not even really a handful of biographical notes about Erin Pearce out there, yet … which is a good thing, believe me! The thing is they make me cringe. My head thinks stuff like this:

Yay! They want me! They liked it and I’m so happy! Now to write a bio! *knuckles crack, hands hover over the keys … and type* ‘Erin Pearce is’ … no … ‘Erin is’ …wait. Should it be third person or first? Second?! No, you idiot! Fine. First person, then. ‘I like to write and’ … oh, this is ridiculous! Should I write where I was born? Where I grew up? Will anyone care? Will they think I think I’m so good that everyone should care where I was born or grew up?! Does anyone else wrestle with this, or am I the most paranoid idiot-freak around? ‘Erin lived’ … no … ‘Erin lives’ … um. This sucks. Help me. Someone else write something! Kill me now quickly/silently/I don’t deal well with pain!

And then I end up writing a bio like the one I wrote for dotdotdash which says something about how I don’t like writing bios. I think it’s alright. I hope so. I don’t want to seem egotistical, or overly self-deprecating, or boring, or like Ms. Lofty-Writey-Fluffy Head. Ew.

3) I finally changed my bedsheets into those warm flannelly winter sheets. Now I won’t shiver myself to sleep every night! Yay!

Okay … I think we’ve all heard enough from me now. Does anyone else have any writing-related Show-and-Tell?

Oh, I almost forgot. I’m excited about this month’s Poetry @ Pat’s challenge: collaborations! I’ve gotta co-write a pantoum with Elizabeth Tan and devise a rhyming couplets poem with Alex Kannis all via email!! O_o

Yours (well and) truly,
Erin Pearce

Novelties (from 15th July, 2009) July 24, 2009

I did it!! I finally finished the first draft of my book!

I am careful to write that I have finished the first draft of my book, because I know that there is much, much more work to be done on it … and probably very soon.

However, this is a special night. This is the first time the arc has been complete since I finished the story as the creative component of my Honours thesis last October. I am currently celebrating over a bowl of orange mum chopped up for me while I was putting on some ‘finishing touches’.

And I want to add more ‘finishing touches’. I just can’t help myself. It’s terrible. STEP AWAY, ERIN!!

When I finished my thesis and had it all printed up and bound and ready to hand into the markers last year, I was calling it my ‘baby’ and toting the whole writing/redrafting/blood/sweat&tears as a metaphorical pregnancy.

So it’s funny that this morning (when I was considering how I was very very close to finishing the draft) I had this maternal picture in my head of me pushing my little one on a three-wheeler trainer bike.

And the thing is, I know that I have to let go of my book now and let someone else read it (namely, my sister Mel, Deb, and a few trusted others) … but my hands are still gripping the poor kid’s shoulders! What if he can’t pedal quick enough and the bike tips over? What if he crashes into a tree to brake like my little brother used to? I am preparing myself that I must let go, even for a little while, so that we can see how my kid might fare in the big wide world.

Mel rang me today while she was out with mum. The conversation went like this:

‘How’s the writing going, Erin? Have you finished it, yet?’
‘No … but I have been writing. I just had to go over some things first, and correct something, and rewrite some of the interrogation scene so that it worked with the last part I have to write, but before I write that, I have to quickly write – ‘
‘You’re procrastinating, Erin, aren’t you?’
‘No, I – ‘
‘You. Are. Procrastinating.’
‘Kind of. But these are things I needed to fix …’
‘Okay. But if you haven’t finished it by the time I get home, I will smack you.’

Oh, what a loving sister she is!

Mel was pretty much exactly on the mark, though. Darn.

But it doesn’t matter now. I have a First Draft with my blue eyes and I’m so proud of him … regardless of whether or not he manages to stack it on training wheels.

Eating oranges, and feeling slightly pathetic and surreal,
Erin Pearce

P.S: I got a cheque from Kalamunda Library earlier this week for the reading I did in June. What a blessing! Now I can almost pay for the new brake pads in my car! Hooray!

I think I read okay (from 19th June, 2009) July 24, 2009

Reading 'My Scallywag Suit', 18th June 2009 (photo courtesy of Mum!)

Thursday night’s reading went well. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was in the car on the way to Kalamunda, though. It would have been good to have a cup of tea or something beforehand, or even a glass of water. Many white cups and saucers were stacked on a table as we came in, but no sign of spoons or milk, so we decided to wait until everyone else. Manuela came with Justin, mum, Mel and I, and Steve and Liz met us there. Joe came along to listen, bringing some of his friends. I really appreciated the support. It was special to know these people had taken time out of their week to make the journey over to Kalamunda for me, quite touching, actually.

Jo Ann Whalley was first up, reading Orpheus from Indigo Vol. 3. It was written very well, although I wish I had skimmed it beforehand so that I knew her reading was far from being PG-rated and maybe wouldn’t have invited my little siblings, mum and friend along. My sister leaned over afterwards and whispered, ‘Scarred, for life’. Fortunately for us, there was some much lighter material to follow, with a sweet Dutch lady reading poems about Dandylions and a Little Brown Baby on Open Mic. Actually, Open Mic was very pleasant indeed. I enjoyed it quite a lot. Among others, we heard from a man named Christopher Nolan who wrote about looking after his granchildren’s dog, a lady who didn’t quite finish her rhyming story about a dragon terrorising a village, and a woman who read a children’s poem about a lizard learning manners.

Then Jaine Konarik introduced me to the audience. It felt really awkward hearing someone else paraphrase my words. Earlier in the week she’d asked me to send her a few lines about myself by way of introduction. She suggested things like: why I write, where I write, what inspires me, publishing/writing accomplishments etc.

Well, unlike Liana Joy Christensen and Jo Ann Whalley, my list of writing accomplishments was a little piddly at this stage (I was hoping I could add ‘being asked to read at Kalamunda Library’ to the list for the future!) So, I gave Jaine this:

There are many things that Erin Pearce enjoys writing, but bios are not one of them so this will be a brief introduction. When she was much younger, Erin wrote lots of stories with funny names, like The Runaway Basketball and The Stupid Detectives. Erin still writes stories with funny names, but nowadays she hopes that they might be published. She predominantly classes herself as a writer of Young Adult Fiction, although she is also very taken with various forms of poetry; in particular, pantoums and haiku. She is inspired by the small things in life such as dust particles, watermarks on her dirty window and typewriter ribbons. The Confetti Meditations and My Scallywag Suit, which appear in indigo Volume 3, are her first published works, and she has been nervous about, though looking forward to, reading them for you tonight …

I think I read okay. It was exciting to look up and see everyone looking back at me as I read, hearing the occasional snigger as someone got my weird sense of humour, or a sneeze/cough as someone surrendered to the symptoms of their flu. There was a man sleeping for most of my reading, but I don’t think I did that to him. He also came up to me afterwards and told me he thought I was a good writer, so he must have been listening for some of it at least.

That was the most humbling part of the night – receiving compliments and kind words from strangers who connected with something I read/wrote. An elderly man named Keith, friend of Christopher, previously mentioned, held out a file to me with his palsy hand and had me flip through a collection of his poems and letters to the editor. I think he thought I must have been important or famous or something. He seemed to want to impress me and hear my thoughts on his writings. I felt extremely unworthy of this, and just wanted to give the men a pair of hugs.

Oh, and guess what? I didn’t realise until Wednesday, but the Kalamunda reading was my first paid gig! I was honoured at being asked to read, excited at the opportunity to share my work and get a few more letters of my name out there, so it was a real spin-out when the library lady mentioned payment. Wow …

So, thanks indigo and Kalamunda Library for making one young writer person feel all chuffed, special, and a little richer (in both senses of the word) for the experience! (And thanks to my friends and family for your support. You really drew some of the butterflies from my stomach and made it easier for me to be me).

- Erin hates-writing-bios Pearce

Cottonmouth, dotdotdash, Library Reading (from 12th June, 2009) July 24, 2009

Hi there!

Went to Cottonmouth tonight to hear some fine wordery and collect some ripper zines. If you get a chance, you should check out Elizabeth Tan’s lovely little ‘hastily staped’ (her words) Instructions for surviving the ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE in rhyming couplets.

Also, Fergus. I mean, when a zine comes with a ducky-badge and its cover is made from a square of op-shop bedsheet, how can anyone resist? I also got myself some really great dotdotdash stickers, which reminds me …

Submissions for dotdotdash close at the end of this month. This week I’ve been getting my pieces ready to send in, so my novel’s having a little break from me right now. I have it on good authority from a certain submissions administrator that dotdotdash is hoping for a lot more submissions, particularly in the Creative Non-Fiction category. So, if you like to write, or draw, or fancy yourself quite good with a pencil and paper, get cracking and send something to these lovely folk! Most of them are friends of mine, and the ones that aren’t are just that way because I haven’t met them yet. I know they’ve got to be lovely people, and THEY WANT YOUR WORK NOW!!

See http://www.dotdotdash.org

Lastly, this is me, or, at least, where I will be attempting to read some of my stuff next Thursday evening:
http://www.kalamunda.wa.gov.au/Events/Kalamunda+Library+-+Calling+All+Local+Poets+and+Writers.htm

As you can see from the webpage, the organisers are hoping that you’ll RSVP to let them know if you’re planning to rock up. If you want to come along and support me, that’s very kind of you! Liana Joy Christensen and Jo Ann Whalley are also reading their work, and, in addition to us, there is the opportunity for you to get behind the lecturn and read us some of your own words on a little Open Mic session.

Alright, well, it’s late and I’m tired and I’m sure you must be, too … so, g’night.

Erin Pearce

Rejection Letters (from 26th May, 2009) June 5, 2009

I don’t mind rejection letters. I actually don’t mind rejection letters.

In fact, I’ve recently explained to a few friends the way I feel about rejection letters. There is definitely a sting at first, a discouragement; a ‘how sad – they don’t want me’ moment. Sometimes there are tears. Sometimes sobbing. Sometimes the Baileys comes out and I fill a little glass with milk and ice and sulk over it and about how I’m such a cadbury and how I don’t like red wine or else I’d do the Bernard Black thing. Sometimes the spite spits out – ‘Ha! Well, sucks to them. Their loss!’

Most of the time, though, I spend a quiet little moment studying the publisher’s letterhead. It’s a really good way to let the news sink in gently: like anaesthetic. A quiet little moment absently reflecting upon the colour scheme they have chosen and why is that blue and what is that picture in the logo supposed to be … a plate, maybe, or a hat? No, I see now: it’s a ripple in some fluid … presumably water. Agitated water. Am I agitated? No. This rejection letter is a merely a ripple in the placid pond of my equanimity. They are trying to rock my proverbial boat … but they don’t realise that my boat has pirates on it and that my pirates are trained to kill … that’s what they do, of course, pirates: pillage, plunder, depredate … and kill because nobody likes a pond ripple because everybody KNOWS it just starts with a pond ripple and develops into a tsunami and nobody likes tsunamis, DO THEY!?!

After this, though, I feel much better. I bend down, dust off my knees, and get up again. And the sun is shining a little brighter through the saucepan coloured clouds than it was before and I feel great.

In all seriousness, though, it’s good to receive a rejection letter. I have come to take it as a ‘you’re not quite ready yet, Erin, but you will be one day’ kind of note. I know it’s probably quite naive of me to say, but it’s kinda fun getting these letters! I say to myself, ‘you wanted to be a writer? Well, writers get rejection letters before they get publishing contracts … so what did you expect?’

As I’ve said before: rejection letters help me remember that I’m on the road, even if I don’t know how long it will be before the next pit-stop.

The most recent rejection letter was for some of my poetry, by the way. I received it on the 24th of April. The reason for the above rant was more for the frustration at not being given any feedback whatsoever … except that my submission flooded in with a tsunami (shall we say?) of other submissions. GC, Managing Editor, encouraged me to ‘try-again-sort-of-thing’ for August 31.

At the moment, I’m still working toward finishing my book. The inspiration to write it comes and goes, but if the inspiration is not met with actual words flooding from my brain into my fingers through the keys and onto the digital page … it don’t work. I wake up some mornings and go ‘YAY! While I slept, I had an epiphany for Chapter X and can’t wait to see how Character Y copes with such and such doing THIS!’ and then sit down to write and have creative constipation, pardon me, writer’s block, I should say.

But I am getting there. I aim to finish the next draft by July.

I had better sign off now because I think I’m going to run late for my doctor’s appointment and that would be bad. However, if anyone is at all interested, I wrote a very strange chunk of story-poem for my Poetry-at-Pat’s-friends. They set me the task of writing a hard-boiled detective piece in which two rabbits fall in love in the most unlikely way. If Pat had her way, I would have also written about someone who left Russia when it was a communist country and who now desires to return, but cannot. I wasn’t able to include this … but the hardboiled rabbits thing is weird – I mean – ready to go, and if anyone’s interested in giving me a little feedback for it before I put it to the group, I’d greatly appreciate it!

- Erin Cadbury Pearce –

That is all for now … June 5, 2009

Well, here it is: My New Blog. I have been reluctant to ever write one again since My Last Blog was destroyed. One doesn’t quickly get-over a virtual death, especially not when a majority of the scrawlings on That Blog were not backed-up on my computer and contained a few very precious thoughts about the actual death of my (deeply-missed) Daddy.

I’m not sure how long it will take me to trust The Blog again. It may take time, so be patient with me. I’m also not sure how often I will actually post stuff here, so be patient with me.

All you need to know right now is that I will probably just use This Blog to chart my progress as a writer.

That is all for now …

God bless,
eRINPEARCe.

Hello world! June 5, 2009

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