It could have been motivation, or it could have been the insomnia, but I went into a bit of a writing submission effort last night. Ten separate works were perused, edited, polished, and sent out into the great publishing beyond, like little lures for hungry journal fish. And, within hours, one lure had a hit. A work I had left in pieces for years but reassembled last night, and submitted this one time, was accepted and now it is published. My work is called Rag Pickings and you can visit it at the Poem a Day feature at Gnashing Teeth Publishing.

I had hopes for the poem, but no expectations. Hopes can remain after rejection, but expectations of specific results for particular works at particular publications cannot do anything but hurt if they aren’t met. So, I sent (and continue to send) my work out in hope, and if a work is accepted and published then it is a hope fulfilled. A hope fulfilled is like a cup running over, spilling into the next effort to get something published. It creates more hope which helps generate the effort. I think, it’s a bit to unpick. However, this is how it feels like it works right now, but the world is as mutable as my thoughts are fickle.

Anyway, events transpire as a result of our own actions. Then the universe intervenes. Then another poem is accepted and published, a hoped for result, but unexpected, all before before April ends, which is expected, but always manages to creep up and surprise me.

Again, thank you.

The 2023 writing update.

• Rejections: 30
• Pending: 28
• Accepted (3 carried over from 2022): 8
• Published: 7