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Weevils.
I left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 1st, 2020. On Friday, January 3rd, I had this dream: My parents are visiting me and my family in our big yellow house in Japan. My dad has gone to the little grocery store at the bottom of the hill, and brought us everything that looked delicious. We spread all the food out on the table in my kitchen like a banquet and start sampling our feast. We’re sharing what we love, recommending what we find particularly delectable, and just having a great time. But then, I look down at my food and notice it has a weevil…
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I’m Ripley, Believe It or Not! (Alien Cosplay)
Last autumn I finally watched Alien (1979) for the first time, and I imprinted onto it like a baby duck to its mother. I loved the story, I loved the sets and costumes, I loved the masterfully rendered terror of the unknown, but most of all, I fell in love with Ellen Ripley. Now, I’ve wanted to cosplay for a long, long time, and it just so happened that Ripley wears a cool costume, carries a sweet flamethrower, and has the same exact hair texture as me. I went on Etsy, bought myself a 1970s vintage flight suit, and the plan was hatched. It took me a year of planning…
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2019 Storymakers Report
Oh my goodness. Life is a whirlwind right now, especially when it comes to writing. I have some really good news to share later this week, but first things first, I have to catch you up on how my absolute favorite writing conference went this year! Storymakers in Provo, Utah! At other conferences, I’ve felt like people didn’t want to get to know me, they just wanted to be able to hand me a business card. Writing conferences can feel like competitive, every-man-for-himself kinda shindigs. Not Storymakers. At Storymakers, you can find people who aren’t just looking to network, but to make friends. They remember who you are, year after…
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The Rejections Popped Outta the Snow! Like Daisies! (26-30)
I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon when it comes to magazine submissions and rejections. You might remember me mentioning getting a lot of responses right before the holidays because they were all closing up shop and wanting to get through their queues. January remained pretty slow, as did February, but I started getting some responses in March and now that it’s April it feels like they’re pouring in. All of this gives me the impression that magazine editors are hibernating creatures that rise from the Spring thaw like the alpine marmot, the common poorwill, and the hedgehog. It also might be the fact that the new stories I’ve been sending out…
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What I’m Working On: Spring 2019
The daffodils and crocuses in my yard are starting to poke their green antennae above ground. Sci-fi and fantasy magazine editors are sniffing out new batches of short stories. And I had the amazing opportunity to witness my best friend give birth to her third child (and third boy!) yesterday. Spring, indeed, has sprung. It’s been an auspicious beginning to 2019, albeit a challenging one. I have some really exciting projects coming up this year that I’ll blog about in the next few weeks, plus a few surprises I can’t talk about quite yet. But in the meantime, here’s the quarterly run-down of What I’m Working On: RELATED PROJECTS: NEW!…
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Going Dark
Fact 1) Ten years ago, I set out to finish my historical fantasy series. Fact 2) Ten years ago, I also got a Facebook and Twitter account. At the time, it seemed like everyone was telling me how important social media was to my career. And in many ways, it’s actually helped a lot. Facebook has facilitated meaningful relationships, connected me to critique partners and beta readers, and introduced me to some incredible groups of readers, writers, and friends. Twitter has been less personal, but I have learned a lot by following and occasionally interacting with authors, advocates, and artists. It’s allowed me to be “in the know” on newly…
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The Difference Between Stepping Stones and Gems
Writing has been full of ups and downs this last week, but it’s mostly been ups, thanks to a few epiphanies. I thought a lot about how I could reframe rejection (again), so I could regain my confidence. What I ended up doing was redefining it. I learned a lot about rejection when I was serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Knocking on people’s doors and asking if they’d like to invite me and my companion in, so we could share our innermost beliefs with them, is a bit of a crash course in rejection. The thing is, I never really minded when people…
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NOT A DRILL: One of My Stories is “Under Review!”
I just got this email: Dear Christine Tyler, Thank you very much for letting us read “[story].” I enjoyed it and have passed it up to the editors for review. Thanks again, and best of luck! Kind regards, [slushpile reader] Ahhhhhh!!! Let me explain what this means for those of you who could use a little background. When submissions come in without an agent representing them or special consideration, they go into what’s called “The Slushpile.” It means your story gets thrown into a big ol’ digital swamp with everyone else’s work — the good, the bad, and the ugly. For that reason, many magazines have their interns or non-leading editors…
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Rejection, The Shire, and Farmer Maggot’s Field
I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for weeks now, and it’s time I finally do it. The truth is, my rejections are getting to me. They’re not just getting to me, they’ve gotten to me. And I haven’t even received thirty of them yet! (I’m currently at twenty-eight.) When I started this whole blog, I resolved to share the real experience behind my writing. I wanted to talk about what I was doing, and how it made me feel. I wanted to be able to bring my readers along for the journey, the real journey. Conversely, I think it’s really annoying when authors don’t talk about “the struggle”…
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I Got a Rejection on Christmas Eve! (21-25)
Did you know that submitting your work to magazines in December is kind of a terrible idea? Well, turns out, it is! If you think that’s because editors are trying to get through the slushpile and go home to their families, you’re probably right! The majority of the stories I submitted during the 2018 holiday season were rejected within a week. Wow! So I guess, if you really want a quick turnaround time, send your stuff in right before Christmas, hahaha. #21 Dear Christine Tyler, Thank you for submitting [title] to [venue], but we’ve decided not to accept it for publication. We appreciate your interest in our magazine. Sincerely, [editor]…
