that rejected feeling

I received one rejection this week (so far?). I had sent my Fathers and Sons story “Comfortable in his Skin” away to a magazine that was looking for pieces about “childhood.” Given the broad and vague nature of that call, I thought my story had a shot. It does deal with a pivotal moment in the childhood of one of my three characters.

My submission was only out for two months, but it seemed longer. It’s a quirky piece, and I’m not sure just what kind of market it is suited for. Perhaps if some mag puts out a call for stories dealing with skinny dipping, I’ll be set. Actually, I’m not sure that the story is ready. I think the writing is about as good as I can make it, but as I’ve said here before, the universe these stories take place in is still revealing itself to me, and since this story is supposed to be pivotal in the character’s life, much of what I later come to understand about that life may affect what I’ve already written there. So revisions and enhancements may be necessary. (I have another, bigger story called “Sins of the Father” that is this same way. Everything before and everything after in these characters’ lives channels through the events of that story, so it will never be “finished” until all of the other stories are first.)

No news yet on my other many submissions, though November 1 was the deadline for many of the submission periods at the various mags, so perhaps I’ll get some news in the days to come.

I keep on.

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