Wednesday, 26 December 2001

The Christmas eve mail brought two rejections: one form, one personal. (The same mail also brought good stuff--I did not go to bed depressed.) Today brought another rejection, but wow--what a rejection: a full page of specific comments and questions on my story from Ellen Datlow, ending with, "If you do substantial work on it I'd be happy to look at it again."

So, I'm thinking hard about how I might address all of her points. If I can come up with a vision of the story that does that, I'll do a rewrite of the story right away.

I spent some time working on the mummy story. I hadn't worked on it (or any writing) over Christmas, but I really want to get a draft completed by Saturday, which would be the deadline for it to be workshopped the following weekend. It's certainly possible to finish it in time. I just need to apply myself.

I've got a lot of other things I'd like to do over the next few days, too. I'd like to write a little "looking back on Clarion" essay. I've got a lot of work to do at work. I need to do some work on this web site--a few bits of the code will break in the new year otherwise. I won't get to everything, but I'd like to accomplish some of it.

I got lots of great Christmas loot. Jackie knit me a hat and mittens--the hat all from handspun wool she spun. They're gorgeous and warm. My dad gave me a handsome watercolor by Todd W. Zimmerman of a piratical kitty. My brother gave me a Venezuelan gold coin. (I like gold coins.) My mom gave me a book with the writings of Alexander Hamilton, which I've been reading and enjoying, plus a gold coin and a calendar. So, loot-wise speaking, I made out like a piratical kitty.