Author: thedailyrejectionblog

New Year Giveaway

Hey Guys!

Just want to let you know that I appreciate each and every one of my readers. To show you just how much, I’d like to share something with you on this Share it Saturday…. A giveaway! What we have here is a pretty sweet writer’s gift basket that was assembled thanks to ample holiday generosity.

The $100 value gift basket includes a “Writer’s Block” notebook, a “Writer Emergency” card pack, an “I write, what’s your superpower?” mug, and a USB color-changing “book” light (it’s made of wood and opens and closes like a real book).

Since my posts have been slightly more sparse thanks to a hectic start to the new year, I’m looking to my readers for inspiration. So, to win the gift basket, the rules are simple:

  1. Be a follower of The Daily Rejection.
  2. Send me a 1-2 sentence story prompt by Friday, January 20th. Anything at all that you’d like to see me write a short story about. ONLY IDEAS THAT YOU DON’T MIND PARTING WITH. (This is just meant to be a fun little exercise). You can use my contact form at https://thedailyrejectionblog.com/contact/

I’ll post my interpretation of the prompt by the following Focus Friday, January 27th, and announce the winner. Not at all a requirement, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would help spread the word.

Good luck, and happy prompting!

JB

Inspiration Monday #3

Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year! Which brings me to the most obvious of obvious Inspiration Monday posts.

The new year.

In particular, a celebration of the fact that 2016 is over.

Not because 2016 was the worst year of my life. I had many positive things happen. New experiences, good times with great friends, kept my job and my health, learned some harsh life lessons, grew a little. But man, was it ever a rollercoaster. A sea of ups and downs that at times nearly blindsided me with emotional whiplash. And it seemed as though the world was going crazy around me. Many close to me suffered, as well as many more people I didn’t know. The deadliest mass shooting happened practically in my backyard. A particularly vicious election occurred, quite possibly the most divisive I remember, stuff that tore apart family dinners, ruined friendships, caused riots in the streets. Then there were police shootings. Genocides. Syria. A whole slew of childhood icons dying left and right. And that’s just to name a few things.

You’ve seen the headlines, the memes. The tweets. I think we’re all on the same page about 2016 being… well, 2016, a year that certainly deserves it’s own place in history. If recorded history were a high school yearbook, and each year a student, 2016 would be voted “Most likely to f*** everything up”. In fact, it should be alloted a space in the dictionary. 2016 (adj) meaning: crazy, ridiculous, messed up. “Hey man, you seen that guy choke on stage? Total 2016 fail right there.” Works as a verb too. “Hey dude, try not to 2016 that, alright? Just bought it.”

Continue reading “Inspiration Monday #3”

Try It Tuesday #3

I suppose this Try It Tuesday could also pass for a Focus Friday, but in actuality, it’s a form of writing that I never ever do.

Yes, folks. I am trying my hand at poetry.

Now, I was always more of a prose girl. Thus, not being much of a poetry aficionado, I don’t necessarily know what good poetry looks like, or how to even properly punctuate the sucker. Aside from Robert Frost, I can’t really quote many poets. To me, a “good” poem is a rhyming one, which makes me a terrible barometer of a poem’s true value. But I believe everyone deserves a shot at art in all its forms, so why not me? Gotta start somewhere, right?

I hope you enjoy my Try It Tuesday poetry experiment. Heck, maybe you’ll find some meaning in my humble little attempt. Maybe not. But regardless, here it is in all its flawed glory. And you know what? I’m glad I tried it.

OK, admittedly, I’m more nervous to share this with you than anything I’ve written so far. But here goes nothing.

Continue reading “Try It Tuesday #3”

Tidings and Good Cheer

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I’d like to interrupt your standard Daily Rejection programming to bring you a short and sweet post of tidings and good cheer. For this week (and beyond), my dear readers, may your days be shared with family, may you be inspired by the love of those around you, may you reject feelings of negativity, and may you focus on all the blessings in your life. To those who celebrate, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Rejection Wednesday #2

I recently counted up the number of rejections I received on one novel. It’s called THE SOUL ACCORD, and it’s an action-packed, Young Adult supernatural thriller with a killer twist and guess what? It’s been rejected 37 times.

Thirty. Seven. Rejections. And that was only from the most recent round of queries.

I had shopped the novel around a few years ago, added a good 60-some rejections to the ol’ collection, and shelved it for two years after receiving my infamous THISCLOSE rejection.

Whelp, with a new determination, I rewrote the sucker. We’re talking a 70% overhaul. Key scene shakeups, the removal of whole plot elements and the addition of others, all while changing main character names and the story title. And what do I have to show for all my hard work?

Thirty. Seven. More. Rejections.

Continue reading “Rejection Wednesday #2”

Inspiration Monday #1

I’m posting something rather personal for my inaugural Inspiration Monday. The goal of the day is to post about something that inspires you. Whether it’s inspiration to live differently, to create, to write, to be a better person… or maybe to be a better person and a better writer both.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

For a writer, I am rarely alone. That may make me a bit of an anomaly in the author world, but I am definitely an extrovert. I consider my greatest skill in life to be my ability to make friends. The good kind.

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The Versatile Blogger Award

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Wow, thanks so much to Mike Senczyszak for nominating me for a Versatile Blogger Award! If you get a chance, check out his blog, Solsbury Hill, over at https://senczyszak.com/.

Still being somewhat new to the blogging world, I’m both humbled and flattered to be so supported by my peers who are already welcoming me to the community with open arms. I was unfamiliar with the rules of Versatile Blogging Awards, so I had to look them up.

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Excerpt Thursday #1

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.”

That is one of my favorite quotes from a very quotable man, and an excellent writer: the one and only Mr. Stephen King.


The excerpt is from his book, On Writing, and if you’re a novelist, whether aspiring or on your 20th story, then this book should become something of a bible to you. It’s paragraph after paragraph of inspirational quotes, practical advice, humorous anecdotes, and just about everything you need to inspire you to hone your craft and never give up. A surprisingly motivational read from the King of the Macabre, and yet it shouldn’t be so surprising. Because like every novelist before and since, Stephen King had to deal with rejection and feeling as though his writing was sub-par to his published peers. He too had to climb a figurative mountain to get to where he is.

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Rejection Wednesday #1

Remember, a “No” will never kill you, but a single “Yes” could be the one that changes your life.

For my first Rejection Wednesday, I’d like to share my latest rejection letter, and tell a tale about my toughest rejection to date. (Identifying names of the agents/agency have been omitted, for privacy’s sake).

This lovely was waiting for me in my inbox a few days ago, a response that came roughly four months after the query was sent.

“Thanks so much for your query and interest in our representation.  I was very glad to have a chance to take a look.  Regrettably, I don’t feel sufficiently excited about the material to take it on, but please remember that reactions to fiction are entirely subjective, so I do recommend that you try some other agents. Best of luck to you in finding a home for your work, and thank you for thinking of me.”

Continue reading “Rejection Wednesday #1”