As part of writing Hieu’s memoir, I have been researching Vietnam’s history, especially the Vietnam war because those events shaped Hieu’s life directly until he was twelve and indirectly after that. Yesterday, a friend and I watched “We Were Soldiers.” My friend commented that the hardest part of watching it was knowing that the men […]
Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times before his first book was accepted by publishers. I was turned down again for a short story I submitted. (Karen, this is not the Library one or the Dog one. I am not sure you have read this one. I will check with you.) And, once again, I thought […]
Writing Hieu Tran’s memoir is an intimidating project for me as a writer. In order to truly write a book about a child who leaves Vietnam alone in search of a place called “America,” I need to understand the Vietnamese people and how the Vietnam war affected the people of Vietnam, especially after the war. […]
I have a big announcement to make about a project. I will be posting about it on Monday.
I just entered two stories in the Writer’s Digest Short Short Story Competition. I will know on or before February 28, 2017, if either of my entries place. I worked on setting and character development with these two, so they should stand a better chance than last time. I will keep you posted.
I did not win the contest, or even place in one of the categories. I hypothesize three reasons: I did not establish the setting well enough. I did not describe the characters well enough. I do not have a big enough audience to win a prize of this size. What do we do when we […]
I entered a short story in the Writer’s Digest short story competition. The winners will be announced “on or before December 31.” Needless to say, I have been keeping my phone close and checking my email at least once a day. I LOVE the story I entered, so I have my hopes up. I will […]
I just received a rejection of a story I knew was just PERFECT for this one magazine. It is super disappointing. This is my third rejection since July. Which means: I haven’t submitted nearly enough stories to nearly enough magazines! I should be on rejection Number 20 by now! I need to get going!
When I graduated high school, I wanted, more than anything, to be an author. I had a writing college on the east coast picked out. My parents, however, didn’t see any money in writing. They convinced me to go to a four year university to study. They said I could write on the side. I […]