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Monday, September 22 2008

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Dee Tenorio's picture

We Meet Again, Old Friend

Submitted by Dee Tenorio on Mon, 2008-09-22 05:26.

Most folks try to reunite with their exercise equipment in January, when they feel horribly guilty about everything they'd eaten over the holiday season. It's all about losing weight. Or, they often claim, because they want to feel young and healthy again. Then there's those freaky people who actually exercise all the time, claiming it gives them a high or something. (Note: You're not on a high. You're suffering from lack of oxygen to the brain. There, I said it. There's something wrong with you. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
Now, I'm nothing if not painfully honest with myself. I'm what you'd call...squishy. Nice to hug, bad in a bikini. And I'm kind of okay with that. (Mostly) Still, come September, I find myself reuniting with my almost good buddy, my exercise bike. I have a bizarre tendon condition that effects my joints much like arthritis. Apart from being my own food group, I'm also a castanet, which means my girls get dinner and a show.
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Samantha Hunter's picture

Tree Half-Full, Tree Half-Empty, or It's Just a Tree?

Submitted by Samantha Hunter on Sun, 2008-09-14 23:39.

As a writer, you get used to rejection. Lots of it. Or at least you think you do. Unfortunately, I think what really happens is that on some level of our psyche we’re always expecting it, and that’s not good.
When, regarding my caution over a current submission, my agent told me that I should “Go ahead and expect everything,” and to shoot for the moon and worry about disappointment when it happens, I was struck by how cautious I’ve become. When I handed in my first book, I was downright cocky. I thought it was great. I was pretty sure Harlequin would be crazy not to take it.
They did buy that book, but five years later, after a lot of false starts, bad ideas, harsh rejections, failed attempts, I have learned, as I told my agent, to “temper my expectations” – but thinking back, does this mean I’ve become a pessimist? Has writing made me a Negative Nellie?
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