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Welcome to The Literary Pig's blog - a safe haven for all those afflicted with
the unbearable urge to write.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Life cycle of a story

You've heard it here before and from many other writing blogs too, that you should NEVER give up on a story. The Indoor Writer started writing short stories four years ago and keeps track of everything she's ever written and submitted. In her large green notebook story number 1 is 'The Butterfly Effect'. A comic tale of a teenage girl trying to outwit her mum's new boyfriend. It involves a diamond ring, a mobile phone, Maisy the pet cat and a smelly litter tray. The story was recently shortlisted in the GKBCinc International Crime Short Story competition and then last week made the final ten, of which all stories will be included in the forthcoming e-book. So it's finally reached the end of the story life cycle and will be published! Sadly, this probably means retirement for what has become a special favourite but at least it has fulfilled it's story destiny, as surely the only purpose of a story is to be read by others.

When the Indoor Writer decided to pursue writing as a serious venture this was the very first short story penned and the first ever submitted to competitions. It was shortlisted at least twice, hinting that it had potential, but had never been published. Until it's twelfth outing (and reincarnation, as the story has been edited/tweaked/pulled about each time it went out) when it made the shortlist for

Sometimes a story needs resting time in its chrysalis before it's ready to emerge in all its glory. Sometimes a story needs a serious amount of editing before it can be truly appreciated. I'm not saying which is the case for 'The Butterfly Effect', but today's take home message is keep recycling your stories as it may some time to find an appropriate home. Always be prepared to read, revise and re-work before submission. Hopefully, your stories will find a published home in less than twelve attempts!

Please share how many outings it took for one of your stories to get published. We'd love to know the numbers. Can you beat twelve?

21 comments:

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    1. Okay, so you win in the other direction, Wendy! Womag guru girl!

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  2. Every now and then I go through my very old stories (written when just starting out) and give them a much needed rewrite. I might yet beat your number at some point if a couple of them ever see the light of day. So far, the longest one was published on its eleventh outing!

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    1. Shows it's worth reviewing the old stories, Rosemary.

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  3. I can't beat twelve, but I do have several stories which collected multiple rejections before finding a home.

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    1. Yes, I set a tough target, Patsy - though not sure it's one to boast about! Glad the stories found homes - nice to hear happy endings.

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  4. Ashamed to say I would've given up before 12. But I do persevere with some stories - I had a story in last week's Weekly News that had been rejected by TAB and failed in two competitions. Well done you for not giving up!

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    1. Oh, was I pretty sad to keep trying? Though would have given up if it hadn't been shortlisted in other places. Great news on TWN, Sally, which seems tough to get into.

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  5. That is persistence Tracy. Following a rejection, I tend to hide a story away for a while. I don't keep count, but now I'll fish one or two out maybe.

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    1. It was the shortlistings that kept me going, Susan. Just knowing somebody had seen something in the story. Always worths re-visiting a story and perhaps asking another writer's opinion etc.

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  6. I had an early story which got shortlisted in competitions a few times but never won. Finally published it myself in my Ghost Stories book as I felt it deserved it. It doesn't beat 12 outings though!

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    1. That's a good idea! And sometimes if you have faith in a story then it's a shame not to see it out in the world.

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  7. Interesting question. Hmm. I'm not sure, but I have re-submitted a story to a mag that once rejected it, and it's been accepted.

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  8. Thanks, Frances, that is interesting. I've tried this recently after making some changes and changing title of a story - not yet heard back, but keeping fingers crossed.

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  9. I can beat twelve (and that's all I'm saying!)
    I'm very persistent if I believe in something, though I have other stories that I 'retired' well before that, maybe because after a while I could see that the judges/editors were right and the story wasn't good enough.

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  10. Yes, I too have plenty of 'retired' (or 'what was I thinking') stories, Bernadette.

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  11. Oh Tracy, you make me feel ashamed of myself for giving up so easily! Try, try and try again shall be my new motto! ;) Edith

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    1. Hmm, Edith, I'm terribly certain this is something I should be proud of!

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  12. That's a really inspiring post, Tracy. Thank you. I shall keep sending. If you're like me that first story has a special significance. I had the first story I'd written back from PF last week. It had been in a competition and rejected by a magazine before so I left it for almost a year and worked on it before submitting it. And yet, I still feel I don't want to give up on it!

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    1. I didn't want to give up on my first story and perseverance has paid off! Good luck with your story, Jan :)

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  13. Well these are really outstanding stuff you are doing so far. i am really impressed the way you thought about the blogging.
    Lost cats poster

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