Monthly Archives: March 2021

Lightening Bolts, Books and Bragging

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Grocery day today. We had two phone calls, each giving us an updated delivery time (by “updated” I mean “later” of course).

Meanwhile, It is cold and wet and windy. The only good thing about the weather is that it isn’t as windy as yesterday and that there was only one clap of thunder. It was clearly trying out all sorts of things and decided that a thunderstorm was surplus to requirements.

I received a book through the post yesterday – Getting Published in UK Poetry Magazines by Robin Houghton. It cost £6 fo a 34 page pamphlet of information I already had, There were a couple of snippets I didn’t know, but much of he information is available online. The main thing I got was a lesson in checking how big something is before ordering it. It won’t break me, and if it encourages a fellow poet I suppose it’s worth the money.

One thing I did notice was mention of  humblebragging. It was not only a new word, but a new concept. It seems similar to name-dropping.The author seems very much against it, but doesn’t really explain it that well. I had to look it up. I may have appeared to be guilty of this in the past but I assure you, I don’t mean to.

When I say I fear being uncovered as a fraud who got lucky I am telling the truth. It’s gradually sinking in that I am probably OK as a writer, as I’m getting regular acceptances and editors talk to me these days. Well, some of them do. However, I do still worry that one day it will all come to an end.

And, to end (with a masterful humblebrag) my target of 100 rejections has moved further away as I had two acceptances yesterday.I will now look suitably modest and sidle away as the smug alarm starts to sound…

 

 

Addiction

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I had it in mind to write two posts today, but when I looked for my camera to download the photos, I found I’d left it at work yesterday.  Not that it matters, they aren’t topical posts and they can wait.

Apart from that I’ve frittered my day away.

A goatlet, or whatever they call them. Never could stand the things, always escaping and looking at you with peculiar eyes…

I have submitted some work today, but apart from that haven’t made much progress in my plans to be one of the towering literary figures of the 21st century. This is a shame, as I woke up with such ambitious plans. I ended up washing dishes. cooking and watching quizzes. I think I may start telling myself that quizzes are coded messages from the devil. That way I might be able to  stop watching them. On the other hand, you may read a post in a month’s time about how I made a pentagram in salt and sat in the middle of it to watch Pointless. In that case you will know that my addiction to quiz shows is becoming serious…

It’s strange. When I gave up smoking I had one packet of cigarettes in use and one unopened. I threw the partly used pack away and put the unopened pack by the front door. It was there for five or six years. It meant that I could have one if I wanted, and that seemed to make giving up a lot easier. I haven’t really given up smoking, even now, and still feel like a cigarette as I write this paragraph. People who give up smoking and bang on about their willpower and stuff, are really boring, and I don’t want to be one of them. I merely decided one day that I was going to delay my next cigarette. That was twenty years ago. I might have one tomorrow, but I might not.

If only I could do that with food and quiz shows. Unfortunately I can rarely pass a fridge or a TV set without checking what is in there.

Soda bread

Shots from the archives – March 2016.

 

 

 

 

A Small Slice of the Day

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It should, with a little thought, be able to produce a post about that part of the day which precedes my arrival at work. There is plenty of incident and it isn’t as if the rest of the day is actually much more interesting than the drive to work.

I woke early, because Julia had woken before the alarm and hopped out of bed to greet the morning with unnecessary enthusiasm. I may have lost some sleep but at least I woke with a ready-made topic for conversation.

Shortly after that I slipped my legs into my trousers on the first attempt and tried to supress the feeling that I had just hit the high point of the day.

It turned out that I was wrong because Julia had made porridge for breakfast.

Robin - singing

Robin – singing

 

Then we watched the news. There wasn’t  much news on, just a couple of whiny, privileged brats and reports about how the world was unfair to them.  The point they fail to grasp is that she’s American and he’s irrelevant. We really don’t mind if they want to live in California. Though it would be nice if they’d do it quietly.

On the way to work, all the traffic lights were against me, and there was a definite increase in traffic density. Things are starting to move again. First it will be people, then it will be the mortality statistics. However, they will probably be at an acceptable level where the government doesn’t mind losing a few pensioners so that pubs can open again.

A lot of the drivers seemed in a hurry this morning, and several of them, including a lorry seemed set on occupying my piece of road despite the fact I was already there. It looks like |I’ve been getting too relaxed in lockdown and need to start viewing driving as a sport for Gladiators, rathe than a simple way of getting to work and back.

Meanwhile, I have had a rejection. That’s five this year. I’m going to need to invent some new months if I’m going to hit 100 this year.

Dunnock

Dunnock

Photos are from March 2017

 

 

 

My Favourite Day

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It i now just after midday and it is probably time to take stock.

I delivered Julia to work this morning. Traffic was heavier than usual, which was probably due to the return to school, though it could just be that Monday is usually busier in general. I have no way of measuring, but the queue in a couple of places was a little longer than usual.  It might just appear heavier because I was expecting it to be. I really ought to devise an accurate system of measurement.

On the way back I went to Lidl as we need bread and I like their bakery. I’ve been avoiding it lately, but you have to go out at some time.

As usual, I observed some selfish parking. A single man in a Range Rover parked in a parent and child space (we didn’t have them in my day, we just had to learn how to control children and shopping at the same time!) I don’t see why anyone needs a Range Rover if they live in town. I don’t see why Range Rover owners can’t walk a few yards extra. And I definitely don’t know why he felt it necessary to park at an angle so that a corner of his vehicle jutted into the corner of the parking spot next to him. Somehow, I always asu8me that if you have the money to buy a big car and fuel it that you should know how to drive. I am clearly wrong.

Again, in the absence of a proper measuring system I can’t say this was the worst parking I’ve ever seen. How does it compare, for instance, with a small car parking across two disabled spaces whilst playing loud music? So many variables.

I bought the usual selection – sandwich baguettes, chocolate brownies, ham offcuts for sandwiches and mini cucumbers, which Julia likes with her sandwiches. She actually ordered some plants yesterday to grow her own this summer.

I then sat down to write. I finalised a selection of haiku, which needed to be sent before the 15th. That is now done. I’ve submitted to that magazine before and expect I will be making a contribution to my target of 100 rejections quite soon.

After that I settled down to some “ordinary” poetry. At the moment I’m writing by setting ideas down and adding to them. When they are about the right length I check I have everything I need – theme, detail, ambiguity- then I start pruning and refining. I have two or three on the go, in various stages of completion and it’s feeling good. I’m pinning a lot of hope on my ordinary poetry to bring in the 100 rejections.

I then twiddled around with ome tidying of folders, made a cup of tea, browsed the internet and skimmed a book that arrived last week. I answered a phone call from a very nice lady who wanted to help me extend the warranty of my washing machine. Regular readers, who know we use the launderette for washing, will realise she was unlikely to succeed, and thi proved to be the case.

That’s it for now. I’m going to make lunch, using a liquidised vegetable stew and I will then start rounding up some haiku for another submission. If I get that done, I will have a go at refining some haibun and writing a couple of new prose sections.

After I pick Julia up I will have come full circle and that brings us back to the chocolate brownies. I will miss my Mondays when I have to go back to full-time work.

Orange Parker Pen

 

Tests and Targets

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Sunday morning – 10.31 am – and Julia’s phone just bleeped. Twenty four hours after posting th samples she is, once again, negative.  This good news, as I have had a bit of a dry cough at times this week and was worried about it being the dreaded covid cough. However, if she is negative I probably am, so all is good.

She just mentioned, as I chatted to her whilst typing, that my appetite has seemed unaffected by anything this week, which is another sign I am probably not infected. I’m not sure I liked her tone…

After reading the article I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been seriously thinking about how much writing I would have to do to manage 100 submissions a year. In the last six months I have managed 26 submissions. It looks like I could mange 52 submissions a year which is a handy one a week. By doubling my output I will hit the 100. Simple.

Unfortunately for the target of 100 rejections I have had 11 acceptances. Even if the quality of my work deteriorates badly with the increased output I’m likely to have to write even more to hit target.

At that point I have to consider the question of markets. There are some haiku/haibun magazines I haven’t tried yet, for a variety of reasons. There are also some that will accept more submissions than I currently send. The more I think of it, the more I am starting to feel lazy because I don’t submit 100 pieces a year.

It just goes to show you should be careful what you browse on the internet, and, what you think about after reading it. Two days ago I was content, now I’m not so sure. This blog started as a way of getting me back into writing, and it seems to have done that.  I have moved on to other targets, and it seems to be going OK. I even have  a plan for the coming year.

Orange Parker Pen

The original plan was to get 24 haiku/senryu accepted, 18 haibun and three articles. The haibun figure is about what I am doing at the moment, as long as I write consistently instead of taking a few months off here and there. The haiku/senryu target is based on writing and submitting more – I’ve been a bit lazy there, but I need to sharpen up my skills to write better poems for the haibun. The articles? Well, I decided that I also need to sharpen up my skills in knowing more about  the forms I write and the way I do it. A target for articles seemed like a good way to make me focus.

Now. only a couple of months after setting those targets, I’m starting to question them. As the result of wandering into a random internet page, I’m thinking of more ambitious goals.

The word Icarus, is coming to mind. There are several poems about Icarus This is one of the less well known ones, but probably my favourite. However, where is the fun in not flying close to the sun?

And that’s about it. I can’t spend all day chatting on the blog when I have two submissions a week to make. I only have four planned for this month so I have to find four more and then I have to write them.

The pictures, as usual these days, have little bearing on the text.

Allium Flower

100 Rejections?

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They are getting through the vaccinations round here – people in their mid-50s are now being called in. In Nottinghamshire we are being given our second dates at the time of booking the first one. My sister, in Cambridgeshire, and a friend in Oxfordshire, are still waiting for their second dates weeks after the initial vaccinations.

Julia’s weekly test went in the post this morning as part of our “new normal” and we are hoping for the traditional clar result tomorrow morning. The current streamlined testing system is very impressive.

Lat night I read an article on writing that put forward a new way of looking at things. I may have mentioned that I try to take the view that more submissions will mean more acceptances. I may even have mentioned that when I was a salesman looking for one sale in ten visits, I used to look on the nine blanks as nine steps towards the next sale.

The article says that you should aim for 100 rejections a year. That way you can be more relaxed and the acceptances will follow.  This is in line with my thinking, though actively seeking 100 rejections is one step beyond my current plans. As an example they describe an experiment performed with a ceramics course. Half the course were told that they would be graded on a single piece of work, which should be perfect.  The other half were told they would be judged on the total weight of pottery produced. (I’m not sure if this is true or not, but it makes a good story so stick with it).

At the end of the year the group that produced the best quality pots was the group that had been told to produce quantity – they made more pots, they improved with practice and they stayed relaxed. By the end of the year they were producing better pots than he members of the group who had ben told to make one perfect pot. Members of that group were so hung up on producing one perfect piece they simply couldn’t produce to the best of their ability.

It’s certainly something to think about, though I’m not sure if I could write enough to gather 100 rejections.

Ditto

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It was a cold day and nothing much happened.

I don’t think that Pepys or Bridget Jones have much to fear. I am not going to be much competition as a diarist.

I seem to recall it was a cold day yesterday and nothing much happened…

I might title today’s post “Ditto”. In fact, I will.

Anything that was out of the ordinary today, as in problems with customers on EBay and enquiries on the phone, were just repeats of ones I’ve described before. I won’t bore you with the details, just read an old post where I complain about customers, but imagine I’m cold too.

I’m going to write a short post today, but will write more later to keep up my average.

The photo is Arkwright the Tortoise, you may remember him from last year. I haven’t seen him recently, he’s probably snoring in a box of straw in the garage. Tortoises have a very sensible attitude to winter.

 

Reading, and Other Pastimes

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After a hard day sitting in a cold shop and drinking coffee, I thought i’d have a serious go at getting some work done when I got home. I was just getting into my stride when the phone rang. That took a half hour chunk out of my evening. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed talking about coins and collecting, but it’s just brought me to a standstill.

I now need to start cooking is we are going to eat before the grocery order arrives. But if I don’t write the blog first I’ll end up like I have done on the last few nights, with limited time and not much thought.

I do have quite an interesting post in preparation (well, I find it interesting) but it needs some work and I can’t concentrate if I’m rushed. It will have to go away again and I will have another go tonight when I’m not pressed for time.

Today’s post was interesting. tI had a mysterious envelope which turned out to have an anthology of haibun in it. This comes free with my membership of the British Haiku Society. I thought I really should rejoin, after a break of 14 years. I had the journal last week, so I really am up to the eyeballs in Japanese poetry.

I also had a novel called Splash!, which I hadn’t heard of until now. It’s from the Book Club Number One Son signed me up for as a Christmas present. It’s good to read things that different from normal. I can’t recall the last time I read a work of fiction without at least one body and a butler.

Finally there was a book I bought for myself (yes, I know…) – Regency Spies. It is not to be confused with a series of Regency romances that crop up when you Google it.  But, for now, I’d better get on with the cooking.

 

Musings on a Lack of Industry

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What sort of day was it today? I hear you ask.

Well, it’s our day off, so it started with a lie in and then we baked a couple of bake at home baguettes (we have accumulated several packs over the last few weeks) and filled it with the poor quality bacon we got from TESCO last week. For lunch we had excellent avocados on sourdough toast (because TESCO does ro some things right) and this evening we had stir fried veg with rice, because we seem to have a lot of vegetables.

Tonight I have put in a grocery order online but have concentrated on things like washing powder and stuff as we don’t need a lot of food. In a couple of weeks I will probably rearrange the shopping so we can miss a week – we just seem to have accumulated too much food as a result of having to make a minimum order every week.

There are a lot of pitfalls to grocery shopping online, even without the inefficiency of the supermarket, one being the accidental stockpiling of baked beans and tinned tomatoes.

The rest of the day was reasonable. We picked up our prescriptions, though mine was two pills short. It isn’t even worth ringing up about, but it will go down in the new diary I am keeping about my prescription ordering, because I’m getting sick of the inefficiency.

I actually got a bit of writing done, read some blog posts and started to organise my submission plan for the month ahead. A couple of magazines have reorganised things – one isn’t taking haibun for a while and another is going to publish every two months instead of every month, so it needs allowing for in the plan.

That’s what they don’t tell you when you start writing – for every hour you write there’s at least on for errands, one for planning, one for reading and one for watching TV. Actually writing time is limited, and that’s before you squander it on video games, looking out of the window and chewing the end of your metaphorical pen.

Time to Think

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Julia came home from work with Bear Claws tonight.  In case you aren’t familiar with th eterm, this means that she brought fruit-filled danish pastries home. They are a treat and not a terrible deformity.

We sat round the fire, drew the curtains and reverted to winter, in  much the same way as the weather has done ever since I said that Spring was here. Tomorrow I was going to have  a walk, but the forecast is for rain, so I am reconsidering. Having lived as a recluse for the best part of a year I don’t really want to go out just to get wet. In fact I don’t want to go out. I’ve got used to having a lid on my life and I’m not sure about going out and just having sky overhead.

Stange how these things creep up on you. is it lockdown, or am I just becoming old?

I have been doing research on medals today for work. One was an interesting group –  aman who served 21 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Boer War and Great War. He was decorated twice, wounded, had enteric fever, and became a publican after leaving the army.

His reward for for all his service – the death of his eldest son in 1941, serving in a second world war.

No mater how bad we may think things are, it sometimes serves us well to look back at history and see how much adversity other people had to face.

I note that daffodils are out now, and the crocuses don’t seem to be doing at all well.

Daffodils