The 100 Rejection Club Or How Writers Find a Support System By Connie Vines

 The old adage among serious writers is to aim for 100 rejections every year.

While I never garnered close to 100 rejections, I've spent my fair share of time on the revision marry-go-round.

At the start of my career, I wrote for magazine publications. While I published half a dozen romantic short stories, my primary focus was the children and young adult market.  

This consisted of historical events/famous people, craft projects/historical cooking and recipes, spooky Halloween stories, etc. Since both sides of my family had a strong oral history and many photos, making history fun was relatively easy for me.

Writing full-length fiction novels requires an almost hermit-like existence. When I was working in the education field, I wrote at night and Saturday afternoons.  

So, since I'm now a professional writer/full-time hermit, where is my support system?

I belong to several well-known writers' groups as a virtual member.

I log onto Zoom two mornings each week with half a dozen authors, all with our cameras off and mic on mute. 

We log on, say hello and a few words of encouragement, then go into dark mode for 4 hours of dedicated writing time. We check in at the end with a wrap-up of what we worked on, but we also just say goodbye until the next day/next week. It's a no-pressure way to socialize and get some writing done. 

The point is that we all need tools and mutual support to keep us motivated and on track.

Not everyone needs this, but I know I do.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Happy Reading :)

Connie

For my books, website, and more:

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

https://connievines-author.com/  (blog link is here, too)

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/vinesbwl

Holding out for a Hero By Connie Vines #BWLAuthor, #MFRW Author, #Writing, Writing Tips

Holding out for a Hero

                                                                    

Rights of Usage for Canva Design 

 To quote a Bonnie Tyler song:

Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the streetwise Hercules

To fight the rising odds?

How do you define a Hero?

While every story is different, and every hero is unique, the hero in my stories possesses these characteristics. 

1. Integrity

2. Honesty

3. Loyalty

4. Respectfulness

5. Responsibility

6. Humility

7. Compassion

8. Fairness

9. A sense of humor

10. A belief in good will triumph over evil

My favorite Book Heroes 📕

Sherlock Holmes, Is Victorian England, and he solves seemingly impossible mysteries. He has extraordinary observational skills and the ability to deduct. He has no superpowers; he is merely an ordinary person with exceptional human skills adaptable in nearly any place or time.

My Favorite Movie Heroes 🎥

* = watched as an adult 

1930s * The Mummy, Boris Karloff  (see Dracula below).

1940s * Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart.

1950s * Lady and the Tramp (Disney cartoon) 

1960's: * James Bond, Sean Connery. /To Sir, with Love, Sidney Poitier

1970s: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Will Sampson.

1980s: # 1 Romancing the Stone (the movie was flawless),   

Star Trek Movie: The Wrath of Khan, Leonard Nimoy (I'm a Star Trek fan)  /Star Wars, Harrison Ford  

1990s: Practical Magic and True Lines

2000: Star Trek: Into Darkness, Christopher Pine

2001 - 2023 is for a later post 😉. Feel free to add your faves in the comment area.

My Favorite T.V. Heroes 📺

Joe Leaphorn, Dark Winds series was adapted from Tony Hillerman's novels.

Is a fictional character. He is one of the two officers of the Navajo Tribal Police featured in the series/novels. 

Leaphorn holds a Navajo worldview, with no expectation of heaven or the afterlife, instead a need to find his place in this life and lead his life well. Leaphorn holds a Navajo worldview, with no expectation of heaven in the afterlife, instead a need to find his place in this life and lead his life well. He follows the rules of courtesy of the Navajo regarding the ebb and flow of conversations and his ability to handle demanding character from the white world around him.

My Favorite Heroes of History 🐪

Winston Churchill is regarded as one of the most outstanding wartime leaders in history. His indomitable spirit, eloquence, and strategic acumen earned him admiration and respect both in his time and subsequent years. His contributions to the defeat of fascism and preserving democracy have left a lasting impact on the world. (Wikipedia)

Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his historical and biographical writing mastery. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize. 

My Favorite Bad Guys Who Could Have Been Heroes 👽

Dracula, a novel by Bram Stoker, was published in 1897. In an epistolary book, narration is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking a business trip to stay at the castle of a Transylvania nobleman, Count Dracula.  

(Often thought to be inspired by a formidable 15th-century governor from present-day Romania named Vlad the Impaler.) 

Mina is the reincarnation of his late wife. His love for her transcends time.

*                                                *                                            *

If you follow my FB page, you know ALL about my pups: their questionable adventures and joyful disruptions of my writing schedule. (Posted this week on BWL Page for our readers.)

And learn about my love (from a distance) of my local Opossum families.

Thank you for stopping by :-)

Happy Reading, 

Connie

Where I'm at on Social Media:

FB: search Connie Vines, author and Author Connie Vines

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter. 

Buy Links:

https://bookswelove.net/vines-connie/

Amazon

https://books.apple.com/us/author/connie-vines/id624802082

Also, at your favorite online retailer :-)