Wednesday, December 7, 2016

LOFT CLOSING, MOVING, and INSANITY....BUT, ALWAYS INSECURITIES in WRITING...LOL

Hi, All,

Sorry for the late post, but I just realized today is the FIRST Wednesday of the month!
Thanks to Alex we have one day each month to VENT... LOL. Be sure to visit our other members for support, cheering, and advice.

Today has been just a whirlwind. The temps dropped in Chicago to the deep freeze it usually is. So maneuvering around the city with the crazy wind has not been fun. Yesterday, while moving, a wind gust pinned me and a the cover to my mop flew at me, grazed just beneath my eye and hit me on the side of the nose. UGH... thankfully it was only plastic, but it left a nice bump and under my eye is all red. Looks like someone punched me in the eye. Not black, but red. So needless to say....

I closed on my loft today! YAY! So now I am officially a renter in Chicago again. It feels right. I found a stunning 17th floor corner unit with 10 ft. Wrap around, ceiling to floor windows with a SE exposure. My favorite lighting source. I even semi cooked inside my apartment today. Had to draw the blinds. It actually got up to 77 degrees in my apt and I had the heat set to 68. But now the drafts through the windows dropped the temp inside considerably... AH, winter in Chicago! What I love most, I actually will have an amazing writing/art space EVENTUALLY. Right now the spare room is stuffed with boxes and everything imaginable. It will take me until Christmas to dig my way through it. Lol...

Although my mood was lifted today with finally saying farewell to the loft, although beautiful, it is wonderful to be free, I did get a rejection on a short story... so I am kind of depressed about that. It seems most other things in my life seem to be moving along, but not my writing. I'm honestly not sure why. I have always received great reviews from other talented writers and readers, but it seems the publishers are not too impressed. It saddens me. I just don't know what to do next as far as my writing goes. 

Maybe once I settle again and write something new, maybe that is what I must do. I just wish I had the drive.

Anyway. That is what life is dishing me these days. I should be in Florida, but I am still here. I hope to be packing up the car and pup and escaping soon. I wish I could leave now.... Single digit temps are forecasted for next week.... UGH! HELP! LOL.... I can't leave here until I finish up with my design client and setting my place up. My story doesn't seem to change, but I always appreciate my wonderful writer friends encouraging me along my journey which seems to lead nowhere.... Maybe I am just a literary lover and nothing more. I spin words into visions and atmosphere, but perhaps that just isn't enough. Time will certainly tell. 

I miss all of you and think of you often! I hope you can forgive my absence, but every time I renter our world, I seem to be whisked away! 

HUGS to ALL of you and WISHING YOU ALL THE MOST AMAZING HOLIDAY SEASON!

21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations on selling the loft! Hope you made a tidy profit.
Don't let one rejection get you. Next year, you have to submit to the IWSG anthology contest. Have to!
Hope you and the pup head south soon.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Hi Michael! That's wonderful news that the loft sold. I hope you can get on the road to Florida soon. Is the fact the Cubs finally won not taking the chill off a bit?

Tyrean Martinson said...

Michael - I'm glad you are moved in to a cozy new place, with plans to visit Florida!
I know that feeling when a story comes back, rejected. It sucks, no matter what else has happened in the week or month. I usually sit on it for a day or two and then, in a rebellious mood, I send a rejected story back out there. "Take that, world! Argh!" I'm not sure that's the best way to get published, but when my average acceptance rate varies between 1 in 3 (three subs to one sale) to 1 in 12 (agh!), I feel like I have to get rebellious about it (with a very politely written query letter).
Wishing you a warm and merry Christmas, and a wonderful New Year!

Jo said...

Glad you sold the loft, hope you realised a good profit. That new place could be a bit much in the sun. We have windows that the winter sun shines through and it can get unbearably hot. Hope you can head south soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from me too.

S.P. Bowers said...

I'm glad selling the loft was such a good thing.

It's so hard to be motivated to keep writing when you get that kind of rejection, the kind where they say all sorts of good things about it and end with 'but ultimately, I just didn't love it enough.' How do you improve that? How do you keep going? I'm trying to figure that out.

Diane Burton said...

Another move? I hope you enjoy your apartment. Sounds like that works best for you. Thanks for sending that cold wind and snow our way (across Lake Michigan). :-/ I hope you'll get settled soon so you can get back to your writing.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

You should make up an exciting story about your injury (which I hope heals soon). For example, you wrestled a croc and won! ;)
Getting rejections doesn't mean the story isn't good. It just might not be what that particular publisher is looking for at the time.

VR Barkowski said...

Michael, you are the only person I know who moves more than I do. Congrats on the salem of the loft! Personally, I prefer renting, there’s a freedom in it, and I don’t care what anyone tells you, it’s less expensive.

As far as that rejection goes, shake it off and keep submitting. It will happen.

Best of luck with your new digs. I heard that next week 80% of the country will experience temps below freezing. Better bundle up. :)

VR Barkowski

Jemi Fraser said...

You'll get there! It's probably a right time, right place, right person kind of deal :)

Good for you on the loft and the move! You'll be much happier now. We had that nasty cold wind today too - crazy bitter!

Michelle Wallace said...

Mr. Blurb King, congrats on selling the loft!
At least that's closure...in one sense. I must say that the 17th floor corner unit sounds perfect for you.
Imagine a person apartment-hunting in this festive season and not finding anything? Sounds nightmarish. I'm glad you managed to secure those digs in time...I mean Christmas is upon us! So good timing!
You're freezing over there...and I'm baking this end of the globe! Ha! Wanna trade?
Chat again soon!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Michael - so glad you closed on the penthouse - what a relief ... time to sort a few things before Christmas - and then 'a dash' to Florida ... take care and I'm sure all will come together ... here's to a 'free' 2017 ... no worries, new home and all going well - cheers Hilary

Denise Covey said...

Hi Michael. Hard to imagine single digit temps when we're having our usual summer heatwave in Oz. Luckily I'm taking a holiday -- spent 4 days in Sydney with Geo's cousin, was lovely, and now we're on our first of seven days in the Hunter Valley winery district (the oldest in Oz) north of Sydney. A relaxing week before the busyness of Christmas.

I'm sure your writing will be worth it in the end, Michael. I can't write when I'm in flux and you've been in flux for a long time now. I hope you get yourself down to Florida and warm those bones naturally!

I'm hoping you get your rental apt sorted to your high standards and feel happy and relaxed in your new space. :-)

Julie Flanders said...

Congratulations on selling the loft, Michael. So glad you got that off your back. I'm sorry though that your story was rejected. It's so hard to make any sense of this writing business. But of course I have faith in your talent and know that soon enough the tide will turn for you.

Take care and I hope you and Hamlet can head to Florida soon. Happy Holidays, my friend!

shelly said...

Glad to hear you sold your loft. Sorry to hear about the rejection.

mshatch said...

I think it would be really hard to write in the midst of a move. I know I couldn't until all the boxes were unpacked and everything in its place. Too much chaos sucks the creativity out of me. I hope you'll post some pics of your new place once you've settled in and that you get to Florida soon. Today was cold and windy and miserable here in Maine. I'm already counting down the days til spring!

RasmaSandra said...

Congrats on your new home. Hope the holidays will be merry and bright for you. Have been in Chicago in the wintertime and once my knees thawed out I realized that this was one city that was too cold for me in the winter but I absolutely love it in the summer with all those awesome beer gardens and that gorgeous lake shimmering in the sun. Let's have a piece about your new place with plenty of photos.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

I'm happy that you sold your loft, but also a little bit sad because we lived through the transformation of that space with you. I am thinking that I would not be a good audience for reality TV shows where they turn over houses because I get too attached!!!

As for rejections, they are soul-sucking but not soul-killing. I've had a few of them lately. Given time to recover your strength, you will get right back to work. :)

Loni Townsend said...

Grats on selling the loft! I hope the weather turns fairer for you, and you don't get smacked by any more mops.

Melissa said...

Single digits?! Bundle up!

Wishing you better luck on the publishing front, and hope the move goes smoothly. Maybe you should wear a catcher's mask. :P

Elizabeth Seckman said...

Congrats on the sale. Sorry about the rejection, but hey, we all know that's just life. If I get them, others have to suffer through them too. Hehe.

Hugs Michael! I've missed you too. :)

Deniz Bevan said...

Hope you're having lovely warm holidays, Michael! I hear you on the doubt. I keep thinking, what's the point of editing all my stories and putting them out there -- there are so many books already, why add a drop to the ocean? But then if every writer in history had thought that way, we wouldn't have so many of the classics we enjoy. Why do we paralyse ourselves with such doubt? We just need to keep working and writing the best stories we can! Here's to a new year filled with stories!