I got my first real rejection today. I was really excited. I mean, yes, of course I would have preferred an acceptance, but even with the rejection I felt I have finally taken that step into the realms of the mythical real writer. And surprisingly I wasn't even as disappointed as I expected to be. I think this is because of two things. The first is that I was realistically expecting this result. Sure, I was hoping for better, but I knew it wasn't likely. So, no big heart-shattering occurred. The second thing is that the rejection was remarkibly nice. It wasn't a form rejection, but instead addressed the story specifically. In fact, the editor even said my writing was engaging, but he didn't really care for afterlife stories and this one didn't win him over. So, it wasn't a "you suck, learn to write" sort of rejection. That means something to me.

Anyway, I am going to keep a file of all my rejection slips, and in the meantime I have sent the story out to a different magazine. I'm probably just fishing for another rejection, but you never know.

Two days until Plattsburgh. The car has gas, the presents are in a big box to aid in loading everything in the car. Actually there are two boxes since we are going straight to Buffalo to visit Brian's family. I'm still really excited, but I have also moved into the "there's too much to do before we leave" stage. Oh well. I'm sure it will all get done one way or another.