I know, in theory, that I’m supposed to write about writing on here, but I never seem to do it. I think writing is always going to be a private endeavor for me. As for writing-related links, I’ve been posting that sort of thing over at the Word Pirates blog.

Still, I think I should write something about writing on here. After all, it’s one of the biggest parts of my life. So, here are two writing-related things I started in the new year that are working so far:

* I’m focusing on what I produce, not what happens to the writing after I submit it. In other words, instead of focusing on what an editor thinks of a query, I make the goal about writing the query itself. As long as I write X in X period of time, I’ve done my job. Beyond that, it’s out of my control. This keeps me from going crazy. If editors ignore me or reject me or fail to see how X is a good idea when other, non-competing magazines are jumping on the same idea pitched by other writers–well, fine. I tried. I’m just doing my job.

* I’m reading one new literary journal a month. One is all I can make time for, but it’s a lot more than I read last year. Lit journals are full of cutting-edge story structures and new ways to think about writing, so they shake up inspiration. I’m actually dreaming of new ways to write short stories because of this new habit. I highly recommend reading lit journals if you do any kind of creative writing.

Oh! Bonus writing thing: Marcia and I are going to Writers with Drinks at the Make-Out Room in San Francisco on Saturday. Aimee Bender will be reading. I really liked her short story collection Willful Creatures. Hooray!