Hope Darby Writings

Scheduling interviews is absolutely nerve-wracking.

You can write down every single thing you want to say, but then that leaves you sounding like a recorded message. Not a good thing when you’re actually speaking to the person. You can wing it, and wind up with fifteen hundred “Uh”s and “Um”s peppered throughout your conversation.

Neither option conveys the impression that you are, in fact, a very good writer with a very legitimate reason for interviewing people.

I have no problem with the actual interview. I like to talk, I love to listen, and I’m pretty darn good at transcribing my own shorthand and taped recordings.

It’s just the scheduling that is so awkward for me! Weird. Annoying. Gnarf.

I swear, I think the Sandman deliberately picks on writers, artists, and other creatively odd types.

When I worked at a nuclear plant, rarely did I hear the roughnecks bemoaning their pitifully few hours of sleep. Nor did I hear very many CEOs mentioning their need to run to the drugstore on the way home, to pick up sleep-medicine. Sure, I heard them (and plenty of other folks in my different jobs) complain that they didn’t get enough sleep, or that they stayed up too late watching television the night before.

But to simply be incapable of falling asleep because the mind will not shut off seems a personality-specific dilemma.

So what’s the deal?

The Sandman has songs, stories, and even pictures dedicated to him, and none of them unflattering. You’d think, wouldn’t you, that the fellow would return the gestures by allowing us to get some sleep? I’d think.

Well, I’d think if my brain weren’t mush.

Which it is.

Because the Sandman ignored me last night, yet again.

*sigh*

I know, I said I was going to go eat.

I just had to post about this, and then I’m off, I promise.

One of the most nerve-wracking aspects of being a freelance writer is the sending of query letters and then waiting on the all-important acceptance or (more frequently) rejection letters. The best way to keep a level head, or so my mentor has always told me, is to utilize the cliché, “No news is good news.” I’ve often thought that to be a daft way to look at things, but hey . . . she’s the professional.

And darn her hide, but she’s been proven right once again.

Once upon a time, I sent a query letter to AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) for an 1100-word article. Never heard a word. Fast-forward almost an entire year, and I receive a letter from them in the mail.

Apparently, they’ve undergone an editorial changeover, and the new fellow found my query letter in a stack on his freshly-acquired desk. Lo and behold, he has accepted my query and would love to have me write the article! Deadline of July 1st, and printed in the following edition. Love!

Now if that isn’t a point in favor of patience, I don’t know what is!

Or at least, I say hello

I think I may have finally gotten this thing off the ground. Which isn’t to say it’s perfect, nor is it completed, but it’s close enough for me to not feel completely embarrassed to throw open the gates.

If anyone notices a problem, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Oddly enough for a writer, I do accept criticism pretty darn well!

Short and sweet is this post, but I am starving and hearing Willy Wonka playing in the living room isn’t helping matters any. Though it is making me wait to create Golden Tickets for something. Not sure for what, but definitely for something

Ta!

*sings*

I weeble and I wobble but I don’t fall down!

*stops singing to spare your ears*

I have to admit, I was not expecting to get so bogged down in the design aspect of this site. I still have quite a ways to go, but I do believe that the right track has been found!

One thing I have realized of late: website design seems to flow better after midnight and before 7am. Not quite sure why that is, but it has proven true.

Off I dash to bury myself in lines of code yet again. Soon, though, I shall actually write words for your amusement. Pinky swear!

I will be posting any calls for submissions and contests I stumble across in the “Calls for Submissions” category of the Archive. If you know of any that I don’t post, please email them to me, and I’ll put them up for everyone to see!