Rejection, inspiration

The most recent issue of Vignette Review is featuring a flash I wrote a few years ago. I actually conceptualized the flash as a series of vignettes. I revised it and cut it down; the ending wasn’t coming together. I sent it around to a few journals etc and it received a round of rejections. Finally it was on the verge of acceptance if I only made a slight edit.

Now let me say I am not at all adverse to suggestions. Maybe not immediately, but eventually after a minute of clear thinking I’ll see what the editor is getting at—but this change didn’t work for me. Specifically, he/she didn’t think heat emitted by a hand-held soldering iron would set off a fire-suppression system. My research told me this person was wrong. We couldn’t agree on the change so I had to let it go. Back to sending out the piece.

But the suggestion got me thinking—see, a good thing. I took another look at my ending, and in a slight of hand, added a sentence that could be read literally and figuratively, something to turn the piece on an angle, causing the reader to go: a-ha!

So check it out—and know this: Rejection can be inspiration. And, if you need any other encouragement check out: 365 Affirmations to help fight off rejection blues.