WRITING
In April 2024, literary agent Janet Reid passed away.
Her blog was a place for learning and growing in the craft, for encouragement and support, for humor and snark, for cats and sharks. Ms. Reid gave her “Reiders” room to stretch those creative muscles by holding many, many flash fiction contests. I actually won the first one I entered, in May 2012. The moment I saw her comment – Holy Smokes! – is still one of the best of my writing journey.
Whenever self-doubt looms – and it does, large and often - I return to that moment, and to her many comments over the years. I tell myself that if the Janet Reid saw something in my weird words and my creepy stories then maybe I can do this writing thing after all, that I should keep going.
My gratitude, unlike those flash fiction contest rules, will never have a word count limit.
*****
READING
A couple of unique reads for you –
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden is tagged as historical fiction/fantasy/paranormal, and I would say it’s all that . . . and more.
The Deadly Daylight (Alice England Mysteries #1) by Ash Harrier is a Middle Grade mystery, and one I can’t stop raving about. I love the writing, but I adore the main character of Alice and the dynamics of her relationships with others, especially her father.
*****
WATCHING
My husband and I finally finished our re-watch of the original series, “24”. Even the seasons that were kind of clunkers had great scenes and episodes. Overall, we had a blast!
*****
Were you familiar with Janet Reid, her blog, Query Shark? Are there words you return to when you doubt yourself, in your writing or in your life? Have any books/movies/shows to recommend?
This makes me so sad. I have read so many of her Query Shark responses and even this morning wondered if I should send my query to her. She was so knowledgeable and helpful and pretty darn funny. Such a loss. I remember when you won the contest! Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteHer passing really is a loss to so many. The link I included sends you to a wonderful tribute on her blog, including words from clients and comment and after comment from people showing their grief and their gratitude.
DeleteI was fortunate to win a few of those contests, plus receive a number of mentions which usually included wonderful words from her that helped keep me going in this writing thing. :)
That's sad she passed. She was such an important figure in the writing world.
ReplyDeleteShe will be missed by many.
DeleteI heard that Janet Reid died. She was a great resource for writers. I'm glad you had such a great experience when you won one of her contests.
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing how much information she shared with so many. So generous!
DeleteI'm shocked about Ms Reid. I'd visited her blog for guidance and humour more than a dozen times. She will be missed, and she was loved.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked, too. The tribute over on her blog is wonderful.
DeleteI love your example of taking encouragement from Janet Reid's commentary, and well you should!!
ReplyDeleteI was very fortunate, and I am very grateful, to receive her many comments over all these years.
DeleteI was sad to hear about Janet Reid's passing. I'm glad she was able to give you one of your best writing journey moments.
ReplyDeleteI was never able to get into the original 24 series when it first aired, even though it seems like the exact kind of show I would love. Maybe I should give it another try?
Every time I remember that moment, I smile. :)
DeleteIf you give "24" another try, the worse that happens is you're not able to get into it again. For my husband and I, nostalgia played a part in our enjoyment of it, but we also had an attitude of just having fun and not picking apart the logic. :)
I remember reading Janet when I first got into writing. Even though I went self pubbed, her query shark was super useful.
ReplyDeleteI found a lot of the information she shared useful, even if it wasn't something I needed at the moment.
DeleteI think I learned about Janet Reid through you. I'm sorry to hear she passed. She seemed like someone who helped a lot of people during her lifetime.
ReplyDeleteI can't even remember how I first heard about her, her blog or Query Shark. It's like she was already always there.
DeleteA kindly Literary Assistant took pity on a horrid excuse for a query once and pointed me in the direction of Query Shark.
ReplyDeleteThen I found Janet, herself, and the community she had built. It became a home away from home for me, and i threw together an entry for everything she tossed out at us.
My best FF got squashed by the Charlie Hebdo massacre, but I made marks in the sub-headers, photo captions, and other shorts.
I sat down to try to write a few thousand words the other night and nothing came out; I am still in some kind of shock. It doesn't seem real.
I have been reading a non-fiction, Four Lost Cities, an archeological and sociological look at four cities that have been abandoned through time. It is an excellent read by Annalee Newitz, I recommend it and its insights.
Hope things, other than the obvious, are doing well for you this spring in Florida.
Even though she hadn't posted for a while, I kept checking her blog, just in case. I have a feeling that's going to be a very hard habit to break.
DeleteI don't read a lot of nonfiction - my husband reads more of that than I do - but that book sounds interesting.
Doing well overall. Hope the same for you.
It was so sad to hear of Janet Reid's passing. She was my source of query wisdom. I don't even remember how I stumbled upon her blog, but I'm grateful I did. Reading your post and the comments, and the comments on my other blog posts recently, she certainly left a big imprint on a lot of us.
ReplyDeleteIt was so sad, and it was also a shock. It's so hard to believe she won't ever be putting up another blog post or updating Query Shark again.
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