Keep Working

Submitting stuff can be tough. You've got something in your hands, and you voluntarily decide to give it up for the consideration of another. While you've got it, its status is in the air; you don't know. If you never submit it, you'll never know, but it always could have been. When you know that it's probably not, statistically speaking, going to ever make the cut regardless of your opinions as to its quality, then it might feel like you've condemned it. You've taken it from the realm of might and maybe and into what almost certainly looks like no. 

It's true for poems and short stories, and it's true for games and propositions. Sometimes you get a rejections letter and sometimes you get nothing at all. It's tough! I haven't had a poem or story be accepted in years, and my writing has slowed down drastically. I don't really write a lot of long fiction anymore, and I've never really been an avid fan fiction writer. These days, most of my short stories are for existing role playing games and, unfortunately, those kinds of stories often fall right into the 'let me tell you about my character' trap unless they're written extremely well. 

But, hey, you all know the truth of the matter is that if you don't put yourself out there and give it a go, you won't succeed. Maybe and could have been arn't of any use to you, except maybe as ego aggrandizement. Whatever you do, keep doing it, and keep putting yourself out there.