Friday, August 21, 2009

Creative New Zealand and the up-side to rejection

It's that time again, where writers go hat in hand and apply for Creative New Zealand funding. Next Friday is the cut off date for the next round, and as usual I sit and stare at the application form and wonder why I bother. Why do I put myself through it all for the inevitable rejection? But then, hey, what have I got to lose?

There is a small upside to the constant rejection (besides it stopping Hubby asking when I'm going to make some real money until the next 'sorry' letter comes. Hope can be a good fend-off.)

The upside is this:

I have to get my act together.

I write a novel a year, so each time the Creative New Zealand closing date approaches I have to think up another new novel, because with the normal passage of time I am already writing the last project I submitted, regardless. I can't resubmit the same one, because it's already half written. This means I have to plan ahead, to write a synopsis and some sample chapters. It gets the next ball rolling so when I finish writing the current manuscript I've been toiling over, I don't have to then face a blank computer screen, and desperately think up ideas for the next one. It is already there, waiting for me.

So, although I sometimes think putting myself through the agony of applying and being rejected is madness, and pointless, it does have its uses.

2 comments:

Tania Roxborogh said...

You could just do what Karen did and resubmit the same application as last time. I'm going for a more agressive tack. Have a press statement from the NYC literary agency might make them pause a bit. That and, six months of fiddling with the same 20,000 words has made them dang swell.

Vanda Symon said...

Heh, heh.