Tag Archives: art

Submission – Bandit Fiction

As part of my MA (that’s right, it’s been so long since I updated this blog, I’ve passed my degree and am now studying for my Masters!), we had to write a piece of fiction specifically tailored to a publisher/magazine/whatever of our choice.  Then, we had to actually submit the thing!

Now, I’ve always been very hesitant about submitting my stuff because, well, I’m not a big fan of rejection and I can always manage to convince myself that whatever I submit is going to get rejected.

writersblock

    dealing with rejection like a boss…

So, I don’t submit anything.  See how that dragon eats its own tail?

Anyway, I had to submit something this time, otherwise I would have failed the module, or at the very least would have been marked down for it.  So, as reluctant as I was to do it, I started looking around for somewhere to post to.  That’s how I came across Bandit Fiction.

Bandit Fiction are a new company, specialising in digital publishing. What I like about them, and what drew me to them as a target for my submission, was their emphasis on giving opportunities to writers who are currently studying or have recently graduated from Creative Writing courses.

For the most part, the lecturers and the course content of most Creative Writing degrees show you how to break into the industry and often provide definite ways to do so. It’s not always easy though when you emerge, blinking at the sun, from your safe university eggshell. Newborn baby writers often have no idea where to go once their degree is finished and wander around staring in wonder (and sometimes horror) at the possibilities that lie before them.

That’s why it’s a breath of fresh air to see publishers like Bandit Fiction who want to provide a bridge between education and application. I should point out that they aren’t exclusively for Creative Writing students. Their website makes it very clear that they don’t care about your age, race, gender, disability. All they care about is whether your story is good and suited to them. 

frog

yep, shouldn’t be long now…

That’s pretty refreshing to see too, right?

The long and the short of this blog post then is simply to say that I submitted something to Bandit Fiction!! Hooray for me!

Now I just have to wait for the rejection email…

Be kind to each other, yeah?

Steven.

But is it art?

When you think about art, what’s the first thing that comes into your head?  I guess for many it’s the classic idea of painting or perhaps drawing.  A colour spattered painter holding a palette, stood in front of an easel.  That image isn’t incorrect of course, painting and drawing are art, but for me, that three letter word encompasses so much more.

Bob Ross, a genuine legend.

Bob Ross, a genuine legend.

You see, far too often I’ve had discussions with people who’ve boldly claimed that they don’t like ‘art’.  Now that concept is alien to me and to be honest, I have a hard time believing that it’s true.  I guess that somewhere in the world there must be someone who doesn’t like art at all, but when people say it to me, I’m more inclined to think that they just mean paintings, museums and things like that, because otherwise their life would be very shallow.  Music is art, so does that mean that someone who doesn’t like art doesn’t like music?  Who doesn’t like music!?  Television programmes are art, so are movies, books, magazines.  Even buildings are art.

I guess the point that I’m trying to make is that a creative mind isn’t just something monopolised by artists, writers, poets etc.  I personally believe that art is anything created by a person that causes you to have an emotional reaction or response towards it.  It doesn’t matter to me if that response is positive or negative, the only requirement (for me at least) is that it makes you feel something.

I just want one. I can't even drive. I. Just. Want. One!

I just want one. I can’t even drive. I. Just. Want. One!

With that said, in my eyes, a hell of a lot of things can be considered art.  I’ve already mentioned buildings, I love a good building, especially one that’s of an interesting design or has some kind of unique architectural quirk or construction.  I think that cars can be art, too.  Some of the better looking supercars out there in the world today have definitely made me have an emotional reaction to them (mainly jealousy towards whoever was driving it, but it counts!).  Trains, planes, boats, all of these things can be beautiful or well crafted enough that they make you have an emotional reaction.  Bear in mind I’m not talking about making you fall over weeping at the beauty of it all, but even if it just manages to stir something inside of you, however slightly, then it’s done its job.

I am quite an emotional person anyway, which is probably the reason that I love the arts so much.  I expect that not everyone would agree with me that a car or a plane is a form of art, but think of the construction and the technical know how that’s gone into constructing these things, the intricate way the parts all fit together and work in perfect harmony.  That sounds a lot like art to me.  I especially love it when something someone else created makes me want to know why the creator made it, what was the thought process behind it?  What does it mean to them?  What do they think of what it means to me?

But is it art?

But is it art?

I’d love to know what your own perception of art is, leave me your thoughts in the comments section below and let me know?  For now just consider it the next time something moves you, even just a little inside, and ask yourself ‘but is it art?’