Bea-ing Impatient

As a child I spent Saturday mornings listening to ‘Children’s Favourites’ (later known as ‘Junior Choice’) on the radio. Many of the records played then are fine examples of flash fiction, telling a complete story in very few words, songs such as: ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ (The Radio Revellers); ‘Nelly the Elephant’ (Mandy Miller); ‘El Paso’ (Marty Robbins); ‘Copacabana’ (Barry Manilow).

One of my early favourites was Bernard Cribbins’ song-cum-monologue, ‘Right said, Fred’. It tells the tale of an impatient removal man. Fred doesn’t want to wait while his colleagues have a cup of tea and plan how best to move a piano from an upstairs landing. Fred is too hasty and things end badly for him.

My daughter's dog Freddie waiting impatiently for his mistress to return

Patience is an important part of a writer’s life. It is tempting to write a story then send it off straight away, then bash on with the next one. But as Fred learned, it doesn’t do to be hasty. I am learning the importance of waiting before I submit, to put the story aside for a few days and visit it again. There are inevitably mistakes I’ve failed to spot and plot weaknesses that need to be addressed. 

Then there is the long wait between submission and acceptance (hopefully) or rejection. Of course that is out of my hands. I have stories that I submitted 5 months earlier on which I am still awaiting a response. However I’m pleased to say that a story I submitted 4 weeks’ ago has today been sold.

Sometimes it’s hard not to be impatient, isn’t it?