Waiting is hard. When waiting for the results of a medical test or a decision that may determine our fate, the minutes can seem like agony. As much as we try to get that deadline out of our minds, how many days until we hear tends to sneak back into our consciousness.

In a recent American Psychological Asociation podcast, Kate Sweeny, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, states that “waiting combines two challenging states of mind: Not knowing what’s coming, uncertainty, and not being able to do much or anything about it. So, a lack of control.”

As a writer, I feel as though I’m constantly waiting. Waiting to hear from a magazine editor, or two, or three, on articles I’ve pitched. Luckily, or not, I can assume if I don’t hear from them within the week, they have passed. Literary journals have even longer wait times, as much as four to six months. I’ve trained myself to hit the Submit button and forget. If I kept all the decision dates........

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