When I saw this poster on facebook, I immediately thought of my writing world. And yours! Toward the end of the year, we read myriad articles in newspapers and online that sum up the past year. I have to admit that they irritate me more than anything because it's done. I'm a person who looks ahead, not behind.
On the other hand, all that we've done in the past does serve to teach us lessons. It is up to us, however, to consider and realize what those lessons might have been. Did a bad experience when submitting to the wrong market leave a lesson learned? Did an editor's negative response to your submission teach you something? I hope so.
As for the future in our writing world, we need to be ready to move on and become a better writer. If you look at your writing journey and the writing you've produced over the past ten years, you should see improvement each year. If your writing is no better today than what you produced ten years ago, it's time to step back and reassess. Don't look at the whole picture; take it apart bit by bit to see where you can improve. That's where many of us go wrong, trying to see it all at once instead of examining the smaller areas that make up the whole.
As for the last part of the quote above--we do have another chance each and every day when we get up and dive into whatever project we have going. If you're religious, you should thank God for every new chance you have to improve whatever you're doing. If you're not religious, thank Fate or whatever else you believe in. Having another chance is the big part. It's yours to do with as you will. Make the most of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment