Writers--Are You A Lion Or A Lamb?

The Lion and the Lamb

On this 31st day of March, I thought about the old saying If March comes in a like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. And I think the reverse is thought to be true, I don't remember what March 1st, 2016 was like here in Kansas but today the temperature is mild and springlike, there is little wind, and the sun has peeked out to say hello. Definitely a lamb kind of day. 

What does this have to do with being a writer? We think of lambs as sweet, mild animals. We give stuffed lambs to babies and toddlers to cuddle. We all know that the lion is strong and sometimes fierce. He is dominant while the lamb is thought of as passive. 

Apply the above to yourself as a writer. Which one are you? Lion or lamb? 

When inspiration strikes, do you drop everything and act on it? Run to your computer and start hammering at the keyboard? Or maybe you grab your closest piece of paper or notebook and outline the idea immediately. You act on it right away. Are you excited and raring to go on this new idea? If you answer yes to all these questions, you're a lion. If inspiration hits and you push it to the back of your mind to act on at some later date, you're most likely a lamb.

When a rejection arrives, do you get angry? Do you pace the floor and figure out what you'd like to do to the editor who turned down your work? Do you make up your mind to send it somewhere else right away or after you edit the piece? If you're fierce in your reaction, you're probably a lion. Does a rejection find you in Depression City and staring at your computer wondering why you even try? Do you take the rejection as a sign that you should give up writing? Do you take your time and write something new before you sub the old piece again? If so, you're probably a lamb. 

Is it wrong in our writing world to be either a lion or a lamb?

No-- it's the uniqueness of our personalities. Some of us are strong and fierce in our reactions while others step back and accept whatever happens. Neither one is all right or all wrong. I think it would be great if we might reach a happy medium between the two. Some of us need to be more forceful in our writing world while others need to take a step back and consider their mild approach to the writing and the marketing and selling oneself as a writer. 

Something to consider:  Which one of these personalities--lion or lamb--is more likely to move faster on the writing journey?