Unfinished Pieces of Writing

 

I only like the first part of today's poster quote. Keep calm. That's good advice for almost any situation and definitely for writers. The second part--and let karma finish it--is passing the buck to someone else. It's you and me, the writers, who need to complete the tasks we have before us in our writing journey.

Once again, we're saying 'it's up to you.' I have a good many friends who are writers. I know I can call on them for an opinion or thoughts on how to solve a problem within a piece I'm writing, but there is no way I can ask them to finish my project. They might laugh or roll their eyes or give me an outright "What?" answer. I would never expect that another writer would finish what I've started, and I also would never ask. It's up to me to complete any writing project I've started.

How many unfinished pieces of writing are gathering dust in your files? You've probably put in a lot of time and thought to each one. Then something stopped you from finishing, or revising and then completing. It's often wise to set a piece of writing aside when you have reached a problem area. In fact, it is recommended, but beware of letting it sit far too long, of never going back to solve the problem. I find that the longer I let a draft sit, the easier it is to let it stay right in that file waiting for my attention. 

Why not spend a day looking over those unfinished projects in your files. Does one reach out to you more than the others? If so, that's the one you should work on, revising and polishing so it is ready for submission. Or ready to be included in your Family Stories book. Or ready to send to a contest. 

If you resurrect some of those languishing drafts, you'll feel a great sense of accomplishment. You'll also have something to submit to a publication or writing contest. Hooray! 

Some writers rarely finish. They would rather begin to write a brand new story, or essay, or poem. It's the idea of writing they like more than completing a project and then moving on to a new one. Fear also plays a small part. The subconscious mind can tell the writer she/he will have to submit if the story is finished, and who knows what might happen? Good grief, it might be rejected! Well, many of those submissions will be rejected, but some might find acceptance. You won't know unless you make the effort to finish and submit. 

Set a goal to work on at least one unfinished piece per week, or even one a month. January is known to be the month to clean up all kinds of things in our lives. Our writing life needs some cleaning out, too.