You are in Charge of Your Writing World

 

On many posts, I end by saying something like 'It's up to you." I've repeated words like that or similar more times than I can count. We are the pilot of our writing journey. Not your writing class teacher, not your writer friends, not your family, not anyone else. We are in charge. 

It is up to us to make decisions regarding our journey. We can ask for advice from others. No doubt about that. The final decision, however, comes down to each of us.

What about motivation? We can be inspired by others, but it's up to us to act upon whatever inspired us. It's up to us to put our rear end in the chair and begin writing. It's up to us to act.

How about submitting to a contest or publication? We cannot ask someone else to do that for us. It's our responsibility to research the market and then make a submission. You--nobody else.

Will editing be entirely on your own, or can you hire someone to do that for you? Yes, you can find someone else to edit your work, but even so, you are the one who must make the move to do so. There are conflicting viewpoints on whether a writer should do their own editing or hire a knowledgeable person. Money is a factor here. Can you afford to hire someone? Do you want another person changing some of your writing? Do you feel the need of having other eyes on your work? In the end, that decision is up to you. You're still in charge.

We run into quandries about whether we should move from short stories to writing a novel. Or should we try longer poems than what we have been writing? Should we change genres if we've been having some success with what we're writing now? Yep, that's up to you. No one else can make that decision . They might give you their thoughts, or some advice, but you are the one who must decide.

Our photo quote today says "As one goes through life, one learns that if you don't paddle your own canoe, you don't move." It was actress, Katherine Hepburn who said this. In her long career, she surely learned this early on.

So, yes, it is up to each one of us to pick up that paddle and move our canoe through the writing waters. It is our choice whether to paddle slowly or go at breakneck speed. The point is to pick up your paddle and make headway into your writing world.