Writers--Play It Safe Or Take A Chance?

Can't you just hear Woody Allen saying the quote above? He's shared something we could all ponder      or chew on for awhile. 

Do you play it safe in your writing life or are you willing to take a chance that might find you failing      bigtime? Play it safe and you may never know what waited for you down the road. How about       Robert Frost's poem that highlights two roads in the woods, giving a choice? Read The Road Not Taken here. I'll post the final lines that I have always liked: 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

If we take that less traveled by road, we stand a good chance of running into something bad but it's also possible that good things are waiting. What would you do if you had to make a choice regarding the roads in your writing journey? Would you stay on the path that is known to you, the one where you feel confident? Or would you take a chance and traverse the other road where something glorious might be waiting for even though you could run smack into a brick wall?

Taking chances means we're going to win some, lose others. If we falter, it's perfectly alright. Stay where you are and never submit to magazines you thought beyond your writing and you will probably feel comfortable. You convince yourself it's better to keep subbing to places where you've achieved some success. Why set yourself up for a slap in the face--that nasty rejection? Why? Because something good could happen.

What about sending query letters to big publishing houses even though you know you could self-publish your book? It's a longshot but how will you know if you don't try? Writers routinely send queries or proposals to multiple--and I do mean multiple--publishing houses. Failure is going to happen but maybe one will write back requesting some sample chapters. 

Venture into new territory. Take a chance. The worst that can happen is a few blows to your ego but you can recover from that if you approach it with the proper attitude. Try your wings; you just might be able to fly.

A Critical Trait For The Writer

Cars need regular maintenance and some fixing-up, and I guess people do, too. My absence last week was due to a repair job I needed at our local hospital. I'm happy to say that surgery went well, and I'm feeling better each day. Energy level seems to be the biggest problem. I have stories swirling in my head but not yet able to sit down and write a full story. Soon, though...

Meanwhile, a friend wrote to me about a mutual writer friend who is a terrific storyteller. But she has one major flaw. She lacks confidence in herself. She thinks she was accepted into a prestigious writing group because of factors other than her writing. I found that to be quite sad, as she is an excellent writer.

Is she the only one who doesn't know it? Maybe so. I do know she does not submit her work for publication. She should, as a good deal of it would sell. She lacks one critical trait a writer must have--confidence.

How easy to say that a writer needs confidence. Wouldn't it be nice if she could run to Wally World and pick up a case of the stuff? If only! It's one thing to know you need to believe in yourself, but sometimes doing it is quite another breed of cat altogether. Believing in yourself as a writer is of prime importance.

If she asked me what to do to gain some confidence in her ability to write (and I seriously doubt she would do that!), I'd tell her to step out of her own shoes for a short while. Read some of her own work with objective eyes. Ask herself what she'd say if this story had been written by someone else. It's not easy to do, and she might not be successful at the first attempt. Like all things, it takes practice.

Next, I'd tell her to submit, submit, submit. If she gets two acceptances out of twelve, that's two doses of confidence. And yes, for someone whose confidence level is low, it takes courage to submit work.

Third, if she's in a critique group, she should pay attention to the praise part of the critiques she receives. Crits help us see parts of a story that need work, but they should also point out the areas that shine, the ones that stand out as fine writing.

Maybe the writer needs to be a little bit of an egotist. We need to build ourselves up so that we don't fall down.