Perseverance Pays Off

I promised some writing exercises to begin today, but I'm going to postpone a day. Instead, I'd like to let you know about a writing project that proved difficult for me. Perseverance paid off with a published article. 

I've written about trying to write a personal essay about the WWII Rhone American Cemetery we visited in France during the summer of 2010. I knew I wanted to write about our visit, but when I got home,, the essay I hoped for just would not come. I couldn't pinpoint the feelings I'd had there. I tried, put it away, tried again. Finally sent it to my online crit group. They pointed out that something was missing. Well, I knew that! It's why I asked for help. To be fair, they did highlight things that were missing, and they did urge me to keep working on it as it could be a worthwhile essay eventually.

I read it over and over and finally ended up filing it in the To Be Worked On folder where it stayed for many months. In mid-summer of this year, I pulled it out and worked on it again. This time, it came out more like I'd wanted it to the first gazillion times I tried to write it. I sent it to the editor of 

The Best Times and she accepted immediately for their November issue which would be dedicated to Veterans. She asked for some pictures which I sent later. 

You can read the essay here. It received a full page along with two pictures. I'm so glad that I didn't leave the piece to gather dust in that folder filled with things I need to work on. It's a story I wanted to share with others and so I persevered. Those who read my blog frequently know that my two keywords for the writing world are Patience and Perseverance. I'm not sure how patient I was, but the second keyword paid off. 

If you have a project you're having trouble with, don't give up. Keep at it. Maybe not on a constant basis. Bring it out every now and then. It may look quite different to you after you've been away from it. The biggest problem can suddenly be flooded with the light of a new dawn. 

Small Steps

We had the car radio on as we drove to the K-State basketball game last night. The announcer was talking about one of the newer players on the team. "He has to take it in small steps," he said. The thought flashed through my mind that the same is true for writers.

When we begin writing, we dream of being published in major magazines or having a blockbuster first novel. That would be great, but it really is a dream. It's rare that somebody hits the bigtime right out of the gate. Even moving along the writing path in leaps and bounds is not the usual way a write moves.

Instead, the vast majority of us take small steps, one at a time. Those small steps add up as time goes on, and we draw closer and closer to our goals. We hit a few bumps in the road along the way. Too many rejections shower us with disappointment, maybe a bit of anger, and definitely some doubt.

Believe in yourself and keep taking those small steps. You can move around those bumps in the road with some patience and perseverance. Both are key to reaching that dream.