Potholes in Your Writing Journey

 

After winter is over, we deal with numerous potholes in our roads. We swerve around them or avoid the streets that boast the most. 

Not that I said 'swerve around them' and 'avoid...' which is exactly what we should do when we hit potholes in our writing journey. Be assured that you are going to run across them. Our writing pothole appear when we hit a snag of some sort in our writing life. It happens to all of us. Some of those indentations are deeper and bigger than others. We can deal with the little ones, but when one of the biggies comes along, our journey might come to a screeching halt, at least for a while.

Potholes come our way in the form of rejections from a publisher, a story that seemed great in your mind but turns out rather lame when you write it, or a problem in a story that you can't seem to resolve. Maybe you have written a story or essay that satisfies you a lot, but you cannot find the right market for it. Perhaps your story idea is great, but the mechanics when it is written are in need of help. So many parts of our writing life can result in a pothole. 

The important thing is to keep moving; don't let each pothole slow your journey, or stop it altogether. If your confidence in your writing is on the low side, it's pretty easy to let these problems stop you for some time or forever. 

What should you do when you hit one of these potholes? As our poster says, 'stop worrying.' There is nothing that cannot be fixed or dumped and restarted. 

Writers are not alone in having to fix a problem. Quilters pull out stitches and redo their work when it doesn't measure up. Painters paint over problem areas or start a new canvas. Landscapers redo sections that don't measure up to their standards. Why should writers be any different? We cut, revise, and edit over and over until we are satisfied. 

When you hit a portion of the writing road that has potholes, swerve if they aren't big ones. When you come across a large problem, stop and work on it until you're satisfied and can move on. 

Where Has My Muse Gone?

My Muse

As if the pandemic and all it involves isn't enough to deal with, I have been having major computer problems. Add the disappearance of my muse, and I am not a happy person. Dealing with the pandemic is a day by day situation, and I've been coping fairly well by staying home and practicing all the things we have been urged to do. 

The computer is a real problem because where can I go right now to get it cleaned up, fixed, or replaced? I'm assuming most of the stores like Best Buy and Staples are closed. Or are they considered essential? I will have to check that out.

The third problem--my muse disappearing--is something I'm not sure how to deal with. Where did that little imp go? Here I am with lots of time to write, and all I manage to do is write a blog post five days a week. The rest is not happening. I did write a letter the other day, but that doesn't count as 'writerly writing.' 

How many times have you said If I just had more time to write, I'd be so happy. The time has been given through the self-isolating I've been doing, but the desire to write is around 3 on a scale of 1-10. I'm not alone with this problem. My online writing group has been writing their thoughts and feelings each day of the pandemic, but we have titled our efforts pendemic. I've noticed that many are saying that, as much as they'd like to write, they don't seem to have the desire to do so. Those stories and poems and essays are stuck in our heads, not happening in print.

Perhaps their muses are off on a desert island with mine, somewhere safe and pleasant. Are they going to stay there until life returns to something resembling normal? It's possible. 

How about you? Are you writing like mad? Or has your muse sauntered off somewhere leaving you feeling uninspired? 

I usually try to give a solution to a problem or a way to approach one. My only suggestion today is to sit down and start writing. Maybe, if you begin, you'll want to keep going. Any comments or suggestions are most welcome. And if you see my muse, send her home immediately, please.

Writing Failures Happen, Learn From Them

During this time of self-isolation in the pandemic, we have more time than usual. For writers, that sounds good, doesn't it? It definitely is good if you put the extra time to good use to help you move along your writing journey at a bit faster pace than usual.

But, if you use the extra time to brood over past rejections or writing projects that didn't turn out as you had hoped, then you're going to dig a hole in your writing path. The more you think about the problems in your writing life, the deeper that hole is going to get. 

Suppose you have spent the better part of a year writing a short novel. Then you set about finding publishers you think would be a good fit for your book. You make a list, then send query letters to each one. The responses are few, and those who do answer your query answer with a No. 

Next, you try to self-publish the book. It's not merely a snap of the fingers to do so. Time and money are involved. Finally, it's done and on Amazon, but you sell only a handful of books at first, then none. The whole project can be filed under Failure. 

Do you feel bad? Of course, you do. Do you get so discouraged you swear to never write another word? Some writers will. Is it wise to do that? Not if you love writing. Not if you have a passion to publish a novel someday. Not if you are hard-headed enough to want to prove that you can write a book that will sell. 

One failure does not mean you are tossed out of the writing world forever. It's not a sin to write a book that doesn't sell. Those pity parties are not attended by anyone but you, and they aren't much fun. Remember that old adage If you fall off a horse, get right back on. That works for writers, too.

Before you start writing again, try to do some self-assessment. Be as objective as possible. Ask a friend who will be honest to read the book and give you feedback. Listen and learn from what he/she says. Maybe ask a few friends to read your book and give a critique. If several point out the same problem areas, zero in on them and resolve to work on whatever it was.

I cannot remember who said it, but a successful writer said that every first novel should be put in a drawer and left there. Writing a book for the first time is a learning process in itself. 

One of the reasons I push writers into joining critique groups is so that you can learn as you go. Submit a chapter, listen carefully to the critiques and don't repeat the same mistakes in the next chapter. And, of course, fix whatever was wrong with that first one. 

Keep the idea of what you want out of your writing life in mind. Don't let fear or a failure take over your thoughts. Give yourself a short grieving period, then move on. 

Writers Face Problems

The quote above is anonymous, but whoever coined it must have been a wise person. When I read it, I naturally equated it to my writing life, even though it could definitely apply to almost any part of your life. 

Staying with the writing life--If you've been dissatisfied with the results of your writing, your submissions or your publication history, it can be a definite downer. The more you fret, the farther down the writing abyss you might slide. The farther down you go, the harder it will be to get back to feeling good about your writing life. 

So why not choose to take a chance and make some changes? Go through your files and read past writing with an objective eye. When I read something I wrote 2, 3 or more years ago, I am always amazed at how many things I see that I should have done differently. Make a list of the items you think you might have done better. It might be using a form of the 'to be' verb too often. It could be repeating words too close together or overuse of adjectives and adverbs. It's possible that clarity for the reader is your problem. Whatever it is, you'll begin to see it when you read those old files.

List 2 should be what changes in your writing you want to make. If your ego is too big to admit that you need to make some changes, then you'll continue feeling unhappy with your writing life. It's not that hard for any of us to say I like a lot of what I write, but I can do better. Say it, believe it, then do it!

What if you are not happy with the way your submissions have been going. You're getting far more rejections than acceptances. That's a pretty common problem for all writers, but it's to your benefit to see if you can figure out why you're not being accepted as often as you'd like. I knew a writer who thought her writing was good enough to be published. The stories were good, but her mechanics of writing were pretty sad--misspellings, too many spaces or not enough, poor punctuation and more. Editors don't have the time or the desire to correct your mechanical errors. Again, use your objective eye when looking at this situation. 

What if you're afraid to submit your work even when you feel good about what you've written? It happens a lot. If you've ever felt this way, you're most definitely not alone. If I submit, I might be rejected. If I submit and am published, I might have to follow up with more, but I'm not sure I can do that.

Do you keep a record of all your publications including where and the date? If not, you should. Study that record. Do you see a pattern of any kind? Was 2015 your best publication year? Is there a reason for that? If 2012 brought you the fewest publications, can you figure out why? 

Make another list showing both your strengths and weaknesses in your writing life. If you're honest with yourself, you'll know what your weaknesses are. "Man up!" as the saying goes and admit to them. You're not alone, we all have weaknesses in our writing. In the same vein, we all have certain strengths, as well. 

Take a good hard look at those 3 Cs in your writing life:  Choice, chance, and change. If you want to change, you'll have to make the choice to take a chance. 

Deadlines and Achievement For Writers--My Most Popular Post

I'm off to the Kansas Authors convention today so am repeating a post from some time ago. Still pertinent today! This is one of my most popular posts. I hope you'll find it helpful to you. A big thank you to the new Followers who signed on last week. Welcome! 

Years ago, I told my five-year-old son he could not go to kindergarten until he learned to tie his shoes. "The teacher is too busy to do it for every boy and girl," I added for emphasis. For weeks, he struggled, gave up, and tried again and again. The day before school started, he achieved his goal. What happiness radiated from that little face when he demonstrated his new ability to me.

This little episode illustrates two universal truths. We push ourselves harder when there is a deadline and achievement is all the sweeter when we can share our success with others.

In our writers world, don't we tend to work better when there is a specified deadline? Of course we do. We think and think about writing a story or article but life tends to get in our way. We make vague promises to ourselves thinking things like Tomorrow, I'll get to it. Tomorrow arrives, the phone rings and we're off to another meeting, pick up a sick child (or grandchild) at school or.... But if a story must be sent to an editor by Thursday, we'll create time and get the job done.

That deadline looms over us, so we move it to the top of our To-Do list. The machine can answer the phone. Pizza places deliver night and day, so the family will be fed. Few of us like to dust or vacuum anyway, so that's not a problem. The library committee meeting can go on without us this time and a niece will appreciate a check for her birthday as much as a gift. We need to block out everything but the writing project. We don't want to face failure or the humiliation of telling the editor the piece is not ready.

Achievement is accomplished by setting priorities and being firm in keeping them. Get your ducks in a row might be a good illustration. If we're wishy-washy, our goals float farther and farther away.

When we receive good news from an editor, we've achieved a goal. We'd love to share the good news with someone--usually someone who means something to us. Like my son, we radiate joy when sharing news of an acceptance from a publisher. Satisfaction settles over us like a warm comforter. That, however, is not the end. Success only inspires us to continue writing and submitting. If you receive eleven rejections and one acceptance, which one do you think you'll remember longest?

That small son of mine is now a successful businessman. He learned all about deadlines and achievement before he went to kindergarten Here's hoping you did, too. If not, it's never too late to learn.

Should Writers Give Up?

How many times have you thought, or said aloud, that you are going to give up writing? It happens to many a good writer. Think of all the reasons that make you feel that way. 

Here's a partial list: 

• You read a finished piece and think it stinks. 
• You submit a story half a dozen times and all that you get are rejections.
• You proofread a finished story or essay and wonder why there are so many errors.
• You see little to no progress in your writing.
• Your critique group offers more negatives than positives.
• You keep writing the same thing over and over, don't come up with a fresh view.
• Your work is filled with passive verbs and no sensory details so it seems blah.
• You don't care about the mechanics of writing, just the story so it gets rejected many times.
• You can't be bothered with writing exercises to help you grow as a writer.
• You won't attend a writing workshop or conference to learn more about your craft.

Every one of the problems in the list above can be solved. And yes, you are allowed to vent your frustration. Go ahead and do what the poster tells us--scream or cry. Maybe even throw something. You're also allowed to walk away for a short break--hours or even days. 

The one thing you should not do is give up. If you truly want to be a writer, you need to keep working at improving. Nothing happens overnight. Athletes practice hours and hours for years to make it in the professional arenas. Well, guess what? Writers need to do the same thing. There's a reason you often hear this piece of advice for writers--Don't quit your day job. We don't become an overnight success. 

If your desire to write is strong enough, you won't give up. That's not to say you won't get angry, frustrated or depressed now and then? I have. Other writers have. And so will you! 

Go back to the list and decide which points you've had to deal with. Ask yourself how each of those problems can be solved. Then work on them one by one. 

If instead, you choose to quit writing, you may regret it. Besides that, the itch to write again may be more irritating than whatever it was that caused you to quit. Why waste all that you've already put into your writing journey? 

Because it's important, I'll repeat this one more time--Please don't give up. 

5 Things Writers Can Work On

Are you guilty of any of the five human problems above? None? Any? or all? They're good problems to work on in our everyday life but they can also apply to our writing life. Let's take a look at each one. 

1.  Trying to please everyone  It shouldn't take us long to figure out that this is nearly impossible. We cannot write to please our instructor, our writing group, our readers, our editors and ourselves at the same time. If I had to choose one, I'd go with writing to please myself. If I can do that, I will also please some of the others, as well. We've all heard that phrase Do your best. It's pretty simple but good advice. It's one step in pleasing ourself and some others, even if not everyone. 

2.  Fearing change  Change is not in our comfort zone. It makes us itch and squirm and sends butterflies fluttering in our tummies. If we want to move forward in our writing journey, we need to meet change head-on with a positive attitude. Maybe this change will be good for my writing. If it isn't, you can always 'unchange' whatever it was. Step our of your comfort zone and see what awaits.

3.  Living in the past  As people age, they tend to live in the past because they really aren't too thrilled with the present and they fear the future. The past is safe and so they prefer to stay there. What if you did that with your writing? Just because something worked in the past, it doesn't mean it will now, or later. There are trends in writing and writers need to keep up with them. I remember when children's picture books were featuring one mood kind of book after another. They were hot! And then they weren't. 

4.  Putting yourself down  This is so easy to do. Some writers do it internally with thoughts like I'll never write well enough to be published. or  The editor won't take work from someone like me. or I can't write worth a darn! Stop the negative attitude. Turn each of those thoughts into a positive with thoughts like If I keep working at it, my writing will improve enough to be published.  and Editors like to give newcomers a break now and then so I'll submit my work. and I know I can be a good writer if I keep working at it.

5.  Overthinking  For writers, we might term this 'overwriting' or putting too much thought into the revisions and editing process. Important as it is, there comes a time when you have to call it done. Keep doing it over and over and over and you could wreak havoc with the good things you'd written in the first place. Think about more than once but know where and when to draw the line and call it finished. 

Little Lessons For Writers

Have you visited the Wordsmith site lately? Poems, stories, and spectacular graphics to go with them. This site is a place for both writers to post and for readers. Swing by today and see what's new.

Good quote today. When things go wrong in our writing life, there's usually a reason. When we discover what the reason is, we will hopefully see the lesson.

What kinds of things can go wrong?

1.  You might have a great beginning and middle for a story and cannot come up with a proper ending

2.  You might have worked hard on a project, submitted and received a rejection

3.  You might spend hours on a story and then decide it's pure drivel when you read it over again

4.  You might have a story you've written that you love. You take it to your writer's group and receive a negative reaction from all who critique it

5.  You might have submitted work for years and never had an acceptance

6.  You might lose your desire to write

7.  You might have to deal with that old enemy--writer's block

What kinds of lessons can you learn from these things that go wrong?

1.  You can see how strong a writer you are

2.  You may need to look harder for inspiration and in new ways

3.  You may find out that rejection is not the end of the world

4.  You may find that a first draft is just that--a first draft--not a finished product

5.  You may need to realize that the negative reaction of others will help you make the story better when you rewrite

6.  You my learn that nothing is perfect, that you need to work on honing your craft constantly

7.  You may need to read your own work with a more objective eye

8.  You may find out that there's not much about writing that is easy

9.   You might discover the degree of passion you have for writing

Whenever things go wrong in your writing life, look for a reason, then look for a lesson. Next, do your homework and carry on. When life is good, go right ahead and be especially grateful.




 

Conquering Three Words

What do you think the three words below have to do with one another?

      Procrastination                                      Rejection                            Self-confidence

They are all part of a discussion going on in a group called Aspiring Writers which is sponsored by Linked In. Writers send in questions and others respond with their answers or thoughts on the topic. Recently, one of the writers said that she wonders why she can sit down and write stories or articles with no problem but procrastination sets in if she must send out a query or synopsis. She wondered if it was fear of rejection or some other problem.

Her question drew a good many responses. One man noted that fear of rejection of our writing is just as much a fear of others not liking me or what I do.

I responded that fear of rejection can also be a lack of self-confidence. Another writer agreed with that assessment. There were a few others that showed a great lack of sympathy. One advised that the best way to deal with fear is to rip off its mask and face it. I also suggested that she google 'query letters' and 'writing a synopsis' and read all she can about each one.To have a clear understanding of something helps us to deal with it more easily.

We all procrastinate at times. I find that I usually use that tactic when I either dislike the project, don't understand it, or lack confidence in doing it. Writers all have a fear of rejection to one degree or another. Some have it only on a rare occasion while others wallow in a tub of it with every submission they make. The important thing is that they are making those submissions. It's those who do not submit because of that fear factor that concern me. What about that self-confidence angle? The better we understand a subject, the more confident we are in dealing with it. If you're unsure of some part of the writing world, do all you can to educate yourself on that topic.

All of the above brings me to today's poster quote. If you're going to conquer that procrastination, fear of rejection and self-confidence problem, you must be the realist who adjusts the sail. It won't happen overnight but it's worth working on a little at a time. An attitude adjustment is a good place to begin.