Writers--Pat Yourself On The Back

Graduations are taking place all over our nation now and into early June. It's a time for grads to look back and see what they've achieved in their school journey. We have a granddaughter in Texas graduating from high school. She went to her Awards Night last week and headed home with a nice list of scholarships and awards. They didn't just happen. No, she worked hard all four years. 

Some of you know that one of my favorite quotes is Don't look back. That's not where you are going. But today, I am going to ask all writers to do so. Consider the journey you've been on since the first time you wrote something. How long ago was that? 5 years? 10? 20? Or more? 

• Was your writing at the beginning of your journey of the same quality as it is today?
• Did you have all the tools in your writing kit that you have now? 
• How many publications did you have to your credit? 
• Were you overly confident? 
• Or were you as frightened as a hen being chased by a fox? 
• Did you know how to go about finding a place to submit your work? 
• Could you take criticism from other writers or editors without becoming crushed or angry?
• Did you know very many of those little 'tricks of the trade?'
• Was your writing clear?
• Did you write tight?
• Was your vocabulary as big as it is now?
• How great was self-doubt then as now?
• Did you really understand the journey you were beginning?

I hope you will take some time to answer the questions above and look at your list of accomplishments, no matter how small or enormous. As we take one small step after another, we sometimes lose sight of the great distance we've traveled. If you're still writing today, I can guarantee that you've made strides and gathered achievements along the way. I can imagine some of you are saying Well, yeah, but they're a lot of little things. That may be true but those little things move you in your journey, too. So don't belittle them. (or yourself!)

Whether you've moved with leaps and bounds or small baby steps, you've made good distance in your writing journey and have achieved more than you might think. Have a treat today in honor of all you've accomplished.

Your Writing Journey--A Trip Worth Taking!

Summer brings vacations to mind. You must make plans, pack your bags and start on your way to paradise. Or wherever it is that you plan to go.

Today, let's talk about another trip--your writing journey. Anyone who writes has been on this journey from the first time they applied pen to paper or tapped a keyboard to bring up words strung together that made some sense.

One of the women in my online writing group found a competition that required a personal essay of no more than 1000 words about a writing journey. My friend, who lives in South Africa, wrote to the theme and submitted it to our group for critique. I thought it was a great piece and told her so, along with a few suggestions for polishing before she sent it to the contest. In our email chat, I asked her if she minded if I'd send a piece of my own, already written to the same theme. She replied that she thought it a great idea and said, "Let's see if any others in the group would do the same." She sent out the challenge and a few have signed on.

I've been reading the efforts today and have been thrilled with the essays that have been submitted. We're all writers but we all came to it on different paths. One started because of letters she wrote to family members as an ex-pat overseas. She was shocked that they'd loved her letters, some had even kept them for her all tied up in pretty colored ribbons. Another had aimed to be a writer since kindergarten when her teacher had the children write their names and then said to them, "This is the beginning of your writing life."

Many start on the writing path later in life. I was one of those. The desire had been there for decades but I needed a nudge to get started. The one I got was more like a punch in the gut! No problem, it was what I needed to start writing. It didn't matter that I was well over fifty at the time.

If you have a yen to submit to the contest I mentioned earlier, go to this page for guidelines and details. But hurry. June 30th is the deadline. No entry fee so what do you have to lose. Make it funny, make it smart, make it inspirational--whatever you wish. The contest is sponsored in the UK but anyone around the world is eligible. You can even read past winners to get an idea of the type of essay they like.

Even if you don't enter the contest, give some thought to your personal writing journey. What kind of journey has your writing life taken you on? Where did it begin? What bumps in the road did you meet? How did you overcome them? Where are you now and where are you going? Who helped you?

Long or Short--Stay on the Road

I feel safe in saying that almost all writers will agree with this poster quote. Author Unknown is at the bottom which is rather sad as I think it's a wonderful quote. 

This is a poster you can enlarge, print and post in your workspace as a daily reminder. Or put it on the fridge as it might be of some worth to the others in your home, too. 

Those difficult roads we travel only make the beautiful destination all that much better. Would you apprciate having your story or book published the first time you ever submitted? Of course, you would appreciate it once you stopped jumping up and down with glee, but I don't think the appreciation would be nearly as great as it would be had you traveled down those difficult roads for a lengthy time. 

We have all heard stories of now-famous authors who submitted a manuscript for a book to publisher after publisher until finally one decided to take a chance and accepted it. It happens all the time. Once they achieve fame, and maybe wealth, I'm betting they don't forget those long, bumpy roads they traversed to get to that beautiful place they're now in. It may be why so many celebrated authors are willing to mentor some of the newbies. They know what it's like at the beginning of the journey and they know how much encouragement from another author helps.

For some, those difficult roads are much longer than for others. As you move down that road, keep those signs held high, one in each hand. What signs? you ask? The ones that hold my two keywords in our writing world--Patience and Perseverance.