Encouragement for Writers

How many years have you been writing? Are you the same writer today than you were the first time you created a piece of real writing? Have your feet been set in cement, or have you moved along the writing journey one step at a time, gathering the good bits and pieces as you go?

Every now and then, it's helpful to take a look back at that long road that has been your writing journey. Do you remember the first time you submitted your work to an editor? Was it scary? Is it more comfortable to do so now, or is it still unsettling each time you make a submission? I hope you have mastered the art of submitting, waiting, and then either rejoicing or handling rejection, whichever it may be. 

There is another saying that tells us not to bother to look back. It's Don't look back. That's not where you are going. Good advice in some respects, but doing what today's quote tells us is also good advice. It's quite beneficial for us to see the road between beginning and present to see what we have learned and what we have achieved. 

As for being proud of what you have achieved, I fully agree with that. We know better than anyone else how much it took to garner those achievements. They were not pebbles on a beach that we collected as we strolled along the sand. We worked hard to gather those rewards, the publications, the contest winners, the invitations to share our writing expertise with others. The one thing we don't ever want to be as a writer is 'stagnant.'

When you look back at your writing journey, you'll see the parts that shine and those that are riddled with bumps. It's only natural to have some of both. As you traveled across those bumps, you learned something, and you grew as a writer. 

If we do all we can to grow as writers, we're going to have more achievements. Our list of good things should grow longer and stronger as time moves on. That is if we do all we can to continue to grow in our writing life. We need to read about writing, go to conferences, join critique groups, and submit our work to editors. If all you do is sit at your computer and write one story after another but do nothing with those stories, you'll have few real achievements to list. Writing itself is our base, and from that base, we need to branch out and to learn.

Take a look back today at the writer you were in the very beginning, then the one you are today. Be proud and be ready to keep growing as a writer.

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.