We in the writing world have plenty of fuel for discouragement. Rejections might be high on the list, but so is writing draft after draft trying to come up with the best writing. Have you ever written a chapter in your memoir or novel and, instead of feeling satisfied, you know something is not quite right but you're not really sure what it is?
It makes you angry at yourself. You might storm away and brood for a while. You'll try again another day. You might end up rewriting that chapter half a dozen times before it clicks. Eventually, you are satisfied with your result.
All too often, we find ourself discouraged with the way our writing turns out. It sounded perfect in our head. Why doesn't it come out the same way in print? We feel down when we submit the same piece over and over and it doesn't get published. Time for a rewrite. Maybe the fourth rewrite will be the key.
Readers have no idea how many times what they are reading has been revised and edited. I think readers have a Hollywood vision of a writer who sits down one day and dashes off a great story or a tremendous memoir or a stunning poem. Maybe writers have a much greater appreciation when they read the work of other writers. I will revise that statement. There is no doubt in my mind that writers do have a deeper appreciation than regular readers.
What about those writers who have written many things, submitted multiple times but have never been published? They know what discouragement is. In their mind, it is spelled in bold and caps! They aren't sure what they are doing wrong, what is missing in their work. One day, they might write a piece that is perfectly publishable. The last key that opens the locked world of publishing.
The message today is to keep trying. Put discouragement behind you and forge ahead. Don't be afraid to ask for help from a writer's group or from a writer friend. They can often see problems that you don't. We writers are often blind to our own errors.
