Rejection. It’s not really the part of the writer’s life that’s fun to talk about. It’s great writing material – rejection involves conflict! Rejection is interesting! Rejection is an obstacle for the protagonist to overcome!
Rejection stinks.
Sure, it’s expected. Even the extremely successful writers are criticized and rejected by people – or their work is. And it’s a wonderful teacher (that’s for another post). I don’t expect everyone to like my work, but I do hope somebody does.
And since my last post on writing, somebody did. I mentioned WOW – Women on Writing last time because I’d submitted my work to their competition and knew I was a finalist. They liked my work – the question was, would I be a winner?
Drum roll, please….
Runner-up! My story As for Adventure was one of the top ten stories for their Spring 2018 Flash Fiction contest, and it’s so weird to be writing the words you can read my published work by clicking here. You really can. This actually happened.
Every one of us has a story and experiencing this part of mine makes me want to thank everyone in the world who helped me. Because this is something I could never do on my own. I’m thankful to God, my parents who encouraged me, my sisters who’ve always had my back, my husband who’s in my corner, my kids who genuinely care, my amazing friends who’ve walked with me in life, my teachers who gave me tools and encouragement along the way – thank you so much. Without you, I wouldn’t be doing what I do. And so many thanks to WOW with guest judge literary agent Sharon Pelletier of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. If writers didn’t have opportunities like this one, we’d be missing the challenges that help propel us forward. Thank you!
Because this is my first “real success” as a writer, there’s a something I want to share with you that I hope make a difference for someone out there.
I joined a writing group almost two years ago. My first night there, I brought a poem with me, and I was terrified to read it. Terrified, but I knew if I was really going to do this writer thing, I needed to face that fear.
Before I could get the words out, I said:
This is stupid. This is so stupid.
Then I read it. A leader pointed out some of the poem’s strengths and where it could be improved. People liked it well enough, and I was excited to come back to group again – but in the parking lot afterward, a girl came up to me and said
Don’t ever, EVER call your work stupid.
And since that day, I never have. Because it’s not stupid. I don’t approach writing lightly, and I think most writers don’t. My writing group has weathered many rejections with me. Some of my dear friends edited the winning story for me before submission. And this month, when I walked in the door, the entire group burst into applause to celebrate my placement in WOW’s competition. They are amazing people who I love.
If you’re a writer and you’re not connected with other writers, you are missing out. My writing group helped move me from rejecting my own work, to learning how to weather rejection from others, to celebrating success.
Who you journey with makes all the difference.
Until next time,
Invent your story
If you want to follow some of my amazing writer friends who helped improve my story, check out their websites here!
Writing a rough draft is exhilarating. Most of the time. That new idea bubbles up in my mind, tingles my fingertips, and makes me sit my busy butt down long enough to put it on paper. It’s my happy place. However, editing is an entirely different animal.
Editing is like unleashing my inner pack on my writing. I don’t know if everyone has a crowd of canines that crashes into their thoughts, but if you don’t, I’d love to introduce you to some of mine. They’re extremely friendly and helpful. Most of the time.
The Bloodhound: This editor sniffs out each nook and cranny from sentence structure to syllable count. She snarls at spelling mistakes. She barks, “You just wrote two sentence fragments instead of complete sentences. You’re breaking the rules.” Bloodhounds are very useful, and I love them, but sometimes I have to call her off the scent. Once in awhile, it’s okay to break the rules.
The Yippy Cocker: Not all cocker spaniels are yippy dogs, but this one is. She yaps, “It’s too short!” “It’s too long!” “Use better language!” “That’s not right!” “That’s not right either!” “Don’t erase it!” No wonder she always need to pee. If I can calm the hyper, this puppy’s really useful. I just don’t let the little dog run my show.
The Shaggletooth Monster: He’s the dog featured in this post. He’s a mutt. He has no pedigree, and loves everything. He doesn’t bark, yip, growl, or bay – he licks. He will lick the wall, the floor, the couch, the toys, the paper plates…and I forgot he’s supposed to be in my head.
This editor never stops trying to get that last crumb off the page. The truest dog on a bone, he will keep at a piece of work until he’s accidently shredded and destroyed it. So, I love this guy, but at some point I have to pull that drool-soaked manuscript out of his mouth and say, “Okay. Let’s hand this off to someone else.”
If you don’t have a pack of pups on your writing team, I think it’s worth your time to sit down and discover how you think about what you write. Not only is this exercise useful, it can be a lot of fun. I want close with, “Trying it will make you want to howl!” But my team is good at holding me at bay. Most of the time.
Until next time,
Invent your story
I started the year off with a post about choosing a New Year’s word instead of resolution. The word I chose was try. This three-letter word completely changed my life.
Things I have tried for the first time since January 2018 (it is now April)
- Skateboarding on a longboard.
- Inviting a guest writer to IYS.
- Painting with watercolors/pen & ink.
- Opening an online shop.
- Copyrighting my work.
- Writing a negative space story.
- Entering the PB Party competition on Twitter.
- Rollerblading backwards as fast as I can.
I’ve tried other things as well, but these are the stars of the day. As I’ve learned about my new word-friend try, I’ve discovered there are a lot of misconceptions about it. You’ve probably heard this one:
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Nope. Not always the case. There are some things you just don’t need to be that successful at. Like skateboarding. I tried it. I liked it. I fell and couldn’t move my arm for a few days without pain. I’d change this friendly saying to: “If at first you don’t succeed, try and re-evaluate.” Don’t quit, but don’t be afraid to do things different next time.
You won’t know if you never try.
There are things you can know without trying them. Drugs are a good example. Don’t try drugs. They’re bad. You don’t need to try them to know. For most good things, this is a fair but incomplete saying. The most important thing you need to know about try is this:
Try is both a teacher and a trickster.
You learn a lot of things by trying. You learn about your strengths and weaknesses. You get firsthand experience, and what you learn will stick better. Yes, trying is a good teacher – except that you can “learn” things that can feel true but aren’t true.
If you try something new and it doesn’t go how you planned, you may be hasty to draw concrete solutions. Because hitting concrete hurts. Try can seem to trip you and then laugh at you when you’ve fallen on your face. This is the trickster side of try – and the point where some people don’t want to be friends anymore with this three-letter word.
When that happens:
Get up, and let yourself laugh for a minute with try. Don’t abandon try, but instead, lead this little word in your life. I will skateboard again – probably with elbow pads. But most of my time will be spent trying (and re-trying differently) things that I have a passion for and love.
Of all the new things I tried this year, rollerblading backwards came the most easily to me. It was fun! I was glad I tried it, but just because it came naturally to me doesn’t mean it was deeply fulfilling. I’ll do it again, but I’ll spend most of my time trying things that challenge me in other ways.
So, for my first-quarter evaluation of try, I would say we’re going to be life-long friends.
Did you pick a New Year’s word? How is it going so far? If you didn’t, there’s still a lot of time left. Leave your word in the comments, so we can journey together! Success is not guaranteed, but interesting is!
Until next time,
Invent your story.
What do you see when you look at a blank page? Do you see opposition or opportunity? Today I am going to share about a writing technique/concept. I learned this from a professor in college, and it’s something I still practice today.
First, hunt for a blank piece of paper.
It must be free from all other things: no lines, no headers, and no artwork. If you like to write on colored paper, you absolutely can – I would just say be mindful of the color. In fact, if you write a novel by hand and complete your entire rough draft on pink paper, I think that alone is interesting enough for me to want to look at the book.
Second, shut down your computer.
Your blank page cannot be on your computer screen. This must be a real-time, real-life, legit piece of paper. Size doesn’t matter. Well, depending on how many words you want to put on it, you might need more pages. But you want to have a piece of paper you can lift up, fold, smell, rip, and take with you wherever you go. Now, you’re ready to write.
Third, consider the opportunity.
Many writers avoid blank pages because we fear writer’s block. But when a child looks at a blank piece of paper, something is sparked within them. Excitement. Opportunity. They’re not constantly being autocorrected or forced into perfect spacing. They are free to press on a pen, crayon, or marker, and put into words the wonder that is inside their minds. If words don’t do it justice, a sketch here or there will fill in the gaps. It’s a beautiful, personal, and smart way to craft creative work.
There is a time and a place for the computer, typewriter, or whatever tool you want to use. They help to make your work accessible, readable, and grammatically correct. But I challenge you to a blank piece of paper today: an open world waiting for you to invent it.