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!